Towing with 1500

[Slick87SS]

I am looking buy a used TT for me and my family. Def want a bunk house trailer with slide for the extra room. I will be towing with Silverado 1500 with 9200 tow cap. and 1850 payload. Also I will be using WD hitch. What should I be looking for as far as dry weights for trailers. It would be our first TT though I do have experience towing my 14 foot work trailer I wouldn't want a white knuckle trip every time I pull it. Most I have checked out and liked are anywhere between 5800-6900 dry weight. Any info would be super helpful.

[hondaCT90]

math aside...but actual experience to share.

had a 2004 silerado 1500 with the extended cab..327v8 and 4 speed auto.
TT is a 1996 Nash heavey metal rig...25ft long
with no mods to the pickup, but with load level bars on the hitch, the truck sat nice and level and we pulled as well up hills as any of the motorhomes running 454 and V10s...ie...climbing a tough hill, we'd be roaring in 2nd gear and dropping down into the 35mph huff n puff climb.
but in fairness, it was a reasonable pull.

with a full water tank (under the bed in the nost of the camper), a 200lb honda trail bike in the truck bed,15 spare gals of fuel, all of our other outdoor fun gear for a week, etc... I considered us as "full" but the truck did just fine.
making the move to a 3500 duramx...oh my goodness...but the price of those is painful... I'd not hesitate to pull with a 1500 again.

[SparkDr]

Start shopping for air bags now. Trailer has a published hitch weight of 825lbs which is significantly above the TV's rating. I have a very similar TV and my TT has a 580lb hitch weight. Without bags, mine was a squatter no matter how many adjustments and tweaks I made. Added the bags and cured all of my woes with just 15# of air pressure in them. Still had to reset ball height / angle and adjust WD and DC sway control, but results are remarkable.

[gmckenzie]

Slick87SS wrote:
Final decision is an Aspen Trail 2810bhs with dry weight of 6475 towed by my 2015 Silverado double cab 5.3 V8. Pulled it home yesterday and I feel it did well but the trip was fairly short from the dealership. Heading out this weekend for our inaugural trip and will update you all again after my that. I'm a newbie so this aught to be comical. Stay tuned lol! Thanks for the info you all provided in helping me make a decision.
P. S. Any tips for a newb will be greatly appreciated ????

Get a decent WDH. I have an Equal-i-zer 4 point hitch and prefer it to the standard hitches the RV places sell, but even if you get a standard Curt or Husky, get one with 1,200 lb bars. I got 800 lb ones with the hitch the dealer sold me with the trailer and it bounced a lot.

Take it easy and swing wide on the turns. Take your time backing into a spot and don't worry if the neighbors are watching. Newbies can be fun to watch 🙂 Get out and check if you aren't sure of something.

Enjoy your new trailer.

[RandACampin]

Camper G wrote:
...snip...
STOP SHOPPING TTs BY DRY WEIGHTS! They are useless numbers. What is the campers gvwr your looking at? If it's that heavy "dry" i think you'll be at the trucks limits when loaded and I'd not want to work a brand new truck that hard. ....just my .02

This is very bad advice. Going by the CVWR is useless, there are numerous trailers out there that have HUGE CCC for example the Keystone Summerland 2980BHGS. Dry weight 6328 CCC of 3187+715 on the tongue for a total of 10230, witch would exceed the OPs specs. The "accepted norm" for loading 1000-1500 lbs, putting the realistic weight at 7328-7828, well within the OPs limit, Your way...not so much.

So if you went strictly BY GVWR you would rule out a lot of choices because NOBODY except Lucille Ball is going to carry 3K plus pounds of cargo.

Better to use realistic numbers than the GVWR in all cases.

[Golfcart]

I pull a 3500lbs trailer fully loaded(dry weight is 2700) with my 1500

Regardless of the weight i still use a w/d with sway to make it easier to pull. After i set it up properly i nearly forget my trailer is back there

[SouthpawHD]

I know you've been told this in previous posts, but watch your payload.

Assuming 7500 pounds loaded, at 12% hitch weight (900) and assuming around 150 pounds per adult x 4 adults as you mentioned earlier, you'll be within 250 pound of max payload. Sounds easy peasy, but that assumes no gear, wood, water, etc in your bed. So pack smart (more towards rear of trailer, but not too much) and you'll be good to go.

Enjoy!

[itguy08]

Congrats. As a newbie myself all I can say is take it slow and take turns wide.

And most of all, have fun!

[Slick87SS]

Final decision is an Aspen Trail 2810bhs with dry weight of 6475 towed by my 2015 Silverado double cab 5.3 V8. Pulled it home yesterday and I feel it did well but the trip was fairly short from the dealership. Heading out this weekend for our inaugural trip and will update you all again after my that. I'm a newbie so this aught to be comical. Stay tuned lol! Thanks for the info you all provided in helping me make a decision.
P. S. Any tips for a newb will be greatly appreciated ????

[itguy08]

8iron wrote:

150k lifespan in medium duty trucks? Do you have a source for this?
No source = made up.

1st of all, 150, 250, vast majority of 350 (non dualies) are not Medium Duty trucks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_truck

Light duty trucks have payloads less than 4,000 lbs.

The best I've got is the Ecboost torture info here where they say they tested it to 150k:
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/01/what-the-inside-of-a-torture-tested-ecoboost-v-6-looks-like.html

You also need to look no further than the service schedule in your own truck - notice where it stops. That is generally the design life.

[8iron]

itguy08 wrote:
No source = made up. There is no mythical over-designing to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Period. They are ll designed to do what they are rated for and have an acceptable lifespan. That is usually 150k in these trucks.

150k lifespan in medium duty trucks? Do you have a source for this?
No source = made up.

[jmcgsd]

Kay and Gene wrote:
Met a fellow last Saturday towing a new 35ft outback trailer with a 1500 Silverado. It was not 4wd and don't know the engine/trans. Said his trailer weighed 7800 and had no problems towing but said he hadn't been to our nc mountains yet.

Good point on mountains. I live in San Diego and can't go anywhere but the beach without crossing lengthy 6% or better grades. You can drive these roads (interstate 8, 15 or SR 67) pretty much any weekend and see at least one TT on the side of the highway being towed by a TV that looks too small. I think terrain where you will be towing needs to be considered.

I have spent a good bit of time in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In order to go there with my TT I need to use highway 180. It leaves the valley where the temps are typically above 100 on summer days and CLIMBS AT A 6% GRADE FOR 18 MILES! Believe me, even with an adequate TV you will feel like that climb never ends. If you then decide to drop down to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon, you'll go through a similar, but windier and more narrow section that's every bit as long and drops almost as much as you've climbed, so you will have the opportunity to test your brakes and tranny. Bigger is better on that road.

On Edit:
I just had another memory flash by. Several years ago I was in Southern Colorado. I had my truck camper at the time and was towing a Suzuki Samurai. Somewhere West of Colorado Springs the braking unit on the Suzuki failed while climbing a grade and locked the brakes. It burned the brakes completely out on the Suzuki and I was in the middle of nowhere. In order to get them repaired I had to make it to Durango which meant towing that Suzuki down Wolf Creek Pass with no brakes. Once again the F350 Dually came through, so it's not just the towing capacity that should be discussed in these threads but the ability of the TV to stop the TT in an emergency.

[Kay_and_Gene]

Met a fellow last Saturday towing a new 35ft outback trailer with a 1500 Silverado. It was not 4wd and don't know the engine/trans. Said his trailer weighed 7800 and had no problems towing but said he hadn't been to our nc mountains yet.

[itguy08]

IdaD wrote:

It isn't some made up thing at all. But believe whatever makes you feel better about the truck in your garage if you want.

No source = made up. There is no mythical over-designing to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Period. They are ll designed to do what they are rated for and have an acceptable lifespan. That is usually 150k in these trucks.

[IdaD]

itguy08 wrote:

IdaD wrote:

I don't have a source on the duty cycle thing other than common sense based on experience.

So it's just some made up thing...

Let's put it this way - buying brand new all the manufacturers warrant that their 2016 1/2 tons powertrain is up to the task of hauling that configuration's GCWR for 60k miles. They warrant their 3/4 and 1 ton gas trucks to the same standard. If they would have higher warranty expenses in the 1/2 ton segment they would lower the GCWR. But they don't and as long as you stay within the parameters of YOUR truck and follow the severe duty maintenance you will be fine no matter if it's 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton.

It's the guys overworking their vehicles or neglect maintenance that are the ones that have issues. Run anything at it's limits and wear may increase. Load up a 3/4 ton to GCWR and your wear will be the same as a 1/2 ton doing GCWR.

It isn't some made up thing at all. But believe whatever makes you feel better about the truck in your garage if you want.

[itguy08]

IdaD wrote:

I don't have a source on the duty cycle thing other than common sense based on experience.

So it's just some made up thing...

Let's put it this way - buying brand new all the manufacturers warrant that their 2016 1/2 tons powertrain is up to the task of hauling that configuration's GCWR for 60k miles. They warrant their 3/4 and 1 ton gas trucks to the same standard. If they would have higher warranty expenses in the 1/2 ton segment they would lower the GCWR. But they don't and as long as you stay within the parameters of YOUR truck and follow the severe duty maintenance you will be fine no matter if it's 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton.

It's the guys overworking their vehicles or neglect maintenance that are the ones that have issues. Run anything at it's limits and wear may increase. Load up a 3/4 ton to GCWR and your wear will be the same as a 1/2 ton doing GCWR.