I want to get a TT. My current vehicle is a 2016 Chevy Express 2500 cargo van with the 4.8L engine and heavy-duty towing package. According to Chevy, this van has 285 hp, a GVWR of 8600lbs, and a max tongue weight of 1000lbs. Despite reading around, I am confused about how heavy of a trailer I can pull without comprising safety or stressing the van such that it's being damaged.I want the TT to travel around Oregon and neighboring states with my two dogs and two bicycles. This means I will have to cross mountains though I'm fine with going over the passes at 40 to 45mph. I don't expect my dogs, gear, clothing, food, propane, etc will weigh more than 1000lbs.I'm considering the Nash 22H (4400lb dry weight) and the Sandstorm 180SLC (5500lb dry weight).Given all that, what do you thing the van can handle? Thanks for your input.

GM says the tow rating is 8100 pounds. You have plenty of suspension to handle 1000+ pounds of TW. I think acceptable performance will be your limit which is hard for anyone else to tell you. I doubt you'll notice much difference between the two TTs you listed already. Towing any high walled RV takes a fair amount of power. You'll really only notice the difference on hills or uphill starts. Use tow/haul mode and limit top trans gear to 4.

I think you would be fine with either of those. You will be well within spec. They build those vans pretty beefy. 3000 lb of payload, 4000+ lb rear axle capacity. 8600 lb tow rating. What it comes down to is expectations of power. Some people don't mind hanging in the slow lane letting the rig work, while others want major power on tap so that they can accelerate like they are driving a normal car. I am not trying to win any races and as long as you aren't, you will be fine with those trailers, just watch the temps and make sure they stay within spec and let the rig work and do its job and it will be fine.

Good luck. Towed an arctic fox 19b with a Tahoe 5.3L and it struggled on the hills. I guess if acceptable is 20mph up hills then you will be ok. But personally I think you just don't have enough motor especially if you have more than just a driver in the van.

donn0128 wrote:Towed an arctic fox 19b with a Tahoe 5.3L and it struggled on the hills. I guess if acceptable is 20mph up hills then you will be ok.So with your 305 hp Tahoe and 4400lb TT (plus gear, passengers, etc), you could only hit 20 mph on the hills? Yeah, that'd be a problem.

You can tow what it says in the manual, just know that it will do it, maybe a little slower in the hills at a higher RPM. No big deal, you have the payload to handle the trailer so you should be good there. And if you have a six speed auto, well that makes it much easier for the tow. I have towed with both gas and diesel and stuck with gas. Yep she revs but it's gets to the top like everybody else does. And being the newer 4.8 it's got power to do the job.

What can I tow w/ a Chevy Express 2500 4.8L? | Good Sam Community

carringb
Explorer
Sep 21, 2016
I think that motor is too underpowered for those trailers listed. But if you're patient, and PULL OVER when you're holding up traffic, it can probably do it. I just don't think it will be all that enjoyable.

GCWR is 13,000 pounds so you're probably ok there, depending on the actual loaded weight of your van.

Beware of trailer dry weight. They don't include options, propane, batteries etc so actual empty weight can be quite a bit more than the "dry" weight, even before you add water and cargo.
BCSnob
Explorer
Sep 21, 2016
You may be disappointed with the power while pulling up the passes. I have a 5.7L and 4.10 rear in my 2500 with the heavy duty towing package and a similar trailer to one you're looking at.
KKWilliams
Explorer
Sep 21, 2016
Back to the OP, your ride will put out 295 lb-ft of torque at 4600 RPM. A V6 Toyota Tacoma puts out 265. While you have the payload and the capacity on paper, you will be very very slow going up the passes in Oregon. If you're not in a hurry to get somewhere then it's not a problem. If it were me, I would get the lightest trailer that met my needs.
soren
Explorer
Sep 21, 2016
likestrucks wrote:
Budro1890 wrote:
donn0128 wrote:
Towed an arctic fox 19b with a Tahoe 5.3L and it struggled on the hills. I guess if acceptable is 20mph up hills then you will be ok.

So with your 305 hp Tahoe and 4400lb TT (plus gear, passengers, etc), you could only hit 20 mph on the hills? Yeah, that'd be a problem.

I don't understand this. Did you have 3.08 gears and 315/75/16 tires?

Yea, this is interesting. I put tens of thousands of tow miles on two different Tahoes, pulling a 26' 4600 UVW TT, and never climbed a mountain pass in the Rockies at less than 35MPH. Both were 3.73s and the older one was the 4sp auto and the old 5.7. I didn't know that there was such a wide range of towing performance with them.
likestrucks
Explorer
Sep 21, 2016
Budro1890 wrote:
donn0128 wrote:
Towed an arctic fox 19b with a Tahoe 5.3L and it struggled on the hills. I guess if acceptable is 20mph up hills then you will be ok.

So with your 305 hp Tahoe and 4400lb TT (plus gear, passengers, etc), you could only hit 20 mph on the hills? Yeah, that'd be a problem.

I don't understand this. Did you have 3.08 gears and 315/75/16 tires?
ktosv
Explorer
Sep 16, 2016
Years ago I towed a 5000# GVWR hybrid TT with a 2005 Suburban with the 5.3L (295HP/330#-ft), 4 speed with the 3.42 axle. At that time there was six of us and yes the kids were smaller, but it handled that trailer perfectly fine. I knew the trailer was behind me, but I had no problems accelerating or climbing hills of norther Michigan. If I recall, I could even climb hills keeping the torque converter locked in 3rd gear. Did I loose speed, yes. But I also wasn't creeping up a hill. If I had wanted to maintain the speed limit, I easily could have by keeping my foot in the gas.

The 6 speed transmission will be your friend. You might find that you will have 4 useable gears.

Considering that the 5.3L has been in Tahoe's since 2000, we really need to know what year, transmission and axle ratio donn0128 had. If I recall, HP in 2000 was only 285HP and torque was pretty much unchanged until 2014. Depending on options and drivetrain, the axle ratio from 2000-current could have been anything from a 3.08 to a 4.10.
APT
Explorer
Sep 16, 2016
Let it spin. GM's small blocks make peak torque in the 4500rpm range. That's around 45mph for the older 4-spd's first gear with 3.73 axle, or 30mph for the 6-spd/3.42. Someone didn't let the engine spin if was only 20mph up a hill.
Budro1890
Explorer
Sep 16, 2016
donn0128 wrote:
Budro1890 wrote:
donn0128 wrote:
Towed an arctic fox 19b with a Tahoe 5.3L and it struggled on the hills. I guess if acceptable is 20mph up hills then you will be ok.

So with your 305 hp Tahoe and 4400lb TT (plus gear, passengers, etc), you could only hit 20 mph on the hills? Yeah, that'd be a problem.

OK I give up. Answered your question and you get insulted!

I was in no way insulting you. I'm sorry if you interpreted my comment that way.
donn0128
Explorer II
Sep 16, 2016
Budro1890 wrote:
donn0128 wrote:
Towed an arctic fox 19b with a Tahoe 5.3L and it struggled on the hills. I guess if acceptable is 20mph up hills then you will be ok.

So with your 305 hp Tahoe and 4400lb TT (plus gear, passengers, etc), you could only hit 20 mph on the hills? Yeah, that'd be a problem.

OK I give up. Answered your question and you get insulted!
Go ahead and buy one. Guaranteed you will be the one impeeding traffic everywhere you go. Regardless of what GM says, the simple fact is you do not have enough motor to pull much more than a tent trailer.
BTW, HP does not move the load, torque does!
BBTW. Your looking at advertised DRY numbers. The AF 19B weighes ready to go at 7000 pounds. The Nash your looking at will have a real world ready to travel weight at close to 7000 pounds. Unless of course you dont plan to add water, propane,food,clothes,cooking utensils, etc?
97chevor
Explorer
Sep 16, 2016
No expert on vehicle, I think factory weight rates are highly inflated. I would think your van would handle a 22 camper. Maybe an aftermarket cooler would be a great addition.