willdennis
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Re: Towing w/out weight dist -- am I being too conservative?
Welp, used just the ball mount from the BlueOx, and towed it from the RV mechanic's place back to where we store the TT (about 20 min's away, no highways.) Noticed the ride was "bouncier" than what I'm used to, but nothing too bad. The TV didn't pop up more than 1/4" in front once hitched, so that seems good. But still, I am def going with WD hitch for the ride's sake. The BlueOx my buddy gave to me is missing a few pieces, one of which is needed for functionality ("chain sway return loop", needed for anti-sway) so look like a new hitch is going to get bought. On the P3 hitch side, WOW -- the upper spindle bearing pairs were all completely shot -- my mechanic removed and disposed of the uppermost pair on each side, but the lower pair were heavily worn, and the congealed grease full of metal filings! top roller bearing cone assembly worn thru: upper spindles with top bearings removed: bottom roller bearing wear: Can't wait to see the bottom spindles... :-/ And this after 4 years of use with an estimated ~1000mi/yr trip mileage, and hitch covered (along with TT) every year off-season... Doesn't seem right to me that "the best hitch in the world" would fail like this.382Views0likes0CommentsTowing w/out weight dist -- am I being too conservative?
Hi all, I have been towing since 2010, first with a 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500, where on the first TT I had (bought used) I used a Reese WD hitch that came with it (Dual Cam model), but then went to a ProPride 3P when I got my current TT in 2017. In 2018, I got a much better TV (GMC gasser 2500) which of course has a much better towing capacity, and kept using the ProPride with that. After my first trip of this season, I noticed the ProPride hitch head on the TT didn't move as smoothly as it should, and removed the top pivot "hubcaps", and found that the left-hand bearing assembly was all rusty (water intrusion) and that the topmost roller bearing had cracked open (!) Towed it over to my RV mechanic who inspected both upper pivots (each contain two roller-bearing assemblies) and he tells me all four are bad! (who knows about the bottom two pivots bearings...) So, because of this and other PP issues (hitching can be a real drag), I'm done with the ProPride... Told my RV mechanic to remove it from the TT, and he did. But, dumb luck, my sister's boyfriend just got rid of his TT, and has a 2008 BlueOx SwayPro with 1000-lb bars that he's glad to loan to me, so I went over and got it from him. Unfortunately, my RV mechanic said he will not install any hitch that he doesn't sell (and at present, he can only get Fastway e2 hitches, which I don't want.) So, I'm faced with towing the TT just on the ball, at least to another place that installs customer-provided hitches (I actually found one that's 15 min's away from my RV mech.) Both my RV mech, as well as my wife who looked in my GMC owner's manual, asked why I couldn't just tow on the ball without a WD hitch from now on (we were supposed to go out on a trip yesterday, which got cancelled anyways for other reasons.) The owner's manual says that WD hitch is "Optional" with TT weights of up to 20K lbs (my particular model is rated to tow up to 13K lbs max.) I guess I'm just (a) used to towing with a WD hitch, and (b) very conservative saftey-wise (don't want any harm to come to my family, and secondarily the TV which I love, or the TT, from being involved in a towing-related accident...) Am I being way too conservative here? Relevant facts: - unladen TT weight: 5225 lbs - TT GVWR: 6250 lbs (guesstimating that our laden TT is +/- 6000 lbs) - est tounge weight: 750 lbs - calculated max TV tounge weight: 1100 lbs Your thoughts please?5.4KViews0likes21CommentsWhat are some good lake cg’s In NJ/PA/NY/DE area?
We currently live near Trenton in NJ. One of our favorite campgrounds that we stay at each year is Otter Lake in the Poconos in PA. (In fact, that’s where I’m posting from now!) I’m looking for other campgrounds in the general mid-eastern seaboard area with lakes (bonus for lakeside sites and one with a bit more space between sites - hate the “RV parking lot” campgrounds...) What are some favorites you have found?1.8KViews0likes10Commentstime for new shoes...
Hi all, I currently have Bridgestone Dueler AT tires on my 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500, which came with the truck when I bought it new. The have the following code on the side: P265/65R18 112S M+S I'm at 58K miles, and the tread is worn down enough for me to want to replace them (they are warranted for 50K miles.) I'm considering going with Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires. They have a P265/65R18 tire (part # 02633) that only differs in the speed rating ("T" instead of "S".) Before I pull the trigger on these, anything else I should consider? (Other manufacturer, other ratings, etc.) These Michelins were the highest rated light truck tire in Consumer Reports last truck tire ratings (also highest priced) so they seem good to me. I'm hauling a ~5,500# laden TT about 6-7 times a year; other than that, the truck is a daily driver. I also don't do any off-road stuff with the truck. Thanks! Will595Views0likes3CommentsRe: Can I safely exceed the GVWR and payload on my TV?
Need-A-Vacation wrote: Have you actually weighed your rig combo at a CAT Scale? Yes, and the results tied in nicely with my estimation spreadsheet. Need-A-Vacation wrote: Have you add any accessories to your Chevy: step bars, tonneau cover/truck topper, etc? Yes, and the weights for that are reflected in the spreadsheet. Need-A-Vacation wrote: Did you install the 3.73 gear set? If not, it was my understanding that only the Max Tow trucks with the 6.2 had the 3.73's. The 5.3 trucks had a max of the 3.42's. I do have the 3.42 gear ratio, which allows (per Silverado 1500 brochure) a max 9500# tow load. Of course, I can't get near that without exceeding other specs... Here's a pic of the spreadsheet I developed showing the calcs for my current TT...285Views0likes0CommentsRe: Can I safely exceed the GVWR and payload on my TV?
Thanks everyone for the info and opinions... I just didn't know if the published weight ratings are from the legal team or the engineers :) I have found lots of good info in this thread. Guess I'll just have to make a decision based on all the info I've absorbed here and elsewhere... Nite all!285Views0likes0CommentsRe: Can I safely exceed the GVWR and payload on my TV?
fla-gypsy wrote: You can exceed it but no one on this forum can definitively tell you that it is safe. It's the one time that something goes wrong that can have serious consequences. Make your choice Am looking for opinion consensus and new information that others may have, not expecting any definitive answers... I just surmised that it *may* be safe to *somewhat* exceed the different max weight ratings. Of course in a perfect world I would not, but perfect is sometimes the enemy of the good :)448Views0likes0CommentsRe: Can I safely exceed the GVWR and payload on my TV?
Fisherman wrote: Slownsy wrote: You started with 4800 100lb over and want to go to 5900 not 250 over but 1100 and as it is larger you will properly ad more. Is it safe? I don't think so. Frank X2 Some days I just wonder and then don't even bother to respond. Some people really need to see Dr Phil..WTH are you thinking. You guys do realize that not all the extra TT weight transfers to the TV, right? The hitch weight goes up, yes, but not by the total extra weight of the TT :R448Views0likes0CommentsCan I safely exceed the GVWR and payload on my TV?
Hi all, When I got my brand new TV 6 years ago (details in sig below), and was shopping for my first TT, I was kindly educated by some of the folks on this board on how to properly estimate how much trailer I could buy (dry weight, then estimate the "people & stuff" load) and how that would fit the max load capacity parameters of my TV (hitch weight, payload, GVWR and GCWR.) So with this information, I constructed a nice Excel spreadsheet that does all of the math for me. The current TT is around 4800lbs dry; according to my spreadsheet calcs, I am about 100lbs over GVWR (1.4 percent) fully laden for camping. I feel the TT has been a good fit for my truck, and easy to tow (although, I haven't gone up any big mountains with it...) Now I'm shopping around for the next TT. I'm looking at a nice TT that runs 5900lbs dry; that would put me about 250lbs (3.6 percent) over the GVWR, and also 100lbs over max payload (5.2 percent) My question is, how concerned do I have to be about going over the published weight max's of the TV (especially now that I don't have to worry about invalidating a warranty...) Are these max's on the conservative side, and by how much can I safely exceed them realistically (like maybe up to 5 percent ??) If it's definately NOT a good idea to go over these maxes, what could I do to increase the payload and GVWR maxes on my TV? (other than getting a bigger TV of course :P) Thanks all! Will8.2KViews0likes49Comments
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