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Towing a 6000 lb. Travel Trailer

25K views 48 replies 15 participants last post by  HAPPY HUNTER 59 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone,

First time poster here, I have read these forums for a while and I love hearing everyone's input.
We are looking to upgrade our current travel trailer (dry weight 4700 lbs.) to a new one with a dry weight of 6000 lbs. My truck is a 2013 Silverado 1500 6.2 with the Max Trailering Package with a 3.73 rear axle. It tows my current TT very well. I normally have about 1000 lbs. of cargo loaded between the pickup and the TT along with 600 lbs. of passengers. Adding all these weights together with the weight of the truck comes to around 13,000 lbs. GCVW. My truck is rated at 16,000 GCVW. That's 81% of max GCVW. All of our traveling is done in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and western Maryland where the hills are pretty steep at places! My question for you guys is 81% to close to the max GCVW for a safe, comfortable trip. Some of our trips are 6-8 hours long.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will give me advice or an opinion. :)
 
#3 ·
Based on all you have said, your current trailer is the "sweet spot" for your truck. The trailer you are looking at w/cargo and passengers is too much for your truck. Yea, the RV salesmen told you that you could tow it. In theory you can, but it's too much.

Keep what you have and keep out of payments.
 
#4 ·
I'd agree with no. 81% is way to high. Your about perfect with what you have as the last person stated. Plus vehicle motors arent made to be ran at full throttle and a full load, although it is a truck... more like 50-60%. Sure you COULD, but you would be MUCH better off with a 3/4 ton if you're trying to upgrade.
 
#6 ·
With what he is describing he will be very near (or possibly over) his GVWR. He carries a lot of weight IN ADDITION to his trailer. This isn't about anything else other than keeping the OP AND HIS FAMILY SAFE.

The downside of half-tons is the GVWR. This is beside the point on what he may have under the hood.

The weight the truck is rated to handle can be found on the yellow and white sticker located in the driver's door jam. It is listed with the tire sizes. It will say something as follows-The combined weight of passengers and cargo shall not exceed XXXXX.

With a 6,000 pound trailer he is going to have a tongue weight between 720 and 750 pounds. That's probably half the GVWR right there. Also, please remember he is starting out with an empty trialer-it is not ready to camp at the DRY WEIGHT.
 
#7 ·
I travel alot with my uncle to car shows pulling a camper at about 11k. His last truck was a 3/4 ton suburban.

We had new tires installed on the camper and it drove great for about two hours. Then all of a sudden one of the tires threw a band our something and that suburban was thrown so hard. My uncles an amazing driver, grew up on a car lot, plowed for over thirty years, drove truck and heavy equipment when he was younger, just one of those guys that loves to drive and loves to drive well. I swear to God the passenger side came off the ground and it was like a scene from the movies, he pulled the wheel right and drove the truck down and right before the tires hit straightened out and slammed the brakes. Two truckers stopped traffic on the 90 until we got off the road and changed our pants. They pulled over and walked up and told my uncle that he was one hell of a driver...

Long story short, he traded that in for a heavy towing 2500 and got a trailer with better weight distribution and the best anti sway hitch he could find.

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#8 ·
Here' some additional info about my truck. Along with a weight distributing hitch I have Reese Dual Cam anti-sway bars and I have Air Lift air bags installed on the truck. The GVW is 7300 lbs. and the max. tow weight is 10400 lbs. The truck is a 4x4 crew cab short bed.

While looking thru the GM 2013 towing guide I found it interesting that my truck is actually rated to tow more than the 2500HD with a 3.73 rear axle (9400 for the 2500HD vs 10400 for the 1500 with the maximun tow package. Both models have a 16000 GVW. Now with a 4.10 rear axle the 2500HD numbers go to 20500 GVW and 13000 max tow.

P.S. Thanks for all comments so far. Definitely some food for thought.
 
#11 ·
03pewternblack said:
The safe limit and GWVR are two different things.
The GVWR is located in the door jam on a yellow and white sticker. That is the weight the manufacturer recommends (and which you will be held liable for going over in case of an accident) that the vehicle can safely haul. This amount includes trailer tongue weight, passengers, and cargo. When GVWR is calculated from the factory it is including only the driver.

You cannot (legally) increase this amount by adding airbags, fancy hitches, or whatever.

Here is the info-
http://www.onlinetowingguide.com/guidelines/gvwr.html
 
#12 ·
The sticker on the door states that the weight of passengers and cargo should not exceed 1829 lbs

Passengers (not including driver) 300 lbs
Cargo in truck 500 lbs
Tongue weight 700 lbs

TOTAL 1500 lbs

It sure adds up quick! These weights are the same for my current trailer and the one we are considering except for approx. 100 lbs tongue weight. I think I need to leave some stuff at home!
 
#13 ·
That's the thing with half tons-you can't (legally) haul that much. I think you are a little low on tongue weight-it's going to be in the neighborhood of 12-15% of total trailer weight. And remember we are talking dry-not ready to camp.

Honestly-bottom line. As we all suspected your going to be right up at your limits on the new trailer. It's not where I would want to be. However, the final choice is yours.

Good luck on whatever you decide!
 
#14 ·
I'd tow it... but that's just me. As long as you don't have a tire failure (which you probably won't), I can't see anything breaking on the truck or trailer. It really comes down to "what am I comfortable towing?". How much have you towed in the past?
 
#15 ·
As stated in my OP my current TT is 4800 lbs. dry. I always take more firewood than I need and way more tools and gear than I ever use. I can probably cut 300 lbs. of stuff out. That would make the TT of interest less than 1000 lbs. more weight. My current rig tows like a dream with lots of power and no handling issues at all. I guess my question to you guys is do you think the additional weight (of course staying within all weight limits) will be too much to deal with. I drive defensively and allow lots of room for slowing down and stopping. The bottom line is it's all about getting there and back safely.

To rephrase the question, are today's truck built to safely haul and tow the max weights they have listed for their vehicles. Sorry for being long winded and I do appreciate everyone's opinion.
It's always good to hear from people who have been there done that and also people who state the facts, numbers don't lie!
 
#16 ·
Because you are in the mountains I would play it on the safe side. Now if it were me in the prairies where max speeds are 65 mph and I don't tow very far I would be more inclined to get closer to max. Previous to getting my Silverado I towed a 3600 lb dry TT with a midsize Nissan Frontier and it was a pretty comfortable tow. Pulling that same trailer with the Silverado and I didn't feel any difference between the two. If I was towing in challenging conditions that might have been a different story.

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#17 ·
Towing in the mountains IMHO I would not want to be near the max. I really don't want to play the "safety card" but towing near the max narrows the margin of safety (again IMHO). So if you agree, is getting a new trailer worth decreasing the margin of safety to you AND YOUR PASSENGERS?

It sounds like a case of severe "new trailer fever!"
 
#20 ·
That was a very interesting topic to read! People have towed and hauled some pretty amazing stuff!

I had a 2011 Silverado 1500 with a 5.3 which would drop to 2nd gear on long steep hills with my current TT which my 6.2 will pull without even breathing hard. I suspect if I get the new heavier TT my 6.2 will hit 2nd on the same hills. But then again the 5.3 had a 3.42 rear vs the 3.73 in my 6.2.
 
#21 ·
So my cargo capacity on my 2011-Silverado Crew Cab-2WD-5.3 is 1440 pounds. You gained about 400 pounds (1829) getting a new truck. I am assuming due to the nature of this topic you really anticipated that your gain would be more significant than it turned out.
 
#23 ·
Fellow Owners, I appreciate all that I just read. I have a 2009 1500 5.3 with a 3.42 rear and was looking at a either a 5th wheel with a 7196 dry weight or a TT with 6876 dry weight. GMC Spec sheet says my model with my equipment can handle 5,000 on a hitch, 9,391 with a weight distribution hitch and 9,200 with a fifth wheel hitch. Reading all the comments I'd be in for it. I guess it could handle it as the mfg states but I may be crawling down the road and the engine and trans screaming!!
 
#24 ·
^^^

It's not the trailer weight-it's the payload. You need to look at the yellow and white sticker. It will say something as follows-The cargo and passengers for this vehicle shall not exceed XXX (probably around 1,400 pounds). With a half-ton you will not be able to tow anywhere near your limit and carry passengers and BE LEGAL.

BOTH TRAILERS ARE TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR TRUCK! There are PLENTY of trailers that weigh around 5,000 pounds dry that will be ideal for your truck. Remember-slides are heavy-3 slides about 1,000 pounds. Buy a trailer-not a condo on wheels! :)
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
OP you'd be fine pulling that trailer. I'm pulling a 38' fifth wheel with a shipping weight of 10500 I added a second air and when I put truck and trailer on the scales it weighed right at 17500 with a light load on the truck and trailer. I pulled it from south Georgia to Norfolk Nebraska without a hitch. I got a thread on here about my truck and trailer.
20130930_141844.jpg


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