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Old 02-24-2016, 10:33 PM   #1
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Post What can I expect

I bought a 2015 Chevy crew cab 4x4 Silverado, they told me towing max is 9200 pounds, I have 2016 34 foot Dutchmen 302 RESL weight 7200 pounds. I have added another 6 to 800 pounds with fuel, propane, passengers, clothing bedding and dogs. I have towed the camper locally couple hundred miles fairly decent sized hills. Did not have any problems, seemed to be plenty of power, handled good, gas mileage about 10 to 11 mpg.
I plan on traveling to upper new York, then to Boston area then to new York area this fall. I want to spend a month camping. Chevy said oh no problem i should not have any issues. I just dont want to get on the road and break down, tear up a transmission or what ever. I only have 10,000 miles on the truck with tow package
Anyone have any advise, please!!!!!
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Old 02-24-2016, 10:34 PM   #2
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Oh I live in Oklahoma!!!
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Old 02-24-2016, 11:22 PM   #3
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You should be good. I have a trailer similar in weight that I tow with a Nissan Titian. The truck works hard, but it does it just fine.
I would recommend that you load up and head to the scales. You can find them at most truck stops. Usually in 1/2 ton trucks, we hit the max gross vehicle weight before the max tow weight of the trailer. All of your weight information should be in the owners manual of your truck. When I weighed mine, I was within 150 LBS of the max vehicle weight when loaded, full tank of gas, wife and dogs.
If you have a transmission temp gauge, its something to keep a eye on. If the tranny temperature is getting high, down shift, and the higher RPM's will help lower the temp.
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Old 02-25-2016, 02:40 AM   #4
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Mikjan3129, I'm guessing your truck is a 1/2 Ton, I have been driving Chev Trucks pulling Trailers, or Truck Campers, since 2000, The main thing is Mileage, which your at 10,000 miles, so your OK, just as long as you don't overheat the engine and Trans, because of hills and Hot weather. Since your getting over 10 miles to the gallon, your not running high speeds. Just watch your overall weight, When we go Dry camping, we add more Water, bring extra Food and clothes, so our RV weight goes up, and sometimes we go extra shopping and pick up items that add weight….The main thing is you will be OK on your trip….
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Old 02-26-2016, 01:27 AM   #5
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Previously we had a 1995 Chevy 1500 350 4x4 Suburban, with 150k miles on original engine & tranny, then bought a 2004 24' TH and towed it to Zion. We were ok until the 12% grade outside of Hurricane. Fried the valves on the 350 and limped home, so don't try anything like THAT and you should be ok.
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Old 02-26-2016, 08:12 PM   #6
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Thanks everyone

I am glad to see so many responses and they make me feel better, the guys at the dealerships said no problem with the towing but we know how they say anything for a sale.
When we go we will load very little food and enough clothes for a week. The a water we will get at destination.
Again thanks for all the input. Happy travels everyone:
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Old 03-01-2016, 06:17 AM   #7
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I am kind of in the same boat (err RV). I'm getting ready for a cross country drive with my Denalia 287RE 8,000 lb's empty. I have a Toyota Tundra that I will be pulling it with. It is rated for 10,600 lbs.

I had the same thing, RV dealer said there would be no problems. Did a lot of research and it seems like I am ok. However, most of the feedback on here says that it's less of a question of can we tow our trailers, we can. The problem is more that the trailer weighs more then our trucks. So stopping and controlling it can be an issue.

I guess we will both find out. I am certainly not buying a new truck this week.
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Old 03-01-2016, 12:38 PM   #8
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I understand how you feel about towing after a dealership tells you that it will be okay. I went from South Carolina to Idaho and back last year with a 2004 Chevy 1500 4x4 Silverado pulling our Kodiak that weighs in at about 7200#. Our first TT, a 2003 Pioneer, weighed in at 6900# and we were pulling it with a 1998 Land Rover Discovery in high gear: we were severely overloaded in high and in low we could only make 45 mph. Which is why we ended up with a 2004 Chevy!
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Old 03-01-2016, 04:32 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF View Post
I am kind of in the same boat (err RV). I'm getting ready for a cross country drive with my Denalia 287RE 8,000 lb's empty. I have a Toyota Tundra that I will be pulling it with. It is rated for 10,600 lbs.

I had the same thing, RV dealer said there would be no problems. Did a lot of research and it seems like I am ok. However, most of the feedback on here says that it's less of a question of can we tow our trailers, we can. The problem is more that the trailer weighs more then our trucks. So stopping and controlling it can be an issue.

I guess we will both find out. I am certainly not buying a new truck this week.
Mike - be careful about your Denali's weight. I have one too, the gross on the sticker says it can be as high as 11,500lbs. Check yours and see what it says. It's common knowledge that these things tend to weigh more than they tell you. I can only guess once you load your stuff in it, you'll be close to 10K. I'm going to weigh mine in two weeks when it goes in for service, you may want to weigh yours as soon as you have a chance so you KNOW what you have. I'm far from being a member of the weight police,,,,,,, just want to give you a heads up.
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Old 03-02-2016, 01:48 AM   #10
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Try this spreadsheet. It may have typical TT/TV specs, but just change the numbers to your own, and the calculations will update. VERY informative!
Oh, sorry, this board doesn't allow an xls spreadsheet as an allowable upload. - OK, here's a link: http://www.popthetop.com/files/Towin...yWorksheet.xls
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Old 03-02-2016, 04:21 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by MartyG View Post
Try this spreadsheet. It may have typical TT/TV specs, but just change the numbers to your own, and the calculations will update. VERY informative!
Oh, sorry, this board doesn't allow an xls spreadsheet as an allowable upload. - OK, here's a link: http://www.popthetop.com/files/Towin...yWorksheet.xls
To bad the dealers don't sit the buyer down and work through something like this with them, but then that could cost a sale.
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