New Member

[Rmike]

Wife and I just bought a 2022 (new) Coleman Lantern 251TQ. TV is a 2017 GMC Sierra slt.
Any suggestions on upgrades or loading/towing or setting up the R6 wd hitch are welcome.

[persistent]

2022 (new) Coleman Lantern 251TQ. TV is a 2017 GMC Sierra slt.
Any suggestions on upgrades or loading/towing or setting up the R6 wd hitch

Follow setup instructions for WDH.
Keep speed down. Many owner travel a 60 - 65 mph.
Start by camping in your driveway.
After good driveway camping, go to local campground.
Expect to find issues to be resolved.

Get make and model numbers for each appliance in the TT. Get manuals for each. Down load them to be available when the internet is not available.

For dry camping or boondocking, get a current measuring battery status monitor. The typical voltage idiot light monitors are difficult to learn to use.

Learn systems one at a time.
Check wheel bolt torque after 50 miles or so.

Lead acid batteries need proper maintenance.
Check water level after charging. Charging consumes water.
Store them fully charged. Fully charged means 14 to 18 hours. This is necessary to clean all lead sulfate off plates before storage.
Recharge 14 hours before battery terminal voltage drops below 12.4 volts.
See attachment for different storage methods.

[Rmike]

All good advice.
Thanks ��

[chily3]

What is the weight of trailer loaded ready for travel. What the capacity of the truck?

[persistent]

Good sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=new+...=irv2.com#ip=1

https://www.dutchmenowners.org/forum...?searchid=2808

[ewarnerusa]

Originally Posted by Rmike

Wife and I just bought a 2022 (new) Coleman Lantern 251TQ. TV is a 2017 GMC Sierra slt.
Any suggestions on upgrades or loading/towing or setting up the R6 wd hitch are welcome.

2022 Dutchmen coleman lantern toy hauler floorplan 251tq
I'm not too versed in toy haulers, but they tend to be heavy because you're loading up heavy toys in them like 4 wheelers. I don't know quite how tongue weight is affected, but my hunch would be they have a heavy tongue dry weight so that when a heavy toy is parked in the trailer garage, it doesn't offset the tongue weight too much and allows for enough tongue weight for safe towing.

Weight
Dry Weight
5,842 lbs.

Payload Capacity
3,838 lbs.

Hitch Weight
870 lbs.

870 lb tongue weight dry is 15% of the trailer dry weight, so assume the same fully loaded and that is (5842+3843)*.15=1452 lb hitch weight. If a heavy toy parked in the trailer garage tweaks that 15% ratio down a bit, you're still looking at a lot of tongue weight for a light duty truck. What is the max payload rating stated on the driver's door pillar? The engine is probably strong enough to pull the trailer around, but it is going to feel and drive like it is loaded up to and beyond the max payload capacity.

[Rmike]

GVWR 7000LB
GVWR frt 3850lb
GVWR RR 3850
No GCVW listed but tow capacity is up to 9400lb.
Towing it 120 miles home was fun without the WDH. I'm a little concerned as it only got 8mpg unloaded.

[ewarnerusa]

8 mpg sounds about right. Loaded or empty, it'll be about the same. It's the aerodynamics of the giant box that kills the mileage. Heavier trailer will just be slower to accelerate and decelerate.

There should also be a max cargo carrying capacity provided on the door pillar.

[franktafl]

Change tires!

[Rmike]

No gross combined vehicle weight anywhere.
I ran the model # c15543. The chart gives a 10,100 towing capacity

[Rmike]

I wish I could afford that right now, the ones on it look pretty cheesy

[ewarnerusa]

Originally Posted by Rmike

No gross combined vehicle weight anywhere.
I ran the model # c15543. The chart gives a 10,100 towing capacity

I was looking for payload or cargo carrying capacity. That would be GVW - curb weight. Usually it is stated on the door pillar somewhere or on the driver door saying your total payload including all passengers should not exceed ####, which would be the 7000 - curb weight. I did plug that model number into Google and first result showed some payload capacities for Chevy Silverado which I have to admit are higher than I expected. Should make for a better tow than I was imagining.
CHEVY SILVERADO PAYLOAD CAPACITY

In light duty trucks, the issue with RV towing is nearly always the payload vs a towing spec. The trailer tongue weight is carried by your tow vehicle as payload, in addition to whatever other payload you have in the truck like passengers and gear.

[Rmike]

There's a bit of conflicting info between online and owners manual.
My truck is a crew cab short bed slt 5.3 v8 6speed auto 3:42 gears
The model # chart says 10,100 lbs trailer weight while the rpo code and owners manual say 9,400 max trailer weight. With gcwr at 15,000lbs. That leaves 5,600lbs for truck gvw correct?

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by Rmike

I wish I could afford that right now, the ones on it look pretty cheesy

4 Goodyears from tire rack will be less than $400.00. Good investment verses RV undercarriage repair. Plus they give a better speed rating. Lots of us have had experience with stock tires.

[Rmike]

Originally Posted by franktafl

4 Goodyears from tire rack will be less than $400.00. Good investment verses RV undercarriage repair. Plus they give a better speed rating. Lots of us have had experience with stock tires.

I've heard some horror stories and good tires are on my list esp before we head out west. Just don't have the spare $ right now.

[ewarnerusa]

Originally Posted by Rmike

There's a bit of conflicting info between online and owners manual.
My truck is a crew cab short bed slt 5.3 v8 6speed auto 3:42 gears
The model # chart says 10,100 lbs trailer weight while the rpo code and owners manual say 9,400 max trailer weight. With gcwr at 15,000lbs. That leaves 5,600lbs for truck gvw correct?

My hunch is they used an unladen truck (truck with no cargo and just the driver) in order to get the largest trailer weight value in the formula for the gcwr. So 5600 lbs would be the truck with no cargo and just the driver. So the truck gvw you see on your label of 7000 - 5600 lbs is 1400 payload capacity. Which is right in the ballpark of what I would expect in light duty half ton. And that's the value that tends to get eaten up by a heavy TT tongue weight. This is why suggestions from RV users/resources will encourage a heavy duty truck for a heavier TT. Whereas a trailer or truck salesman will point to the max towing capacity and claim that all is well.
Now I'm not going to say what is actually doable, that's up to you and your comfort level. I am personally guilty of a bit more trailer than my truck's payload numbers provide based on this logic and my truck acts like it. I can get to where I'm headed, but I've been lusting after a new tow vehicle for years...

[acdii]

All the info you need is on the labels. On the truck, you have a payload, AKA Cargo Carrying Capacity that shows how much available payload from the factory. That is the empty truck with a full tank of gas. You also have one on the trailer. Take the CCC on the trailer, and subtract it from the GVWR of the trailer then multiply that by .13 to get an idea of what the tongue weight can be at 13%. Subtract that from the trucks CCC and that will tell you what you have available for people and items in the truck. Just remember that everything you add to the trailer can add to that TW and subtract from the trucks payload.



If you are near a CAT scale, you can hook up and take the trailer there and get front, rear and trailer axle weights, which will help set up the WDH.



Goal is to return your empty truck front axle weight with the hitch, so you want weights with and without the trailer attached.



A preliminary WDH setup to get you to the scale is to measure front and rear wheel well height unloaded, then hook up and try to get the front wheel well back to it's original height with the WDH. If you do that, you should have it properly set up, but should be done with the trailer loaded, ready for travel with water in the FWT.



You need the scales to make sure you aren't over the GAWR or tire ratings.



This to me is THE most important thing out of everything you do when towing an RV. A properly set up WDH makes for the safest travels. Everything else is secondary.