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Old 03-10-2019, 10:28 AM   #21
Controller23
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Originally Posted by Cleghorn Kid View Post
Congrats on your new Keystone 239ML travel trailer. I trust you will have many years of enjoyment with it.



Regarding your tow vehicle (TV) I agree with Sourdough that it will be a struggle to pull with your Tacoma. We also live in Wisconsin and you will never realize how hilly Wisconsin is until you start pulling a trailer. We have a Keystone Passport 2510BH and used to pull it with a 2012 Tahoe with the 5.3L engine and tow package with 3.42 rear ratio. It was rated to pull 8400 lbs. It towed ok but I had to get a running start to get up hills and keep RPMs under 3500. But if winds were over 15 mph, which they often are here, it was a struggle to tow, even with an Equalizer hitch system. I added LT tires to our TV and that helped but it still swayed in winds over 15 mph.



So I researched and found I had 3 TV problems:

The Tahoe had coil rear springs which gave a nice ride but not much stability. Leaf springs give added stability.

The Tahoe wheelbase was too short for the trailer. The Tahoe had 116” wheelbase which is good up to 21.5’ trailer. (See RV Consumers Group (rv.org) for guidelines) For our 25’ trailer we needed at least 124” wheelbase and longer the better.

The Tahoe had 320 HP but more would be better with all the hills.



In conclusion I decided I needed to upgrade our TV to a pickup truck and ended up with a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 with the Max Tow package. This was a nice alternative instead of going up to a 2500. It rides as nice as the Tahoe even with the beefed up leaf springs; a longer wheelbase of 143”; increased 105 HP at 425 HP with 6.2L engine. This made a significant improvement pulling our trailer. No more white knuckles pulling in the wind or hills.



I hope this helps. Good luck and happy camping.


Thank you. I think I mentioned above I decided to upgrade to a new Silverado with the 5.3 and regular advanced tow package, for a tow rating of 9600lb. Don’t think I’ll have a problem now.
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Old 03-10-2019, 10:32 AM   #22
Windsormike6
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Welcome

Congrats and welcome to the site great information here on just about anything about rving
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Old 03-10-2019, 06:53 PM   #23
Cleghorn Kid
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Sorry I didn't see you picked up the Silverado already. You should be set. Have fun!
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Old 03-11-2019, 12:13 PM   #24
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Congrats yet again. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
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Old 03-13-2019, 04:13 AM   #25
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As someone who just recently upgraded my truck after pulling my 2017 Passport 217M with a Dodge Ram 1500. I would highly advise you get at least a 3/4 truck. I bought my Passport because it was well within my towing capacity (8,250lbs) and speaking from experience aside from the good amount of power from the 5.7l hemi every other aspect was a little scary. Even with an E2 Equalizer my truck squat so much that every bump went right through the rear axle to the frame cause all of my suspension travel was gone. Especially once I filled the water tank. I adjusted the WD to reduce the squat and all it did was twist my reciver on my truck. Keep in mind that my trailer fully loaded (water, propane, 2 batteries and things packed into the camper) never exceeded 6300lbs. Your trailer is larger than mine so without looking it up I'd say your loaded weight is much higher than mine. I bought a 2014 Ram 2500 CC Diesel at the end of December and my white knuckle towing days are long gone. On top of its ability to tow so well I sometimes forget my trailer is behind me I'm getting better fuel milage with my trailer attached than I got in my 1500 with nothing on it. I may be speaking out of line but it sounds to me like you were another campingworld victim. Kind of like this person in this picture.
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Old 03-13-2019, 05:54 AM   #26
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Yeah you will definitely be ok pulling it with the Silverado. I have the exact trailer you have and pull it with a 2011 ram 1500 with the 5.7 and it pulls great. Never have I had an issue towing it. As long as you have your weight distribution hitch dialed in you will be good.
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Old 03-13-2019, 06:09 AM   #27
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As someone who just recently upgraded my truck after pulling my 2017 Passport 217M with a Dodge Ram 1500. I would highly advise you get at least a 3/4 truck. I bought my Passport because it was well within my towing capacity (8,250lbs) and speaking from experience aside from the good amount of power from the 5.7l hemi every other aspect was a little scary. Even with an E2 Equalizer my truck squat so much that every bump went right through the rear axle to the frame cause all of my suspension travel was gone. Especially once I filled the water tank. I adjusted the WD to reduce the squat and all it did was twist my reciver on my truck. Keep in mind that my trailer fully loaded (water, propane, 2 batteries and things packed into the camper) never exceeded 6300lbs. Your trailer is larger than mine so without looking it up I'd say your loaded weight is much higher than mine. I bought a 2014 Ram 2500 CC Diesel at the end of December and my white knuckle towing days are long gone. On top of its ability to tow so well I sometimes forget my trailer is behind me I'm getting better fuel milage with my trailer attached than I got in my 1500 with nothing on it. I may be speaking out of line but it sounds to me like you were another campingworld victim. Kind of like this person in this picture.


That sounds like a problem with your trucks suspension to me. I have absolutely no fear of towing my camper with a Silverado.

And yes, a 3/4 ton diesel will out tow any 1500, by design. I however have no desire to get a 3/4 since it won’t fit in my garage and certainly don’t want a diesel.
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Old 03-13-2019, 07:42 AM   #28
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You seem knowledgeable on this forum. Any ideas if the Andersen WDH is any good? The one with the chains instead of bars
I'm using the Andersen WDH with my soon-to-be replaced Jayco 26BH (new 2521RL in 10 days).
I've been happy with the system after getting it dialed in. Very good sway control especially compared to the previous Harbor Freight round bar with friction sway bar.
And as someone else posted there are nylon(?) 'springs' that compress at the end of the chains and they mitigate the bounce. I had one fail and contacted Andersen. They sent two new ones overnight, no charge.
The Andersen is also relatively light weight and no need for grease anywhere.
I have never used any other WDH besides these two so my experience is rather narrow.
FWIW: My B-I-L is very happy with his Equal-i-zer.
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Old 03-14-2019, 04:11 PM   #29
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Take a look at the blue ox swaypro. That’s what I am using with my 239ml and like it a lot. Very easy to hook up and no adjustments needed other than ride height for your initial setup. Definitely not the cheapest but very nice. Plus if you ever upgrade to a bigger travel trailer you only need to buy the bars to match your weight. I believe I have 750 lbs bars on mine.
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Old 03-14-2019, 04:35 PM   #30
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Hey fellow Wisconsinite, about where do you hail from?
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Old 03-15-2019, 12:28 PM   #31
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Hey fellow Wisconsinite, about where do you hail from?


Just north of Milwaukee
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Old 03-15-2019, 03:05 PM   #32
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Just north of Milwaukee
We're on the opposite corners of the state. We're in the NW corner. Hayward area....
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Old 03-15-2019, 03:06 PM   #33
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We're on the opposite corners of the state. We're in the NW corner. Hayward area....


Lovely area, needs more cell towers!
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Old 03-15-2019, 07:39 PM   #34
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Lovely area, needs more cell towers!
Not sure who your carrier is, but, they have a bunch of towers just didnt build them high enough to do much good. They didnt want a blinking red light so they built them shorter. Silly if u ask me..... Some called it light pollution.....
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Old 03-16-2019, 10:29 AM   #35
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Not sure who your carrier is, but, they have a bunch of towers just didnt build them high enough to do much good. They didnt want a blinking red light so they built them shorter. Silly if u ask me..... Some called it light pollution.....


Lol that is dumb. I was in Hayward for work awhile ago and my ATT phone had no service just a mile out of town in any direction
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Old 03-16-2019, 11:07 AM   #36
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Lol that is dumb. I was in Hayward for work awhile ago and my ATT phone had no service just a mile out of town in any direction
Sounds about right..... Verizon does better... Except at my house. That's why we have to keep our landline...
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Old 03-17-2019, 01:18 AM   #37
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Back in the big logging days it was one of the three hottest places on earth....Hayward, Hurley and Hell.
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