Originally Posted by JRTJH
GACamper,
You didn't miss much in your calculations. The net weight of the Excursion includes a full tank of fuel and 150 lbs allowance for the driver. After that, everything must be deducted from the remaining payload (ior added to the vehicle weight) So, the net weight of the Excursion is 7700 lbs, That's full of fuel. If you weigh 200 lbs, add another 50 to that weight. Then add your wife, kids, the DVD's, dog and the coloring books, etc. That's now the "weight of your Excursion" Deduct that total from the GVW and what's left is the maximum for your hitch and trailer tongue.
Hope that makes some sense to you. And yes, as I said earlier, the Excursion can tow like an OX, but it simply doesnt have the payload to carry a trailer in the 35 ft + class. Actually, no SUV does. With a 1300 lb tongue weight, you'd be pushing my F250 to it's limit with 6 people and a Hensley hitch. And I've got a 2700 lb payload.
Face it, 35 ft trailers are in the F350 class for tow vehicles. That being said, there are some diesel F350/C3500 vans with 9+ passenger seating that will support a 1300 lb tongue weight. GM recently stopped producing passenger vans for private use, but you're looking at 4 or 5 year old vehicles, maybe you should consider a F350 diesel LONG wheelbase van. I've got a friend in Witchita that has 6 kids and he tows a 32' trailer behind his F350 fifteen passenger van and the kids pretty much have more than enough room. When you knock on his trailer door in the morning, there's bodies scattered everywhere. In beds, on the sofa, on the dinette, on the floor in pallets and even tucked into bed with mom and dad. But, they travel and spend time together. Back home each kid has their own bedroom and they have a bath between each two bedrooms, so there's 6 kids, 6 bedrooms and 3 baths for them to share. In the RV, they don't even all have a bed, but they get along just great.
I'm just concerned that you may get the idea from here that it's OK to "maybe just try the Sequoia" with a 35' trailer. I strongly believe that if you do, you're taking a greater risk that I'd ever want to put my family in.
Rving is fun, it's a great way to spend vacations, but when you do it by jeapordizing your family's safety, it's not good.
Maybe rethinking the RV purpose will help? You "live" at home, you really don't need to take all of those conveniences on the road with you. King size beds, room to "shoo" the kids to another part of the RV behind a door so it's quiet for you to watch the news, a place for everyone to play on rainy days and still give you and DW room to relax..... Is an RV for a family vacation really supposed to be that luxurious? or is home supposed to be that way and the RV is where you learn to live closer so you can go visit those special places....
We all make concessions when we RV. My DW and I live in a 2500 SqFt house with 3 baths and 3 bedrooms, we have lots of places to "escape from each other" at home. When we RV, we're in 280 SqFt with one bath, one TV, one room to "live in" and a small bedroom with only a bed and a closet. There's no chair in the bedroom to go read a book, no place to escape the DW's chatting when I'm trying to study something that's complex and it's raining.....
Maybe you should think of an RV as a bunch of beds and a kitchenette with a "make do" bathroom so you can "get by on the road" while you travel to those neat places you want the kids to see.
There'll be time enough later for you and the DW to enjoy the comforts of a more luxurious RV, but with 400-600 lbs of kids (within the next few years) you're just not going to find an SUV that will carry them and tow a 35'+ RV.
Just my opinion, yours and others may differ......
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