Quote:
Originally Posted by Tammie2
Thank you so much for the welcome as well as the initial advice :-)
What i have in my manual is
tow capacity-9700#
& gcwr-16000#
Its a smidge more than the numbers above, but its still close enough :-)
My concerns are mostly in the way of experience over numbers so to speak, numbers are definitely important, however I believe overall experiences speak volumes & are something i cannot get anywhere else from anyone else, so thank you very much for that!!...somewhat like northofu has expressed, maybe the combo would cause "the tail to wag the dog"(love that expression!!)
I am an experienced driver, i have driven well over a million miles(thanks to living all over the US & going back to chicago a few times each year, Plus several cross country moves(one from NY to CA, just me & my dog :-))-not to mention just the love of travel), I have obviously driven in all types of weather & conditions, BUT there is definitely something/everything to be said for having the right set up to make the experience less stressful & more enjoyable-5 kids are typically stressful enough!! I do not want to buy what i believe to be this amazing travel enhancer for my family only to have the driving experience be so horrible that I dread traveling-that's kinda counter intuitive to what I am hoping to achieve here ;-)
Please keep the advice coming!! We will be new to TT ownership on our own & greatly appreciate anything you have to offer!!! I am looking forward to beginning a new adventure, i just want to do my best to start this journey on the right foot!! Enough will go wrong on its own(which is what makes an adventure-&typically some great memories :-)) without me making foreseeable newbie mistakes that could have been avoided by asking for & following the advice of the "seasoned professionals"
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Tammie, "smidges" and "close enough" really don't work when trying to tow a large RV with a large family. You need to "know", not guess, and err on the side of safety....not just wing it.
I've driven way over a million miles myself driving, towing and pulling all kinds of stuff along with many others on here I believe. "Experience" because you've driven a lot is really meaningless when you strap a large RV (sail) behind a vehicle - particularly if the vehicle isn't up to the task. The best "experience" that might come in handy then is how to break the glass on the door that's topside after you skid down the highway on the side of the vehicle. Not trying to be melodramatic, just realistic.
You've obviously never had a "tail wag the dog" experience. If so, you wouldn't love the phrase - it is literally a real life occurrence with a trailer and can end your day very badly (along with whoever else is with you). It isn't funny or cute....it scares the crap out of you.
I know you are excited about this "phase" and think experience trumps weights; that's wrong. Weights trump experience by a long shot. You want to avoid "avoidable" newbie mistakes and that is good. You have come to the most active and knowledgeable RV forum I belong to or know. Towing is serious business and needs to be viewed that way. Can you have fun? Sure. Should you be dead serious with that much weight flying down the highway? Assuredly.
Things to do to help assess; as was asked previously, post the numbers off the stickers inside the driver door with payload, gawr (front/rear) and gvw. You then have a starting point. You will have so many people what are their weights (or combined for all)? Just off the hip I don't see how you can take that many folks and pull it with that van - but the numbers will shed some light.