Potential Purchase - Towing Capacity with Existing Truck

[Dcsdiver]

Hello all,

The wife and I are considering a purchase of a Premier 26RBPR. My existing TV is a 2012 Silverado Crew Cab 6.2 with Max Trailering package. I've been pretty leery of the standard sales pitch of "Of course you can trail that... you have more than enough truck". I've attached some weight data specific to my truck and the trailer, and would appreciate any input. The whole trailering weight thing was somewhat overwhelming at first, but think i've covered my bases.



The delta in GCWR vs actual projected weight is 2323 lbs... Am I OK based on the numbers?

Thanks in advance for all of the assistance folks!

Dcsdiver

[therink]

Hi. It certainly looks like you did your homework. Based on the numbers you provide, you will be well within your trucks gcwr, grar, gfar, but close to your 7200 gvwr. You should be ok. I assume you are going off of the sticker ratings versus the actual weight of the truck. May I suggest that you load up your truck as if you were camping (passengers, full fuel, hitch, firewood, bikes, gear, etc) and hit a scale. Then you will know for sure if you have enough payload to accommodate the 900 lb tongue.
The other thing I would consider is upgrading to E rated LT tires on the truck, if currently equipped with P rated. It will make truck ride a bit rougher but stiffer tire construction will provide more stability for towing and help reduce sway.
Good luck.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by therink

Hi. It certainly looks like you did your homework. Based on the numbers you provide, you will be well within your trucks gcwr, grar, gfar, but close to your 7200 gvwr. You should be ok. I assume you are going off of the sticker ratings versus the actual weight of the truck. May I suggest that you load up your truck as if you were camping (passengers, full fuel, hitch, firewood, bikes, gear, etc) and hit a scale. Then you will know for sure if you have enough payload to accommodate the 900 lb tongue.
The other thing I would consider is upgrading to E rated LT tires on the truck, if currently equipped with P rated. It will make truck ride a bit rougher but stiffer tire construction will provide more stability for towing and help reduce sway.
Good luck.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

[Dcsdiver]

Thanks for the quick reply Steve and Brent. Agreed, I'm within 100 pounds of the TV GVWR, and the LT tires sound like a good idea. I do occasionally have to haul a 220 gallon water tank in the bed to fill pool/well which immeadiately puts me over (7620). When riding with me and a buddy, it seems to handle just fine. However, I don't have a 6500 pound TT behind me so handling is yet to be seen. I think I'll head down to the scales as suggested and see what the real world numbers are.

Much appreciated...

[GaryWT]

Hi, I gave the 31 bhpr which is 6400/8000 pounds. I towed with a F150 and it towed great. I was close to maxing out all around but it was fine. I did look for E tires before trading it in and they were hard to find. In addition, I was told by all the tire places that I would have to run them at 35 psi even though they would be rated at 80 psi because that is what is listed on the truck. Good luck, you should be fine.

[Dcsdiver]

Thanks Gary,

I was looking around for LT tires to replace the stock P265/70/17's based on Steve's input. I wonder if running them at a lower pressure would yield any benefit over the stock P265's. I could see why running them at the rated 80lbs could also throw of the onboard tire pressure system off as well. Decisions, decisions...

Sean

[fla-gypsy]

I think you have it figured out and I like the spreadsheet. Is this something you could share with the group?

[vicali]

Originally Posted by fla-gypsy

Is this something you could share with the group?

Pretty please? >>

[HappyCamperMN]

I was in a similar situation with our 31BHPR (5 feet longer than your 26RBPR) and our Toyota Sequoia. Though the Sequoia had less payload capacity and would have likely been over GVWR by 100 lbs or so... I opted to upgrade to the F350 for stability and safety concerns. In addition to GVWR, I was worried about sway with the short wheel base on the Sequoia.

You're probably enough on the safe side of your limits that all should be good.

But as with everything, you need to make the final determination in what you're comfortable with.

[KanTC]

Dcsdiver,

Looks like you did very well ... I can only think of a couple of things to add/ask:

In your RV cargo calculations, did you include the RV battery?
In your truck cargo calculations, did you include the WDH hitch? Some can weigh as much as 100 lbs (+/-),
depending on the brand & set-up.

Check your owners manual (or the 2012 Chevy Trailering Guide) to confirm the following --

Typically a "150 lb driver" is already calculated into the truck's *limits/numbers*... if "150 lbs" is still
correct, then you only need to account for any remaining driver weight. 45 lbs. according to your sheet.

Your truck's rear receiver/hitch also has an "up to/max" weight limit (for towing/tongue weight) so look for that
number too. I'm guessing it's about 1000 lbs (when using a WDH), but your newer 2012 model may be a bit higher.

Happy shopping!
Terri, the Chevy co-pilot

[Dcsdiver]

Originally Posted by fla-gypsy

I think you have it figured out and I like the spreadsheet. Is this something you could share with the group?

Of course! I was shopping for a new trailer with different specs and was tired of recalculating everything from scratch. Just need to fill in some of the blanks on the proposed trailer or truck and it will do the calcs.

Give me a little bit and will share it as an attachment. If someone has a better way to share it, let me know.

Sean

[Dcsdiver]

Originally Posted by KanTC

Dcsdiver,

Looks like you did very well ... I can only think of a couple of things to add/ask:

In your RV cargo calculations, did you include the RV battery?
In your truck cargo calculations, did you include the WDH hitch? Some can weigh as much as 100 lbs (+/-),
depending on the brand & set-up.

Check your owners manual (or the 2012 Chevy Trailering Guide) to confirm the following --

Typically a "150 lb driver" is already calculated into the truck's *limits/numbers*... if "150 lbs" is still
correct, then you only need to account for any remaining driver weight. 45 lbs. according to your sheet.

Your truck's rear receiver/hitch also has an "up to/max" weight limit (for towing/tongue weight) so look for that
number too. I'm guessing it's about 1000 lbs (when using a WDH), but your newer 2012 model may be a bit higher.

Happy shopping!
Terri, the Chevy co-pilot

Hi Terri,

Thats a great point on the WD hitch and the driver weight. I never really considered both of those points. In the end it may be a wash, but will definitely factor those into the equation.

Thanks for your assistance.

Sean

[Dcsdiver]

Originally Posted by HappyCamperMN

I was in a similar situation with our 31BHPR (5 feet longer than your 26RBPR) and our Toyota Sequoia. Though the Sequoia had less payload capacity and would have likely been over GVWR by 100 lbs or so... I opted to upgrade to the F350 for stability and safety concerns. In addition to GVWR, I was worried about sway with the short wheel base on the Sequoia.

You're probably enough on the safe side of your limits that all should be good.

But as with everything, you need to make the final determination in what you're comfortable with.

Thanks HappyCamperMN,

This is our first foray into a TT, so I may see how the inaugural trip goes. I swung by the dealerships looking at 2500HD's and 250's to see what options I had. After informing the wife that upgrading the truck may be in order, a whole lot of eye rolling ensued. I may have to stagger my purchases a little...

Are you happy with your 31BHPR?

Sean

[HappyCamperMN]

Very happy with the 31BHPR Premier so far! One of the kids and I slept in it the night we towed it home. Otherwise we have just been stocking and prepping it for our maiden voyage on Friday. The delivery was a very good experience and only one punch-list item so far.


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[Dcsdiver]

Here is a link to the calculator if anyone is interested.

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17272