Towing with a Chevy Colorado

[Anthony Nic]

I have a 2016 Crew Cab, short bed, 3.6L V6 Chevy Colorado with tow package. It’s GVWR is 6,000lbs, towing capacity of 7,000lbs, GCWR is 12,000lbs and Tongue weight maxed at 900lbs. I am looking into purchasing a 2018 Keystone Bullet Crossfire 2200bh with a GVWR of 6,300lbs. Do you think my truck will safely tow the travel trailer . I know I will need a weight distribution hitch and sway control.

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum

What is the curb weight of your TV? It’s what what you can drag as much as it’s how much you can carry. You need to know how much your truck weighs ready to camp. Subtract that from GVWR and you might find that your trailer has too much tongue weight….just sayin, but I think you might be in over your head.

[Anthony Nic]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Welcome to the forum

What is the curb weight of your TV? It’s what what you can drag as much as it’s how much you can carry. You need to know how much your truck weighs ready to camp. Subtract that from GVWR and you might find that your trailer has too much tongue weight….just sayin, but I think you might be in over your head.

Sorry it has a towing capacity of 7,000lbs. It’s GCWR is 12,000lbs. The hitch weight of the trailer is 425 pounds plus the 100lb hitch I plan on buying. I know I would need to figure in what I am adding in weight, I was just wondering if I should be looking into something smaller.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Anthony Nic

Sorry it has a towing capacity of 7,000lbs. It’s GCWR is 12,000lbs. The hitch weight of the trailer is 425 pounds plus the 100lb hitch I plan on buying. I know I would need to figure in what I am adding in weight, I was just wondering if I should be looking into something smaller.

At 6300 GVWR of rv an average tongue weight is 13% = 819 lbs nearly double of the 425 you've apparently gotten from the specs online for that trailer which are usually arrived at by the manufacturer from the dry weight of the rv. The dry weight of any rv & the max tow weight of any vehicle are useless numbers when pairing rvs to tvs.
From the numbers you've posted you'll be very near the max for that truck. Check the yellow/white tag for the payload on the drivers door, will state "occupants & cargo must not exceed XXXX lbs", then subtract the 819 lb tongue weight + 100 lb hitch weight + the weight of all people/pets & other stuff in the truck.

[GHen]

The calculations can get complicated, Need to add fuel, passengers and cargo in TV and propane, water, batteries and everything packed in the trailer…

A general rule some people use is to not be over 80% of capacity.

That will allow you to bring a few extra cases of product back from wine country, ;-)

[notanlines]

Like the other posters answering your question, I firmly believe that you've chosen too much trailer with too little truck. Plus being a relatively short wheelbase truck, that trailer will blow you all over at highway speeds.

[chuckster57]

I think you will find the posted tongue weight is what it was when the trailer rolled off the assembly line. It will never be that again. You have to add battery(s) propane, and then anything you put in the front storage compartment.

Even using a conservative 10% of GVWR that gives you 630 pounds of tongue weight. Max towing is an advertisement gimmick, think about the truck towing the space shuttle. Cargo carrying capacity is more important, and as I said before, how much does your truck weigh once everyone and everything is loaded for camping. Subtract that weight from the truck GVWR and you’ll know how much tongue weight you can add.

Can your truck tow the trailer your looking at? Yeah most likely it can. Can it do it safely and legally? I would like to see the GVWR and actual weight of your truck before I say yes.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

I think you will find the posted tongue weight is what it was when the trailer rolled off the assembly line. It will never be that again. You have to add battery(s) propane, and then anything you put in the front storage compartment.

Even using a conservative 10% of GVWR that gives you 630 pounds of tongue weight. Max towing is an advertisement gimmick, think about the truck towing the space shuttle. Cargo carrying capacity is more important, and as I said before, how much does your truck weigh once everyone and everything is loaded for camping. Subtract that weight from the truck GVWR and you’ll know how much tongue weight you can add.

Can your truck tow the trailer your looking at? Yeah most likely it can. Can it do it safely and legally? I would like to see the GVWR and actual weight of your truck before I say yes.

OP referencing the highlighted above;

Remember the add of the Tundra pulling the space shuttle? So, to answer the part about "can it "tow (pull)" it, yes it probably can (remember the Tundra). Can it do it well or without problems? Highly doubtful.

Can it do it safely and legally? That's where that yellow sticker inside the driver door comes in; what is the payload/carrying capacity of that truck (forget all the useless max tow rating, empty weights and guestimated tongue weights)? As we guess without that sticker number just consider; 6300gvw of trailer x 13% = estimated tongue weight of 819lbs. Add another 120 for a good wdh/sway control = 939 for trailer tongue and the hitch it requires. There are no people, gear, kids, puppies etc.; it's just sitting there. Anything you add, including that cup of coffee, makes that number go up and the remaining payload go down. Posting the sticker number will help guestimate where you are as close as possible without scale weights.

You will exceed your receiver rating obviously which is dangerous. You will probably be right at the maximum load for the vehicle if not over once people and gear are loaded. Then you're talking about trying to pull a big slab sided box weighing 6300lbs. down the highway, up and down hills/mountains in head winds, cross winds and swirling winds from semis with a small, short wheelbase pickup with a small 3.6L (?) V6. That little truck will hate you every time you strap that trailer on there and in turn you will not enjoy the truck trying to implode every time you hit a grade. Check things out closely and objectively. In the overall scheme of things, small short wheelbase pickups are overloaded with a full size travel trailer.

[dutchmensport]

OK, I'm going to take a different stand here than the majority consensus.

First, I tow my fifth wheel with a 1 ton dualy, as with the previous 3 travel trailers I've owned, so don't bite my head off.

I own a 2018 Chevy Colorado and it also came with towing package. It has 4 wheel drive, high and low. It came with the ability to flip into tow mode, and it also has the deceleration feature to keep you from speeding up when going down hill. It also has some other features for towing, but it did not come with an integrated brake controller. So, is it REALLY ready for towing a travel trailer. Yes, it has a hitch and a 7-pin AND a 4-pin connector for the trailer umbilical cord. So, overall, yes. It's designed for towing (something)......

We purchased the Colorado when I still had our 35 foot Keystone Outback travel trailer. I was kind of hoping I could use the Colorado to move the travel trailer around on the property easier, where the long-bed dualy is just too long and can't go. So, I put on the weight distribution hitch (without bars) and the first problem was, the hitch hung down low to the ground, not giving much clearance. No problem. I realized if I ever wanted to tow with this truck, the hitch shaft would probably have to reversed, so the actual ball is higher than the actual receiver hitch, not lower like in my dualy. The receiver hitch is low to the ground. (problem #1). So, I attached the trailer anyway and began to crank the front jack up and the truck tail went down, down, down, down, until the bottom of the hitch actually touched the ground and the front jack wasn't even up all the way yet. Well, I had my answer, I could never use this truck to move that trailer around. The trailer was just way too heavy. I attempted with the weight distribution bars too, but still could not get the front jack off the ground. The tail of the truck was just too low.

Side step a minute. I also have a 10 x 6 foot bed utility trailer. I have 3 different hitches of different drop lengths, and the hitch that works best for my Colorado and my utility trailer is a straight shaft (no drop at all). This aligns the utility trailer pretty level.

Now, when towing the utility trailer (empty), I was very uncomfortable. First, the utility trailer has no brakes (It's way under 3000 pounds and Indiana does not require trailer brakes on anything less than 3000 pounds). So the truck had to brake for the trailer. And I was amazed how much that utility trailer "pushed" the truck, requiring hard braking. I never experienced this with my dualy towing the same utility trailer, since it's such a hefty vehicle. My solution: I would never tow the utility trailer again with the Colorado, as long as I had the Dualy.

So, a couple months ago, we were at an Indiana State Park and when walking the campground I spotted a camp site that had (probably) a 24 foot long travel trailer and he was towing it with a Colorado. Well, temptation got the better of me.

I went over and talked to the owner and asked him how he like his Colorado and told him I had one too. We both agreed they are great trucks, small, but absolutely great truck. I asked him how it towed his trailer, and he said, No problem at all. But I could tell by the look on his face, he wasn't telling the whole truth. I told him I'd never tow a travel trailer with my Colorado, the truck is just too small for my needs. He responded back again, I don't have any problems, it tows just fine.

So, there you go. You decide!

Mine:







Our previous camper. Of course, that Colorado would never be able to handle a 41 foot fifth wheel now. So, towing the fifth wheel with it is now a non-mute proposition:

[wiredgeorge]

That color and the big black stripe probably have people thinking it is a small school bus!

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

That color and the big black stripe probably have people thinking it is a small school bus!

I was expecting it to "transform" into a 40' tall talking robot!

[NJ High Country]

[Baldy]

OP,

I had a Tacoma with capacities very similar to your Colorado. Last year I rented some travel trailers to see if I liked the RV life and test the Tacoma for towing. FYI I had the 4WD, towing package, long wheelbase double cab, and I added a trailer brake.

You might want to try before you buy. Then you will KNOW how your Colorado performs when towing. Add in the capacity details provided by others above to help make your decision.

Skipping to the end of my story, I traded for a RAM 2500. No regrets. My perspective.

[Roper46]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

I was expecting it to "transform" into a 40' tall talking robot!

First thing I thought of when I saw the color was the Transformer Bumble Bee!!

[dutchmensport]

I know, we get lots of "comments" about the color of that truck. Just an FYI, it is the exact same color as a school bus ... exactly ... only shinny. What's really great about this truck, whenever we go anywhere, other traffic seems to shy away from us. I think because of the color, they think it's a highway road construction truck, or some local government transportation truck. At any rate, when I go barreling down the road, other traffic does not attempt to jump out in front of me, I very seldom get cut off in traffic, and other vehicles seem to NOT tailgate! It's very weird what color will do to folks!

And oh ... that color ... is also identical to the yellow stripe in the middle of the road ... identical.

But gosh, is that "bumble bee" a fun truck to drive!

[Anthony Nic]

Thanks everyone. I will keep searching for a TT. I knew I could not fully load my truck and trailer because I would be 300lbs over my GCWR. I just figured I would never put 4,000lbs of cargo between the truck and trailer. I was figuring I would be around 10,000lbs and have a hitch weight around 750lbs

[sourdough]

Where did the truck and trailer come up with the capability of 4000lbs. of cargo? The trailer has 1972 which would indicate the truck had a payload of 2028 lbs???

Also remember that the trailer carries 103 gals. of water which is about 800lbs. And yes, there will be a time when you travel with fluids in the tanks. I used to say I would NEVER do it......well, that wasn't true. I have, and have to, from time to time.

Stuff adds up far quicker than you think and I suspect you need to take quite a bit more equipment than you anticipate but using the gvw of the trailer is the safest route to take when you don't know and are looking at maxing a tow vehicle.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Anthony Nic

Thanks everyone. I will keep searching for a TT. I knew I could not fully load my truck and trailer because I would be 300lbs over my GCWR. I just figured I would never put 4,000lbs of cargo between the truck and trailer. I was figuring I would be around 10,000lbs and have a hitch weight around 750lbs

This is the same story everyone uses when having a marginal tow vehicle, "we'll only tow nearby", " we'll never have full holding tanks", "we always pack light" & "I only drive XX mph".
From my past experiences as well as others on here that have said those very words, I will say for a fact you'll do all sooner than later.
Using the max allowable weights to assure you have enough truck is the only way to insure you have enough truck for the chosen rv.

[Ken / Claudia]

It's kinda like the guy who buys the fastest vehicle available and brags it will go 180 mph but, says "I will never break a speed law."

[?sdrawkcabsihtsiyhw]

I have a 2016 175lhs i tow with a 2017 canyon with 3.6 and I wouldnt want to go any bigger than this, I mean it tows fine but i just would not want to.