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Old 08-12-2013, 03:26 PM   #1
RockyB
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New to RV's

Hello all. We are new to the RV world and, after spending some time with friends at their (semi-permanent) campsite, we've decided to take the plunge.

We intend to use our current truck as our tow vehicle; preferring not to spend any additional monies to upgrade if not necessary. We have a 2012 Chevy 2500HD; extended cab short bed; 6.0 liter gas motor; 3.73 rear axle; and heavy duty trailer equipment (including integrated brake controller). The GVWR is 9,500 pounds; with the truck weighing in around 6,278. Rated tow capacity is 9,900 with the 3.73 axle.

Given the curb weight and GVWR, I should be fine with the tongue weights of the trailers we're looking at.

Our current choices tend toward the Sprinter 331RLS (8,200 dry); Sprinter 277RLS (7,100 dry) and Outback 298 RE (7,400 dry). I am concerned as to whether I have enough truck; especially for the 331RLS.

Having towed boats, I've never towed a 35' trailer; and both weight and length are a concern. Obviously I intend to use a quality sway control hitch (recommendations welcome).

Can anyone provide some thoughts on whether my truck is suitable and, if not, how much trailer you would be comfortable pulling with this rig? Thanks so much - the forum is a wealth of information.
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:02 PM   #2
Robby9
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I tow a Cougar 31SQB (7,200 dry) with the exact same truck, including the 3.73 rear. The truck tows the Cougar just fine, but I don't think it has the power to handle another 1,000lbs very well.

I recently moved up from another trailer that weighed 6,500 dry. The Chevy handles the Cougar well, but I can definitely tell I'm pulling another 6-700lbs.

In viewing further responses on the subject be sure to see whether responders post their rear diff ratio. The 4.10 rear makes a huge difference in towing capacity.
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Old 08-13-2013, 02:15 PM   #3
RockyB
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I wish I had the 4.10's but I bought my truck off the lot. All the heavy duty equipment except that - go figure. I see for 2014 the 4.10 is standard and the 3.73are an upcharge.

The problem for us is we really like the 331RLS and, among the Sprinter line, it's actually one of the lighter other than the 277 which offers much less space). Also considering an Outback 298RE; which still comes in at 7,400.

Power aside, it sounds as though the 2500HD handles your trailer well; just a bit short on power/torque.
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Old 08-13-2013, 03:52 PM   #4
Terrydactile
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One thing to keep in mind, There can be quite a difference in towing boats and travel trailers. The frontal area of the travel trailer causes a big drag. I can tow a 6000 pound car on a trailer and hardly know its back there but when I pull a 6000 pound travel trailer there is a big difference. Also when looking at trailer weight, its best to consider the max loaded weight verses the dry weight. Just something to think about.
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Old 08-13-2013, 05:54 PM   #5
Laredo291OH
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I have the same truck, GMC version and crew instead of extended. Pulls my 8200 GVW Laredo 291 great. I know what the manual says, but I can't believe that the 4.10 to 3.73 makes that big of a difference. The trucks are all the same frames, axles etc. GM has to be using some sort of a standard to set the tow capacity, such as "pulls X amount of weight to 60 mph in 20 seconds" or whatever the standard might be. So I'm sure the truck will pull the trailer, it may just take a tad longer to get to speed with the 3.73 gears over the 4.10. Also, alot of people post about gas engines and worry about the high RPM's when pulling a heavy trailer, but yet they love to brag about how many HP and torque they have. If you look at the specs, the HP and torque are at those high RPMs. When towing, use tow haul mode and let the motor do its thing, even if that means 4-6K on the tach.
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Old 08-13-2013, 06:47 PM   #6
Robby9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyB View Post
I wish I had the 4.10's but I bought my truck off the lot...



The problem for us is we really like the 331RLS ...


Power aside, it sounds as though the 2500HD handles your trailer well; just a bit short on power/torque.

I need to make a correction, I've got the crew cab, not the extended.

Also, I didn't mean to give the impression that the truck is struggling with the weight. It handles the load fine, but I 'think' adding another 1000lbs would be asking a bit too much of the truck. But since I've not actually pulled an 8,200lb camper I don't really know for sure.

I bought mine off the lot too. At the time my trailer was 5,400lbs. Who would have guessed that camper and its replacement would both get totaled due to hail in 12 months. The way I keep jumping up in size, one more hail storm and I'll have to buy dually.

Lastly, I respectfully disagree with those that say ignore the dry weight and focus on the gross weight when buying. It's important to understand both. My 2nd camper had a dry weight of 6,500 and GVWR of 10,000. There's no way I was ever going to put 3,500lbs of gear in that camper.
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Old 08-14-2013, 10:39 AM   #7
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While I don't own a GMC product, I think along your lines, keeping both dry and gross weights in mind when shopping. That being said, the Sprinter 331RLS doesn't leave you much of a safety margin when dry, nevermind with a meager 1,000 lbs of stuff.
another consideration many overlook is payload. Many trucks can pull more than real-world payload will allow; I
d encourage you to look over your figures there as well.
Lastly, gears multiply torque, so there should be a considerable difference in towing capacity between 3.73 and 4.10 rear ends.

Glad to hear you've thought of the length of the trailer as well as weights; these are huge trailers, presenting a lot of side area to wind and passing vehicles. I am comfortable driving with one hand on the wheel using our Reese dual cam sway control with 12,000/1,200# trunion WD setup. the WD portion levelled the truck well but had horrible sway. the DC portion tamed it completely; highly recommended, esp. for the price (I found a US RV dealer selling DC kits which had taken a beating during shipping on eBay for $175)

Looking forward to reading about what you end up with, and your positive experiences with it soon.
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Old 08-14-2013, 02:45 PM   #8
chris199
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I agree....dry wgt cant be th we weight you determine whether you are within towing specs. Have to take into account propane, wated, your stuff. Important also is to look inside the driver door for payload max. Then take wgt of truck, passengers, stuff in truck, dog, full gas tank + 13% to 15% of loaded trailer wgt. See if you are within payload.

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Old 08-15-2013, 04:44 AM   #9
fla-gypsy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyB View Post
Hello all. We are new to the RV world and, after spending some time with friends at their (semi-permanent) campsite, we've decided to take the plunge.

We intend to use our current truck as our tow vehicle; preferring not to spend any additional monies to upgrade if not necessary. We have a 2012 Chevy 2500HD; extended cab short bed; 6.0 liter gas motor; 3.73 rear axle; and heavy duty trailer equipment (including integrated brake controller). The GVWR is 9,500 pounds; with the truck weighing in around 6,278. Rated tow capacity is 9,900 with the 3.73 axle.

Given the curb weight and GVWR, I should be fine with the tongue weights of the trailers we're looking at.

Our current choices tend toward the Sprinter 331RLS (8,200 dry); Sprinter 277RLS (7,100 dry) and Outback 298 RE (7,400 dry). I am concerned as to whether I have enough truck; especially for the 331RLS.

Having towed boats, I've never towed a 35' trailer; and both weight and length are a concern. Obviously I intend to use a quality sway control hitch (recommendations welcome).

Can anyone provide some thoughts on whether my truck is suitable and, if not, how much trailer you would be comfortable pulling with this rig? Thanks so much - the forum is a wealth of information.
My thoughts;

Your truck is fine as long as you understand that the closer you get to maximum the more performance will suffer. You have lots of payload based on your GVWR and actual weight but you did not mention what the payload sticker on the door read. It may be lower than the simple math I did. Tongue weight should not be an issue as long as you do not exceed the maximum listed on the receiver (probably 1200 -1500#). Tongue weight on a 9k TT could go 1200# easy.

TT towing is much different than boat towing due to the frontal area wind resistance. IMO as you exceed 9k on actual weight (forget dry weight numbers) the experience will become more anxious and a lot less fun as the truck struggles to maintain speed. Most folks add around 1k to 1500 lbs of weight to their TT withion the first year. The Tow/haul feature of the transmission will be important to use to keep RPM up and assist with braking.

As far as hitches go it depends on how much you can spend. The very best hitches cost as much as $2000. Good integrated sway hitches can be had for around $4-500 that will serve you well. My preference is the Reese HP Dual Cam system also called the Straight-Line system IIRC. Be prepared for the fuel mileage hit on an already thirsty machine when towing.

Please do some reading on TT tires also as there is much to learn about the infamous "ST" tire. As with most things we can provide more info as needed.
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