Big block, big camper

[Heavy_Chevy]

Hey y’all, just bought a 2020 Hideout 318BR.

My other guilty pleasure is a 2005 Silverado 2500hd CCSB 4x4 w/8.1 Vortec, 5-speed Allison and 4.10 rear. 6” lift I’m dropping to 4”, tires are 10 ply e-range 315/75/r16 pro comp AT sports rated 3850 lbs at 65 psi. Suspension is bilstein 5100s.

Performance upgrades are CAI, Hedman headers, true duals, custom tuned by Henderson Performance with all torque management removed. Mishimoto trans cooler. WD hitch with anti sway and curt Bluetooth brake controller. Powerstop z36 extreme truck & tow rotors and pads.

Would love to hear anyone else’s experiences with the 8.1 (or similar big block) or tips of the trade. Thanks!

[notanlines]

The truck will tow your RV fine, but I'm not sure that all your 'Kentucky go-fasters' you added on are improvements. The lift certainly isn't. I know it's nice runnin' with your buds on Saturday night up and down Main Street and hanging at the A and W drive-In being 'cool' makes the lift important, but in the real world not much else. You gave us a fine line-up of add-on goodies but didn't tell us the brand/model of WDH. That alone is the most important item in having a good towing experience. The Equalizer 4-point always comes to the top followed by the Curt or Blue Ox.
Welcome to the forum. We're glad to have you.

[flybouy]

Welcome to the forum. Towing a travel trailer is not about just the engine. Unless you're planning to drag race or go offroad racing then many mods like youts will decrease the rigs ability to tow well and tow efficiantly. Probably not what you want to hear but likely the consensus around the campfire with experienced campers towing larger rigs.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Heavy_Chevy

Hey y’all, just bought a 2020 Hideout 318BR.

My other guilty pleasure is a 2005 Silverado 2500hd CCSB 4x4 w/8.1 Vortec, 5-speed Allison and 4.10 rear. 6” lift I’m dropping to 4”, tires are 10 ply e-range 315/75/r16 pro comp AT sports rated 3850 lbs at 65 psi. Suspension is bilstein 5100s.

Performance upgrades are CAI, Hedman headers, true duals, custom tuned by Henderson Performance with all torque management removed. Mishimoto trans cooler. WD hitch with anti sway and curt Bluetooth brake controller. Powerstop z36 extreme truck & tow rotors and pads.

Would love to hear anyone else’s experiences with the 8.1 (or similar big block) or tips of the trade. Thanks!

I would probably keep your truck you have for play and get a dedicated tow vehicle for a travel trailer.

Your suspension mods are going to affect the payload capacity of the truck and make setting up a wdh a nightmare I would think.
If you look at any of the trucks from the big three that have a off-road performance model like the power wagon from Ram or Raptor from Ford, the payload capacity is reduced.
The setup on lift kits is for greater spring travel for getting over rough terrain comfortably
If you ever watched a lifted truck towing any kind of trailer you will see the headlights aimed at the sky.
The only way I would tow with this truck is if you removed the lift kit and installed the factory springs and maybe added airbags ...the lift is the only issue I see.
Unless your into that weird truck mod I saw in SC and GA where you have a beater 4x4 pickup with the rear end 4” lower then the front ...reminds me of the kids with the jeans falling down as a fashion statement....they call the truck mod the “Carolina Squat”

[wiredgeorge]

Well boys, we have hopped on another new owner. Didn't ask him what the payload of his truck is or anything and called him out for his big block enthusiasm. That camper he bought will have a tongue weight in the plus 1200 lb range and with that hitch he will need and stuff in the truck he may or may not be OK. And as far as "Kentucky go-fasters", this ol' boy is a Texan and I ain't sure we have any A and W drive ins (whatever that is) around these parts. He would likely have been better off not to mention any truck upgrades and likely would have been treated kinder with a tad less sarcasm. Anyhow, Heavy-Chevy, welcome from a fellow Texan who thinks Chevys well, are 3rd best behind Fords but I don't hold it against you.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Well boys, we have hopped on another new owner. Didn't ask him what the payload of his truck is or anything and called him out for his big block enthusiasm. That camper he bought will have a tongue weight in the plus 1200 lb range and with that hitch he will need and stuff in the truck he may or may not be OK. And as far as "Kentucky go-fasters", this ol' boy is a Texan and I ain't sure we have any A and W drive ins (whatever that is) around these parts. He would likely have been better off not to mention any truck upgrades and likely would have been treated kinder with a tad less sarcasm. Anyhow, Heavy-Chevy, welcome from a fellow Texan who thinks Chevys well, are 3rd best behind Fords but I don't hold it against you.

At least 4 in the San Antonio area, that I know of...

And really.... you never heard of an A&W Drive-in

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by Javi

At least 4 in the San Antonio area, that I know of...

And really.... you never heard of an A&W Drive-in

I live in rural Medina County. DQ, that is what Texas is about. I have heard of A&W root beer sold in the Walmart but don't much care for root beer. More of a 7UP, Orange Crush or Mountain Dew kinda guy.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I live in rural Medina County. DQ, that is what Texas is about. I have heard of A&W root beer sold in the Walmart but don't much care for root beer. More of a 7UP, Orange Crush or Mountain Dew kinda guy.

https://www.google.com/search?q=A%26...8488962304;mv:[[29.67501421209702,-98.3563645673828],[29.42832090082307,-98.81985028515625]]

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Well boys, we have hopped on another new owner. Didn't ask him what the payload of his truck is or anything and called him out for his big block enthusiasm. That camper he bought will have a tongue weight in the plus 1200 lb range and with that hitch he will need and stuff in the truck he may or may not be OK. And as far as "Kentucky go-fasters", this ol' boy is a Texan and I ain't sure we have any A and W drive ins (whatever that is) around these parts. He would likely have been better off not to mention any truck upgrades and likely would have been treated kinder with a tad less sarcasm. Anyhow, Heavy-Chevy, welcome from a fellow Texan who thinks Chevys well, are 3rd best behind Fords but I don't hold it against you.

Well I certainly didn’t mean to sound unwelcoming..the op laid out every detail about there rig and said “what do you think?” I tried to be helpful and somewhat lighthearted..hope no offense was taken and I doubt there was ..certainly not my intention and didn’t realize I need to tiptoe through the thread. Anyway... Yes Welcome to the forum!

[sourdough]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Texan! Lots of great folks and knowledge here.

As you see we are very focused on trying to help members have a great towing experience.....and stay safe. You posted a lot of useful stuff (not for towing) to help in answering questions and helping but did not post some of the most important stuff; payload of the truck, gawr front and rear, gcvwr, type of WDH etc. Just for reference that is a 9700lb. gvw, 36' long trailer.

I've lifted and modded vehicles for a long time. A lift and towing are opposites - you should not lift a truck and tow. The elevated height raises the center of gravity of the truck and makes it much easier for the trailer to control. A small trailer not really dangerous, 9700lbs. 36'....yes it will be.

In addition, the larger tires effectively reduce your final drive ratio dramatically. A 4.10 would be good for that trailer if everything was stock. Your tires are almost 35" in diameter...far larger than OE. Don't know what the original tires were but probably in the 30-31" range? I do know I had a vehicle with 4.10s, added 35s, put in 4.56 ring and pinions and at times wished I had went with 5.13s offroading (not towing a trailer).

All the mods you mention are to make a truck look and act "badxxx" on the street. Towing requires/needs a work truck to do it well, not a show toy. As another poster mentioned it might be better to put the play truck in the back yard and buy a truck meant to tow. Just a thought.

The trailer is a bunkhouse so assuming kids. In that event the number one thing a parent wants to do is make sure everything is as safe as possible for them, especially pulling a large trailer that can get away at the slightest provocation. Just think about that truck body suspended up there by a bunch of stretched nuts, bolts, ubolts and spring packs (or blocks) swaying on every curve. Add almost 10k behind shoving it and it can/will become unmanageable.

Again, welcome to the forum and these comments are not meant to be construed as unwelcoming. Your initial commentary highlighted many pitfalls that will be unsafe for you and your family - concerned members are simply trying to point those out.

[flybouy]

Heavy Chevy just another thought. Don'y take this as "piling on", you asked for big block experience so I'm giving you bsome of my experience. Towing with headers and twin exhaust will become tiresom. With the engine under a constant load and typically running at higher than normal rpm (especially uphill) the dronning will go from "don't that sound sweet" to "man I have a headache" after a few hours of driving.

JMHO, YMMV

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I live in rural Medina County. DQ, that is what Texas is about. I have heard of A&W root beer sold in the Walmart but don't much care for root beer. More of a 7UP, Orange Crush or Mountain Dew kinda guy.

Agree the DQ is the Texas stop sign, but you've never heard of/seen an A&W drive-in in Texas? YUM! How I remember a corn dog & a root beer at the A&W!!! Boy that really is some backwoods place you live in!
Hey Javi! You don't think it's because we're old do you?

But Heavy Chevy I'd have to agree with others on the towability of your truck as it's set up. Personally I'd really like to have it or one just like it, but not for towing. It would most likely be about 6-8 mpg max towing regardless of all the go fast goodies you've added, but would still beat the 3rd place Ford V10 not towing.

[Badbart56]

What kind of Texans are y'all? Everybody knows that Whataburger is the best!

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Badbart56

What kind of Texans are y'all? Everybody knows that Whataburger is the best!

No longer a Texan owned the family sold out to a Chicago based fund...

[wiredgeorge]

I do agree that the 8.1 is going to be THIRSTY and the lift will not be good for towing. You can always take a lift kit off a truck. As far as the pipes being loud, roll your windows up, turn up the radio... you do get used to noisy pipes unless they are awful loud. I never liked loud pipes on a bike except I had a Yam Venture and put slip ons so I could go into the company parking lot, rev the engine and all the car alarms would go off. Not many appreciated my pipes but I found it amusing to do this. This was back around 2001-2 as I recall. The nice thing is that when cruising ont he Venture you couldn't hear the exhaust.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by Javi

No longer a Texan owned the family sold out to a Chicago based fund...

I heard....but still my favorite! The Dobson family still owns a piece of it.

[Heavy_Chevy]

My God, this forum is 3 times busier than the truck forum haha!

I don’t mind the piling on. No I don’t have buddies to cruise to whatever store that is, just 2 catahoulas who hog hunt with me on Saturday nights. I like the fact that a steep dry creek bed doesn’t mean I have to walk the “back 40” and drag a hog an extra mile. I like that a midnight thunderstorm doesnt mean I’m spending the night in the truck with 2 wet dogs because I’d be stuck otherwise. Yes I have 2 young kids.

Consensus is, lose the lift and bigger tires right? New truck is out of the question. I don’t have payments and the camper will be paid for in a month and that’s how I like it. No payments. Paid for.

Anybody ever removed a lift? I’ve put a couple in, never the reverse.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Heavy_Chevy

My God, this forum is 3 times busier than the truck forum haha!

I don’t mind the piling on. No I don’t have buddies to cruise to whatever store that is, just 2 catahoulas who hog hunt with me on Saturday nights. I like the fact that a steep dry creek bed doesn’t mean I have to walk the “back 40” and drag a hog an extra mile. I like that a midnight thunderstorm doesnt mean I’m spending the night in the truck with 2 wet dogs because I’d be stuck otherwise. Yes I have 2 young kids.

Consensus is, lose the lift and bigger tires right? New truck is out of the question. I don’t have payments and the camper will be paid for in a month and that’s how I like it. No payments. Paid for.

Anybody ever removed a lift? I’ve put a couple in, never the reverse.

If you don’t have the original parts anymore you could advertise on a Chevy truck forum and swap somebody who has a stock setup with possibly a little money thrown in on their part...you mentioned you were going to get rid of that lift for a 4” one anyway... then if you decide to get out of rv’s one day you could put that 4” in at that time

If it’s coil springs it should be easier taking out then putting in because the factory springs won’t need to be compressed nearly as much

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Heavy_Chevy

My God, this forum is 3 times busier than the truck forum haha!

I don’t mind the piling on. No I don’t have buddies to cruise to whatever store that is, just 2 catahoulas who hog hunt with me on Saturday nights. I like the fact that a steep dry creek bed doesn’t mean I have to walk the “back 40” and drag a hog an extra mile. I like that a midnight thunderstorm doesnt mean I’m spending the night in the truck with 2 wet dogs because I’d be stuck otherwise. Yes I have 2 young kids.

Consensus is, lose the lift and bigger tires right? New truck is out of the question. I don’t have payments and the camper will be paid for in a month and that’s how I like it. No payments. Paid for.

Anybody ever removed a lift? I’ve put a couple in, never the reverse.

LOL! Yes, this forum is active and that's what makes it invaluable IMO, along with all of the expertise offered. I belong to several other forums; RV, truck and boat and this is the only one I've found I could get an answer on before I forgot what it was I asked.

There is nothing wrong with having everything paid for, it's a good place to be. Your truck, stock, should have no issues with that trailer. As you summarized, in essence if you can get to a stock height, tire size etc. you will be in a far better place to use the truck and trailer.

As far as going from a lift to stock just reverse the process. The problem will be, as it would have been for me.....WHERE are the stock parts?? Since you're going to drop this heavy trailer on a 16 year old truck why not just buy new spring packs and associated hardware and put them in? Your shocks are also probably for a lifted truck and would have to be replaced. What about driveline mods? Were any made?
Dropped pitman arm? I'd go back to OE sized tires but maybe one (only one) step up could work. That 4.10 won't be happy if you keep larger tires on there with a trailer. What were the OE tires - 245x70x18s or something like that?

I totally get the mods for getting "out there" in the rough to hunt or play - loved it. The reality is that is one kind of activity for a truck, towing an RV is something totally different and the requirements are almost opposite each other. In your situation, with the varied rough terrain I'm not sure you can make one truck work safely with a large RV then take it into hostile terrain and not have to worry about high centering, getting stuck etc. which IMO takes a more specialized vehicle. What about getting an older vehicle for hunting and off road? That's what I ended up doing because you just can't make a vehicle do something like tow an RV then have it capable of tearing it up in the outback. I'll never forget the old black lifted '62 Ford long bed - the Tarantula......aww.....but I digress!

[chuckster57]

I’ll jump in with my experiences:

1986 F250 extended cab long bed. Factory 460/C6. Used it haul the Jayco 323RKS. When I was done with mods (too many to list) it got 7.7 MPG with the fiver attached, 53MPH in first gear with the shift kit. Set off car alarms with the true dual exhaust.