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Old 03-30-2014, 07:52 AM   #1
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Forest River Salem 26TBUD Tongue Weight

Is 815 lbs to much tongue weight for a 2005 Chevy Tahoe 2WD? The max tow weight I believe is 7700lbs and I'm not sure why, but I have stuck in my head the max tongue weight shouldn't exceed 10% of the TV capacity. My TV came equipped with a "tow package" not sure if that affects the weight or not. I really like the 26TUD Bunkhouse, but then I see the 27' bunkhouse and it has a lighter tongue weight, but only 2 bunks.
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Old 03-30-2014, 02:06 PM   #2
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HECK YEA!!

realistically, that real world tongue weight will be nearly 1000lbs.

first, you need to look at your owner's manual, which should give you a max hitch capacity. DON'T go by what's stamped on the hitch receiver, that's the receiver's rating, not your Tahoe's rating.

second, SUV's have extremely poor payload amounts. the trailer's hitch weight comes out of that, along with the weight of the WDH, cargo and anyone in it other than a 150lb. driver.
payload should be on a sticker on the driver's door edge. according to Edmunds, the Tahoe's max payload is only 1525lbs.(VERY poor) so, that leaves you only 425lbs., after subtracting the hitch weight and WDH weight, for passengers and cargo.

third, don't assume that it can tow 7700lbs.
you need to post rear end ratio and which engine, the 4.8 or 5.3?
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Old 03-30-2014, 05:19 PM   #3
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So what would be an ideal tongue weight then? That's to much math for me The Tahoe is a 5.3 with a 3.23 rear end ratio
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Old 03-30-2014, 06:29 PM   #4
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are you sure it's a 3.23 rear end?
should be 3.73 if it has the factory tow package.
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Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
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Old 03-30-2014, 07:28 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ras2002gt View Post
So what would be an ideal tongue weight then? That's to much math for me The Tahoe is a 5.3 with a 3.23 rear end ratio
That's on odd axle ratio, the usual is 3.42 or 3.73. The Tahoe is similar to the Suburban I have, so you could do max 1000lb TW per the rating of the hitch, but you need to check all the weights especially the rear axle weight as Dan said since payload on a half ton especially an SUV is limited.

A dealer can run your VIN for the GM build sheet and you can see all the ratings on it, since you may not have a typical model of the Tahoe.
The HD tow package I got gave me better cooling, alternator, hitch and wiring etc. but it still has the 3.42 rear axle.
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Old 03-30-2014, 07:50 PM   #6
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We towed a TT that weighed 4,000lbs, 4 point WDH, believe me when I tell you that if your going bigger than that don't be going far from home, we did it a few times and moved on, we do travel up to 6 hours from home. Ours was an 03 Tahoe, 2WD, tow package, 5.3 now we got out of that and bought a "REAL" TV, then we were able to get the trailer we should've got in the first place. Just some advice, get the TV, then get the RV.
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Old 04-01-2014, 05:36 PM   #7
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I checked the VIN Decoder website online and it says its a 3.23 gear ratio (GU5). thanks for the info beerjay, I only wish I had the 09 for the extra gears in the transmission And crusadernoob, I only hope to get a Duramax one of these days. If only they had that in a Tahoe!
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Old 04-01-2014, 10:34 PM   #8
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Quote:
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I checked the VIN Decoder website online and it says its a 3.23 gear ratio (GU5). thanks for the info beerjay, I only wish I had the 09 for the extra gears in the transmission And crusadernoob, I only hope to get a Duramax one of these days. If only they had that in a Tahoe!
I bet a cookie and I rarely bet, that the big 3 or 4 will have diesel SUVs next year. If GM survives the latest MBA mess.

Yes I like the 6 speed in the 2009 over the 4 speed I had in my 2005 Suburban. Now for LT tires ... Tow-haul is a great toy too, but hills and wind are a bear towing a TT.
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