Tow Vehicle for Roo 233s ??

[Bethers]

Hello....relative newbie here. What would be your ideal tow vehicle if you had a 2013 Rockwood Roo 233s??? Also, if you were currently towing this travel trailer with a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4wd..what do you think your mpg would be?????

Sorry if these seem like lame questions. I need to learn all this stuff, I know.

[Rrickim63]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Hello....relative newbie here. What would be your ideal tow vehicle if you had a 2013 Rockwood Roo 233s??? Also, if you were currently towing this travel trailer with a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4wd..what do you think your mpg would be?????

Sorry if these seem like lame questions. I need to learn all this stuff, I know.

10 mpg would be an avg i would expect,


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[FandRChambers]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Hello....relative newbie here. What would be your ideal tow vehicle if you had a 2013 Rockwood Roo 233s??? Also, if you were currently towing this travel trailer with a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4wd..what do you think your mpg would be?????

Sorry if these seem like lame questions. I need to learn all this stuff, I know.

I would start with how much is your vehicle is rated to tow against the weight of your unit. Then add a some weight to the unit dry weight for all the stuff you will put in it. Or you can go with the gross weight of the unit in case you tow with your water tanks full etc. You will proabably end up close if not over rated tow weight. I agree with the earlier mpg guess around 10 to be safe. Hills vs flat roads, winds, along with other factors could affect that also.

Good luck and happy camping!

[Bethers]

Thanks you guys!!! I need to confirm this but I think my tv can pull up to 7000 and I believe the weight of the Rockwood Roo 233s is about 4000. My cranky hubby () says if I try to road trip it from Colorado to Michigan that I will only get like 5mpg????? . I am hoping to prove him wrong???!!!!

[jevanb]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Thanks you guys!!! I need to confirm this but I think my tv can pull up to 7000 and I believe the weight of the Rockwood Roo 233s is about 4000. My cranky hubby () says if I try to road trip it from Colorado to Michigan that I will only get like 5mpg????? . I am hoping to prove him wrong???!!!!

you might do a little better coming east, but going west I bet he is right..

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Thanks you guys!!! I need to confirm this but I think my tv can pull up to 7000 and I believe the weight of the Rockwood Roo 233s is about 4000. My cranky hubby () says if I try to road trip it from Colorado to Michigan that I will only get like 5mpg????? . I am hoping to prove him wrong???!!!!

Might get 8mpg or so. The bigger Roos really do best when towed by a half ton pickup or large SUV that is properly setup.

With your Suburban, you need to figure out what the payload capacity is.

GVWR minus empty weight - should be on the door sticker.

Then compare that to the weight of passenger & cargo in the vehicle, fuel, the tongue weight of the loaded trailer, and the weight of the hitch itself.

That's the first place to check and see how suitable the tv is for that trailer

[hockeytownmom]

The GVWR is over 5000lbs for the 233s. I tow with an 07 1500 Suburban, 7000 tow rating. I don't know the mpg off the top of my head - my dh keeps track of that. Towing with the Suburban works for us, but we don't do much mountain driving. I'd rather have a 3/4 Suburban or truck, but I have 5 kids. Which means nothing is loaded in the Suburban and I've learned to really pack light.

[hockeytownmom]

Just for reference. We live west of Detroit and have to stop once in every state on the way to Orlando FL for gas.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Thanks you guys!!! I need to confirm this but I think my tv can pull up to 7000 and I believe the weight of the Rockwood Roo 233s is about 4000. My cranky hubby () says if I try to road trip it from Colorado to Michigan that I will only get like 5mpg????? . I am hoping to prove him wrong???!!!!

first, the 233S will quite a bit over 4000lbs. its fictional "dry" weight, for a stripped-down version, is 4365lbs.
figure its yellow sticker weight(what it weighed when it left the factory)will be around 4750lbs.
add 30lbs. for a battery and 40lbs. for propane and it'll weigh around 4820lbs., and that's before adding water and cargo weight.

without knowing more about your Burb, can't say for sure, especially without knowing how much your passengers and cargo in the Burb will weigh.
does it have the factory tow package? what rear end ratio does it have?

and gas mileage will be the same as nearly all gassers towing a travel trailer,
average will be between 8-10mpg, depending on where you're driving. if it's all mountains, then it'll be lower. you should definitely do better than 5mpg, unless you are driving in a strong headwind.

bottom line, if your Burb has a factory tow package and you don't overload the Burb, you should be fine towing the 233S.

[jevanb]

Originally Posted by hockeytownmom

Just for reference. We live west of Detroit and have to stop once in every state on the way to Orlando FL for gas.

sounds like you need a bigger tank, when I had a burb it had a 42 gal tank and I could make it to atlanta on 1 tank from flint but that was without a trailer attached

[hockeytownmom]

Originally Posted by jevanb

sounds like you need a bigger tank, when I had a burb it had a 42 gal tank and I could make it to atlanta on 1 tank from flint but that was without a trailer attached

It's definitely not a 42 gallon tank, I think it's 28. Dh says we get about 10mpg.

[beerjay]

My trailer is about 5100 lbs lightly loaded and with no water (sticker says 4400lbs 'dry'). So its similar to yours when loaded, including battery, hitch, and propane.

My 09 Suburban 1500 is the 5.3l 6 speed 3.43 4x4 and is rated at 7400 lbs with the extra transmission oil cooler (5400 lbs without). My previous 05 Suburban was 5.3l 4 speed 4x4 and 3.43 which is like yours I expect. Same tow rating. The 07 refresh added 6 speed and improved the brakes and steering and more.

On a nice road I get 12mpg (Canadian, which would be 9 or 10 mpg US). Wind load is the big issue with the trailer height. Hills will push your RPM over 3500 to get the torque, and that will drain the gas quickly. I was below 8 mpg CDN in hilly or windy areas (and never passed anything ...).

Use tow-haul mode and watch the gas mileage computer to see where you can optimize the speed/gears. Inflate your tires to 45 psi at least (mine were 30 psi I think). I have P tires and will definitely get LT tires when I replace them. P tires are too squishy (due to sidewalls) for towing.

I have had 5 people in the Suburban (all gear in TT) and not noticed much difference in towing from having just 2 of us. At over 11,000 lbs GCVW, 400 lbs of kids doesn't add a lot. Just be sure to weigh the rear axle at a scale when loaded (check the rest too). That's where you will hit the weight limit on a 1500.

Overall you should be OK, but get a good WDH/sway control hitch and don't try driving at 65 mph.

Bryan