Weight question

[Deryll1]

Wow, did you have a brake control in the armada?

[asquared]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

Wow, did you have a brake control in the armada?

yes, I had a prodigy P3 brake controller and I used a Reese dual cam for wdh. I got it to the bottom but it was scary and I swore no more hills until I upgraded the TV. I now drive a 3/4 ton diesel. I will never push my tow limits again.

[Deryll1]

found this on RV open roads forum:


I recently got a 2008 suburaban with 5.3 eng and 3.73 gears 7100 lbs towing capcity. We are wanting to get a travel trailer, really wanting a bunk house model, we have looked around alot and have narrowed it down to either a 274 Skyline Texan 5400 lbs dry, a 268 Skyline nomad 4685 lbs dry or a Jayco 264BH which is about the same weight as the nomad.
We really like the Texan the most but Iam worried it may be to much trailer for my suburban once loaded. I live in central texas and dont really on plan on driving more than 4 hrs away. Is the Texan to heavy or would it be ok for short trips.


Go_forbroke83 wrote:

I had my suburban weighed on a scale and it weighed right at 6050 lbs with a full tank of gas and my family inside.


If the TV's GCWR is 13000 and the loaded TV weighs 6050#,
the TT could weigh 13000-6050 = 6950# without exceeding the GCWR.
If the weight of a weight distribution hitch is not included in the 6050#, you should subtract about 100# from the allowable TT weight.

We also need to know the TV's GVWR (listed on the driver's door sticker) and the receiver's weight carrying tongue weight rating.

Ron



Go_forbroke83 wrote:

GVWR of the suburban is 7200, hitch rated 1000lbs

The additional load which can be carried by the TV is 7200-6050 = 1150#.
Let's assume the weight of a WDH is not included in the 6050#.
Then, the maximum allowable trailer-induced load will be about 1050#.

However, the receiver would limit the trailer's tongue weight to 1000#. The corresponding trailer weight would be about 7700#.

But, we determined earlier that the TV's 13,000# GCWR and the TV's 6050# GVW will limit the TT's weight to 6950# with a corresponding tongue weight of about 900#.

[Deryll1]

Originally Posted by anaro

yes, I had a prodigy P3 brake controller and I used a Reese dual cam for wdh. I got it to the bottom but it was scary and I swore no more hills until I upgraded the TV. I now drive a 3/4 ton diesel. I will never push my tow limits again.

wow, when i picked up my hauler and towed it home i went downhill and just manually applying the brakes of my trailer and it slowed down my rig a lot without using the brakes of my suburban....i can only assume it all comes down to adjustment on the brake control....i think.

[asquared]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

wow, when i picked up my hauler and towed it home i went downhill and just manually applying the brakes of my trailer and it slowed down my rig a lot without using the brakes of my suburban....i can only assume it all comes down to adjustment on the brake control....i think.

one would think it might be a brake issue or a driver issue but I used every trick learned in 20 yrs of hauling horses. my brake controller was adjusted correctly. It came down to not having enough engine to hold the TT back thus needing to use more brakes than desirable. even with using low gears, stopping at the top of the mountain, sharp pumps of the brakes (not riding them) and even trying alternating using truck brakes and trailer brakes there just wasn't enough truck to hold the trailer. I have taken the same mountain pass with the current truck and only needed to touch the brakes once or twice for the entire ride down the mountain. To give you an idea, it was a 7% down grade over approx 1-2 miles on a 2 lane road in the VA mountains with several good curves to it and no runaway truck ramp.

[asquared]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

found this on RV open roads forum:


I recently got a 2008 suburaban with 5.3 eng and 3.73 gears 7100 lbs towing capcity. We are wanting to get a travel trailer, really wanting a bunk house model, we have looked around alot and have narrowed it down to either a 274 Skyline Texan 5400 lbs dry, a 268 Skyline nomad 4685 lbs dry or a Jayco 264BH which is about the same weight as the nomad.
We really like the Texan the most but Iam worried it may be to much trailer for my suburban once loaded. I live in central texas and dont really on plan on driving more than 4 hrs away. Is the Texan to heavy or would it be ok for short trips.


Go_forbroke83 wrote:

I had my suburban weighed on a scale and it weighed right at 6050 lbs with a full tank of gas and my family inside.


If the TV's GCWR is 13000 and the loaded TV weighs 6050#,
the TT could weigh 13000-6050 = 6950# without exceeding the GCWR.
If the weight of a weight distribution hitch is not included in the 6050#, you should subtract about 100# from the allowable TT weight.

We also need to know the TV's GVWR (listed on the driver's door sticker) and the receiver's weight carrying tongue weight rating.

Ron



Go_forbroke83 wrote:

GVWR of the suburban is 7200, hitch rated 1000lbs

The additional load which can be carried by the TV is 7200-6050 = 1150#.
Let's assume the weight of a WDH is not included in the 6050#.
Then, the maximum allowable trailer-induced load will be about 1050#.

However, the receiver would limit the trailer's tongue weight to 1000#. The corresponding trailer weight would be about 7700#.

But, we determined earlier that the TV's 13,000# GCWR and the TV's 6050# GVW will limit the TT's weight to 6950# with a corresponding tongue weight of about 900#.

Ron gratz is a very smart and helpful guy. You should listen to him, he taught me a lot and helped e figure out the proper setup for my old armada. Just remember not all burbs are the same. Their burb will likely weigh different than yours and may be setup differently in terms of axle ratios, engine, tow ratings etc.

[Deryll1]

didnt meen to offend you, that was just a thought...

that guy has exactly the same suburban like i do,same year, same numbers, but i will find out when i hit the scale this weekend...
i like ron's explanation, makes sense and would leave me right in my limits...
well one thing with the toy hauler i can somewhat adjust my weight inside of the trailer with the atv's loaded to optimize my tounge weight .

i would love to upgrade to a bigger TV, but right now i dont have the money and have to work with what i have

[garbonz]

didyya weigh it yet we are all interested. on my 5er the stat are the following.

Note that the GVWR is exceeded by almost 500 lbs while everything else is under. you TT will not be as bad with its lower hitch weight, but will still be close, I'm guessing. we all would be interested in your results as it helps all of us to learn.

Report

TV Weight W/ Trailer Attached: 9660
TV Weight: 7440
Trailer Kingpin Weight: 2220
Trailer Gross Weight: 9280
TV & Trailer Combined Weight: 16720
Vertical Load (Kingpin): 24%

Safety Margin VS. Overload

TV Front Axle Weight: -470
TV Rear Axle Weight: -624
TV Gross Weight (GVW): 460
TV Combined Weight (GCW): -5280
Hitch Tow (GTW): -8720
Vertical Load (Kingpin): -2280
Trailer Gross Weight (GVW): -670

[Deryll1]

Originally Posted by garbonz

didyya weigh it yet we are all interested. on my 5er the stat are the following.

Note that the GVWR is exceeded by almost 500 lbs while everything else is under. you TT will not be as bad with its lower hitch weight, but will still be close, I'm guessing. we all would be interested in your results as it helps all of us to learn.

Report

TV Weight W/ Trailer Attached: 9660
TV Weight: 7440
Trailer Kingpin Weight: 2220
Trailer Gross Weight: 9280
TV & Trailer Combined Weight: 16720
Vertical Load (Kingpin): 24%

Safety Margin VS. Overload

TV Front Axle Weight: -470
TV Rear Axle Weight: -624
TV Gross Weight (GVW): 460
TV Combined Weight (GCW): -5280
Hitch Tow (GTW): -8720
Vertical Load (Kingpin): -2280
Trailer Gross Weight (GVW): -670

not yet, i will go to the scale this weekend but will definately post everything here

[asquared]

deryll- no offense taken. I'm just used to the questions about it and like to share my experiences so that others don't end up there. Best of luck to you.

[Deryll1]

Good! Thanks, I will watch out and post updates here....

[beerjay]

Originally Posted by Deryll1

Well, the dry weight as it sits is 5206 lbs. (actual weight since it was weight before I bought it. I weight everything I put in and it's now 6570 lbs. my TV is a 2008 suburban with 7000 max towing. Passengers together are 360 lbs. that's the numbers I have right now before the scale....

If you want to compare some numbers I have an '09 Burb so it will be similar to yours (the vehicle was refreshed in 2007). My TT is lower in weight at 5100 pounds (actual) but the math is the same. Note the sticker weight on mine was 4400 pounds so that is a useless number as mentioned in the thread. As also noted here, its cargo capacity and rear axle weight that will be the determining factors on what you can safely tow.

Check the 'A CAT Tale' threat FWIW if you are interested.

[Deryll1]

Pm sent! Well the only passengers in the car will be me and my wife( 330 lbs) + the kid( 35 lbs) nothing else in the car besides some drinks, everything else is in the trailer. Even took the 3rd seat row out. Dry with propane and batteries and generator my tounge weight is at 920 lbs,measured it with a tounge scale. this changes according to other posts cause 1 atv is located towards the back which brings the tounge weight down.