Thoughts on 8315ss using Tahoe to tow?

[dezolen]

Really wanting to upgrade to Rockwood 8 315ss but having concerns over being able to tow it with our 2005 Chevy Tahoe. I do not go over 60 mph. Very conservative behind the wheel. Tow limit is 7800# trailer specd at 6300#.
Anyone towing 32' Rockwood with similar vehicle??

[rockwood06]

I tow an 8314 with a 1997 GMC Suburban 3/4 ton. Tow rating on the GMC is 7500 lbs. I would not tow a camper this size with anything less then a 3/4 ton. Longer wheel base is better and the GMC has a 350 engine with a 4-10 rear. If you have to tow with the Tahoe just be careful. The 3/4 ton tows my 8314 great. I plan on getting a newer model with in the next year. I am sure other members will chime in and help you out.

[spepi]

I used to tow my Rockwood 2701ss (32') with a chevy trailblazer, which has a wheel base of 113". The Tahoe has a wheel base of 116"....so in my honest opinion, I wouldnt tow anything like that with a small wheelbase. I upgraded to a Suburban 1500, which we just went to Hershey PA last week, and what a great towing experience.....typical sway in wind or big rigs going by, but doing 60 - 65...sometimes 70 because it was comfortable...was great....hope this helps...

[sijc]

ive been towing an 09' 2701ss with an 03' tahoe for a few months now (taken 4 trips) and it does "ok". it has a tow rating of 7500 lbs and my camper is marked at 5100 lbs dry. the only problems ive had thus far is when semi's go by. if im going over 60 and a large semi goes by pretty fast it causes an enormous amount of sway (even with the reese dual cam setup) which im sure is due to the short wheel base of the tahoe. after experiencing the uncontrollable "sway" a few times ive done my best to avoid the interstate where large trucks are free to pass you by going 80+ mph. im sure it would be ok if i would stay around 60 but i have a hard time doing so on the interstate. our longest trip has been 420 miles one way (north ga to fl) and it was great once i got off the interstate and managed to lower my heart rate back to normal weve also been thru the mountains and its done pretty good pulling up hills. i havent had it overheat while pulling anywhere yet... BUT i did have the engine coolant attempt to overheat this past weekend while trying to "back up" a pretty steep hill, but im told that most vehicles dont do very well backing while pushing that much weight up a steep incline. ill be sure to find a way to pull it (instead of pushing) next time. and i think thats about the only input i have. if i had it to do over again? i probably would have bought something with the same engine (5.3) and a longer wheelbase but im stuck with the tahoe for now and it certainly wont keep me from using the camper. ill just keep it slow and use hwy's instead of interstates. oh and as far as mileage (not sure if thats a concern of urs) ive been getting around 9 mpg thus far. hope this helps

[hunt4240dw]

From my sig, you can see I have a 99 Tahoe pulling an 09 30wrls Vlite. It is 33 ft. I did have the gears replaced with 3.73. We did a 4000 + mile trip this summer going from Memphis to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and home. I also install an additional 30,000 GWV trans cooler. And replaced the fan clutch with an heavy duty towing clutch. The Tahoe did really good. We got 8.5 overall mpg with a couple of days of 6.5 fighting a 20 mph head wind. Trans temp ran 150 degrees normally. It did max at 200 when it finally dropped to first near the 10000 ft summit on Big Horn pass. It did almost as good as our traveling buddy did with an 08 Expediton EL and a 08 Flagstaff 831FKS.


I strongly suggest the trans cooler, fan clutch, and Equalizer brand hitch.

[dezolen]

Has not been an issue at all. Have never felt 18 wheelers to cause any sway. Just back from wet weeks road trip and unit did well even in heavy downpour . Also pulled 4000 miles last year on trip and little problem unless I did not set dual cam on right chain link. Only time I have noticed any sway is when cross winds are around. The 2607 is 29' in length. I hate to by a new trailer and then be stuck getting a new tow vehicle if I can help it.
Thanks for any advice.

[davenrobin]

We have an 8296SS, same floor plan as the 8315 only slightly smaller. Towed it initially with a Z-71 extended cab pickup that was adequate but we were never really comfortable with it. Very close to GCWR max.

The brochure and sticker weights were off by about 400 lbs. So beware.

The longer wheelbase the better, especially at 33 ft in length of TT.

All of that being said, I have no experience towing with an SUV but I would be more comfy towing a 33 footer with something with a longer wheel base.

I don't say all of this because my TV is a crew cab, long bed 1 ton, that just happened while I was shopping for a 3/4 ton. Just sort of fell into my lap. But now I know the difference and won't be going back on wheel base. It's as different as night and day.

On another note, take a hard look at tongue weight. Front Kitchen units are heavier in the tongue than other units. That's a serious consideration.

[nycamper]

With the proper hitch and factory trailering package (or equivalent) you should be ok. We have a 8315BSS and tow with a 1999 Tahoe with no towing problems whatsoever. My hitch is a Pullrite, which in my opinion is a very safe and reliable system. We bought our first Pullrite hitch in 1993, After having one of those well known brands with the dual cam anti sway control that I couldn't do over 55 mph and had to stare at my rear view to watch for semi' and buses. We then switched to Pullrite. No more white knuckle steering and we both are very relaxed when we get to our campsite. When needed I now comfortably pass semi's and buses.


Happy Camping

[symbasden]

I tow my 8317 with a Ram 1500 with the Hemi, it does the job but I wouldn't want to haul more with it. The truck will run down the road at 65 with the cruise on but I normally cruise at around 60-62. I slow way down on the hills...

That said my truck has a lot bigger engine and brakes than yours does. Also, mine is a crew cab long box which makes my wheelbase much longer than yours would be.

Having towed a 21SS with a blazer, I wouldn't want to do it with your tahoe, I think the Wheel base is too short and the vehicle isn't designed for heavy loads.

[dave1441]

We tow our 2007 Rockwood 8293SS (31+ TT) with a 2007 Tahoe. Since April 2007 we have a little more than 13,000 miles of towing, which included an 8500 mile cross country trip from Long Island, NY to Ca and back.

We do have sway when the cross winds are over 30 miles an hour but I then adjust the sway bar chain from 3 links to 4 links and that seems to help.

The gas miles average is between 9.3 and 9.7 and my speed is kept at 55 - 60 mph.

[SwensonBarrettBunch]

I have towed out 09 Sierra 302bhd 35ft 8000lb trailer with our 04 Expedition in the mountains with no trouble. But it is a lot easier with the F-250 Powerstroke. We reserve the Expedition to trips with the whole family (me, wife, and 5 kids) the Expedition is rated for 9000lbs. I even had it up to 65 to checkfor sway and had no problems. I use the Equalizer hitch setup.

[JandR]

We have a 2005 GMC Yukon with Reese dual cams and a Prodigy towing our 2006 Rockwood 8315SS. Travelling on Interstates around Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD and in the terrain of Northern VA and Southern PA we have had no problem. The trick is to watch your speed of course and like you said in an earlier post set the hanging links correctly. I do try to load the trailer with the weight in the rear storage compartment to keep the tongue weight down, and put the portable icemaker and the portable dishwasher in the floor of the bathroom or bedroom when travelling. We have even considered moving the battery to the rear until we bought the Exide Orbital which is considerably lighter than the stock battery. Trucks at 80 mph whizz past us moving at 55-60 mph and we can tell they went by but no noticable sway (more like a tug). It is more evident when we are moving downhill and they pass, but not what I would get white-knuckled about. Our Yukon has Autoride, so we let the vehicle finish adjusting before we set the chains for the equalizer bars. I agree about watching the actual weights, combined and tongue. Good luck and enjoy!

--J&R

[MWJW]

Thinking about buying a 8315SS and a new Supercrew 2009 F150 with 5.4 engine.3.73 RATIO LIMITED SLIP AXLE, it has a 11,300 tow capacity....should be ok with that don't we think?

[rockwood06]

You may want to consider a 3/4 ton. Check the spec's on your truck first, you just might be pushing it a bit.

[rafcar]

Regardless what TV you choose, go with the Equal-i-zer hitch, specially towing with an SUV. You wont regret it.

[Jimmy-D]

I have towed the 8314SS with the tahoe and it is very unstable when big rigs go by. It is ok if you are on the flat land and not going more than 100 Miles. I live in California where there are lots of mountains and people drive really fast.

I finally go a Dodge Mega Cab truck and it gets 13 mpg while towning my rig. I don't have sway issues anymore and i can pass the big rig trucks going up the hill!

Hope this helps!

[cwarren78]

Excellent to hear, this will be my setup as well, but quadcab.

[opcop]

MWJW,
I have a 2007 8315SS and I pull it with my 1994 Chevy Suburban 1500, 350cu engine. My gearing is 4.56 because it is lifted 4" with bigger tires, but it pulls like a charm. I use the Equalizer 10,000 lb hitch system and swear by it. Hope this helps if you haven't made your decision already.