1/2 ton tow length?

[rkclark2011]

I have come across a lot of discussion on how much weight a half ton can tow but not how long it is capable of. I have a 2019 Silverado 1500 looking at a Grey Wolf 23dbh or 26dbh. Dealerships claim both to be "half ton towable" but I think they are talking about weight. Is 29' or 32' too long? I did the numbers and weight all works out so I don't need answers to that. Just opinions on length (with or without sway hitch).

Thanks much!

[SeaDog]

Length of the tow is governed by state rules. with that said the longer the rig the more sail area involved which would have an effect on towing with regard to the tow vehicle being able to counter act any sway. So to boil this down I can't answer your question with what you want to hear.

[Blank]

My 2017 Nissan Titan (gas) pulls any TT up to 26' and 7000# like a dream. My 32' toy hauler at 10,000# (loaded with UTV) is too much. We had a 14,000# WDH and it pulled the weight and steered fine, but in the wind it was really squirrely and wandered.

[Larry0071]

Take whatever the advertised tongue weight is and double it.

Then consider that with a decent sway control/WDH you'll be fine if you can take that tongue weight. My actual tongue weight is just under 1,600 lbs, advertised around 750 and if I loaded front heavy I am sure I could get it to 2,000 lbs. This is just added weight from the loaded camper that is ready with food/bedding (no cases of drinks, no fluid in tanks), I'm not talking firewood, humans, or any other truck weight that would get added.

With my WDH/Sway Control I can push that tongue weight back to just about 920 lbs on the rear axle, that gets my old (traded in December) Ram 1500 barely within payload and axle limits.

I think the truck will be perfectly fine so long as you use a sway control WDH, you'll distribute the weight as needed to the trucks front axle and the trailers axles, and you'll at least greatly reduce if not eliminate the trailer sway.

I suspect that all will be good for you because of the fact that my truck was a 2017 Ram Rebel with 4 corner air suspension and 1,075 payload rating. You can see this rating on the yellow sticker in your drivers door. I bet your truck is 1,500-1,700 payload. So you should be able to pull this off a lot easier than I was able to. Now I have a 2019 Ram 2500 6.4L with 2,900 payload and 14,480 tow rating.

[rkclark2011]

Thanks for the detailed reply!

[NECamper]

We pull our 26DBH with a GMC 1500 with Fastway E2 WDH. Does fine.

[rkclark2011]

Just the response I've been looking for. Thanks much!

[clarkbre]

These questions often come up and the answer can be broken down into 2 parts:

Subjective:
The 2 extremes are:
"I pulled a 35' trailer with a Chevy Tahoe in the wind and didn't know it was back there"
to
"It was a white knuckle, near death experience with that 20' trailer behind my 1 ton dually"

The reality is that every person's comfort level and experience towing their trailer is different and can't really be judged.

Personally, I felt that a 145" wheelbase F150 was not enough truck for our 7500 lbs, 29.5' long trailer. It measured out just fine and we were not overloaded; however, the F250 added comfort and confidence to the towing experience.

Objective:
1. The longer the trailer, the more 8' x length of the box there is to be pushed by the wind and passing traffic.
2. The more the trailer weighs, the less #1 is affected.
3. All things being equal, a tow vehicle with a longer wheelbase will control #1 more.
4. All things being equal, a tow vehicle with more mass will control #1 more.
5. The trailer must be loaded correctly to minimize trailer sway. This can only be measured by multiple passes through the scale. The tongue weight should exceed 10% of the GVW of the trailer.

Looking at your tow vehicle and a trailer of that size, always use a WDH with sway control.

[mxdad]

I towed a 26RR (similar specs to the 26DBH) with an Escalade ESV for several years. Never had a problem, but it took me several tries to get the hitch set up correctly. When I did get it right, it was dialed enough that I didn't need sway control.

Having said that, pulling the same trailer with my F250 Diesel is way better.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by rkclark2011

I have come across a lot of discussion on how much weight a half ton can tow but not how long it is capable of. I have a 2019 Silverado 1500 looking at a Grey Wolf 23dbh or 26dbh. Dealerships claim both to be "half ton towable" but I think they are talking about weight. Is 29' or 32' too long? I did the numbers and weight all works out so I don't need answers to that. Just opinions on length (with or without sway hitch).

Thanks much!

A lot depends on what WDH you have and how it's setup.
I have a 4pt Equal-i-zer 1,000/10,000 WDH. I pull a 27' TT and how no issues at all.

[RamFam]

I'll leave the finer technical bits to greater minds than mine.

I tow a Cherokee 274DBH which is the spring-over twin of the Grey Wolf 26DBH with a 2019 RAM 1500. Yes, I'm a family man, so I have the family man special, crew cab, short bed etc.

My set-up tows like a CHAMP. It's a really comfortable tow for me.

Now, it took a hell of a lot of research to figure out which specific model RAM to get that would provide the amount of payload I needed and a similar story regarding which WDH and suspension enhancement to add to the truck.

It took quite a bit of doing to get my Equalizer dialed in, if you look at my posts (only a few of them) I did a full write up on that experience. The dealer did an awful job setting up my WDH, my first experience pulling the TT from the dealer was scary.

After taking the time to properly set-up both the weight distribution and sway control the rig pulls really well.

Now, I don't pull 75 mph like some guys do. And I don't go careening down grades, the way some guys do. I keep it under 62 and I let the current environment dictate if I should be pulling at all or maybe 52 is right for the moment.

I heard it said by an old RV'er the secret to pulling a big rig is to never be in a hurry.

With some trips under your belt you'll figure out your preferences for loading both your trailer and your truck to match how much feel

[SailorSam20500]

My trailer comes in at ~7000lbs ready to travel w/900lb TW. My F-150 Screw is the 145" WB (short bed). I tow using a Propride hitch. With this hitch, I'm 30' nose to bumper. I have over 24k miles towing with this setup. The only time I'm uncomfortable is going thru the narrow lanes they setup in construction zones.

[dbledan]

I have a 26rlws. It is 30' long. When empty I had no issues pulling it with my F150. Loaded up I had stability issues that made me get a propride. It was a great thing and solved my stability concerns.

It could not solve my weight problems so I did upgrade trucks but mostly so I would not go over on my rear axle and did not have to move lots of gear around when I got to my destination.

I think the right WDH with sway control make even a 32' trailer a non issue. That WDH will vary by your trailer though. Weight of TV and TT plays much more of a factor to me than length.

[ChrisRR]

I had a grey wolf 27rr that was 33ft bumper time tongue. With the golf cart generator and everything I weighted about 8300 pounds. I pulled with my f150 a lot. I got rid of the truck and camper a few weeks ago but the only issue I had was just didn’t like being in 3rd it 4th gear to maintain speeds up small hills. I bought a diesel and a new reflection.

[camper70]

I had the same truck and hitch as bikendan and towed a 28 ft. trailer that topped out at 7000lbs loaded. Did this for two years from East to West with no problems. This was with a 156 in wheellbase.

[itat]

Originally Posted by rkclark2011

I have come across a lot of discussion on how much weight a half ton can tow but not how long it is capable of. I have a 2019 Silverado 1500 looking at a Grey Wolf 23dbh or 26dbh. Dealerships claim both to be "half ton towable" but I think they are talking about weight. Is 29' or 32' too long? I did the numbers and weight all works out so I don't need answers to that. Just opinions on length (with or without sway hitch).

Thanks much!

There is no objective answer to your question. You’ll only get opinions based on personal experience and comfort levels.

I can offer this to think about. A longer travel trailer will be a larger sail for crosswinds. If you don’t tow in windy weather you’ll probably notice sway most often when being passed by other vehicles on the highway. If you tow in the Midwest prairies you’re likely to experience more severe crosswinds and need more sway control. The Hensley and ProPride hitches are tops for controlling sway but I would always recommend you try a less expensive option like the Equal-i-zer hitch first unless you can find a used Hensley or ProPride at a steal of a price.

I towed a 7300# TT that was 32’ long with a 12K Equalizer and didn’t have any sway problems but we don’t often get very high winds here. Unfortunately, that 7300# TT put my F-150 way over its GVWR so I upgraded to my current F-250. The heavier truck and longer wheel base was noticeably more solid.

[flhtci2006]

I had a 2016 F150 3.5 ecoboost and towed a 32' end to end toyhauler that weighed 9500lbs. The truck pulled it fine powerwise. After having work done on the trailers axles by CW, going through the mountains it started to sway badly. The trucks antisway kicked in and it straightened up. This was no fault of the truck BUT, it made me think. At 32', the tail can wag the dog pretty easy. So, gone was the F150 for a F250. JMO, 32' can be kinda long and IF it gets to swaying, that small truck is gonna have a harder time than a bigger heavier truck. But i'll tell you, that F150 had no trouble pulling.

[Go West]

Here's a conservative rule of thumb: the first 110 inches of tow-vehicle wheelbase allows for a 20-foot trailer. For each additional four inches of wheelbase length, you get one foot more in trailer length. Many owners tow trailers somewhat longer than this "rule of thumb" with no issues. My Titan has a 140" wheelbase; my Grey Wolf 25RL is 27' 9" tip to tail. That combo falls within this guideline and works fine.

Trailer Length_____ TV Wheelbase

___20'___________________110"
___21'___________________114"
___22'___________________118"
___23'___________________122"
___24'___________________126"
___25'___________________130"
___26'___________________134"
___27'___________________138"
___28'___________________142"
___29'___________________146"
___30'___________________150"
___31'___________________154"
___32'___________________158"
___33'___________________162"
___34'___________________166"
___35'___________________170"
___36'___________________174"
___37'___________________178"
___38'___________________182"
___39'___________________186"
___40'___________________190"

[CincyGus]

If your under Payload and axle ratings weight wise, the length question is one only you can answer. As offered in a previous post, the answer has a lot to do with your comfort level in towing as some people feel the first bit of push from a wind gust or passing semi and they're looking for fresh underwear. Others expect that, have experience dealing with that situation and know how to handle it safely (lower your speed, maybe pull over and give a little more tuning to the sway control) without getting too excited about it.

The other great piece of advise you received was do the homework on scaling your rig (truck and trailer) to get your W/D set up perfectly to minimize any sway induced by your loading of the trailer. Figure it out, set it up, recognise how it is loaded and duplicate that every trip for similar results.

If you do the above, all you will have to worry about is wind conditions and an occasional Semi or fellow camping rig causing a little suck in and push out as they pass which you can get used to, prepare for and expect.

[PatrickY]

Are these numbers for the total length - ie, ball to tail on a bumper pull, or are they applicable to a 5th wheel?

Also curious as to the source … because as we all know, if it's on the internet it must be true.

Sorry - not doubting you or the source, just hoping to verify.