Need experienced advice about towing

[wecoopers]

My dealer, Wilmington RV, in NC suggested I not try towing more than 80% of rated tow capacity. Others have said similar. FYI, FWIW, YMMV...

[Rick J]

But he says the truck hitch maximum hitch weight is 800 lbs. He is at 796 lbs. with no batteries or load in the trailer. That puts him over the safe hitch weight of the truck even though he may be under the payload.

Originally Posted by moose074

If I read is op correctly it is 800 without the WDH. I will agree with the others that he will be around 500 under payload.
I was telling him he could drive it and make his own educated decision before. I wouldn’t fault the OP for keeping or upgrading.

[moose074]

Originally Posted by Dtbuds

Need some help and advice about towing. I will be purchasing a Flagstaff Super-Lite 26 FKBS, 30 feet end to end. The GAWR=6608 lbs ,CCC=2200 lbs,Hitch weight =796 lbs. I Currently own a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 with 5.3 L and the 3.42 axle, Gvwr =7200 lbs, Max tow cap=9600,Max payload =1622 Lbs,Gcwr=15000 lbs,hitch weight max without wd Bar=800 lbs.All the salesman I have spoken with say with an E4 hitch I will have no problems .After doing a lot of reading about towing. I, am beginning to think they are not telling me the whole story. With the tow Veh and TT empty I would probably be ok. Add some cargo and I think things change. What do you experienced people think please?

The op stated hitch weight max WITHOUT wd bar = 800 he also states that the salesman tells him he needs a WDH bar. Thus he will be within his parameters and he can can make the decision if the upgrade is worth it. It’s not nice to call people foolish and then double down when they point out they try to explain why they aren’t.

[Rick J]

I clearly missed the point about the 800 lb. maximum hitch weight of his hitch. I thought he meant that was the maximum for the hitch. My apologies.

[Rick J]

..

[SailorSam20500]

FWIW, I'm towing a similar 26FKWS with a F-150 with 1650 CC. I'm under all weight limits when loaded for camping. I've found that my Propride hitch keeps the trailer under control. My actual TW is ~950lbs.

[SniperDroid]

Our first season with the Catalina 263RLS I had a Ford F-150 that spec'd out very similar to your Chevy. Never felt comfortable towing with it. The engine always had to work hard, the ride was almost scary and the truck handled poorly even with a 4 point WDH set up correctly. I got rid of it for a F-250 with a lot more ability for towing and haven't looked back...

[Dtbuds]

Thank you all for your replies
After doing further research and reading all of your replies its easy to conclude my Silverado 1500 might pull the mentioned TT. But would it be safe, Absolutely not. Since My wife and I want to stay with a TT approx this size and we plan on doing some traveling I will purchase a TV more capable.
Looking at a 2019 F-250 crew cab XLT ,even at its most basic configuration would more than double the payload cap and most 30’ TT,s would only utilize about 50/60 percent of the trucks tow capabilities
Thank you again for your replies

[Larry0071]

Battery is around 40 lbs, each 20 lb propane tank is 18 lbs empty, 38 lbs full. Call it 120 lbs instantly added to that advertised tongue weight.

Now go start adding your "stuff" and that tongue weight will fly past that 800 lbs factory sticker and be in the 920 lbs range before your stuff. Now you'll go do bedding, food, drinks, clothing, some leveling gear, hoses and power cables, maybe a bottle jack and impact.... you will zing out to 1,200 to 1,300 real easily. I got my 800 lb tongue weight trailer to 1,600 lbs tongue weight without even trying. Until you load it and get on a set of actual scales... you will know nothing and all of our opinions and baseless guesses are exactly that.... baseless guesses. But I know you'll be wildly heavier than you expect. I dumped my 2017 Ram 1500 (1075 lb payload) and bought a 2019 2500 gasser (2900 lb payload).

[Flat_twin]

Hats off to the OP for providing all the important numbers and asking the right questions here.

Definitely a job for a 3/4 or heavier truck. Payload is most often the problem when it comes to 1/2 ton trucks.

[Rick J]

Originally Posted by Dtbuds

Need some help and advice about towing. I will be purchasing a Flagstaff Super-Lite 26 FKBS, 30 feet end to end. The GAWR=6608 lbs ,CCC=2200 lbs,Hitch weight =796 lbs. I Currently own a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 with 5.3 L and the 3.42 axle, Gvwr =7200 lbs, Max tow cap=9600,Max payload =1622 Lbs,Gcwr=15000 lbs,hitch weight max without wd Bar=800 lbs.All the salesman I have spoken with say with an E4 hitch I will have no problems .After doing a lot of reading about towing. I, am beginning to think they are not telling me the whole story. With the tow Veh and TT empty I would probably be ok. Add some cargo and I think things chan
ge. What do you experienced people think please?

Your tongue weight will easily be over 1000 lbs once you load the trailer Subtract 80 lbs more for the WDH. At best that leaves you 500 lbs for you and passengers and gear. Add to that the 3.42 gears and 5.3 engine you are going to be strapped.

[Genisis]

I had almost the same set up as you have. Mine was the F150 echoboost. I used a sway/ load equalizer hitch. The first trip across I-40 to the mountains against the wind I quickly traded for 3/4 ton diesel. Yes I gave up the car ride for that extra margin of safety. My diesel pulls the trailer like it’s no tack there. I’m getting a little better mileage to boot.

[Paulyd99]

Now you all have me worried... I've been researching for weeks about my next purchase. I have a 2016 Silverado 1500. 3.42/9200 max towing/1860 payload cap/15000 GCWR/7200 GVWR/5340 Curb Weight. Trailer is a SS291RK. 680 tongue weight/Dry Weight 5854. With 500 for passengers, 680 TW, 100 for WD hitch and 100 for battery and propane... That equals 1380. Still leaves almost 500lbs for cargo and such. (Don’t have a cap on the bed). According to my calculations, even with 1500 in cargo between the trailer and truck (I never carry water in holding tank) that equals 12694 GCW which is 84% of max GCWR. Also should be under hitch weight. Anyone feel that is too much? Planning on buying a Hensley hitch.

[Mod man]

i have the same camper and tow it with a 04 toyota tundra and have no problem i have helper springs i can pull up mountain rds 60 plus if i wont .You wont have a problem

[Dwjackson59]

I have 6600 lbs dry Hemisphere 29bhs. 2014 5.3 Silverado 1500 with Max Trailer pack. 10,100 tow cap, 1900 payload. Pull in the wind, up and down hills. Set it up right and the numbers don't lie. WDH, sway, E rated tires, upgrade shocks, Hellwig sway and air bags. It's plenty of truck for 8000 lbs give or take.

[PatrickY]

Wow.

I normally try to stay out of these discussions, but some people on here are ... well ... (idiots is harsh) ... let's go with "less than informed".

Anyone who suggests that you try this "by the seat of your pants" should be ignored - especially if you're somewhat new. Just because you don't know when to be afraid doesn't mean its safe to do. Many people have no idea what to expect - so conversely, just because YOU aren't comfortable it doesn't mean it's unsafe.

First, salespeople are focused primarily on (go ahead, guess) ... right: SALES. You might come across someone who knows what they're talking about - or you might find the man or woman who was the number one Honda/Toyota/Kia/Chevy/Ford/Hyundai salesperson in your town who saw the bigger commissions on RVs who has no knowledge of anything about the subject other than how to sell.

GO WITH THE NUMBERS!

Add up your "luggage" for both the trailer and truck, including people, dogs, generator, firewood, food, (beer), coolers, etc. and then compare to your truck's CARRYING (aka payload) capacity.

My "half-ton towable" trailer when loaded and combined with occupants, dogs (inside) and extras in the bed of my truck put me right at the limit, even though my truck can "tow" a truck carrying a house. (exaggeration)

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Paulyd99

Planning on buying a Hensley hitch.

A Hensley will weigh a lot more than 100lbs.

[Paulyd99]

Correct... it’s 190. Still puts me under.

[Go West]

Originally Posted by Paulyd99

Now you all have me worried... I've been researching for weeks about my next purchase. I have a 2016 Silverado 1500. 3.42/9200 max towing/1860 payload cap/15000 GCWR/7200 GVWR/5340 Curb Weight. Trailer is a SS291RK. 680 tongue weight/Dry Weight 5854. With 500 for passengers, 680 TW, 100 for WD hitch and 100 for battery and propane... That equals 1380. Still leaves almost 500lbs for cargo and such. (Don’t have a cap on the bed). According to my calculations, even with 1500 in cargo between the trailer and truck (I never carry water in holding tank) that equals 12694 GCW which is 84% of max GCWR. Also should be under hitch weight. Anyone feel that is too much? Planning on buying a Hensley hitch.

Your Silverado has similar max towing, payload and GCWR as my tow vehicle. I personally would not tow a trailer with dry weight 5,854 lbs with a half-ton truck. Let's say loaded your trailer weighs 6,854 (well under the Sunset Trail SS291RK GVWR of 7,600 lbs). That alone will bring your tongue weight to 857 lbs (assuming 12.5% hitch weight). Now add the weight of the hitch. The Hensley Arrow is very heavy: 195 lbs added hitch weight. Bottom line, I think that hitch weights approaching / exceeding 1,000 pounds are 3/4 ton territory. (After many years towing with a Hensley, its weight was one of several reasons I moved to another hitch.)

[cekkk]

If people insisted on a ten or 15 percent safety margin this wouldn't be asked almost daily.