Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-17-2016, 06:16 PM   #21
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
Quote:
Originally Posted by lbrjet View Post
Your GCWR = 9,200 lb statement is wrong.
You are correct. GCRW is 15,000 lbs. (I misread the chart)
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-17-2016, 06:45 PM   #22
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
I have to own up to a Homer moment... D'Oh!

When in doubt, read the manual!

From my manual: HOW TO KEEP YOUR LOAD WITHIN THE CAPABILITIES OF
YOUR VEHICLE: To be sure that your trailering combination is appropriate for your vehicle, you must first obtain the weight of your specific vehicle. (a trip to the scale is in order for weight of vehicle + gas + hitch) You can then subtract the weight of your vehiclefrom the GCWR. The difference between the two is the capacity you have available for your cargo, passengers, trailer, load and any other equipment you might use to set up your
trailer. Put another way, your GCWR should always be greater
than or equal to the weight of your vehicle, passengers, cargo,
trailer (with equipment) and load.

I may be obsessing about this but I want to make sure my loved ones are safe and also that I don't experience any "white knuckle" traveling experiences.

To add to specs that I have already mentioned:
Rear Axle ratio is 3:42, Integrated brake controller, Z82 Trailering Equipment Package, Tranny fluid cooler. Still haven't tracked down GAVWR, have requested that info from my Dealer.

Again, thanks to all who have responded to my request for help. there have been a few links posted that I intend to pursue.

Happy Trails!

Norm
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 03:33 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
Okay... So I crunched my numbers today... Just posting in case anyone else can benefit.

From the 2015 Silverado towing guide (specs for my particular vehicle)

"How to keep your load within the capabilities of your vehicle :

GCWR (for me, 15,000 lbs.) minus weight of tow vehicle (for me, truck, hitch and full tank of fuel, 5,930 lbs. from weigh scale) minus weight of water (full tank, about 300lbs. but I usually travel near empty, fill up when I get to to my destination, a 200lb. safety margin) minus weight of passengers (around 370 lbs.) minus weight of cargo (estimated at 500 lbs.)

Thus: 15,000 - 7100= 7900 lb. "dry" weight trailer. Give another 400 lb. safety margin, I think I will be looking at a trailer with a dry weight of around 7500.

Thanks again to all posters for helping me figure this out

If you think I have missed anything, please let me know!

Norm
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 03:49 PM   #24
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Marion, IL
Posts: 488
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nammy View Post
Okay... So I crunched my numbers today... Just posting in case anyone else can benefit.

From the 2015 Silverado towing guide (specs for my particular vehicle)

"How to keep your load within the capabilities of your vehicle :

GCWR (for me, 15,000 lbs.) minus weight of tow vehicle (for me, truck, hitch and full tank of fuel, 5,930 lbs. from weigh scale) minus weight of water (full tank, about 300lbs. but I usually travel near empty, fill up when I get to to my destination, a 200lb. safety margin) minus weight of passengers (around 370 lbs.) minus weight of cargo (estimated at 500 lbs.)

Thus: 15,000 - 7100= 7900 lb. "dry" weight trailer. Give another 400 lb. safety margin, I think I will be looking at a trailer with a dry weight of around 7500.

Thanks again to all posters for helping me figure this out

If you think I have missed anything, please let me know!

Norm
You can pull a trailer that size, but it's borderline. I pull my windjammer at 7100 pounds empty with my 2015 silverado z71 double cab. I'd really like to have more truck. When I trade I'll be getting a 3500HD with a 6.6 duramax.

It's surprising how quickly weight adds up in the trailer when you start putting stuff in there.
__________________
2012 Windjammer 3001W
2016 Sunset Trail Super Lite 250RB-For Sale
2015.5 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LTZ crew cab Z71 4x4
KingFisher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 05:34 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingFisher View Post
You can pull a trailer that size, but it's borderline. I pull my windjammer at 7100 pounds empty with my 2015 silverado z71 double cab. I'd really like to have more truck. When I trade I'll be getting a 3500HD with a 6.6 duramax.

It's surprising how quickly weight adds up in the trailer when you start putting stuff in there.
Hmm... well... So, based on your experience, what weight trailer (dry) would you consider to be the maximum to be towed comfortably given the specs of my vehicle? I was towing the 1905 Mini-Lite (just under 3000 lbs. dry) with a 4.0L Ranger FX4 (with tow package) rated to tow 5,500 lbs. That set-up seemed quite stable to me, the only problem being a lack of power on grades.
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 05:41 PM   #26
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
Quote:
Originally Posted by HalfBubbleOff View Post
I have a 2015 Silverado with the 5.3 and I have no problem towing my 7000# trailer empty weight. With a good 4 point hitch stabilizer you shouldn't have any issue with towing a trailer like mine. Power and torque is plentiful from the 355hp 5.3.
What am I missing here? My hitch is factory installed. will look into 4-point hitch. I am using a trunnion WDH.
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 05:56 PM   #27
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
I haven't had a problem with sway.
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 06:38 PM   #28
Senior Member
 
northstar1960's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: in my new 29hfsxlr
Posts: 1,658
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nammy View Post
Okay... So I crunched my numbers today... Just posting in case anyone else can benefit.

From the 2015 Silverado towing guide (specs for my particular vehicle)

"How to keep your load within the capabilities of your vehicle :

GCWR (for me, 15,000 lbs.) minus weight of tow vehicle (for me, truck, hitch and full tank of fuel, 5,930 lbs. from weigh scale) minus weight of water (full tank, about 300lbs. but I usually travel near empty, fill up when I get to to my destination, a 200lb. safety margin) minus weight of passengers (around 370 lbs.) minus weight of cargo (estimated at 500 lbs.)

Thus: 15,000 - 7100= 7900 lb. "dry" weight trailer. Give another 400 lb. safety margin, I think I will be looking at a trailer with a dry weight of around 7500.

Thanks again to all posters for helping me figure this out

If you think I have missed anything, please let me know!

Norm
\


I think the 500 lbs of extra cargo besides passengers is on the high side . i think most of your gear will be in the camper . stay with in the cargo capacity of the tt you buy and keep the cargo capacity of the TV lower
northstar1960 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 07:16 PM   #29
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 102
Quote:
Originally Posted by northstar1960 View Post
\


I think the 500 lbs of extra cargo besides passengers is on the high side . i think most of your gear will be in the camper . stay with in the cargo capacity of the tt you buy and keep the cargo capacity of the TV lower
I estimated my load on the high side in order to give myself some leeway in terms of capacity. It seems that you recommend putting cargo in the trailer rather than in the tow vehicle? Why is that? I like to put stuff in the truck bed under a tonneau so it stays dry and the trailer is less congested.
__________________
2016 Silverado 5.3L Z71 with tow package
2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905
Distribution Hitch: Trunnion
Nammy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 07:23 PM   #30
Senior Member
 
northstar1960's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: in my new 29hfsxlr
Posts: 1,658
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nammy View Post
I estimated my load on the high side in order to give myself some leeway in terms of capacity. It seems that you recommend putting cargo in the trailer rather than in the tow vehicle? Why is that? I like to put stuff in the truck bed under a tonneau so it stays dry and the trailer is less congested.
you have storage compartments use them . it stays dry in the tt at least you can hope it does . i can see bicycles, chain saws, tools etc in the truck bed . all i carry in my truck bed is tools everything else is in the camper . if you utilize your camper cargo capacity then you lessen the chance of over loading the TV cargo capacity . . so not sure what exactly you store in truck that could not go in TT that would cause it to be congested .
northstar1960 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 08:34 PM   #31
Senior Member
 
wbdavey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Oswego, NY
Posts: 293
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nammy View Post

Thus: 15,000 - 7100= 7900 lb. "dry" weight trailer. Give another 400 lb. safety margin, I think I will be looking at a trailer with a dry weight of around 7500.

Thanks again to all posters for helping me figure this out

If you think I have missed anything, please let me know!

Norm
Norm - you've focused on the combined weight of the truck and trailer and you have ignored the payload of the truck. The GVWR of 7,200 pounds is the max weight of the truck and everything you put in it. In your case the truck with you alone is 5,930. Add 370 pounds for passengers (your numbers), 60 pounds for the hitch head, 200 pounds for miscellaneous tools (fire wood, stuff, etc) and your total truck weight is 6,560 pounds. Subtract 6,560 from your 7,200 limit and you have 640 pounds available for the tongue weight of the trailer. Most trailers run 10-15% of the trailer weigh on the tongue so the trailer should weigh between 4,200 pounds and 6,400 pounds loaded ready to camp (not dry empty on the sales lot). While we're on the topic of trailer weight I strongly caution you to NOT use the trailer weights stated in most sales brochures they are almost always much lower than actual delivered weight. Every trailer comes from the factory with a yellow sticker showing the actual weight of that unit as equipped.
__________________
2015 Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604 WS. Rear LR, large street side slide with small wardrobe slide in BR.
2014 Ram 1500 Eco Diesel Laramie Quad Cab.
wbdavey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2016, 09:59 PM   #32
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,907
I would even ignore that factory weight, because as soon as you start loading that TT with bedding, pots & pans, flashlights, dish soap and 100 other odds and ends, that factory weight doesn't mean squat.

Use the GVWR on the white sticker on the front driver's side of the TT and assume 15 percent for the tongue weight.

That will keep you out of trouble.
__________________
1988 Coleman Sequoia - popup (1987-2009) - outlasted 3 Dodge Grand Caravans!
2012 Roo19 - hybrid (2012-2015)

2016 Mini Lite 2503S - tt (2015 - ???)
2011 Traverse LT, 3.6L, FWD
2009 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab, 5.3L, 4x4, 3.73
2016 Silverado 2500HD Dbl Cab, 6.0L 4x4, 4.10
rockfordroo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
500, tow vehicle

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:22 AM.