Cherokee 274DBH & Wolf 26DBH Owners - Who tows with a half ton?

[kfcflores]

Originally Posted by Thelegend

Not really, Your tundra's payload is maxed out with only 2 adults in your truck.

Yup. My payload max is about 1500 and my tongue about 1000max. So I guess I better run out and buy a 3500 diesel for my daily driver and to tow my trailer 10x a year. Anybody who has done any research knows the Tundra's are overbuilt for a "1500" truck. I have had ZERO issues with either of my tundras and either of my trailers. Thanks for the advice though.

[Thelegend]

Didn't say get a diesel.... You claimed that yours falls into the small minority of 1/2 tons that are capable.. it's not.

[JustB_Rad]

It's got a max weight if 7700 lbs, and as long as you don't way overpaid the front storage compartment, the Tongue Weight should stay around 800lbs. With a DBH, the rack on the back is capable of holding a genny and wood, also helping in tongue weight department. I don't need convinced, I'm under on my numbers. I also load almost everything in/on the TT.


Just because you had a 1/2 that was not capable of towing this level TT, doesn't mean that a good percentage of half tons out there will be overloaded like your truck was.

[Lukegsdaddy]

We tow our 26bdh with our Tundra all over the place with no issues at all.
Do not really feel it back there.
We keep it under 7700 # and probably 1000 in the truck.

[kjyeutter]

Originally Posted by MILover

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the FR forums, and we are looking to buy a 274 or 26 DBH. For minor reasons, we prefer the 274 DBH, which is slightly heavier. I already posted a more detailed question in the towing forum, but thought it might be helpful to take a poll on the Cherokee sub-forum, since you're the ones who would know best:

How many of you own the Cherokee 274 DBH or Grey Wolf 26 DBH, and tow it with a half-ton pickup truck? And those of you who do, can you tell me a bit about your tow vehicle and experience (good or bad)?

Thanks!

We pulled our 2017 26DBH with a Tahoe LT 65 to 70 up and down the roads of the high plains just fine. Has the full towing package from GM, high gearing, larger torque engine, etc. Did I mention I live in Colorado? When we headed west from Denver, different story. We became comfortable with climbing the passes (Loveland, Monarch, Berthoud, etc) at 35 mph but the major issues were the decents. We had to use some serious trailer and truck brakes as you know, not much of an engine brake on these like a diesel. Because we plan to continue spending a lot of time towing in the Rockies, we will be going to either a RAM 2500 or 2500 Chevy / Diesel next year.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Thelegend

Didn't say get a diesel.... You claimed that yours falls into the small minority of 1/2 tons that are capable.. it's not.

X2... I heard FL is considering having RVs hit the scales while a wintered there this year. If they do, other states will follow. All states are looking for revenue it seems. I'm not sure if that is good or bad. Other than costing me a minute or two no big deal but others may find the cost substancially higher.

[16Silv1500]

I pull a 25RL, if I remember the weights for it and the 26dbh aren't far off, but a little shorter. My truck is a regular cab 6.5 bed with the 4.3 V-6 and 3.42 rear. I want to say payload is right at 1900 and tow is 7600. 3950 front axle and 3850 rear axle. I haven't had a chance to run across a set of scales yet, but my truck handles this trailer just fine in Kentucky hills at 65-70 mph.

[JBusbin]

We just bought a 2017 274DBH and purchased a Blue Ox SwayPro Weight Distribution Hitch to connect to our 2000 Navigator. It's got a 5.4 and rear air bags and I know that it couldn't pull our TT without that hitch. The first time we hooked up, I never thought the airbags were going to come back up, but they did. You can tell it's back there on windy days, but does well when it's calm. I'd love to have a bigger vehicle, especially a diesel, but this is what we have at the moment and I'm thankful it's working for us. (Good thing I know how to rebuild E40D's! &#128526

[MILover]

Not trying to resurrect a dead thread, but I am the OP and thought it would be good to follow up:

We have taken our new 274DBH on two camping trips thus far, and towed it with our Toyota Tundra DC (4x4, tow package, Equalizer, Tekonsha P2 brake controller). I'm happy to report that it tows well, which is due in no small part to a proper set up with the Equalizer and brake controller. Also, my husband discovered that using the Tow/Haul mode alone helps, but the truck will still shift into 6th gear on smooth stretches, only to downshift too often at hills, turns, etc. He now uses the S5 or S4 gears on the truck in addition to Tow/Haul mode, which makes a night and day difference. For those of you who don't have Toyotas, the "S" gears allow us to lock out certain gears. In our case, we don't like it going into 6th because it downshifts too frequently. When in hills, we keep it out of 5th as well. Works like a charm and provides a lot more power. While our truck doesn't have the same passing ability as the 2500 or 3500's, it feels safe and adequate for our usage.

We also had a chance to really put the Equalizer to the test when driving home from our latest trip in 25-30 mph crosswinds. DH said it wasn't enjoyable, but it wasn't white knuckle either. We'd feel the trailer start to pull from wind, but the Equalizer adjusted it well and did a great job preventing any sway. We saw other rigs on the road that were downright scary with the amount of sway they had going on. Thankfully, ours was not one of them.

Last but not least - we have not yet been to a weigh station, but it's on our to-do list before the next trip. We don't tow with water and don't have anything in the truck bed aside from a couple of kids scooters, so I doubt we are overly loaded down. And, when everything is hitched up, our truck bed does not sag. Everything is nice and level. But, we do want to get those numbers sooner than later.

I noticed this thread brought up some...strong feelings at times. If anyone feels compelled to follow up, please stick to the facts and let's all be nice to one another! And obviously, not all trucks/set ups are created equal. I'm just sharing our particular experience in the hope that it might help someone else.

[kfcflores]

Never a doubt. Lol. I have very similar setup. Quick question. What size bars are u using with equalizer? 1000 or 1200?

[MILover]

We use 1000 bars. Considered the 1200, but thought it might be overkill. A lot of people with our trailers use the 1000, so we just opted for those.

[ProCharger]

26DBH pulling with a Tundra using a Reese Pro Series with 1000# bars. Last trip was right at 10mpg round trip, had 25mph crosswinds with 0 issues.

[depo]

Originally Posted by Thelegend

I did. Pete's RV in Indiana. Ask for Scott O.

Scott is the Man at Pete's

I have a 2016 23 DBH

Truck is a 2011 Nissan Titan, Big Tow, 5.6L, 3:36 Rear End, Tow Mode

E3 WDH with Sway Control.... 800lb bars
Prodigy3 controller

Tows like a monster. Even pull through Chattanooga, I place in 3rd gear and climb.

Only complaint is I cheat and sometimes tow locked out and at 65mph and it will pull at 1600 RPM and the engine feels like it wants to stall out.

So I stopped doing that and just tow in 4th... overall I actually get about the same MPG as being locked out.