New from Colorado

[Bethers]

Hello There....my name is Beth. So happy I found this forum. We are looking at purchasing our very first travel trailer EVER!!! We are most likely getting the Rockwood Roo233S. We have a 2002 Chevy Suburban, 5.3 liter, 4wd.

I have never pulled anything before so I have to confess, I am a bit scared. Is my tow vehicle good enough???

Looking forward to chatting it up with some new friends on this board. Thank you!!

Beth

[pony express]

Congrats we have the 233s as well love it. I am unable to answer your tv questions but there are many on this site that will. Good luck enjoy camping

[caltoyhauler]

is the suburban a 1500 or 2500? we had a 1995 1500 350 4x4 suburban when we got our 24' toy hauler in 2004. You can get away with that, but you will feel safer if it's a 2500 (3/4 ton). when the suburban died after we towed up the 12% grade towards zion in 2005, we went ahead and got the 3500 (1 ton) diesel dually, which makes things a lot less nerve wracking on the hills.
i should add that a good 2" hitch with weight stabilizing bars works well, and you will need to get a good brake controller installed.
on towing, use tow/haul mode, which will adjust the shift ratios. also when pulling out, keep in mind that the back end of the trailer will at first go the opposite direction than you are pointing the truck! i found THAT out the hard way!
other than that, be sure to allow lots of room to stop at lights, and other drivers will seem even more oblivious to their surroundings than usual.

[Wiscampsin]

Welcome to the forum Beth. That Rockwood Roo233S is a nice camper! Towing anything is a learning curve. Best thing I could suggest is an unused parking lot, like a school parking lot on a Sunday. Remember you gotta take your turns wider when towing. Tip on backing - Start with your Suburban and the camper straight. Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. Whatever direction you want the back of the camper to go move steering wheel in that direction. It'll take practice but you'll get the hang of it.

[Rrickim63]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Hello There....my name is Beth. So happy I found this forum. We are looking at purchasing our very first travel trailer EVER!!! We are most likely getting the Rockwood Roo233S. We have a 2002 Chevy Suburban, 5.3 liter, 4wd.

I have never pulled anything before so I have to confess, I am a bit scared. Is my tow vehicle good enough???

Looking forward to chatting it up with some new friends on this board. Thank you!!

Beth

I have a similar tt and tv. It should do fine. Be careful, you could exceed gvwr if overpacked. Steep grades could prove trying, but take your time and you' ll be fine.

[Scott & Jen]

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

Welcome to the forum Beth. That Rockwood Roo233S is a nice camper! Towing anything is a learning curve. Best thing I could suggest is an unused parking lot, like a school parking lot on a Sunday. Remember you gotta take your turns wider when towing. Tip on backing - Start with your Suburban and the camper straight. Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. Whatever direction you want the back of the camper to go move steering wheel in that direction. It'll take practice but you'll get the hang of it.

"...hand at the bottom of the steering wheel." BRILLIANT! I just may impress DH with my newfound backing skills this spring

[Bethers]

Originally Posted by pony express

Congrats we have the 233s as well love it. I am unable to answer your tv questions but there are many on this site that will. Good luck enjoy camping

Oh I am so happy to hear you love your 233s. We really love the floorplan of this model. Thank you!!

Originally Posted by caltoyhauler

is the suburban a 1500 or 2500? we had a 1995 1500 350 4x4 suburban when we got our 24' toy hauler in 2004. You can get away with that, but you will feel safer if it's a 2500 (3/4 ton). when the suburban died after we towed up the 12% grade towards zion in 2005, we went ahead and got the 3500 (1 ton) diesel dually, which makes things a lot less nerve wracking on the hills.
i should add that a good 2" hitch with weight stabilizing bars works well, and you will need to get a good brake controller installed.
on towing, use tow/haul mode, which will adjust the shift ratios. also when pulling out, keep in mind that the back end of the trailer will at first go the opposite direction than you are pointing the truck! i found THAT out the hard way!
other than that, be sure to allow lots of room to stop at lights, and other drivers will seem even more oblivious to their surroundings than usual.

Thank you so much for all the advice. I think our Suburban is a 1500 but I will have to check on that....LOL. (lame, I know...haha....I may not know much about cars but I LOVE camping). I definitely want to get the best hitch/weight stabilizer/sway bar I can so that I feel safer. I am a worry wart so without ever having towed before I am feeling anxious. But I am positive I can learn!

Great tip about pulling out the trailer....I definitely do not want to learn things the hard way!! Yikes.

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

Welcome to the forum Beth. That Rockwood Roo233S is a nice camper! Towing anything is a learning curve. Best thing I could suggest is an unused parking lot, like a school parking lot on a Sunday. Remember you gotta take your turns wider when towing. Tip on backing - Start with your Suburban and the camper straight. Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. Whatever direction you want the back of the camper to go move steering wheel in that direction. It'll take practice but you'll get the hang of it.

Thank you! You guys are all so friendly and nice. I agree, an empty parking lot sounds like a perfect spot to practice! And I love your tip on backing up. I think I have my neighbor talked into teaching me whenever I get my new Roo.

Originally Posted by Rrickim63

I have a similar tt and tv. It should do fine. Be careful, you could exceed gvwr if overpacked. Steep grades could prove trying, but take your time and you' ll be fine.

I am relieved to hear my TV should be okay. I think the tt is just over 4000lbs and I think our suburban is rated to tow about 6500lbs.....I will definitely confirm before our purchase. Thank you!!

Originally Posted by jsssb31

"...hand at the bottom of the steering wheel." BRILLIANT! I just may impress DH with my newfound backing skills this spring

Yeah!!!! I wanna impress too!!

[bikendan]

welcome to the "Roo Kroo"!!!

as far as your Burb being able to tow the 233S, need more info. does it have the factory tow package? what rear end ratio does it have.
if not, you'll have a much lower tow capacity and will have to spend some money duplicating it.

also, how many will be in the Burb. the towing capacity is based on just a 150lbs. driver in it. any other passengers and cargo in the Burb, lowers that tow capacity.

if you have the factory tow package, you should be good to go, even with a family.

get a WDH(weight distributing hitch) with built-in sway control. the favorites are the Reese Dual-Cam and the Equal-i-zer, which are the best of this type, for the money.
and a Prodigy brake controller is also the best for the money.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by jsssb31

"...hand at the bottom of the steering wheel." BRILLIANT! I just may impress DH with my newfound backing skills this spring

This is a good suggestion that many people gives a thumbs up to. I started to get confused as to which direction I was moving the steering wheel so now I only keep one hand on it.

As for towing the parking lot idea is great. Also practice driving around in an area you are familiar with. I take turns wider and slower when possible.

[Bethers]

Originally Posted by bikendan

welcome to the "Roo Kroo"!!!

as far as your Burb being able to tow the 233S, need more info. does it have the factory tow package? what rear end ratio does it have.
if not, you'll have a much lower tow capacity and will have to spend some money duplicating it.

also, how many will be in the Burb. the towing capacity is based on just a 150lbs. driver in it. any other passengers and cargo in the Burb, lowers that tow capacity.

if you have the factory tow package, you should be good to go, even with a family.

get a WDH(weight distributing hitch) with built-in sway control. the favorites are the Reese Dual-Cam and the Equal-i-zer, which are the best of this type, for the money.
and a Prodigy brake controller is also the best for the money.

Thank you!! Yes, our Suburban has the factory tow package. We did get a WDH with sway control...I can't think of the name of it right now. My husband is on his way home with our new Roo right now...should be here soon!!! I am excited, anxious and a tad nervous..hahaha!

Originally Posted by Terier

This is a good suggestion that many people gives a thumbs up to. I started to get confused as to which direction I was moving the steering wheel so now I only keep one hand on it.

As for towing the parking lot idea is great. Also practice driving around in an area you are familiar with. I take turns wider and slower when possible.

Thank you so much!!!!! I am definitely going to practice driving it locally first!!!!

[Rrickim63]

Originally Posted by Bethers

Thank you!! Yes, our Suburban has the factory tow package. We did get a WDH with sway control...I can't think of the name of it right now. My husband is on his way home with our new Roo right now...should be here soon!!! I am excited, anxious and a tad nervous..hahaha!

Thank you so much!!!!! I am definitely going to practice driving it locally first!!!!

Enjoy the new camper...