planning cross country trip

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R.J.

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Joined
Dec 16, 2017
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24
recently retired. I have a 2013 Summerland 2570 and a 2011 Chevy Silverdo 1500. Took her from upstate NY to the smokies last summer. Ran a little hot on the mountains. worried about taking her out west next year.
 
Yeah, I'd be interested in knowing your trailer weight and truck's towing capacity too. It can certainly get hot out here, especially in the summer and fall, and 6-7 % grades are pretty common in all west coast states, which can challenge any cooling system. Some trucks have optional heavy duty cooling systems, which often come with tow packages. Does yours?

My '98 Tahoe has such a package, but it still runs warmer than normal when I'm towing our horse trailer. I don't think it would do very well at all with a stock cooling system. And remember, if the engine is running warm, so's the transmission.

If your truck is rated to safely tow your trailer's weight (that's crucial) you might want to start evaluating your cooling system. Look into getting it flushed, and possibly having a larger radiator, and an external transmission cooler installed.

Kev
 
Can you provide the GVWR from the camper?  Also the Max Carrying Capacity from the yellow edge placard on the truck driver door latch pillar?  What is the approximate weight of all passengers and cargo carried in the truck?  This will allow much more accurate advice.
 
Loaded you might be around 7K to 7600?  I had a similar truck with a TT loaded at 5K and the rear axle maxed out at 1650. It was nice to drive and would get up and go and was safe. My son had a similar set up but about 1000 more and went across country. He said it was ok but got tiring and was often screaming so he went to a 3/4 diesel.  Doesn't have to be a diesel but I'd have a 3/4 for that if traveling far with that weight. Even when shopping 3/4 watch the specs as they are not all the same. You also dont really know your weight until you scale it ready to travel. You could be 8000 +

Just my rough guide:
Small rig under 5000 = 1/2 ton
Many TT some FW = 3/4 ton
FW mid to larger = 1 ton
Big FW = 1 ton dually
Real big FW = Med duty Heavy duty ?4500? etc


http://www.keystonerv.com/previous-years?brand=Summerland&year=2013
 
If it doesn't have trans cooler I would suggest one if it does maybe bigger one as the trans can generate a lot heat and the fluid running though the radiator can really warm things up. This advice is from a trans shop. 
 
Arizona, Nevada and California will see temperatures over 100 degrees on a regular basis most of July, August and September.

So make sure your cooling system is in good working order for sure.
 
When I was towing in the Smokies and Rockies, with my Nissan Titan, I found if the transmission temperature started to climb I could drop it by downshifting a gear.  I got so used to downshifting before the temperature rose, it hardly ever increased.  I think it is directly related to the engines RPM's.
 
My real world CAT scale numbers.

TV is - 2010, F-150, 4x4, super cab, 3.5 e-boost, 356 hp, towing package. Max cargo is 1411 lbs. towing capacity is 9500 lbs.

TT is - 2010 Dutchmen 25 ft. small slide. Dry weight 5000 lbs. Loaded for the road scale weight 6200 lbs. dry tongue weight 400 lbs. Loaded for the road tongue weight 750 lbs.  Hence, dry weight figures mean little.

Cargo - Family, dog and camp gear in truck bed 600 lbs. I am at or near my cargo capacity.

I have towed over 30,000 miles in four years. We have crossed the Rockies twice and spent 6 week circumnavigating the AZ desert.

Plusses - The rig combo works great, no issues with over heating or lack of power. It is small enough to wind through city streets to find shops and attractions. It gets 10 mpg towing at 55 to 60 mph.  The TV get 16 mpg around town as a daily driver.

Minuses - The rig combo is maxed out weight wise, so one can assume the appropriate wear and tear on parts. I cannot go to a bigger TT because I am at my max cargo limit for the TV.

Obviously we enjoy the RV life and most of out trip are 3 to 6 weeks long. In addition to the 30,000 towing miles the TV has an additional 50,000 sight seeing and daily driving miles.

I will say the CAT scale numbers were a real eye opener, compared to the weight estimates we all like to make. 

Good Luck 
   
 
Thanks for the input. Looking to upgrade to a 2012 chevy 2500 6.0. Should pull my Summerland no prob
 
Thanks to everyone for the input. Just purchased a 2012 chevy silverado 2500. 6.0 gas. Should pull my Summerland 2570 easily. Camper is kind of a cheapo, but has all we need.
  Now looking for input/resources for traveling next summer-fall from upstate NY to the national parks out west.

Any advice?

R.J
2012 Chevy Silverado 2500 6.0
2013 Summerland 2570RL
 
Congrats on the truck!  Now we want Pictures!

What type of advise are you looking for?  Start a new thread with specific questions and you will get more responses.

Plan a route, but be flexible.
Reservations are recommended near major attractions like popular NP and holiday weekends.
Plan on an average of 300 miles or 6 hours travel per day - less if you plan to stop at attractions along the route.
ENJOY!!
 
grashley said:
Congrats on the truck!  Now we want Pictures!

What type of advise are you looking for?  Start a new thread with specific questions and you will get more responses.

Plan a route, but be flexible.
Reservations are recommended near major attractions like popular NP and holiday weekends.
Plan on an average of 300 miles or 6 hours travel per day - less if you plan to stop at attractions along the route.
ENJOY!!

Little topic swerve...

Why 6hrs? Cruise out around 9am and arrive at 3ish? Seems like wasting several hours of travel time.  If in travel mode, should not take long to setup or break camp. Arriving at 5-6pm should leave plenty of time for setup and dinner before dark?
What am I missing? Note, I only have experience tenting for the most part. I figured parking a trailer would take less time.

Of course, if you are arriving for a multi day stay, allocating more time makes sense to me.
 
When driving a car, I have often done 12 hour days.  My son lives 1750 miles away.  I get very tired, but a good night sleep and I can go again.  And it is ONLY 2 days.

Pulling the FW, I drive slower and, even though I have a comfortable setup, 6 hours is generally long enough!  I can set up at my leisure in daylight, relax, unwind, and get a good night's sleep, and I am refreshed in the morning.  If I drove 7 - 8 hours, I would be exhausted, and I would not be refreshed with "just" 8 - 10 hours sleep.

For the younger set, you may be okay driving longer.  I would suggest  stopping at least an hour before sunset regardless.  I would also suggest starting with shorter days and extending them if you wish.  If you start out too long, it may take several shorter days to recover.
 
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