Hello and TT tow question/re-assurance.

Hi all, new to forum and RV travel travels.  I guess I'm looking for some re-assurance that pulling this thing gets better!

While I have had experience pulling small boats,  small TTs, and utility trailers(all under 20ft) , I found that pulling my 2018 passport 2400BH(27'10", ~ 4800 lbs dry) was a vastly difference experience.  And one that frankly I didn't enjoy all that much.  the 1st trip was about 60 miles(from dealership to home).  Please, please tell me it gets better!.

I think the worse part was thinking "what could happen/go wrong" then anything that actually did.  No sway from trailer, no one cutting me off, no e-braking, etc.  I just was constantly on edge looking for something to happen.  Every Semi that passed I was expecting it to push my trailer around(none ever did). 

I suppose the worse "Actual" feeling was the bouncing and some feeling of movement of the hitch from a few very rough patches of highway. 

Truck is a GMC 1500HD 6.0L Crew cab 4x4.  7900# tow, 8600 GVW, and payload of 2900#.  I picked up an 8k equal-i-zer and a hopkins insight brake controller.  With these numbers I'm certainly within the trucks stated capacities.

I stayed at under 60 and most of the time ~55.  What speed do you usually drive at on open multi-lane hightways?  Any other tips and tricks that you guys use besides the usual "top 10" towing tips that are all over the web?  I don't want to have to take meds in prep for every camping trip this summer! 

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds pretty normal to me,the anxiety,I mean.  Being in charge of a brand new,no doubt expensive, big box barreling down the road?  55-60 mph sounds like reasonable highway speeds

I'm sure someone familiar with the number crunching can advise on weights.

Those numbers sound unlikely for a Crew Cab 4 by 4 half ton truck. Did you actually get them fron the door post (actual ratings for that truck) or accept the advetised, and highly optimistic salesmen numbers. Worth a check!

Not that you might not still be ok, but worth considering.

Ernie

Those numbers are legit.  Side of door and what I've found on the net.  While I did purchase new, I can't remember what the salesman told me.  its a 2003.

I was also wound tight for the first few hauls.
I also had never made or broke camp with an RV so that was extra stress.

But when it was all set up, dinner was done and I sat by the fire and relaxed, I knew that I had done it.  Nothing fosters confidence like success.  Well, the single malt I was drinking might have helped too.

Gets easier over time. Just takes some getting used to.

Ok the importante points from that post
You have towed smaller lighter trailers for years. So you know the basics of towing and backing up. Bigger really makes very little difference when it comes to "low speed" activities but yes. It is harder to see some parts cause RV's are BIG.

Second: You said you had no problems with passing trucks or anything else on teh 60 mile trip home. by the way that is a bit longer than my trip home  but you survived with no dents, scratches or incidents.

Your primary issue was all the horror stories you have heard and "Oh This, that and the other thing can go wrong"

I will tell you now that some of the things you may be worried about (though not the things on the way home) WILL happen.. But don't worry about it, You will survive.
And likely laugh about it once you clean up. 

But there is really only two ways to cure your worry.
For the major stuff. like a semi blowing you off the road.. More miles. if it did not happen already it likely will not, less you are driving in like a 100 MPH cross wind (I have only done that at VERY low speed and for a VERY short time,, 100 mile per hour dead astern not a problem. in fact I got great MPGs that day, but once I got off the straight as an arrow freeway.. I hit perhaps 15 MPH tops).

But as you grow in expierence you will grow in comfort

A trip to a local shopping mall before/after hours may help too as you have a bit lot of NOTHING TO HIT but the brakes. You an "Back into" parkign spaces and such and get more comfortable with teh trickey stuff. Learn how it tracks, all without danger.

Now the little disasters, LIke a ruptured sewer hose.. Those are going to happen. Just take a shower and laugh about it (in fact take two. one you won't have a choice but the other involves soap and water) .

you should really look at the door decal -drier side on the b pillar looks like this for actual numbers for your truck

A few words of advice.  Plan too arrive as early as you can at your destination.  Much better to set up in daylight.  Plan on arriving with food in your tummy.  Things go better when nobody is hungry.  Third, try camping in the drive way first.  Figure out who does what and in what order.  Fourth, $20 on Amazon will get you a pair of walkie talkies which are great for driver/spotter communications.  Happy trails!

I have my doubts you have a 2900# payload on a 1/2 ton truck with an extended cab, but regardless I'm guessing your trailer will be well over 6k loaded, so it's probably not an issue.

Anyway as others have said you just need seat time.  You should remain a little nervous or vigilant.  There is always a lot that can go wrong with any road trip, which is amplified by hauling a TT, so it's good to be aware of that and respect the danger involved, minimal as it is.

Take some short trips.  Get use to entire ordeal, and you will settle in.

Anxiety can only be overcome with experience, i.e. miles driven with nothing going wrong. A few people nevrr seem to get over it, though.

Welcome to the Forum!

First of all, I think you have enough truck for that camper, but not nearly as much extra capacity as you think!  The ad you posted claim that Chevy MAKES a 1500 with a 2900 # payload.  It DID NOT say yours did.  Quite honestly, very few do!  Most are closer to 1500# - 1700#.  As Steve said, find the placard on the driver door post which will state the payload for YOUR truck.  The same argument applies to towing capacity.

After dumping that bucket of ice water on you, let me repeat that  your truck should be able to handle that camper.  The camper is 6800# GVWR (the REAL weight for calculating capacities.  Nobody camps in an empty trailer!)  That means a tongue wt in the 700# + neighborhood, which leaves nearly 1,000# for the WD hitch, passengers and cargo in the truck.  With a bit of practice towing it, you will be fine.

I am more familiar with Ford, and they play the same weight numbers games as Chevy.  They claim over 3,000# payload, BUT the ONLY trucks with that payload are regular cab, long bed in XL or XLT trim.  With the XLT, only standard equipment allowed.  Also requires the HD Payload Package, which includes a high ratio rear end.  With this comes lower fuel economy.  You rarely find one on the lot.


EDIT:  After rereading, your 2003 will likely NOT have a Payload placard.  They were not required until 2009.

I can attest that those early 2000's Silverado 1500HD trucks (especially with the 6.0L engine) have a lot of heavy-duty upgrades and are almost akin to 2500 specs for that era. The towing capacity of 7900# looks right (and it actually goes up to 8200# depending on gear ratio) according to the Trailer Life Towing Guide for 2003. Not sure about payload, but that doesn't matter as much for a TT anyway.

As many others have said, to your question "will pulling this thing get better?" Well, no... but you WILL get more used to the feelings you described. It sounds like you have all the right equipment, and (all things considered) had a pretty good towing experience. Towing forces you to pay attention to every part of the driving/hauling experience, so it is a bit more mentally tiring. But you'll get more relaxed the more you do it, and will be much more familiar with what feels right and wrong.

thanks for the encouragement, kind words and advice.  yes i do believe seat time will help the most. love the idea of practice at the mall.

regarding payload.  i can see why many doubt the 2900# figure.  and in looking at 3/4 ton specs on new trucks, i can see why.  yes no yellow sticker but my truck did have a sticker stating 8600 gvw on it. so i guess the next step would be is to weigh the thing to determine the weight of the truck and subtract the 8600 gvw to get actual payload

Got a pic of the sticker.  Not the same as newer trucks, but shows Gross Vehicle weight as well as front and rear axle caps.

My Suburban is a generation older than your truck, but those tire pressures seem pretty high too. Good for towing, but won't allow much flex to smooth out the ride... and would be a constant bumpier ride for standard tooling around. My factory sticker is similar, but I also have a 2nd one that recommends non-towing tire pressures (up to 8 passengers and 200# cargo) at 35psi front, 50 psi rear. Heavy load towing 45psi front, 80psi rear. After weighing my entire rig and doing the axle math, I go with 43 front / 73 rear when towing and that works out pretty well.

Getting that tire pressure math figured out could make for a better towing experience too. Here's my "rough ride" thread from about a year ago when I was figuring that out on my Suburban.

We were in the same "boat" as you about a month ago. We bought a new Passport Grand Touring 2670bh. Had dreamed for a couple of years of finally owning one and finally pulled the trigger. We have a 2002 Silverado 1500 ecsb, 5.3 with trailering pkg and 3.73 rearend. The trailer weighs about 7200 dry and we use an Equalizer 8000 wd hitch. Took the maiden voyage from Indiana to Pensacola, FL for spring break one week after delivery. Was I nervous? Heck yes! Was it a little slow? Yes. My point, like many have said above, once you do it, and realize that it can be done, it will get better. Take your time, do what is safe and right, check everything at each fuel stop and you should be OK. We head out to Seattle in June and the wife and kids can't wait! Neither can I, knowing that while it may take some time to travel over 2,000 miles, getting there will be the BEST part.

And yes, getting your entire rig weighed (with the trailer loaded for a typical camping trip) is pretty important to knowing how to adjust the other towing factors. The "dry weight" number on a trailer isn't meaningless... but it greatly limits your knowledge of the overall towing situation. I mean, how often are you going to drive around an empty/dry trailer? i.e., Never.    Plus, remember that any cargo + passengers that will be in your tow vehicle also need to be factored into the equation. They are also being "towed" along by the truck.

My 2 cents:

- that truck should easily handle that trailer

- you were towing empty so the tongue weight would have been too low for a 27' trailer...when you load up the storage and put your stuff in front of the axles it will tow better

- was the WDH installed? If so, the dealer's installer has to guess at what the settings will be when the TT is closer to its GVWR. You may need to load the TT and then re-do the WDH install (I had to get the dealer to do this for my current TT).

The one thing I found after two years of fighting mine down the road, I too have the Equalizer hitch and the friction bar bolts were way too tight at the hitch, causing me to fight against it the whole time down the highway. I loosened both bolts to just firmly snug and it drives like a dream now. I wish I had known sooner, I've lost a lot of foam out of my seat due to that situation. 

Happy Camping!