Considering Tow Vehicle Upgrade

Hi everyone!  I'm a bit of a rookie and I have hardly posted at all since joining....though I have been a fly-on-the-wall like crazy just trying to soak up information - so here is a backstory (skip to "the point" if i bore you).

EDIT: Now that I've typed this perhaps i should retitle the thread as "my learning experience with tow vehicles"

I have a young family and we bought our first "RV" (Keystone Laredo 284bhs - 32' 8" stem to stern) in April, nearly a year after buying my first "capable" truck in a Nissan Titan.  At the time I looked, i learned, i read and read and read....was going to pull the trigger on a keystone outback when luck found me the Laredo - loved the floor plan, wife loved the floor plan (lets be honest, this is why it now sits in the driveway!), got an AWESOME deal (it was an unsold 07 in the early stages of the 08 model year), and it was "only" 1000lbs heavier than the outback that we merely "liked."

Looking back at some reading I had done both here and in other forums (other RV chats and many other specific truck forums) i decided that the "20% rule" (as in getting a rig that was 20% less than the tow vehicle's capability) was a good baseline for my trailer purchase.  So, the Laredo seemed to be a decent enough fit....Advertised tongue of the Laredo is 680, i weighed it with a race car scale for "real world" situations, after some knowledge about advertised weight vs. the real world, and got 696 (this was with propane, battery, and tool box in storage area).  Dry weight is close to 7k based on advertised weight and guesstimations of AC and other "additions" (no, i havent hit the scale.....sorry!!!).  All of that is within the Titan's capabilties with the 20% rule applied.

So the summer season came and went....we didn't camp as much as i would have liked, but we got out there and did a decent enough mix of driving...short hops on flat land, some Midwest NASCAR events when we could, one trip into some pretty decent hills in Brown County Indiana (where this post really got it's roots!).  The Titan made it without issue - and we towed "wet" into those hills.  In some early trips I encountered some trailer sway...i first improved it simply by adjusting my first (cheap!) hitch set-up...and then later I largely eliminated it by adding an Equal-i-zer hitch (i could talk about that thing for days!!)

So far - so good - No harms, no fouls...but my concerns grew when we hit those hills.  We made it....the truck was workin' at it, but it wasn't struggling...based off of my tongue weight, my weight, my diminutive wife's weight, dogs weight, and kids weight - I was towing within GVWR of the truck....but we were getting close to the limit, what was i forgetting....the weight of the gas in the tank!!!  so the upgrade thoughts sprouted....

HERE'S MY POINT!

My summer adventures, particularly those hills (I want to head west someday!), planted a seed about potentially needing to upgrade trucks - simply for the safety of my family.  I packaged my "spiel" to my wife by stating that "discovering" we've exceeded the Titan's capabilities may not allow us the 2nd chance at fixing the problem.  Plus I have a pull scheduled into the mountains of Tennessee this spring with 3 other "full size" buddies who simply crush the GVWR.  I think the 3/4 ton upgrade is a must for the future...especially if the truck was "workin" on hills....those Tennessee mountains are another ball of wax!

So I have found a Chevy 3/4 ton truck that eliminates all issues near as i can tell, I'm probably pulling the trigger on it in the next couple of days(turns out my "spiel" worked!).  I'd love to hear some thoughts from the experts

and....Any rookies out there??? I hope this post is useful to you....

To you snowbirds and full-timers....I'm jealous - and have a great, safe winter!

I'll continue to lurk, and look forward to learning even more from all of you...

Thanks for lending us your new found experience.

Nothing moves a trailer like cubic inches (or liters, as we more often use now). Small block engines can generate horsepower & torque if you wind them up enough, but a big displacement block generates similar power much lower in the RPM range, down low where you need and can use it. And the beefy frame of a 3/4 or 1 ton will handle a trailer with aplomb, whereas a half ton can easily get overwhelmed by the trailer.  Not everybody needs a big tow vehicle, but it sure makes life easier.

So enjoy your new 2500. Just make sure it has enough engine for your towing plans.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for relating your experience.  I think you will find the Chevy will do a great job.  Are you thinking of the diesel?  If so, you won't be disappointed.  I have the 2500 diesel and pull a horse trailer, when fully loaded, is close to 8,000lbs.  I have no problem with hill/mountain climbing; and if you get the 'tow/haul' and integrated brake controller, you will like the truck even more.

FWIW, I grew up in Indiana and have horsecamped in Brown County.  I'm also from Alabama and have driven through the hills of Tenn.  Most of my married life, I have lived in Southern California, so I have experienced all the different terrains.  When you come west, you will be VERY happy you have the Chevy. 

Marsha~