Newbie.......Confused......Worried.....Towing Cap....... Wildwood??????

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04RedSilver

Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Posts
6
After 3 months of looking for TT that will suit our needs we have finally found one that is reasonable in price and the floorplan that  we like.

I am worried that it just may be too much of a TT.
We are liking the Forest River Wildwood 31QBSS.
Dry weight is 6600#
Gross is  10965#
I know that I will not be utilizing the full cargo capacity of 4305#.

I have a 04 Silverado 2500 4x4 Crew Cab
GVR 8600#
I do not know the curb weight of the vehicle I am assuming it is around 5500#
The gcvw is 14k# or 16k# depending on my axle ratio.
???How do i verify this.?????
The engine is the 6.0L

I will have 4 passengers in the truck and the total weight of my wife my 3 girls and myself is 600#

I really don't know if my truck will handle this TT. I need some help!!
I am assuming (I Know the Adage) that I will only utilize approx 1400# of the cargo capacity which will bring my unit up to 8000#
We live in Western Ohio and it is relatively flat. The majority of our travels will likely be this type of terrain.


Is this Unit too much of pull with my truck??javascript:void(0);
Huh

Anyone have a Wildwood?

All feedback will be appreciated.
I have a headache trying to figure all this out.





 
We need more info on the truck.  Engine type and size and rear end ratio.  There is a wide range of tow ratings on that model.
 
The truck is a 2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew Cab. This truck is not an HD
The engine is the 6.0 Liter gas.
My Axle ratio is either a 3.73 or a 4.10. At this moment I am not sure what it is. How do I go about finding out for sure.
When I bought the truck I was told that the ratio on this model only came in a 3.73 and now I found out that it can also have a 4.10.

I hope this helps us out.
Any more info you need I will try to provide it for you.
Thanks

 
04RedSilver said:
The truck is a 2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew Cab. This truck is not an HD
The engine is the 6.0 Liter gas.
My Axle ratio is either a 3.73 or a 4.10. At this moment I am not sure what it is. How do I go about finding out for sure.
When I bought the truck I was told that the ratio on this model only came in a 3.73 and now I found out that it can also have a 4.10.

I hope this helps us out.
Any more info you need I will try to provide it for you.
Thanks
Click to expand...

First let me state that I am using the Trailer Life Tow Rating Tables for 2004.? ?See them in the Tech section at HERE   The reason I am pointing this out is that the ratings for 2500 GMCs is a bit complex.  Go see.

Any rate it appears that your truck if it is an automatic, will pull 8000 lbs if it is the .3.73 rear end -- 10,000 if the 4.10.  Subtract 300 lbs from each if you have Quadra-steer.

We like to allow a 10% safety factor for towing in the flatlands east of the Mississippi.  20% if you tow in the mountain or Pacific west.  Thus in the east you should tow only 7200 lbs, 9000 for the 4.10.  In the west only 6400 lbs, 8000 for the 4.10.

Trailer dry weight is a calculated number that exempts any number of options.  I like to see GVWR used.  It also avoids head games, like "I surely would never, ever load it fully".  You will.

All that said, if  you have the 3.73 your trailer way too big.  If you have the 4.10 and avoid the great national parks and ciities of the West, then you are at best sub-marginal.

Start looking for smaller trailers and keep those GVWRs to the limits I have suggested.
 
The curb weight of your 2500 will be more like 6000 lbs than 5500. With a 14,000 lb GCWR, that leaves a max of 8000 lbs for your wife and kids, any gear in the truck, the trailer hitch and the loaded trailer.  You ain't even close to OK with the trailer you are looking at. And forget the trailer dry weight figure, since it is without options or propane onboard. Even if you don't load to the GVWR, you will still likely hit 9000-10,000 lbs.

If you by chance have the 4.10 (not real common becasue it impacts fuel economy significantly), you get up to marginal.

Check the glove box for a sticker that gives the rear axle ratio. It might also be on the door post where the tore pressures are.  There may even be a tag on the axle itself, but it may be an option code number rather than a numerical value.  Or ask a Chevy dealer to look up your VIN and get the build info for the truck. It will tell which rear axle was installed in it.

 
Thanks for the feedback on my questions. I am definetly going to look into a lighter trailer.
I was just about ready to close on the trailer in question before I found this sight. My dealer said I could pull a 30'  5er so I figured that this would be okay. 

Well I am going to take advice from the experts not the ones who want to get into my wallet.

Once again thanks.
 
My dealer said I could pull a 30'  5er so I figured that this would be okay. 
Click to expand...

Lately it seems like that is almost a guarantee that it would not pull a 30'.,  or any other number the dealer is peddling.
 
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