New Toy Hauler and a Chevy Silverado

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moskydives

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Joined
Feb 19, 2015
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Location
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I am new to the Toy Hauler and RV World, I currently have a small pop up camper but I am looking to upgrade to a Toy Hauler that I can tow with my 2000 Chevy Silverado truck.  I am not sure what to look at when figuring out my tow capacity.  I live in FL which is a very flat state but would possibly do a roadtrip to Nevada with my set up.  My truck is a 2000 Silverado LS 1500, 4WD, Extended Cab, Vortec 5300 V8. I am looking into purchasing a Forest River XLR Hyperlite 29HFS Toy Hauler and will be putting a Golf Cart into the Toy Hauler for FL travel.  Going out west I would not be bringing the Golf Cart.  Can anyone tell me if this will work? What could I tow with my truck?  I have asked several RV dealers in my area and keep getting different answers (things like I think that will work, should be ok, etc)  What should I be looking at when figuring this stuff out?
 
welcome to the forum.
I would include the  gear ratio of the truck, weights of the trailer and golf cart. a little more info and you will get some good answers. I don't know much about the weights....
 
in your glove box, there should be a sticker with RPO codes. 
You can google RPO codes to find the listing
I found this one
http://www.marshu.com/images-website/car/gm-firebird-camaro-rpo-car-door-manufacturer-codes/gm-firebird-camaro-GM-RPO-car-codes.pdf
Your rear end ratios are listed I think with a number starting with F... such as F68 for a 3.45:1

with the RPO sticker, you can cross reference all the options you have, type of engine.... tranny, etc....

Then look in the owners manual towing section.  There will be charts listing the various capacities based on the engine, tranny, and rear end ratio options..... and other variables such as 4x4, crew cab, etc....
You are looking for the GCWR and the GCWR

Don't assume that if your silvy has the factory towing package, that it also has a good rear end for towing.  Mine has the towing package but does not have a towing differential.....
 
Looks like the toy hauler weight is 6,759 lbs unloaded vehicle weight, 3,014 LBS Cargo Carrying Capacity, and a Hitch weight of 1,032 Lbs.  The Golf Cart would weigh approximately 600 Lbs.  I am not sure how to figure out the gear ratio of the truck but if someone could point me in the right direction I will try to figure it out.  I do have something that says Rear Axle - 3.73 Ratio, is this what I am looking for?
 
Yes, 3.73 is the rear axle ratio. The rest of the tow rating is keyed to wheel base, engine and tranny, but you can deduce the wheel base from cab style & bed length. That's how they typically show it in the Chevy Towing Guide and similar pubs.

You can view the 2000 Trailer Life Towing Guide via the link below and look up your tow capacity there.  The 2000 Guide is near the bottom of the page. Your truck needs to be able to handle the trailer GVWR (dry + CCC) weight, even though you may think it will never be fully loaded.

http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/

The max rating I see for your Silverado is 9500 lbs and that's with the extra Towing Package installed. That's not a lot for a toyhauler, especially after you deduct for passengers and gear carried in the truck, as well as the weight of the hitch itself (about 100 lbs).

If you are considering a 5W toyhauler, be aware that the trailer pin weight is more limiting than the total trailer weight. The truck has to be able to actually carry 20-25% of the gross trailer weight on the 5W hitch and few older 1500's can handle for than about 1200-1500 lbs.
 
Gary right about one thing you need a truck capable of towing the GVWR of the trailer plus some safety margin. Like even my trailer the dry weight was no where near the empty weight. Mine listed at 6,588 dry weight but the day I bought it and scaled on the way home it was already at 7,300 pounds and last spring it was scaled out at 8,020 pounds and it got a GVWR rating of 8,500. Doesn't take long before it adds up on you.
 
There are two people you cannot trust about advice on tow vehicles and recreational vehicles--car salesmen and RV salesmen.

You might be okay in Florida towing short distances with your truck max'd out on weight carrying.  But going cross country and into mountains is another ball game.

And one thing that can be said about most toy haulers is that they're long, and heavy.  I like to be a little conservative when it comes to hauling weights and truck capabilities.
 
Gary I'm looking at a keystone 2015 311 toy hauler today the hitch weigh is 2790 lbs. My 2012 Durmax pay load 2792 lb empty. When I  add a Harley, gas and gear to the garage about 1500 lbs . My thinking it will take 800 lb of the truck  and I wont know until the Chevy is on a scale. Is that the way it works? dry weight of the  Impact is 11000 and 14000 loaded speculating . I have no experience with the Durmax and heavy  RVs .
 
jerryg@deb said:
Gary I'm looking at a keystone 2015 311 toy hauler today the hitch weigh is 2790 lbs. My 2012 Durmax pay load 2792 lb empty. When I  add a Harley, gas and gear to the garage about 1500 lbs . My thinking it will take 800 lb of the truck  and I wont know until the Chevy is on a scale. Is that the way it works? dry weight of the  Impact is 11000 and 14000 loaded speculating . I have no experience with the Durmax and heavy  RVs .
Click to expand...
 
I'm looking at a keystone 2015 311 toy hauler today the hitch weigh is 2790 lbs. My 2012 Durmax pay load 2792 lb empty. When I  add a Harley, gas and gear to the garage about 1500 lbs . My thinking it will take 800 lb of the truck  and I wont know until the Chevy is on a scale. Is that the way it works? dry weight of the  Impact is 11000 and 14000 loaded speculating .
Click to expand...

First of all, the 2780 hitch weigh is for an empty trailer (11,640 lbs). The max gross (GVWR) on the Impulse 311 is 16,500 lbs, so the truck may have to carry as much as 3300 lbs or maybe even a bit more. Too much for your Duramax. Even at 14,000 lbs (very dubious), the pin weight is going to be around 2800 lbs.

Not sure what you mean by "take 800 lb of the truck". Are you hoping that the weight of the stuff in the garage will reduce the trailer pin weight?  I seriously doubt it becasue the 5W would be unstable with any less than about 20% of its total weight on the pin.

You also need truck payload capacity to cover the weight of the 5W hitch (around 100 lbs), any passengers in the truck, and any gear in/on the truck itself besides the trailer and hitch. That ain't ever zero.
 
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