Final Decision for New Travel Trailer

[steveblonde]

When you load the trailer the weight on the hitch is between 10 -15% of the gvwr. The MAX weight rating for your truck is 1490lbs BUT the max you should put in the truck is 80% of that number which is 1192 lbs .
The truck is rated for but here is the rub. At 1490 gm says nothing will break that not covered by warranty. However you will be riding on the bumpstops with a fully compressed set of springs and shocks and ride will be horrible, your headlights will be searching for Mars and the steering will very light and somewhat dangerous as will the fact you will have really crappy braking.
The truck will not break the driving experience may break you.
So you have 1200lbs to play with thats everything in and on the truck including the weight of the trailers hitch which is 6500lbs × 15% = 975 that leaves you 225 lbs for everything.

You can stretch things a little a couple hundred pounds here or there wont kill anything BUT 500 or 600 is a diffferent story.

There are some jurisdictions that Police the weight Idaho,British Columbia,Ontario,Indiana ive been told, and generally they are looking for the blatant abuse. I insurance companies are also always looking for a way to screw you.
I pull a large 5er with 3axles i use a dually but i see guys pulling similar rigs with SRW trucks that i know are overloaded. It depends what you want to risk

 

[Rob&Deryl]

As for 7500 GVWR, do the math. 12% of 7500 is 900. Add 100 for the hitch. That leaves 400 lbs for all people and stuff in the truck with not much safety margin.

You should not be worried about the 55a converter. Think of it as a battery charger. The 55a is max output @ 12v. Other than the fact that the thermostat for the AC uses 12v, it doesn’t factor in to either the AC discussion or the size of your shore power connection.

 

[SeilerBird]

I pull a large 5er with 3axles i use a dually but i see guys pulling similar rigs with SRW trucks that i know are overloaded. It depends what you want to risk

Gosh Steve, can't you find a bigger fiver? You must be cramped in there.

 

[steveblonde]

Hey bird man i can fit a Tesla in the back and save some money on fuel lol

 

[SeilerBird]

I am the bird man, I am the bird man, I am the bird man, koo koo ka chew.

 

[raylo74]

When you load the trailer the weight on the hitch is between 10 -15% of the gvwr. The MAX weight rating for your truck is 1490lbs BUT the max you should put in the truck is 80% of that number which is 1192 lbs .
The truck is rated for but here is the rub. At 1490 gm says nothing will break that not covered by warranty. However you will be riding on the bumpstops with a fully compressed set of springs and shocks and ride will be horrible, your headlights will be searching for Mars and the steering will very light and somewhat dangerous as will the fact you will have really crappy braking.
The truck will not break the driving experience may break you.
So you have 1200lbs to play with thats everything in and on the truck including the weight of the trailers hitch which is 6500lbs × 15% = 975 that leaves you 225 lbs for everything.

You can stretch things a little a couple hundred pounds here or there wont kill anything BUT 500 or 600 is a diffferent story.

There are some jurisdictions that Police the weight Idaho,British Columbia,Ontario,Indiana ive been told, and generally they are looking for the blatant abuse. I insurance companies are also always looking for a way to screw you.
I pull a large 5er with 3axles i use a dually but i see guys pulling similar rigs with SRW trucks that i know are overloaded. It depends what you want to risk

Thanks for the information. I don't want to get near the limits as I don't want to create a hazardous situation. I sent the truck stickers' pictures to the sales person and he told me he did not feel confortable selling me the Mallard as it was as stretch. He recommended a lighter trailer, Forrest River 273 QBXL, and that he believes my truck can handle it. I am doing more research on the weight, but this information is very helpful... Thanks once again!

 

[steveblonde]

NO ARE YOU NUTS 33ft long and your GVWR is still at 7700lbs your going the wrong way your saleperson is looking to make a sale and knows nothing. Did you know 95% of all rv sales people dont even own a trailer? You need a new salesperson

 

[raylo74]

NO ARE YOU NUTS 33ft long and your GVWR is still at 7700lbs your going the wrong way

As I typed it and hit sent I finished the calculation and realized it is still too much. So, not completely nuts lol. I am looking for smaller trailers or a more powerful truck.

 

[steveblonde]

Lol

 

[steveblonde]

Buy a new truck if possible it will give you more options a 2500 and 3500 are similar in towing ability a 3500 has way more payload

 

[ziplock]

Maybe this one will work?

Imagine | 2400BH

Enjoy one of the best rear-living, lightweight RVs on the market. Live large at 28'11" and under 6000 pounds.

www.granddesignrv.com

 

[steveblonde]

How realistic is the truck option?

 

[donn]

To be frank a 1500 ton pickup is really going to be happiest pulling 6000-6500 pounds. And that's really going to depend on drive train, tires etc.
Many 1500s come with P metric tires, which are not at all suited for towing much. Can you tow more? Sure, will you be happy with the outcome at the end of the first season? That's going to be up to you. For a short time we towed a 6000 pound TT with a Tahoe. Did OK in the flats, but since we live in the far west, flats were rare. Everywhere we went meant a climb out of the valley. And there the Tahoe sucked big time.

 

[raylo74]

How realistic is the truck option?

I would have to go see how much I can get for the one I have. I really like the Sierra so will have to see what they have in stock for the bigger models.

 

[raylo74]

To be frank a 1500 ton pickup is really going to be happiest pulling 6000-6500 pounds. And that's really going to depend on drive train, tires etc.
Many 1500s come with P metric tires, which are not at all suited for towing much. Can you tow more? Sure, will you be happy with the outcome at the end of the first season? That's going to be up to you. For a short time we towed a 6000 pound TT with a Tahoe. Did OK in the flats, but since we live in the far west, flats were rare. Everywhere we went meant a climb out of the valley. And there the Tahoe sucked big time.

Thanks for the feedback. I am doing several calculations based on the feedback here and online calculators and if I have a fully loaded truck the towing capacity it gives me is 7200 lbs. Knowing that I should not go over 80% of this calculation, I am looking at around 5,800 lbs. So I am basing my search off of that. I am also talking to the GMC dealer about trade in and upgrade. Let's see what happens. Either a bigger truck or a smaller trailer.

 

[scottydl]

Consider your private party options too, both for purchasing an RV and buying/selling trucks. About the only thing a dealer can guarantee is they'll charge you more and give you less on both ends... which is how they build their multi-million dollar showrooms. And as mentioned most RV dealers are not RV owners so their level of real-life expertise is limited at best.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Hitch weight is always given dry. To get a realistic hitch weight take the GROSS trailer weight (GVW) and multiply by .13 (13%). One of those trailers is 9600 gross so the realistic hitch weight is 1250 lbs. the other trailer is 8600 Gross so the hitch weight is about 1100 lb. You hitch will weigh about 100 lbs so take that out of your trucks payload plus the hitch weight. Either of these trailers will put you well over the truck's sticker tongue weight of 940 lbs.

Realistically the truck is capable of a trailer of about 6500-7000 lbs GVW and about 26-28 ft max. for you to have something less than a white knuckle experience. Length with a travel trailer is a huge deciding factor.

Charles