Need some advice about tow packages

[seabee00]

Hey everybody,
New to the forum. I love my '05 tahoe. I just bought a travel trailer(camper). I've got the 5.3L. My camper weighs about 6800lb loaded with gear. The tahoe struggles a little more than what I want. I'm just wondering if I'm going to have trouble pulling this thing with the tahoe or should I get something bigger to pull it with? I mean, we live in the Cincinnati OH area and I'm just wondering if I'm going to have a problem pulling it to the beach? I haven't had anybody give me any straight answers yet and I'm hoping this will. All suggestions welcome!!!

 

[M3PO]

6,800 is heavy for a long tow on a 5.3. You won't get a straight answer, cause some will tell you they pulled a 100' yacht through the mountains and some like to bring a gun to a knife a fight.
IMHO if it is struggling, it won't last long, your better off getting something more suitable for towing before you need major repairs.
I think 7,700 lbs is max, but if you have a camper that big, I would bet you have a 1k lbs or more of people and gear in the truck. I have a 6.0 Denali and it has considerably more power, but if I had your your camper, I would skip the gas engines and go for the diesel and the heavier 2500 platform, they will last longer and get considerably more MPG's.
If you stick with the Tahoe make sure you have a brake controller and a good hitch with stabilizers. I am sure not all, but there has been rumors of RV salesmen to say "your truck will pull that juuust fine".

 

[DeepSeaFish]

M3PO is right. 6800 is a little heavy for a 5.3 . I pull a 3800 lb. boat and trailer with my Denali, and it pulls with ease. I've pulled the same rig with my neighbor's old 5.3 a couple times and it was an act of God to get it to shift down into the lower RPM range running down I-40 at 70 mph. Only a 2.5 hr. trip to the beach, but it was running 3000 rpms the whole way. Averaged about 8 mpg. Just very ******* the drivetrain. I get about 11-13 mpg pulling it with my Denali or his Escalade. With that heavy of a trailer, look into a good used 6.0 or a diesel. It'll make that trip from Ohio A LOT easier, especially if you're traveling through the mountains on your way. Best of luck and have a safe journey.

 

[The 'ER]

Not to jump in and contradict anyone but I work at an RV dealership and both responses have been good. I would first ask what size trailer as it does make a difference. Yes weight is one thing but a weight distributing hitch is mandatory for your max towing capacity. I can tell you that people come in with Tahoe's and Yukon's all the time and are pulling big campers. The long and short of it you will not be able to rip it down the road no matter the size at 75. Your engine will be working to hard and you will break something. Now if a 4 hour cruise is OK at 65. Then hey rock the Tahoe. If you jump to a 3/4 or a 1 ton go FW so much easier to tow. Just for a reference this was compiled with the help of the evil I hate to post it FORD and a media company that publishes some RV magazines and this is what we at our dealership use. We have broken many hearts with this guide but it is very real with their numbers. Another big one (I am getting long winded but bear with me) make sure you are running LP and not P-metric "tar baby" tires. You are really rolling the dice without LT tires as they will allow you to reach the max towing capacity. If you can provide more info I can better help you decide.

---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 PM ----------

http://www.bwbmag.com/sharedcode/ford/

The link we use.

 

[Mex-Nali]

Not to jump in and contradict anyone but I work at an RV dealership and both responses have been good. I would first ask what size trailer as it does make a difference. Yes weight is one thing but a weight distributing hitch is mandatory for your max towing capacity. I can tell you that people come in with Tahoe's and Yukon's all the time and are pulling big campers. The long and short of it you will not be able to rip it down the road no matter the size at 75. Your engine will be working to hard and you will break something. Now if a 4 hour cruise is OK at 65. Then hey rock the Tahoe. If you jump to a 3/4 or a 1 ton go FW so much easier to tow. Just for a reference this was compiled with the help of the evil I hate to post it FORD and a media company that publishes some RV magazines and this is what we at our dealership use. We have broken many hearts with this guide but it is very real with their numbers. Another big one (I am getting long winded but bear with me) make sure you are running LP and not P-metric "tar baby" tires. You are really rolling the dice without LT tires as they will allow you to reach the max towing capacity. If you can provide more info I can better help you decide.

---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 PM ----------

http://www.bwbmag.com/sharedcode/ford/

The link we use.

Thanks for that! We're trying to figure out what kind of travel trailer to get. We'll be pulling it from Phoenix to Oregon, and then want to park it in Mexico to use as a weekend beach house. The long/short of it is it's going to be big and heavy. 2004 6.0 Denali 76K miles. Know of a good 25' trailer that's light? Is there a link that compares trailers that can make the selection process easier that you know of?

Thanks and hola from Mexico!

 

[dorisk]

Good luck with your journey man! youll need it.