Towing Travel Trailer

[RobH]

It sounds like a really attractive trip. Are you planning to stay east of the Mississippi River or go out west? Denver starts out a mile high and elevations go up from there.

That trailer loaded plus a family of five or six and their gear in the Tahoe would be a goodly load. Don't feel that you have to answer the following questions for me. They are just things you might consider. You may already be familiar with them.

It looks like they might be providing the hitch with the trailer rental. I would have expected a 2 5/16" trailer ball on a trailer that size and weight. Slide outs are nice. But they weigh about five hundred pounds more than the same floor plan without the slide out. Are the kids young enough for stacking them on bunk beds in a "bunkhouse" model?
The goal might be to rent a trailer with a 1000 less GVWR.

Paper plates. No one likes doing the dishes. And it uses fresh water and helps fill the grey water tank.

What is the total weight of the other members of your family besides you?

The driver, within reason, is a freebie when loading the Tahoe. As is fuel at 6 pounds per gallon. But the weight of passengers and cargo in the Tahoe are supposed to be subtracted from your max trailer weight of 8,600 pounds. It's in the fine print in the towing section of my Tahoe Owner's Manual.

How much cargo will be in the Tahoe?

And cargo in the trailer? If full, that 40 gallon fresh water tank will weigh 332 pounds.

The only way to know for sure on the weights is to weigh the total rig and then the front and rear axles of the Tahoe and the rear axles of the trailer. And compare the weights to the Front and rear axle gross weights for the Tahoe and for the trailer.

What the factory says you can tow on the level at sea level doesn't really relate to what you can do driving to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Or the Rocky Mountain National Park.

You might consider doing a two or three day trial run to a nearby state park in a higher elevation close by. And weigh the rig as loaded for the trip.

Don't know how many people you want in the Tahoe. Can you leave your third row seats at home?

Can you leave your second and third row seats at home and have the others drive in a second car with only a passenger (lighter) with you in the Tahoe?

For what it is worth, I figure my Tahoe LT 2WD with the NHT Max Trailering Package is good for me and my wife and things and a trailer with a max loaded weight of 5,500 pounds (12,000 combined) going over the ~ 9,000 foot passes out west.

I know that it is rated for 14,000 pounds combined weight. But I know how my brother's Yukon XL 6.2 liter with 3.42 rear axle handled pulling his older, heavy, 21 foot trailer with a claimed weight of 3,000 pounds over a 9,000 foot pass last summer on a trip to Yellowstone. The Yukon XL weighs about 400 pounds more than a Tahoe. That's why the Tahoe has a greater trailer weight rating than the long wheelbase models.



There was a little bit of huffing and puffing going on with three of us in the Yukon. And a couple of "pull over in a turn off, put it in neutral, let cars behind us pass, and let the engine and transmission cool down some". Some of the grades can be steep with long ascents.

East entrance to Yellowstone.

 

[Bob2C]

It sounds like a really attractive trip. Are you planning to stay east of the Mississippi River or go out west? Denver starts out a mile high and elevations go up from there.

That trailer loaded plus a family of five or six and their gear in the Tahoe would be a goodly load. Don't feel that you have to answer the following questions for me. They are just things you might consider. You may already be familiar with them.

It looks like they might be providing the hitch with the trailer rental. I would have expected a 2 5/16" trailer ball on a trailer that size and weight. Slide outs are nice. But they weigh about five hundred pounds more than the same floor plan without the slide out. Are the kids young enough for stacking them on bunk beds in a "bunkhouse" model?
The goal might be to rent a trailer with a 1000 less GVWR.

Paper plates. No one likes doing the dishes. And it uses fresh water and helps fill the grey water tank.

What is the total weight of the other members of your family besides you?

The driver, within reason, is a freebie when loading the Tahoe. As is fuel at 6 pounds per gallon. But the weight of passengers and cargo in the Tahoe are supposed to be subtracted from your max trailer weight of 8,600 pounds. It's in the fine print in the towing section of my Tahoe Owner's Manual.

How much cargo will be in the Tahoe?

And cargo in the trailer? If full, that 40 gallon fresh water tank will weigh 332 pounds.

The only way to know for sure on the weights is to weigh the total rig and then the front and rear axles of the Tahoe and the rear axles of the trailer. And compare the weights to the Front and rear axle gross weights for the Tahoe and for the trailer.

What the factory says you can tow on the level at sea level doesn't really relate to what you can do driving to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Or the Rocky Mountain National Park.

You might consider doing a two or three day trial run to a nearby state park in a higher elevation close by. And weigh the rig as loaded for the trip.

Don't know how many people you want in the Tahoe. Can you leave your third row seats at home?

Can you leave your second and third row seats at home and have the others drive in a second car with only a passenger (lighter) with you in the Tahoe?

For what it is worth, I figure my Tahoe LT 2WD with the NHT Max Trailering Package is good for me and my wife and things and a trailer with a max loaded weight of 5,500 pounds (12,000 combined) going over the ~ 9,000 foot passes out west.

I know that it is rated for 14,000 pounds combined weight. But I know how my brother's Yukon XL 6.2 liter handled pulling his older, heavy, 21 foot trailer with a claimed weight of 3,000 pounds over a 9,000 foot pass last summer on a trip to Yellowstone. The Yukon XL weighs about 400 pounds more than a Tahoe.

View attachment 252975

There was a little bit of huffing and puffing going on with three of us in the Yukon. And a couple of "pull over in a turn off, put it in neutral, let cars behind us pass, and let the engine and transmission cool down some". Some of the grades can be steep with long ascents.

East entrance to Yellowstone.

View attachment 252976

Great info here. The trip will be going from Virginia to Cooperstown NY up 81. I have gone through PA before In my vehicle and it’s not a bad drive. I think the highest elevation is 1500ft around mountain top in northeast PA. Just 2 adults and 2 kids. I did however after reading some advice decide not to get the trailer mentioned initially. I am now considering this one which I believe should be fine. I won’t be pulling huge inclines and we are stopping along the way and any one part of the drive is around 3 hours.





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[MainelyScott]

The smaller trailer will be good. I have a 2019 Tahoe with trailer package, added a brake module, and use the "Equalizer" hitch setup. And I use the "trailer" button. I've towed my Winnebago 2108 DS (3900 lbs. dry) about 15000 miles with no problems.

 

[Shunto]

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

Hope this Helps.

 

[IROCQUE]

I pulled my 2020 Grand Design Imagine 23BHE for the first time over the weekend with my 2020 RST. The weight of my trailer is about 5500lbs dry add about another 850lbs with gear and food. The Imagine is over 27 foot long which I believe is the max for a SWB (Tahoe of Yukon). Towed ok. I still experience a bit of sway but still manageable. I'm using the Equil-lizer Fastway E2 weight distribution system with 800lb friction bars which did help a lot. You just need to be sure they are adjusted correctly especially if your Tahoe is equipped with the Magnetic Ride suspension with the auto-leveling. Mine was not installed at the correct height when I first picked up my trailer from the dealer. The engine needs to be running during the fitment and adjustment in order for the compressor to fill up the suspension in order to get the correct level with all the tongue weight on the ball. This way it can compensate for the excessive sag and the weight for the bars to be correctly adjusted accordingly. If you are just a weekender and not going any long hauls full-time I think you should be fine. I tried looking in YouTube if anybody uses a Tahoe or Yukon to pull their RV's and they are not too many of them doing this. It's "do able" but rare.

 

[PG01]

I pulled my 2020 Grand Design Imagine 23BHE for the first time over the weekend with my 2020 RST. The weight of my trailer is about 5500lbs dry add about another 850lbs with gear and food. The Imagine is over 27 foot long which I believe is the max for a SWB (Tahoe of Yukon). Towed ok. I still experience a bit of sway but still manageable. I'm using the Equil-lizer Fastway E2 weight distribution system with 800lb friction bars which did help a lot. You just need to be sure they are adjusted correctly especially if your Tahoe is equipped with the Magnetic Ride suspension with the auto-leveling. Mine was not installed at the correct height when I first picked up my trailer from the dealer. The engine needs to be running during the fitment and adjustment in order for the compressor to fill up the suspension in order to get the correct level with all the tongue weight on the ball. This way it can compensate for the excessive sag and the weight for the bars to be correctly adjusted accordingly. If you are just a weekender and not going any long hauls full-time I think you should be fine. I tried looking in YouTube if anybody uses a Tahoe or Yukon to pull their RV's and they are not too many of them doing this. It's "do able" but rare.

View attachment 252992

View attachment 252991

Just curious..... what can possibly be in that roof top box that didn’t fit inside the trailer?

 

[007matman]

Just my two cents.

Pulling a trailer once or twice with a new vehicle isn't exactly an exhaustive test of towing capacity or would assist in uncovering what potential issues are down the road.

GM hasn't really changed the basic technology behind these rigs in probably 20 years. My 2004 Denali had Air-ride suspension (and an iron-block V8 which was probably more durable than these Aluminum block variants based on the same design. My 2010 Esky has Mag-ride and Air-ride.

The issues that seem to persist from year-to year are very consistent regardless of the metal wrapper that's placed around it.

Ok. Carry on.

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[IROCQUE]

Just curious..... what can possibly be in that roof top box that didn’t fit inside the trailer?

I carried a few extra camping folding chairs in the Thule roof carrier and an outdoor metal clothes dryer. It was just a test to see if the roof carrier was necessary plus my wife didn't want them in the new trailer as they would roll around.

 

[IROCQUE]

Just my two cents.

Pulling a trailer once or twice with a new vehicle isn't exactly an exhaustive test of towing capacity or would assist in uncovering what potential issues are down the road.

GM hasn't really changed the basic technology behind these rigs in probably 20 years. My 2004 Denali had Air-ride suspension (and an iron-block V8 which was probably more durable than these Aluminum block variants based on the same design. My 2010 Esky has Mag-ride and Air-ride.

The issues that seem to persist from year-to year are very consistent regardless of the metal wrapper that's placed around it.

Ok. Carry on.

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I didn't start pulling the trailer right away, drove this Tahoe for about 5000km on it more than what GM had recommended. My 2018 Tahoe LS had the 5.3 and the revs where much higher on hills and didn't have the magnetic ride suspension and there was a little more visible sag on the rear too.

 

[PG01]

I carried a few extra camping folding chairs in the Thule roof carrier and an outdoor metal clothes dryer. It was just a test to see if the roof carrier was necessary plus my wife didn't want them in the new trailer as they would roll around.

I was just busting your chops..