Can someone help with trailer braking?

[TahoeLT10]

The transmission does not overheat until the high 260s. Towing on flat roads at a steady state, your numbers are fine. It will go up in stop and go traffic and the hills or mountains.

In 36K miles or so miles we did a couple hundred miles of local towing and an analysis of the transmission fluid said it was pretty wore out and had about 5-10K miles of life left in it. I changed it out. So that being said, change your fluid after a taxing trip or two, say if the trans got into the 230s or more for good insurance.

Look into the Hensley Arrow and ProPride 3P hitches. They'll make towing and maneuvering with your Tahoe a much more enjoyable experience.

Remember, with that much trailer, not much can be aboard the Tahoe to stay within the Gross Weight limits.

Have you taken trip to the CAT Scales yet at your nearest truck stop?

Yes, I don't the wife to keep it minimal when we move to keep the payload as small as possible. I assume hitch weight adds to overall vehicle payload so between my family, we're about 300 under Tahoe's payload. Would you recommend anti sway bar with weight distribution in my scenario or just the anti sway bars? I do plan on hitting the scale once my extended mirrors come in (I had temporary ones). What am I mainly looking for weighing both the vehicle and the trailer? Loaded total weight of the trailer and payload of the vehicle to ensure both are in margins and the overall weight is evenly distributed? I was thinking of purchasing a scale to measure tongue weight.

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[swathdiver]

Yes, I don't the wife to keep it minimal when we move to keep the payload as small as possible. I assume hitch weight adds to overall vehicle payload so between my family, we're about 300 under Tahoe's payload. Would you recommend anti sway bar with weight distribution in my scenario or just the anti sway bars? I do plan on hitting the scale once my extended mirrors come in (I had temporary ones). What am I mainly looking for weighing both the vehicle and the trailer? Loaded total weight of the trailer and payload of the vehicle to ensure both are in margins and the overall weight is evenly distributed? I was thinking of purchasing a scale to measure tongue weight.

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With that much trailer (over 5K pounds) you've GOT to have a Weight Distribution Hitch. By all means add the anti-sway bars or get the ProPride and say goodbye to difficulties in towing. The WDH mechanically moves weight off of your rear axle and hitch and moves a portion to your Tahoe's steer axle and the trailer's axle(s). It does this by the tensioning the bars, the more you pull up on them, the more weight is shifted fore and aft which helps level out the vehicle.

If you are handy with Excel, I have created a spreadsheet to figure all this stuff out. I'll warn you though, a lot of fellas on here have asked for it and none have given me any feedback! It's either awful or awfully complicated! LOL

 

[swathdiver]

Yes, I don't the wife to keep it minimal when we move to keep the payload as small as possible. I assume hitch weight adds to overall vehicle payload so between my family, we're about 300 under Tahoe's payload. Would you recommend anti sway bar with weight distribution in my scenario or just the anti sway bars? I do plan on hitting the scale once my extended mirrors come in (I had temporary ones). What am I mainly looking for weighing both the vehicle and the trailer? Loaded total weight of the trailer and payload of the vehicle to ensure both are in margins and the overall weight is evenly distributed? I was thinking of purchasing a scale to measure tongue weight.

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With regards to weighing:

Weigh the truck and trailer separately and hitched together. You can them calculate how much hitch weight you are carrying. right down the weight of everything that goes into the camper, from Cheerios to Chainsaws and where its kept. The more stuff carried up front puts more weight on the tow vehicle's axle rather than the trailer's axles. Such is mighty tempting with those forward berths with all that storage under the bed.

 

[TahoeLT10]

With that much trailer (over 5K pounds) you've GOT to have a Weight Distribution Hitch. By all means add the anti-sway bars or get the ProPride and say goodbye to difficulties in towing. The WDH mechanically moves weight off of your rear axle and hitch and moves a portion to your Tahoe's steer axle and the trailer's axle(s). It does this by the tensioning the bars, the more you pull up on them, the more weight is shifted fore and aft which helps level out the vehicle.

If you are handy with Excel, I have created a spreadsheet to figure all this stuff out. I'll warn you though, a lot of fellas on here have asked for it and none have given me any feedback! It's either awful or awfully complicated! LOL

View attachment 251595

Thank you. I will take a look at the Excel. What sway bars with weight distribution would you recommend outside of ProRide is it is close to 3k. We're might be only holding this camper for a year so therefore I don't want to spend 3k on something and will become useless in 12 months. I see there are option is $200-700 range, but which is better. I also already have a ball hitch so I guess I will need to return it if I order a new sway bars as it seems that they come in a ball hitch.

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[swathdiver]

Thank you. I will take a look at the Excel. What sway bars with weight distribution would you recommend outside of ProRide is it is close to 3k. We're might be only holding this camper for a year so therefore I don't want to spend 3k on something and will become useless in 12 months. I see there are option is $200-700 range, but which is better. I also already have a ball hitch so I guess I will need to return it if I order a new sway bars as it seems that they come in a ball hitch.

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I defer to the fellas who have bought them and use them, I have not. Ask Bill @intheburbs and check out E-Trailer.

 

[TahoeLT10]

I defer to the fellas who have bought them and use them, I have not. Ask Bill @intheburbs and check out E-Trailer.

Thanks. Dang. The more I read, the more concerned I get, which is good. Maybe I just get Silverado 2500 Duramax and forget the trouble.

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[79jasper]

Thanks. Dang. The more I read, the more concerned I get, which is good. Maybe I just get Silverado 2500 Duramax and forget the trouble.

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For that much trailer, I would definitely say 3/4 ton minimum.
You mentioned family size, how many do you need to sit in the vehicle?
If you won't be frequently moving the trailer, I would personally just get a gas engine. While the duramax/allison combo is great, the maintenance/parts cost are pretty steep compared to a gas engine. Unless you go new enough to get a warranty.

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[TahoeLT10]

For that much trailer, I would definitely say 3/4 ton minimum.
You mentioned family size, how many do you need to sit in the vehicle?
If you won't be frequently moving the trailer, I would personally just get a gas engine. While the duramax/allison combo is great, the maintenance/parts cost are pretty steep compared to a gas engine. Unless you go new enough to get a warranty.

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We got two adults, two kids, plus a dog. We travel at least every 2 years due to my work and next year 50/50 might be moving overseas again and might be for good. Investing in a new vehicle is just not a wise option right now as I can't use it overseas this time around due to many factors such as tax implications, gas guzzler tax, road tax, and simply the cost of fuel where a full Tahoe tank is ~€170. I never thought about a camper until few months ago and with covid, cost of ****** and overpriced hotels, and inability to stay with a pet at any place I want, drove this discussion. Of course my main concern is the safety of my family and therefore I came here to learn as much as I could. I googled and read many reddit posts where folks tow just fine about 6000lbs with their Tahoes. However, I am very novice when it comes to towing and certainly skeptical with my vehicle's ability to perform and my skillset while towing such a load. The plan is to travel sole few times to test the waters before taking our long trip in few months.

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[bigdog9191999]

wow, that is a lot to jump into for a novice! as stated rv.net is a good place to look, as well as many facebook pages or other places keep reading.

wdh, brake controller, trans cooler would be the first three things on the list to get. youll be near the limits of what the Tahoe will be comfortable with but can be manageable if you are set up correctly and drive smart.

I have pulled that much weight with my avalanche and it did ok, but it didn't have the windbreak that a camper will have and the length will play a very large role instability, esp in wind. go slower and DONT BE AFRAID TO PULL OVER!! driving unsafe can be a detriment to you, your family, as well as others.

there are other little things that can add some stability and safety margin, like running e rated tires. but this will make the ride a bit more harsh for every day.

learn about proper loading and weight distribution, both in the trailer and with the hitch. being set up correctly will make alllll the difference in the world for ease of towing and how white knuckle it is with a setup like this. like the trailer should be level, no matter if the truck squats a bit or not.. and the truck will squat a bit but should not look like your from the south and about to scrape the bumper.

another consideration is a less expensive vehicle that will do the job easier ( I understand about the moving soon and such, but I got my 2500 suburban for less than $2,000. and could be a worthwhile thing for extra safety. )

 

[grouch]

A lot has been posted already so I may repeat what someone has said. First off, make sure your transmission cooler flow goes through the radiator and then the cooler. This way the transmission will live longer. If it goes through the radiator second, what ever the engine temperature is, that will be your transmission temperature. For your brake controller, make sure you get one where you can engage the trailer brakes by hand. This is how you can stabilize trailer sway. Sway control does good but in extreme winds, you can get some anyway. When the trailer start to dance, let off the throttle and slightly engage the brakes. It will pull right out. For your hitch, absolutely, positively get an equalizer hitch. They aren't cheap but are WELL worth it. Both for safety and ease of towing. Mine is 30 years old and ran me around $500 back then. The anti sway control looks like a little shock absorber from the hitch to the trailer tongue. The equalizer bars will move weight from your rear axle to the front. This helps with steering as well as stability. Grease the ball on your hitch. Keep a rubber ball cover on it when you aren't using it. The grease will make everything move smoothly and the cover will keep the grease off your pants leg. I have seen hitches run dry and actually wear a hole in the top of the coupler. It's not common, but does happen. Lastly, when you load your trailer, make sure you balance your loading. You want the weight bias to be slightly in front of the axles. A lot of charts say 60/40. When you are fully loaded and hooked up, your rig should sit level. The front shouldn't be pointing up.