RV towing

[Daniel Potts]

Hello,
We tow a boat already but are looking to get an RV and torn on what size to get.

Who out there tows with their Yukon/Yahoo, how much weight and how we'll does it do? There is always a dry weight and gross weight listed on RVs. Wee like to get one where the dry weight is close to max Max and gross wat over, it will be parked at a site most of the time so the thought is empty when we move it. Probably will tow 4 times a year.

Really just hoping to hear other experiences
Thanks

 

[wjburken]

Hello,
We tow a boat already but are looking to get an RV and torn on what size to get.

Who out there tows with their Yukon/Yahoo, how much weight and how we'll does it do? There is always a dry weight and gross weight listed on RVs. Wee like to get one where the dry weight is close to max Max and gross wat over, it will be parked at a site most of the time so the thought is empty when we move it. Probably will tow 4 times a year.

Really just hoping to hear other experiences
Thanks

Welcome to the forum from Iowa.

Lots of things play into this discussion.

What do you currently have?
What does your the vehicle show for tow capacity?
Tongue weight limits?

Do you have external oil and trans coolers?

What do you have for gears?

Do you have air bags?

 

[Daniel Potts]

Hello,
Thanks for the reply.
Rated for 8500, tow package on SLT but that doesn't even include trailer break I had to add that.
No coolers
3.42 gear with the tow package.
No air bags.

Mainly I was hoping to hear experiences on dry weight vs gross weight. Most of the RV trailers we are looking at are within the 8500 on dry weight but not the gross weight.
Thanks,

 

[swathdiver]

Hello,
Thanks for the reply.
Rated for 8500, tow package on SLT but that doesn't even include trailer break I had to add that.
No coolers
3.42 gear with the tow package.
No air bags.

Mainly I was hoping to hear experiences on dry weight vs gross weight. Most of the RV trailers we are looking at are within the 8500 on dry weight but not the gross weight.
Thanks,

What year Yukon? XL or short wheelbase? 1/2 ton chassis?

Dry weight is often incorrect anyway with regards to a travel trailer's weight. People can easily add 1000 or more pounds of stuff. That being said, you generally want to keep your dry weight below 6,000 pounds.

You cannot legally tow a trailer weighing 8,500 pounds just because your truck is rated for it. Because, your truck, with you in it and passengers and stuff would have to weigh at most 5,500 pounds and that ain't happenin' with any 1/2-ton Yukon.

So let's find out what you're driving and how much stuff will be in your Yukon and it's curb weight and we can take it from there.

 

[OR VietVet]

Pullin' teeth sometimes to get the personal vehicle info. Is it all a big secret?

Should be a requirement to put it all in the signature.

 

[avalonandl]

First welcome...

If your getting a dry weight of 8500, where do you plan on carrying all the supplies? In the back of the SUV? Guess what, your overloaded on GCVWR. Plan on 800-1000 lbs of supplies etc.

 

[Fless]

It might be worthwhile to take the camper, unloaded or loaded, to a public scale and document the weight. Then you'll know....

 

[Larryjb]

A lot will depend on how you plan to pack your RV. If you are going to do dry camping, you will have to account for added weight of water and extra food supplies. If you are planning to use hookups, you can save a lot on weight by pulling into your campsite and buying food locally, storing only enough food to get by for a night or too.

For towing capacity, pay attention to GCWR. You can probably find this in your owners manual. This weight includes the maximum weight of EVERYTHING, including people. Also look at the axle ratings to see if you need a WDH. We have a Trailmanor which is known to be light, about 3500 lbs dry. By the time we went on a weigh scale on one of our first trips, we got a GVCW of 10050 lbs. The GCWR for our Tahoe is 12000. That was with 3 adults and 2 kids, water storage full, and lots of canned foods.

Don't forget that the battery, propane tanks + propane, water, awnings, etc are not included in the advertised trailer weight. This is probably because the trailer manufacture doesn't know if you will use 1 or 2 batteries, what propane tanks you plan to use, how much water you will travel with, or what options you will install on your trailer. This also doesn't include the weight of fuel in your own gas tank. It all adds up very quickly!

That said, we pulled all that up the Coquihalla, with some difficulty. We had to turn the AC off and heat on. I will never take the Coquihalla in BC again though. There are very few places to pull over, and the shoulders are so narrow you would be blocking a travel lane even if you did pull over.



Conclusion, the Tahoe is very capable, but you must be aware of how much you will be packing.