Now what to tow Durnago or Everest? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Bigrig · RV-Dreams Community Member

Now what to tow Durnago or Everest?

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi,
Your truck is rated to tow up to a specific weight as determined by the manufacturer. If you didn't get that weight when you bought it, I think you can find it on the Trailer Life site.
http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175
Different manufacturers trailers, even of the same length can be considerably different in weight and you have to know from the manufacturer what the specific trailer weighs. You CANNOT believe what a salesman tells you. They almost all lie.
You will need a slider hitch for a fifth wheel trailer on a short bed truck.
My guess is that your truck will be over capacity with what you're looking at. As an aside, it's best to choose your trailer first and then buy a truck rated to haul it, rather than the other way around.
Good luck,

thebearII · RV-Dreams Family Member

Now that you have the truck, use Fred's advice to determine how much fifth wheel you can tow and then go shopping.

Try to get as light of trailer as possible, with the most cargo capacity and stay way under the maximum 5th wheel tow capacity of your truck. The closer you get to maximum capacity the shorter the lifespan of the drive train will be. Plus you will be right on the edge safety wise for braking and high speed manuvers.

Bigrig · RV-Dreams Community Member

It gets more confusing when you go to a manufactures web site and they list specs slightly differently than the so call standard set by the industry. Is shipping weight the same as GVWR?

Using the your link Fred, do you think it is more advisable to build in a factor for fluids, etc, and stay under the limit rating by 10%, 15% or 20% when considering a size and model of 5'er to determine a good GVWR for your tow vehicle?

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Let me just add to your confusion.

You need to look at two different weights. GVWR is the gross weight of whichever vehicle you are considering at that time, whether it be the truck or the trailer. GVWR in regards to the trailer is the shipping weight of the trailer, plus fluids, plus personal items added, plus any additional optional equipment you include. GVWR with regards to the towing vehicle includes the truck with fuel, passengers, and anything else you put in the vehicle.

So, you do not want to exceed the GVWR of either vehicle by putting in more than the trailer OR truck are rated for. Then, you have to also figure the GCVW rating. GCVW is Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. That is the weight of both trailer and towing vehicle with all fluids, fuel, options, personal items, passengers, etc. You don't want your GCVW rating to exceed the GCVW rating capacity of the towing vehicle.

The truck's specs will list both GVWR for the truck, "Towing Weight" for the GVWR of the trailer being towed, and then GCVW rating for all. For instance, a Ford F450 with the appropriate rear axle, engine and transmission and suspension has towing capability of 24,600 pounds and a Gross Combined Vehicle Weight rating of 33,000 pounds.

Keep in mind what the others have said. Overloading your truck will lead to shortening the life of the drive train of that truck. Not to mention the "pucker factor" that you as the driver may experience. The Silverado 2500 is essentially a 3/4 ton truck and will be limited in pulling and hauling power.

When looking at each trailer that you see on a lot, look in the cabinets. A lot of trailers that I have seen have the data plate with the trailer's "dry weight" listed on that plate. Then, you'll need to calculate the weight of the water to be in the holding tanks, personal items, LPG fuel, etc to estimate a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for the trailer.

Good luck.

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 21st of May 2009 09:44:54 AM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

To continue, here is what my research has found. It is imcomplete, but it is all I can do during my breaks here at work.

I could not find a K-Z Durango 235SB, but I did find a K-Z Durango 325SB. I don't know if you transposed numbers or if the 235SB is a used unit. Anyway, for the Durango 325SB, I found that the GVWR is 13,000 pounds. (Keep in mind that these are estimates ONLY.)

The Keystone Everest 345S lists the shipping weight (empty of fluids and fuels) of 12,210 pounds. It further lists the "carrying capacity" of the unit at 1,790 pounds. If accurate at all, that would be around 14,000 pounds total as GVWR.

Unfortunately, GM's website gave me no help in finding information as to the towing capacity of the 2009 Silverado 2500 SB. I did find in one place (not GM's site) that claims the 2500 has approximately 10,500 pounds towing. That site does not indicate what engine and transmission is being used, so these numbers are all subject to correction. That site also claims the 2500 to weigh in at 9200 pounds and with 3,924 pounds of payload, that would make the 2500 have a GVWR of 13,124 pounds.

Thus, if one estimates towing capacity of 10,500 (trailer GVWR) and vehicle GVWR at 13,124 pounds, one comes up with a GCVW rating of 23,624 pounds.

But, if the 10,500 towing rate (total weight of trailer and its contents) that I found was correct, both of the units you are looking at would be heavier than the capacity of the Silverado.

As an estimate, I went to Ford's site to check out the Ford F250 capacities. F250 with short bed, 6.4L diesel engine and single rear wheel (the only configuration for an F250) has approximate towing weights of 16,000 to 16,300 pounds and an estimated GCVW rating of 23,000 pounds.

That comparison between the Silverado 2500 and the Ford F250 indicates that the two units are fairly comparable. But, without the exact numbers of capacity from your particular pickup, I can't give a definitive answer.

I hope this helps a little.

Terry

HighwayRanger · RV-Dreams Family Member

The NuWa HitchHiker LS series would be a good way to go with a 2500. They make several nice smaller models which are built very well. And I trust their listed weights too. There are plenty of 2009 models still available, and the 2010 models should be rolling in the next few months.

Roy

-- Edited by HighwayRanger on Thursday 21st of May 2009 09:36:52 PM

Smokey-Bear · RV-Dreams Community Member

If you use GMC web site for Towing Weight Information... and not Chevy... you'll get far more information.

Marv

Bigrig · RV-Dreams Community Member

With the said, we are close. Close to the limits. The biggest difference already is Chevy says the curb weight in 5,960# with a payload of 3,240#. Scale says 7,500# which cuts down payload to 1700#.

2^nd’ly, what would be a safe shopping range I should set for myself with all things considered? (10%, 15% or the extreme side of caution 20% less than GVWR) It is a given that when you decide on a rig that, that a scale is not handy, these are all estimates and salesman do sell anything to anyone.

This weekend I will look at the Dry Weight idea. I found the stats for how much propane & water weigh. One can only estimate the other factors.

BA

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Marv,

Thanks for the heads-up on using GMC instead of GM's website. I found the brochure in Adobe pdf file form with the necessary information for BigRig.

BigRig,

Here is a link to get that same brochure:

http://www.gmc.com/pdf/Sierra09_web_specs.pdf

On page 14 of 16 are the specs on trailering. However, I have to really wonder about their figures. For instance, they are saying some models (depending on cab/bed type) will tow a range from 13,000 to 15,800 lbs. However, I have seen some dually's that would barely reach that 15,800 lbs as a towing capacity.

Not knowing all the specifics of your truck, I would suggest you find a reputable dealer and have them look in their spec books to insure you get the right figures. Don't be afraid to push them on making sure they take into consideration ALL factors dealing with weight specs, such as engine type and size, transmission, differential, etc.

As for the safe shopping range, that is a bit harder to nail down. What I can say is that Jo and I are looking at a Mobile Suites that has a GVWR of about 18,500 pounds, and I would feel comfortable with the Ford F450 and its capability of towing 24,500 (roughly) and a GCVW of 33,000. Keep in mind that the F450's transmission has the Tow/Haul feature that serves as an "engine brake" for more safety in descending mountain passes. (Refer back to my comment on "pucker factor".)

Terry

Coyatee · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have an '08 Silverado 2500HD Crewcab Standard Box 2WD Duramax with a GVWR of 15,500#(From the Chevrolet manual). I would guess that yours is the same. I am looking at a Heartland Sundance XLT 305ES (GVWR TBA, but should be 11,500#)(At the low side) and a Heartland Bighorn 3400RL (GVWR 14,600#)(At the high side). If I go to the high end (In weight and length), and there are numerous other brands around this 14,000# weight, I will consider putting hydraulic brakes on the trailer.

Coyatee · RV-Dreams Family Member

The '09 GMC brochure shows the GVWR (2WD) to be 15,300#, on the 2500HD Crewcab Standard bed Duramax. By the way, I am looking at the Heartland because they can be pulled with a standard bed w/o a slider hitch (Among other reasons). I believe Montana has designed their front cap to be able to do this also.

I chose the Silverado 2500HD Crewcab Standard bed because it can be parked in a normal parking space, while with a 9' bed or a "Dually", it is much more difficult to do so (I had one of these before).

pierreandcolleen · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a GMC DuraMax 2500HD and an 05 K-Z Durango 285RL (GVWR 10,000). We have more than enough truck to pull it. Ours only has 1 slide so I assume ours weighs a bit less than the one you're looking at. The truck is wonderful (very comfortable and quiet). The Durango is probably not made for fulltime RVing so ours won't be worth much when we're done with it, but love the layout and cabinets.

-Colleen

Bigrig · RV-Dreams Community Member

Sorry about not answering this weekend, it was full of Fast Pitch Baseball and a great weekend to see a tournament.

Coyatee, now I see where you got the ratings, I have a 4x4 so my ratings are less than that of a 2wd rig.

I also took a Silverado much because of your reason and I use the vehicle for hunting, fishing and general gardening functions when relaxing.

I do not see us at this time full time RV'ing mostly basing & vacationing extended lengths at a time.

Thaks to all yours help, I’m beginning to see that the maximums are to be used as a guide for both warranty and more so for safety and used wisely. Being under them would be more better, easier and finding a best rig for us is a lot of fun.

I'd like to here from more HD owners and what they are towing.