Tahoe towing question

[mptjelgin]

14 hours ago, kurtsara said:

You don’t add the people for the dry weight for the rv, they are inn the tow vehicle and added into that.  

The "tow rating" of 8600 pounds referenced by the OP is based on the GCWR of the tow vehicle minus the presumed empty weight of the tow vehicle. Everything that you put into the tow vehicle, including people, subtracts from the amount that the trailer can weigh as it all counts against the GCWR.  So while you are correct that the weight of people doesn't impact the weight or ratings of the trailer, it does come into play when evaluating how much his Tahoe can safely tow. 

[sandsys]

8 hours ago, kurtsara said:

The original poster is camping within there state, not traveling the USA, don't have to weigh our gear, we each bring 3 changes of clothes and some food for 3 or 4 days camping. 
 

Someone said each person would bring 1000 lbs of gear, I could bring all my clothes and not have 1000 lbs

Ah! That's because you are not full timing. We never weighed anything back when we were weekenders either. Not even for our two week vacations. Of course, we had no idea how critical weights could be back then, either. But our tent trailer was tiny with no bathroom nor kitchen so pulling it with just a car was not an issue; I could move it by hand when I wanted to realign it. In other words, just like everything else when RVing, it depends.

Linda

[Zman65]

Hi All

 

So some updates. We are now owners of the TT and will now be pulling it with a 2020 Silverado 2500HD with the Duramax. I think this will be plenty of truck to pull with.

Question. This truck has some anti sway technology with it. Do I still need a weight distribution hitch or really dont need it with this truck?

 

Thx again for help

[jayco1]

You rarely hear a camper say they have too much truck.

[Zman65]

Didnt say too much but from calculations I am well within the suggested range

 

thx

Edited June 9, 2020 by Zman65

[fpmtngal]

Congratulations on the new truck!

Short answer - yes, you will still need a WDH.

There’s sway and there’s weight distribution.  They are two different things, with two different purposes.

From what I understand, in general the truck’s anti-sway feature basically applies brakes to the trailer’s wheels to try to bring it back in line.  From what I’ve read (I’ve never been in a sway situation yet, hope I never do) it’s sort-of a last ditch effort to stop a trailer that’s swaying.

Weight distribution is another thing entirely.  Have you ever seen the movie “The Jersey Boys”?  There’s a scene in it where they try to steal a safe and put it in the trunk of a car.  In the movie the front end of the car goes up in the air, there’s no way to steer the car and it runs into a store window.

What does that have to do with your trailer?  I would suspect that the trailer, when loaded, would have a tongue weight over 1,000 lbs, depending on what the trailer ends up weighing.  A normal hitch puts all that weight on the back axle, which means there’s less weight on the front steering axle - not good for steering and safety.  Plus your back axle could then be over it’s GAWR.  A weight distribution hitch transfers the weight from the back axle to the front axle and some back to the trailer’s axle.

The fact your rig is now better balanced will mean that sway is less likely to begin in the first place.  That’s a much better than trying to stop sway before it gets started.

Edited June 9, 2020 by fpmtngal

[Zman65]

4 minutes ago, fpmtngal said:

Congratulations on the new truck!

Short answer - yes, you will still need a WDH.

There’s sway and there’s weight distribution.  They are two different things, with two different purposes.

From what I understand, in general the truck’s anti-sway feature basically applies brakes to the trailer’s wheels to try to bring it back in line.  From what I’ve read (I’ve never been in a sway situation yet, hope I never do) it’s sort-of a last ditch effort to stop a trailer that’s swaying.

Weight distribution is another thing entirely.  Have you ever seen the movie “The Jersey Boys”?  There’s a scene in it where they try to steal a safe and put it in the trunk of a car.  In the movie the front end of the car goes up in the air, there’s no way to steer the car and it runs into a store window.

What does that have to do with your trailer?  I would suspect that the trailer, when loaded, would have a tongue weight over 1,000 lbs, depending on what the trailer ends up weighing.  A normal hitch puts all that weight on the back axle, which means there’s less weight on the front steering axle - not good for steering and safety.  Plus your back axle could then be over it’s GAWR.  A weight distribution hitch transfers the weight from the back axle to the front axle and some back to the trailer’s axle.

The fact your rig is now better balanced will mean that sway is less likely to begin in the first place.  That’s a much better than trying to stop sway before it gets started.

Very well explained! thanks for that. Makes sense.

 

thx

[rickeieio]

The above advise is right on.  Just because you now have a bigger tow vehicle doesn't mean the laws of physics can't bite ya.  I once had my hitch too far rearward on a road tractor, pulling a 40' grain trailer, about 84.000 gross wt.  The hitch being misplaced put too much weight on the drives and not enough on the steers.  A wet road, uphill turn to the right over some RxR tracks and I got a VERY bumpy ride, as I overshot the crossing by a couple feet.

You recognize a mistake so much faster the second time you make it........