You guys are all so great! I appreciate all of the input and I love that so many people are willing and ready to offer support. Having worked for a Chevrolet Dealership for 26 years, and having access to manufacturer information that many people don't, I think I've come to a conclusion: a lot of people over tow with trucks like mine! There are many forums that feature guys talking about towing way above the recommended GCWR. Luckily, this "campfire posturing" doesn't hold a lot of water with me. I want to protect my truck and keep driving it for another 200,000 miles. That being said, I've laid out the numbers, done some remedial math, (with a calculator!) and decided that I can pull a fairly nice 5er behind my truck. (NOT a Redwood! Holy cow! Those things are REALLY heavy!)
Here's my math:
The unladen weight of my truck, per my DMV title, is 6,725 lbs. Everything that I have read says that this includes a full tank of fuel. Now, whether it includes a fat guy like me in the driver's seat is up for debate. The GCWR, per the GM website, is 22,000 lbs. That means that I have 15,275 lbs. to work with above my unladen weight rating. As an aside, I have a "power up" chip and air bags to help with the load (which I know throw off the numbers somewhat). The Prime Time Sanibel 5th wheel I'm looking at has a UVW of 11,859 lbs., with a cargo capacity of 2,439 lbs. That means, fully loaded, it would "max out" at 14,298 lbs. Hitch weight is 2298 lbs., where my maximum is listed at 3000 lbs. So, after adding and subtracting, hopefully correctly, I end up with an allowable cargo balance, besides my truck and fully loaded trailer, of 977lbs. That's a lot of firewood! Add in a Dewalt generator and a fully loaded ice chest with beer, and I might be getting close to my max. But still way below the manly posturing on the LBZ diesel forums which tout 16,000 to 18,000 lbs. without a problem. It's never a problem, until it is.
So, I'm going to look at this rig on Saturday. I like everything about it. At $55,000, it's well within my budget. I pray that I can stay cool, negotiate like a Wall Street pro and, hopefully, come away with a new place to live.
Go math!