Chevy TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer SS and GMC Envoy Forum banner

My Towing

9K views 41 replies 12 participants last post by  bartonmd 
#1 ·
i'm new here and i thougt i'd make an intro by telling everyone what i tow, and if i should get any aftermarket parts. I tow a 4600lb camper (dry weight) loaded with food, clothes and so on it probally pushes up around 4800lb (total guess) and i tow this about twice a year for a long trip (5 hours usually) on the highway and this past summer up and down through the moutains (nearly stalling at the top of a hill) We make maybe 1 other trip empty for servicing. Also we got a boat this past summer and it weighs about 2300lbs and i believe thats dry weight. we only towed this twice last summer, but will be towing this more often maybe 1-7 times monthly from may to september, with all this towing should i have any aftermarket things like a trans cooler or anything?
 
#4 ·
with the weight of the camper i would invest in a tranny cooler; it will really help with your transmission temps and the longetivity of your transmission. but do you have any sway problems with the trailer; are you runing any antisway bars? that might help going through those mountains with crosswinds. you should not have any problem with the boat but that is getting heavy with the trailer but you should be able to do it safley:thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
with the camper there is no major sway problems ase we are using a load distribution hitch and a sway bar, but it would be wise to get a tranny cooler, as she'll drop into passing gear and wind up to 4,000rpm on the hills, its a good engine and we always make it, but we nearly stalled because we were following a friend who was towing his camper and he just went so slow and the car got stuck in a gear and if it were to shift we would have lost all momentem and gotten stuck there.:hissy:
 
#12 ·
I tow a 4600lb camper (dry weight) loaded with food, clothes and so on it probally pushes up around 4800lb (total guess)
If you think your camper weighs 4800# loaded I have a bridge in Brooklyn and some swamp land in Florida for sale!
First off, every travel trailer manufacture lies about the empty weight of their units. It is just a fact of life. And the figure they told you does not include any factory or dealer installed options.

Secondly, you are carrying much, much more than 200 pounds of stuff. Water weighs 8 lbs/ gallon. If you have a 25 gal water tank there is 200 pounds! In addition to your food and clothes add propane, charcoal, bbq grill, flashlights, spare batteries, lawn furniture, tiki torches, cookware, small appliances, plates, utensils, linens, tools, toiletries, cleaning supplies, clock, first aid kit, radio and/or TV, toys, games, rain gear, and on and on.

My guess is fully loaded, ready to hit the road your camper weighs closer to 5800 or even 6000 pounds than 4800. The only way to know for certain is to have it weighed (Don't forget the tongue weight.) Do it any you will be surprised at how much you are actually pulling around.
 
#14 ·
You'd be suprised... The claimed dry weight really is a lot lower than what the things usually weigh, even completely dry... The "factory installed options" are what really raise it... A second bed, shower door upgrade from curtain, air conditioner, batteries (at 50# each), (2) 50# propane tanks, a 60# hitch assy, spare tire(s), a couple hundred pounds of dishes/pots/pans/silverware, etc...

Also remember that everything in the vehicle itself counts into the tow rating, so if you've got (4) 200# people and 200# of luggage in the trunk, you take 1000# off your tow capacity.

I will flat guarantee that you're over the rating.

Take it to a truck stop scale and weigh the whole kit and kaboodle (sp?), truck included, next time you're on the road and loaded up, and I guarantee you'll be over the GCWR (cross combined weight rating) on the door frame.

Mike
 
#15 ·
well this certainly makes me wonder, i wont be able to weigh it until summer, as its stored for winter currently, but if i'm over the envoys weight limit its doing damn good for over limit, we ust the weight distribution hitch, the sway bay. Certainly interesting...:undecided
 
#19 ·
.... but if i'm over the envoys weight limit its doing damn good for over limit, we ust the weight distribution hitch, the sway bay. Certainly interesting...:undecided
Nobody is saying your Envoy is not a good tow vehicle. What we are saying is that every rig weighs more than you think it does and nobody puts a jar of peanut butter or a suitcase on a scale before loading it into their camper.

When I first towed with my Traillazer I was plesantly surprised at how well it handled the load. 275 HP and 275 lb ft (+) with flat curves for both and my 3.72 gearing allows me to do more than I thought I would be able to do.
 
#16 ·
As far as I know all the trucks on this platform have a trans cooler from the factory( you should be able to follow the lines from the tranny to the rad), if you are using a load distribution hitch that will double as a sway bar because you have 3 points of contact. just be careful when you load your camper to load it evenly. and if your spec weight on your trailer is 4600lbs i would say that loaded up youare well over 5500lbs. The weight from the factory spec sheet does not take into account AC or any other things that are considered optional...if you have had the trailer since new there should be a tag inside one of the cupboards that has a scaled weight on it.
 
#24 ·
#26 ·
Wow... Please read this whole thread... It was about 5 posts down the page from where you posted.

http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=46799

Towing capacity really doesn't have a whole lot to do with how much power you've got... That's a part of it, but it's only a part. The fact that we're sort-of narrow, and have a short wheelbase really kills stability when the trailer gets heavier than the truck (wagging the dog, so to speak), but you've got a smaller axle, and smaller BRAKES than a LWB or V8 SWB TB, and this is THE reason your towing capacity is 1000# lower than mine.

Picture this: you're going down a 10-12% grade and you run over a stick in the road that gets kicked up by your tire and catches on the connector wire on your trailer, ripping it out of the connector... Can your truck stop this whole shootin' match before you get to the 15mph 90 degree turn at the bottom of the hill? This is the reason your tow rating is what it is, not the engines' power.

Mike
 
#25 ·
PCM tune. Forget the $500 cat back systems best bang for buck is muffler and tune. Take the extra $200 bucks and buy something else for the truck
 
#27 ·
:iagree: However, its also what your limits are. I know the routes I take with these trailers, and have been driving heavy loads for years (Class 8). If you've never been where your going, or haven't built up to heavy trailers, stay small. Also, on a downgrade, anything above 4,000LBS without brakes is gonna push this little TB pretty darn far so if that stick comes up with any trailer, its gonna be a bad day. LOL.
 
#29 ·
You guys can do what you want, and have at it, but I'll say one thing...

If you are over the towing capacity and somebody pulls out in front of you, in an accident that would normally be their fault, if you are over your towing capacity, it will automatically be your fault (same as if you were driving drunk or with a suspended license), and a lot of times, your insurance won't cover you, and you'll probably be personally sued for neglegence or worse, for knowingly doing something leading to a person's injury (whatever that's called) ... or so I've been told.

Mike
 
#30 ·
And there you go. Dang JPCCDD, I don't know why you would even want to tow that much with a TB. That's crazy and dangerous. Glad you're in CA. 05 Irish, get the rig weighed. As Barton said (and others), you will be unpleasantly surprised at how much it all weighs. And be sure and weigh it just as if you were going on a trip (fully loaded with all you normally take). As for "it sure does good", yes, most vehicles will "pull" just about anything, and a lot will do it "good". But there's a lot more to towing than just the power to pull (again, as Barton pointed out). This has been talked about ad nauseum before, but towing takes into account the size of the motor, the gears you have, the tires you have, brakes, size and strength of the frame and axles, etc. etc. I know my TB can tow my camper or boat, but I have an F-250 for that. If I need to, I can and will tow with the TB, but with my F-250, it's made for towing. I feel better and never have to worry about tranny coolers or tunes or whatever because I think I'm "at the limit".

When you get your camper out of storage and get it to the weigh station, please post the results. We'd all be interested in seeing.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top