winefam
Napa Valley, California
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Joined: 08/15/2008
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As I look at the specifications and compare with the information provided by David @ RV Towing Tips I find myself more confused than ever. One of the things I read in his guidelines is “for the first 110" of wheelbase, this allows you 20' of trailer. For each additional 4" of wheelbase, this gets you 1' more of trailer.” Given my wheelbase of the TV I should be towing a trailer no longer than 22 feet…. wow with a family of five I don’t see how that is going to work! Now I know these are just guidelines but the last thing I want is to be unsafe… both for my family and others on the road.
Another question… at what length and or width (with sliders out) do I limit my ability to use most recreational parks? I remember someone saying that a lot of parks were not designed for the modern day TT.
Am I missing something? 
Thanks in advance,
2003 Yukon Denali Specifications…
Standard Engine 6.0L 320 hp
Horsepower 320 @ 5000 RPM 320 @ 5000 RPM
Torque (lb-ft) 365 @ 4000 RPM 365 @ 4000 RPM
Trailer towing maximum (lb.) 8000
Payload (lb.) 1466
Standard GVWR (lb.) 7000
Maximum tongue weight Trailer tongue weight should be 10-15 percent of the total loaded trailer weight. Weight-carrying hitch limit on 4,000-lb trailer is 480-pound tongue weight.
Rear Axle 3.73:1
Wheelbase (in.) 116
Overall Length (in.) 199
Curb weight (lb.) 5245
IN VINO VERITAS
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StoneyPgh
New Kensington, PA Steeler Country
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Sounds to me like you have a pretty good handle on the situation.
Maybe there is a specific question or two we could address?
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Scrib
Maplewood
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Some of the beaches, like Morro Strand, have a 24' limit (or less). We camped with a 26' TT all over NorCal and never had a problem. Our current rig is a little over 27 feet long, with a slide, and we still don't have any problems. We only camp at the county/state/federal parks.
good luck!
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Hornet28BHDS
Parker, PA
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I don't think that you would have any trouble towing a TT up to 25'. You can find a TT with a rear slide layout that will give you a lot of room while camping but not a lot to tow. Good luck!
2006 Hornet 28BHDS-Bunk House, Dual Slides
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 HD
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MFinCA
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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winefam wrote:Now I know these are just guidelines but the last thing I want is to be unsafe… both for my family and others on the road.
It is a guideline--not cast in stone. For example, my 'Burb with the 130" wheelbase has me at the limit with my 25' TT. However, I've towed longer TTs with my 'Burb easily.
Investing in a good dual cam sway control system like the Equalizer would be a wise move.
MFinCA
2004 Homestead Settler 255RS
1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500
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bluwtr49
Green Valley, AZ
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Most of this information is golden but even he discounts the accuaracy of the W/B to TT length issue. A couple of years ago we had a thread that must have gone 15 pages trying to find the origin of that data. As best anyone could figure it first appeared somewhere in the 50's or 60's and then got picked up and used in any number of databases.
Look at the info as being ultra-conservative. Then look to you TV manufacturer and see if they give you a max length and frontal area along with the tow rating. Some do and some don't. If you pick a TT that is 80 to 90% of your tow rating, chances are the length will be OK as well. Survey other folks using the same TV and see what their experience is.
Last, I'm working on an unofficial survey that indicates a ratio of less the 2.8:1 (TT overall length to TV W/B) seems to work well.
* This post was
edited 08/21/08 05:26pm by bluwtr49 *
Dick
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campercajun
Central Texas Hill Country
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We towed with 1500 Suburbans for 23 years, from 1984 to Feb. 2007. Our last, and longest, TT that we pulled with our last Suburban was a 30' Aerolite 30BH-SL. We picked it up it Tampa, FL. in Aug. '04, and towed it all the way home (near Waco, TX.) at 65-70 MPH. (we couldn't waste time; Florida's 4th hurricane of that season was right behind us. It knocked down some of the I-10 bridges we crossed over about 36 hours after we passed.).
The Suburban, equipped with Reese WD hitch and Reese Dual-Cam sway control, handled the trailer beautifully. It was a good combination, but my wife's new choice of trailers in Feb. 07 called for a tow vehicle with more capacity, because after pulling trailers at work and at play for nearly 42 years, I've found I'm very comfortable with at least 2000 lbs. of unused towing capacity in reserve.
EDIT: Our daughter took 9 days of vacation to go with us to pick up our new trailer. She had never been to Florida. The idea was, we were going to introduce her to some of Florida's Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches, including Fort Walton Beach. We figured since they'd had 3 hurricanes already, surely no more were in store for Florida that year, right? WRONG! We were in such a hurry to get in and get out before the storm, that our daughter never got to see a Florida beach.
* This post was
edited 08/21/08 07:03pm by campercajun *
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Jim & Gayle Bryant
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blt2ski
Kirkland, Wa
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One can go over these guidelines without to many problems.
The one thing I would like to caution you on.......your payload requirements. Not sure how big them kids are, but, at least my 4 grew at a rate of about 10-15 lb per yr! When all were around 13-15, they were ALL adult sized, ie 5'6" to 6+' tall! and 150+ lbs ea! My family of 6 comes in at some 1200-1300 lbs, or about your total payload for your Tahoe, which would leave you with 0 lbs of payload for the trailer hitch wt! so your trailer capacity would be zilch, zero, nada.......in my shoes!
In the meant time, while not always the thing to do, but look at 24-26' trailers, that are currently on the upper end of wt, and length, and know that in a few yrs, due to kids getting bigger, them bringing a friend or two or three, you will want an 8 lug Van, Burb or equal! Just to handle the wt requirements of your family.
If you want another guideline that I follow, is max trailer wt = 2x GRAWR, so for your current tahoe would be about 6-7000 lb total. A typical SW 8 lug 2500 burb, or 35 series van/pickup, your GRAWR is 6100-6800 lbs, so max trailer is in the 13K range as an example.
Another, I did some 12 yrs in a 24' NON slide trailer, kids nor I would change a thing if it ment, trailer we had vs a larger non safe towable trailer behind the rigs we had! I used SW 3500 CC pickups, they had about 2400 lbs of payload, with TT and 700 lbs of HW< family wt, canoe on the rack, bikes in bed, generator, I was almost ALWAYS at max GVWR etc. It is not hard to do even with a larger rig, much easier with a soft/lower GVWR rig like the Tahoe.
Marty
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rhondavid
Birmingham, Al
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I pulled our Kiwi with a 2001 Sub. Kiwi is 31.5 ft. You may feel comfortable up to that size given the wheelbase and the fact you have a larger engine that the than I did. Towing performance was marginal for me but that was associated with the engine more than anything. The Sub handled the lenght okay with the Reese Dual Cam but the additional weight from the tongue of the trailer did not seem to be handled well by the suspension.
Glad you are doing your research before the purchase. My advice would be stay with 30 ft and smaller and light weight trailers. DavidG's site is a great site. Weight information is outstanding. Lenght is more of a guideline.
David,Wife,4 kids,SIL,1 grandchild
2003 Ford Excursion Eddie Bauer 7.3 PSD w/3.73 rear end
Jayco Kiwi Too 30T bunkhouse w/triple bunks
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symbasden
WI
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The info that you listed in your post is good information for someone that has never towed a trailer that wants to be as safe as they can be. Now as you get more experience towing trailers you can safely tow more trailer as long as it is within your vehicle specs.
Just remember that a shorter wheel base denali isn't going to have the footprint to control a trailer like my crew cab long box truck. Also, remember that the 8000 lb towing capacity is with a 150lb driver and 1/2 a tank of fuel or so, anything you add reduces it.
All of the above said, use the guidelines you read along with the knowledge of your skills to make a decision.
Jeff
2009 Rockwood Signature Ultra Light 8317SS
2004 Dodge Ram 1500 QC LB Hemi
DW Kelly and DD
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