Towing with a 2007 Suburban

[Lowbubba]

I thought I would ask you about this towing set up. I have a 2007 Suburban with the air ride suspension. It is a 4 wheel drive with the factory towing option, a 3:73 axle ratio. It also has the 5.3 engine with a 4 speed auto. It is rated a 1/2 ton with 7000 pounds pull and a 500 dead weight hitch and the 20 inch wheel option.
I do not want to overload or come close. It will be my wife and I traveling, we are both retired and wanting to get out of the house. I am looking at TT's.

This one says 4500 pounds dry weight. I feel it may be too heavy.
Forest River Salem Cruise Lite 26RKSXL (Slide-Out) Hamilton Ohio | 2011 Travel Trailer, Jeff Couch's RV Nation - Jeff Couch's.
This one says 3750 pounds dry weight.
Forest River Salem Cruise Lite 24QBXL (Queen Walk Around Bed) Hamilton Ohio | 2011 Travel Trailer, Jeff Couch's RV Nation - J.
I am going to buy a trailer this year, or so the wife says. I just new to this and can not afford to be making mistakes. Any suggestion, ideas, something else to look at or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Randy

[CD]

Lowbubba
Welcome aboard. It’s interesting that they list the dry weight (a rather useless number) and don’t list the GVWR, the number you are more likely to be close to. Our TT has a dry weight of 6300 and a GVWR of 10400. The real traveling weight is about 9K and I’m sure we don’t have 2500+ stuff in it. Your 7K tow rating will be reduced by any weight over a 150lb. driver. IMHO a ½ T tow vehicle is not enough for the 24’ TT. I’m sure there will be others that will chime in too.
Good Luck

[Randy the sly old fox]

If your are sold on Forest River products then I would reccommend looking at something smaller and lighter - like the Salem Cruise Lite 22RB GVWR of 5400 lbs, CCC of 1780lbs. BTW I could not find either model you listed on the Forest River web site.

[Lowbubba]

Thanks guys, I'm still looking and looking. I have found a brand of TT called Surveyor by Forest River. It is called the SP-275. It is a lot shorter in hight than the ones I was looking at, that should make it pull better. It's dry weight is 3985, load capacity is 3015. Hitch weight is 418, they say they weigh every TT for accuracy. I'm still looking at everything. If anyone has a TT they think may work better, please post.
Thanks again,
Randy

[Superslif]

Quote:

It is rated a 1/2 ton with 7000 pounds pull and a 500 dead weight hitch and the 20 inch wheel option.

When you say 500 dead weight, that is the hitch weight limit. I'm kind of surprised it is only 500 lbs. for a full sized SUV. My Toyota 4-Runner (V-8) is 750 hitch weight with a regular hitch and 1100 limit with a weight distribution hitch. I wonder, if having the 20" rims reduces the hitch weight.

If your saying the 4500 is too much for your 7000 towing limit, I would say that part would be OK, but the hitch weight on that trailer is : 600lbs dry. The cargo cap on that trailer is 3200lbs. I can't even see where you would come close to filling the trailer up with all that much stuff to come near to that 3200 number.

I'm going to assume you have the 20" chrome rims and lower profile tires. If I remember from another thread, that reduced hitch weight ratings.

As far as price for that trailer Cruiser Lite your getting a lot of space for the price.

I would see if changing the tires will give you a higher hitch weight.

[Randy the sly old fox]

Are you reading the tag on the bumper or hitch? I think there is a confusion as to how much you can tow with and without a weight distribution hitch. Generally speaking the tounge wt should be between 10 and 15% of the total wt of the TT - both loaded and empty. I believe that with the autoride feature you need to be carefull about using a WD hitch. I think you will use one or the other, but not both. You should check the owners manual. As for the wheels as long as you are using a factory approved wheel/tire combo you should be OK. The only foot notes I see around the alum wheels is that they are not meant for off roading - IE you can't get them with the Z71 pkg.

As for the Surveyor line - I like the full alum frame idea - be sure to look at the options page to see how much more wt they add. I think you will find most units on the lot will have both the int and ext deluxe option packages adding close to 500 lbs. There are two things I worry about on that floor plan - the galley in the slide - remember you are moving gas and plumbing lines with every slide in or out. I am also concerned that you are getting too large of a TT for your first one. Depending on where you plan on camping - you might be hard pressed to find spots large enough for them. I think you would be much happier with a smaller unit 24' or less.

[Lowbubba]

Want to thank all of you for your time and for sharing your experiences. I now have to go the the Camper Show and look at what is being offered. I know weight and tongue weight will be my biggest concern. Then, making the wife happy with what we can pull. When I bought the Suburban. I was needing a way to haul model airplanes. Going to the different flying site, a lot of guys are camping and it looks like they are having a great time. So I have decided to join them, and you in this.
Thanks again,
Randy

[Rcpd34]

500# does seem a bit light for a Suburban. Be wary of what the RV dealers tell you. Many will say " You can tow that easy" just to get the sale. Stay within your GVW ratings and if you sag a bit, get a set of air bags.