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Old 06-11-2016, 11:45 AM   #1
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Camper help/weight

Hello.

I have a chevy Silverado 4.3lt v 6 short bed 2wd. my manual says I can pull over 4k lbs.

my issue is I want to buy a 1984 skyline weekender 18ft camper but we cant seem to find an exact weight. the owner says he called skyline and they said 2860lbs dry.

ive never towed, hauled or anything so I want to make sure the camper weighs what he says and make sure my trucks okay to pull this.

a lot of guys are saying I cant go over the rear axle weight but ive got no clue about any of that.
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Old 06-11-2016, 02:46 PM   #2
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Hank In my experience with 2 trailers and a 5ver the placard weights were not very close - and with your engine size, rear-end ratio and 'loaded weight' (that's all the contents of the truck and the trailer including passengers, fuel, water, the hitch, etc) you could be over your max.

Consider please either taking the trailer yourself (before buying it) to a weight scale or having the owner do so with you along for the ride. That will get you started with more accurate information. If you can get a weight on your truck at the same time that's even better. Take a close look at the trailer tires, age and load capacity.

With that info you could re-post and we can help get you a better answer - or, there's lots of other folks with great experience on IRV2 - let's hope they join the discussion.

BTW: you're doing absolutely the right thing - understand how all this works before you make the leap - it will likely save you lots of worry, money - and more. Safe travels ...
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Old 06-12-2016, 05:35 AM   #3
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tires are 4yrs old. he said 2680 was weight without water, tanks, etc. I'm wondering if this was without the fridge, microwave, etc.

I wouldn't be using tanks or water so weight would be way down. I asked him to scale it to make sure the 2680 was correct and he didn't answer me back and seemed a little irritated because he says he called them. our closest cat scales are over 30miles away but we have scrap yards close by.
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Old 06-13-2016, 05:41 PM   #4
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My 2014 weighs 2860 dry
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Old 06-14-2016, 09:21 AM   #5
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Attachment 130143
My 2014 weighs 2860 dry
I take it that's fiberglass. dry meaning fridge, beds, microwave, etc?
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Old 06-14-2016, 10:02 AM   #6
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Hank, what year is your Silverado? As you'll probably hear from others, the towing capacity is only one number. What is the cargo capacity of your truck? You'll want to make sure that you are under that when you account for the passengers and everything in your truck and the tongue weight of the trailer. The tongue weight will typically be about 10-15% of the weight of the trailer.

So, if the tongue weight and all your passengers are less than your cargo capacity and the trailer weighs less than your towing capacity you should be OK. If you are approaching the limits of either, you may run into issues and create an unsafe situation. Based on the dry weight you mentioned, you may be OK but the only way you'll ever know is to have it weighed.
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Old 06-14-2016, 11:59 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hank lee2 View Post
I take it that's fiberglass. dry meaning fridge, beds, microwave, etc?

Yes that means all appliances without propane, water or personal items. I do tow with a Silverado but mine is a 5.3 liter and 4x4
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Old 06-14-2016, 12:06 PM   #8
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I tow a Fun Finder X 210 with a short bed Chevy 4 x 4. I do use a weight distribution system. My Chevy is a 5.3. But as you'll see the two tens are double axle. My gross on the trailer Max is six but I only have about 42 loaded. Well-within range I think you will be ok. But with a single axle camper you might want to consider sway control. Set it up right and I think you'll be fine.... Dusty
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Old 06-14-2016, 12:23 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by MapleKing View Post
Hank, what year is your Silverado? As you'll probably hear from others, the towing capacity is only one number. What is the cargo capacity of your truck? You'll want to make sure that you are under that when you account for the passengers and everything in your truck and the tongue weight of the trailer. The tongue weight will typically be about 10-15% of the weight of the trailer.

So, if the tongue weight and all your passengers are less than your cargo capacity and the trailer weighs less than your towing capacity you should be OK. If you are approaching the limits of either, you may run into issues and create an unsafe situation. Based on the dry weight you mentioned, you may be OK but the only way you'll ever know is to have it weighed.
Its a 2009 Silverado 2wd 6 ft bed with 4.3 ltr v 6 3:23 gears. the camper is a 1984 skyline weekender 18ft. duel axels.

my door says

gvwr--6400

gawr---3200

gawr rr--3770'

book says 4600lbs trailer weight.
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Old 06-15-2016, 07:33 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hank lee2 View Post
Its a 2009 Silverado 2wd 6 ft bed with 4.3 ltr v 6 3:23 gears. the camper is a 1984 skyline weekender 18ft. duel axels.

my door says

gvwr--6400

gawr---3200

gawr rr--3770'

book says 4600lbs trailer weight.
It looks like you have a payload capacity of 1640lbs. After you subtract yourself, passengers and any other cargo (stuff) that you are carrying in your truck, that's what you have left for the tongue weight of the trailer.

Let's say you add a total of 1,000lbs worth of gear to your camper (including the hitch) so your trailer is approaching 4000lbs. You can expect that to take up 400-600lbs of your payload. If your passengers and stuff that you bring with you in the truck are less than 1,000lbs, you would be under your payload and towing capacity.

The only way that you would really know is getting everything weighed but even being liberal with the numbers, it looks like you are under your limits.
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Old 06-15-2016, 10:04 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by MapleKing View Post
It looks like you have a payload capacity of 1640lbs. After you subtract yourself, passengers and any other cargo (stuff) that you are carrying in your truck, that's what you have left for the tongue weight of the trailer.

Let's say you add a total of 1,000lbs worth of gear to your camper (including the hitch) so your trailer is approaching 4000lbs. You can expect that to take up 400-600lbs of your payload. If your passengers and stuff that you bring with you in the truck are less than 1,000lbs, you would be under your payload and towing capacity.

The only way that you would really know is getting everything weighed but even being liberal with the numbers, it looks like you are under your limits.
The camper will just have a couple cases of water, bread, chips, etc inside it. the bed will have 2 rifles, couple blankets, sleeping bags, 2-3 25lbs treestands and the misc stoves, cooler, boots, etc.

I weigh 280lbs and my buddy weighs about 160lbs.


usually all the food, water, etc is purchased 30min from camp and used up by end of week and burned so we wont be hauling the water bottles, full coolers, etc very far.
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Old 06-16-2016, 10:59 AM   #12
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I have a similar GMC truck. A few suggestions...consider putting Airbags in the rear suspension. This will help the truck handle the load much better. I assume you are already using a load leveling hitch if not get one.

Make sure the brakes on the TT are in good working order. If your Silverado is the same as my GMC the built in trailer brake control is integrated with the truck stability control and will control the trailer brakes in relation to the stability control (see your owners manual) This is why its important to make sure you TT brakes are in good working order. If not you truck is doing all the braking.

Lastly you may want to consider an extra transmission and or oil coolers.

Good luck
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