Moving up in length

[IC2]

Looks like a lot of opinions here, now it's my turn

Even with the towing package, you still need to be within the weight ratings. That means trailer as well as the TV. While you may think that the trailer only weighs what the sticker on the side says, that is a dry weight - no water, propane, spare, food, clothes, "toys", utensils, tools and other camping clap trap that we all seem to accumulate. In some cases, especially the TV it's even unsprung weight which doesn't even include the road wheels!!! Of course, if you have kids, add their weight and the treasures they seem to be required to bring.

Now, that TV. My F350 say 6999 - yeah, sure. The truck weighs over 8000#. I have the optional 18" tires, a Cl 4 and a goose neck hitch with a 5th wheel adapter. I do have the gas engine, a V10 which weighs a bit less then the diesel. All of that gets me well beyond the 6999 pounds. This give you a picture of where you are starting as far as weight.

That 5.3 (327) gas engine - great over the road engine, but not a real torque monster so it will be struggling some up hills. Gas mileage - I would suspect that 10 would be a good day with 7-9 more likely pulling anything as long as a 30 footer. Another point that many forget - the front aerodynamics on most RV's. They are in line with the frontal area of a barn door, which conspires to kill gas mileage.

As far as towing - a longer trailer will probably need a heavier set of lift bars (550 vs 750 or more) and might even need a friction anti-sway device or two. I needed one when I towed my 30 footer with an F150. The F350 - didn't need it as the tires as well as suspension were much better suited. The current 34 foot - 5er - no problems.

What would I do if offered these trailer options you said you had - if at all possible, hook the 30' up and go for a 15-20 mile drive. The 24' wont cause any problems unless it has slides, then possibly..........

[RVandbike]

A lot of information from IC2 on this subject. I am worried about a 29 or 30 foot trailer. We are looking more at the 24, or maybe 26 at the most. We are looking at trailers with one slide out.
We have been using equalizer bars and a sway bar on the 19 foot trailer. It is so simple to handle and easy to put anywhere we want. We did have a 27' boat with twin engines that we towed on a large steel trailer. There was some experience gained in handling a trailer with that load, but the travel trailer does give a lot more air resistance. Also, I had a very powerful engine in a Ford F-250. The high volume Banks turbo made the 7.3 put out some power. The 5.3 in the Suburban is a great road engine, as you noted, but it has very little pulling power. I had a straight 6 in a Ford pick-up that seemed to have every bit as much torque as this Suburban.

If anyone else has anything to add we would appreciate that advice. We are listening. And we are shopping. Might take a while for things to come together.

[Paul R. Haller]

Dump the Suburban... Buy a used 2500 or 3500 diesel pick up and then go buy a used 5er in a 32 foot or larger. Never look back.
5ers are more road worthy then any tag along trailer, they have more living space then a comparable length tag along, and they are a joy to tow. They exhibit almost no sway or movement when a 16 wheeler rolls by. No weight distributing hitches and no anti sway bars. I moved from a tag along to a 5er and will never go back. The only thing to remember is that a 5er tracks to the inside of the turn where a tag along does not and you will need more room to back a 5er because you have to turn the truck to the trailer almost 90 degrees before the 5er begins to swing around. This problem is more pronounced the longer the 5er. A tag along swings very rapidly because the pivot is at the rear bumper rather then the middle of the bed.

If you must stay with a trailer, do not overload your Suburban. I would say you now are at, or very near, the limit for a 1500 Suburban.
-Paul R. Haller-

[cekkk]

You've gotten a lot of advice and opinion to sort through but unless I missed it, one important matter was, as is so often the case, left unmentioned. And that is, as one fellow puts it, whoa power. I'm not a GM guy but from what I hear, older Suburbans tend to have an undersized feel in the braking power. Too often guys who know they're pushing the envelope weight-wise with smaller TVs worry about gas mileage and torque but don't worry about the light duty brakes the TV has. I'd guess you're not about to add an exhaust brake and will be depending on the TV and TT brakes all the way. Of course, you can get some help from your transmission, but that's relatively light duty, too. So before making the leap, consider the lighter trailer and set it up with a proper WD and sway rig. Or, as one fellow suggested, get the more comfortable trailer and pull it with a real tow vehicle. I've pulled a 30' tt and am awaiting delivery of a 32 Jayco TT that, loaded up, will weigh over 9000#. I'm worried about whoa power and am probably going to put on an exhaust brake. And my TV is a heavy duty one-ton dually diesel. Hope you make a good decision and enjoy the heck out of your trips with your rig.

[CD]

To add to what others have said. Unfortunately many people try to fix an under sized TV with more power. In the case of a sudden lane change and/or a panic stop, power doesn't fix that. A 1500 TV just doesn't have the tires, suspension, brakes or weight for larger TT. JMHO

[barturo]

we upgraded from a tent trailer to a 29 foot travel trailer and tow with a nissan titan we also have the husky centerline hitch and have no problems towing or setting up trailer, truck tows up 6 % at 3rd gear 65 miles an hour.