Tow vehicle question

[natureman]

I am talking with the salesman about the camper I am thinking about purchasing. My tow vehicle is an 2007 Tahoe. The camper is well under weight but it is 30ft long. The salesman told me even though my Tahoe has a short wheel base a good weight distribution hitch and/or anti sway(cant remember if they are the same), trailer brake and sensible driving and I wont have any worries. Is he right?

[rte1985]

Give us the trailer specs so we can give a little better answer. Payload will be a big limiting factor. 30 foot total? That a lot of trailer. Probably a heavier tongue weight. A Hensley or propride would be ideal but they are heavy and once again take away even more of the payload. I would think a 25 foot tongue to bumper would be fit . Give us your Tahoe specs to aid in our responses.

[Motor7]

What is the dry weight of the camper? GVWR of camper. Your Tahoe...2 or 4WD? It makes a difference-
7200 lbs for the 2007 Tahoe 5.3L 373 with 4WD and 7500 lbs for the 2WD model

[Reevesfamily]

The short wheelbase of the Tahoe will contribute to the opportunity for sway. I have pulled a 30' Trail Cruiser with an Expedition and it was white knuckles more often than not, especially in medium winds and heavy truck traffic on the interstate. I bought an F150 Crew Cab King Ranch as soon as I could and then pulled with that. Problem solved. The weight isn't your issue, it's the TV wheelbase. The salesperson is leading you down the wrong and perhaps a dangerous road. The Tahoe is a great vehicle, but not for a lightweight, or heavy for that mattter, travel trailer that will act like a sail. I now pull a 35' 8500 lb TT with an F250 Diesel Crew Cab; the size, weight, and wheelbase of your TV is extremely important to safety for you and your family when towing a TT on the highways. There are a lot of stupid drivers out there and you can't afford to compromise your safety margin for when it is needed. Be mindful too of the hitch you put in service, very important to have a weight distributing hitch that controls sway too. Many opinions on hitches on this forum. Make your decision based on facts. Enjoy!

[Lstyles]

Originally Posted by Reevesfamily

The short wheelbase of the Tahoe will contribute to the opportunity for sway. I have pulled a 30' Trail Cruiser with an Expedition and it was white knuckles more often than not, especially in medium winds and heavy truck traffic on the interstate. I bought an F150 Crew Cab King Ranch as soon as I could and then pulled with that. Problem solved. The weight isn't your issue, it's the TV wheelbase. The salesperson is leading you down the wrong and perhaps a dangerous road. The Tahoe is a great vehicle, but not for a lightweight, or heavy for that mattter, travel trailer that will act like a sail. I now pull a 35' 8500 lb TT with an F250 Diesel Crew Cab; the size, weight, and wheelbase of your TV is extremely important to safety for you and your family when towing a TT on the highways. There are a lot of stupid drivers out there and you can't afford to compromise your safety margin for when it is needed. Be mindful too of the hitch you put in service, very important to have a weight distributing hitch that controls sway too. Many opinions on hitches on this forum. Make your decision based on facts. Enjoy!

Having explored non-truck options (see my post with many replies that run the gamut) for towing my suggestion would be to beware of the argument that says short wheel-base makes SUVs not good for towing. I would advise you to go to airstream forum as there is lots of information there about towing with SUVs as opposed to trucks. Also check out Can Am RV website as they have lots of information and experience setting up SUVs safely. WDH helps a lot.
I do agree that you need to look at your numbers (for Yukon and trailer) though to make sure that the trailer is not overweight for that vehicle. I will end by saying that if you do your research you will find that there are a lot of Yukon’s out there towing lightweight trailers safely and comfortably over 10’s of thousands of miles.

[natureman]

Originally Posted by rte1985

Give us the trailer specs so we can give a little better answer. Payload will be a big limiting factor. 30 foot total? That a lot of trailer. Probably a heavier tongue weight. A Hensley or propride would be ideal but they are heavy and once again take away even more of the payload. I would think a 25 foot tongue to bumper would be fit . Give us your Tahoe specs to aid in our responses.

here is the sticker from my truck.... the camper weighs in at 5200lbs dry. It is a 2019 sunset trail 262bh. keep in mind I wont be carrying any water or stuff like that. we will be staying at rv parks with full hookups only. my truck is a 4wd also

Thank you for your help!

[natureman]

Originally Posted by Motor7

What is the dry weight of the camper? GVWR of camper. Your Tahoe...2 or 4WD? It makes a difference-
7200 lbs for the 2007 Tahoe 5.3L 373 with 4WD and 7500 lbs for the 2WD model

here is the sticker from my truck.... the camper weighs in at 5200lbs dry. It is a 2019 sunset trail 262bh. keep in mind I wont be carrying any water or stuff like that. we will be staying at rv parks with full hookups only. My truck is a 4wd also.

Thank you for your help!

[natureman]

Originally Posted by Lstyles

Having explored non-truck options (see my post with many replies that run the gamut) for towing my suggestion would be to beware of the argument that says short wheel-base makes SUVs not good for towing. I would advise you to go to airstream forum as there is lots of information there about towing with SUVs as opposed to trucks. Also check out Can Am RV website as they have lots of information and experience setting up SUVs safely. WDH helps a lot.
I do agree that you need to look at your numbers (for Yukon and trailer) though to make sure that the trailer is not overweight for that vehicle. I will end by saying that if you do your research you will find that there are a lot of Yukon’s out there towing lightweight trailers safely and comfortably over 10’s of thousands of miles.

will do thank you!

[Motor7]

Ok then the Tahoe can handle up to 7200 lbs or 720 lbs(average) on the tongue. Remember it's real easy to add a bunch if 'stuff' in a 30' trailer that will total 1,000lbs quickly and you have to add the 'stuff' in the back of the Tahoe too.

Anyway, real world trip weight might be closer to 6K which will not leave you much safety margin if any at all. A weight distribution hitch with sway control would be mandatory. I would want to keep the total loaded trailer weight at around 5K for your Tahoe.

[Peto]

A sales person is the LAST person you want to listen too... They will lie you into a serious bad situation just to get a sale.......

[rte1985]

I just looked on their website and it said 5400 lbs dry. Either or add a battery or two and full lp and if you pack super lite I would say you will be 6000-6200 lbs. so tongue weight of 780-800 lbs roughly at 13 percent. Add 50-100 lbs for wdh and you are 800-900 lbs total tongue weight. I imagine you have 1300-1600lb payload. Since it’s a bunk model I’m sure your Tahoe is going to be loaded up with people. Your payload is going to be at the brim or well over. Plus what is your receiver rated at? Are you towing long distances , hills? If all the stars line up you might have all the weights in spec but you will be pushing it. As for suvs in the airstream forum. Airstreams sit lower and are way more aerodynamic. A 30 foot airstream will tow better than a 30 foot box trailer. I do think that 262bh is nice though.

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by natureman

I am talking with the salesman about the camper I am thinking about purchasing. My tow vehicle is an 2007 Tahoe. The camper is well under weight but it is 30ft long. The salesman told me even though my Tahoe has a short wheel base a good weight distribution hitch and/or anti sway(cant remember if they are the same), trailer brake and sensible driving and I wont have any worries. Is he right?

You need to educate yourself on that before you take another step.

And don't even consider friction anti-sway: you will want a WDH with integrated cam-lok anti-sway.

Never look at the "Dry weight" of a trailer you are considering towing; look at the GVWR and make sure your tow vehicle can handle that. If you aren't that heavy you will have a larger safety margin and a better towing rig.

[Randy the sly old fox]

I had a slightly older Tahoe (1999) with the 5.7L and 3.73 rear (and front) gears. Only had the 4 speed. I was fine towing a 21' 4000lb TT - when I went to a 24' 6000lb TT and the combination was underpowered and suffered from the trailer trying to push the Tahoe around.

I tried HD shocks and tires but the end solution to the pushing around was bigger WD bars - went from 500 to 1000lb bars and was able to put more wt on the front axle. That said it was still underpowered - you may have the same problem. However the new 5.3L has a much broader torque curve than my old 5.7L.

One thing I did like about the Tahoe was backing into a site - the short WB and overhang allowed me to maneuver in some pretty tight places - esp compared to my longer WB 3/4T trucks.

Watch your overall weights - from your sticker 7300lbs is the most that Tahoe can weigh with all your passengers and TT. Make sure that you get a good WD hitch and have it set up properly - read the instructions yourself - I have yet to find a dealer that takes the time to set one up correctly.

Speaking of hitches - I have an EAZ Lift with just WD bars (no sway control) - I have not had issues with sway when I have things set correctly. That said, the equalizer brand by design has some sway control built-in by design - they are however somewhat noisy when doing tight corners.

No matter what, you should be taking more care when driving - leave extra space between you and the car in front, don't speed, watch what is around you etc. I also try to watch at least two cars in front of me.

[2rad4u]

I also towed many, many miles with a 1999 Tahoe. First a high-wall pop up and then a 25 foot travel trailer that weighed 5k (limit on the 1999 was 6500 IIRC).

You will need a great WDH with sway control minimum.

I also HIGHLY recommend adding a set of Timbrens to the rear. Tahoe's are soft so the Timbrens really help.

The short wheel base is not great for a 30 footer. Lot's of "tail" to wag the dog!

You'll really have to watch the tongue weight and make sure to keep the rear of the trailer "light".

BTW, with that said, I would not pull a 30 footer with a Tahoe.