baare657

My wife has expressed an interest in an RV travel trailer. I'm curious of the capability of our current equipment:
2019 Tahoe
5.3L V8
Axle ratio 3.08
Standard trailering package (not the max trailering package).

Please bear with me while I set this up:

Dealer's keep telling me "it is specified to tow up to 6400 lbs". I think they got the number with some math of the available specs:
GCVR : 12000
GVWR: 7300
Curb: 5602

GCVR - curb = ~6400 (rounded up)

I weighed my Tahoe, full tank with kids seats and other daily crap, no passengers:
actual curb : 5641

As an experiment, I picked a trailer with a dry weight of 4698.
After weighing some travel items and doing some calculations, I think i am still within specs:
Vehicle Capacity : (GVWR - (Curb + tahoe payload + tongue)) > 0
After calculations, this equation comes to : 340.9lbs to spare (within spec)

Towing Capacity: (GCWR - (Curb + tahoe payload + trailer UVR + trailer payload)) > 0
After calculations, this equation comes to: 52.9lbs to spare ( i can move some things around to get this number closer to 300 lbs)

I've had difficulty finding anyone at the dealership who is willing to have a technical discussion.
We love the mountains, and would like to set up camp there.

I've tried to remain conservative, but the question remains:
Without the max trailering package, assuming I remain within the specs, is this a safe, legal and practical endeavor?
Anyone out there with similar specs who tows a comparable camper?
Aside from a trailer brake controller, any other must-have additions?

I've attached my spreadsheet, feel free to tell me i'm an idiot, but please tell me why as well. I'm well aware that i cut twice and say "its still too short!".
Thanks in advance. I've already learned alot reading through these posts.
-mb

Doug D

The dealer is close. According to this website, https://www.exploreusa.com/tow-guides, your Tahoe can tow 6,600 lbs if 2WD, 6,400 lbs if 4WD. However, the manufacturer towing guidelines are not that great. Better to find a towing calculator or a towing calculation spreadsheet where you can plug your numbers in online. You'll need more information than what you have posted. The manufacturer doesn't allow for a 10-15% safety margin.

Google "towing calculator spreadsheet" and several spread sheets will be listed. Plug your numbers in and it will tell you if you are over or under.

Personally, your numbers are too close to the max for me.

I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 QC 4x2 Hemi w/3.55 and Class IV hitch. According to Dodge it has a tow rating of 7,750 lbs (assumes one 150 lb driver in the cab). In reality, it's more like 5,500-6,000 lbs by the time tongue weight, cargo (in the truck and trailer) and a 10-15% safety margin are factored in. Dodge figured it as follows: 13,000 lb CGVWR - 5,100 lb (dry weight) - 150 lb driver = 7,750 lb "tow rating". In reality, it should be calculated as 13,000 lb CGVWR - 6,700 lb GVWR = 6,300 lb actual tow rating, but note that does not include factoring in the tongue weight or any safety margin. So depending on what the actual weight of the vehicle + fuel + cargo, my safe legal towing ability is roughly 5,000 - 6,000 lbs. That's just me. Some push it to the limit (not recommended). Note - I did tow a 1500 lb trailer loaded with 6,000 lbs of mulch along with my son and myself in the cab. Was probably a little over Dodge's tow rating, but we weren't going that far (30 miles). I wouldn't do it again. The engine and transmission handled it fine, but the brakes and suspension were definitely stressed.

Do you have a bumper hitch or a class IV hitch mounted to the frame? Most bumper hitches have a tongue limit of 500 lbs which usually translates to a 5,000 lb trailer weight.

Hope that helps.

repairman54

Heaviest I tow is a 18' pontoon boat fueled up it's 4000 lbs. with my '11 Tahoe w/factory tow package. Tows as well as my 6x12 cargo trailer.
Tahoe's are 1/2 ton trucks in reality, so they will handle single axle trailers with no problems. My Tahoe has a 7200 lb. brake package on it, it's in the RPO codes and that's how they rate tow capacity at the factory. It's all about braking, it will pull twice the tow rating it's the stopping that's important.
I also would like to see more ''reserve'' in the capacity.
Single or two axle trailer ? Two axle will give you more braking capacity on the trailer lessening the brake load on the truck vs a single axle trailer.
My Traverse has the same rating as my Tahoe but I would never load the Traverse as heavy as the Tahoe as it's not a real full frame vehicle.

tech2

no idea of the rating but i wouldn't pull over 1000 on a bumper hitch. they are poorly made.

intheburbs

Your calculations look pretty good. You'll certainly be at the limits of what the Tahoe is rated for.

Now, if you're planning to tow a few hours each way to a particular destination, you should be fine. However, if you're planning cross-country escapades, you might want to go a little lighter on the trailer size/weight.

The one wild card, that you probably won't be able to pin down until after you purchase, is the rear axle weight. That is usually the most commonly exceeded number, and is generally the limiting factor in determining "how much can I tow?" Separately, it's the reason why my 2001 1/2-ton Suburban is currently on rear axle number four, and why I bought a 2500 Suburban that has the 10.5" full floater axle.

Also, plan for the future. Your kids are growing, and they'll become bigger and heavier, eating more into your payload. When we first started towing, the kids were toddlers, and the three of them were a little over 100 lbs. Now, my boys are each 6 feet and 200 lbs, and my daughter is 5' 4" and 125 lbs. So that's an additional 400+ lbs of "cargo" over a 10-year period.

One last thing - I call the 3.08 the "soccer mom" ratio. It's really not meant for towing. GM makes it available to improve fuel economy. And because of that, it's unlikely it has the additional coolers that are really important when towing. So, again, before you go too far down this road, you might want to re-think your tow rig.

baare657

It does, immensely. I believe it's a class 4 (10K GTW, 1K tongue) hitch.
This was just an experiment, I have only recently started looking, so I just picked one and went from there. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences and knowledge.

To be clear, is tongue weight included in the GCWR "capacity' calculation?
I've only seen it included in the vehicle GVWR equations.

Google calculators vary fairly widely, BUT all of the consistently show that for this testcase I am beyond the capabilities (or far too close to the limit) of the Tahoe.
It looks like I need to look closer at something with a dry weight below 4K If we want to use the Tahoe, purchase a dedicated towing vehicle.

One more thing that popped up is the effect wheel base and trailer length have on stability. Brake controller, weight distribution hitch and sway control seem to be a must. I think the wheelbase is 116". Do you factor in the wheelbase in selecting a trailer length?

baare657

"Soccer Mom Ratio". Gonna google that when the wife is away on business.

If we dive into this, we would use it for short getaways (within 3 hours) or travel platform to see family 1x - 2x a year (NC to AK, with the newlyweds and nearlydeads and wal-mart).

Have you any opinions or experience with aftermarket coolers? I don't like adding or changing things to deviate from the factory designed and extensively tested technical specs, but I don't know how invasive that is, nor the downstream effects.

Thank you very much for sharing, i really appreciate it

baare657

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I didn't put that in the specs, I believe it's a class 4 (10K/1K)

baare657

OH crap, brake package. I'll need to find that in the specs.
This is just an experiment, i find i get more information out of people for complex subjects if I do some research first and provide an example.
There are some 2x axle trailers with UVW's below 4000, let me plug some of those in.

Thanks for sharing!

repairman54

Factory hitch is not a bumper hitch. It's a frame hitch and sticker should be on it inside the hitch opening listing it's rating. My '11 is a 500 lb. tongue weight max. .
Factory tow package in my '11 5.3 Tahoe the trans. temp. has never gone over 180 deg. while summer time towing my pontoon in 90F+ weather with the front and rear a/c's blasting away in hilly terrain.
HD tow package used to be coded Z82 in the RPO codes. VR4 is the code for factory weight distributing platform hitch. That's how mine is coded. Check your RPO codes to see exactly how it was built.
My '11 has the RPO code list on a sticker in the glove box. My '20 Traverse has no list there but a QR? code on the door sticker that when scanned shows the RPO list. Not sure on your year how they do it.