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Old 05-06-2012, 03:06 AM   #1
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Ok so now mabye we might be intermediate newbies lol..that's probably a stretch..ok the latest update.



We need

help..lol..we’ve been doing so much research..but let us know what we missed

:&gt<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /></span>



The

Crossover Slingshot GT29BH is good fit for us ( 2 adults), the dry weight for

this model is 4527. </span>We have added in 70lbs

for optional add ons, 120lbs for the 2 propane tanks, and 200lbs for personal

effects, totaling 4920 (5000 total).</span>



We are

looking at the Toyota Tundra 4.6 8cyl with the tow package Price is the major

consideration. The curb weight is 5385# and we would add in 1315# for the tow

package/hitch, 500# for us and cargo totaling 6450.</span>



Our usage

would be round trip towing from New Hampshire to Florida (1500 miles 1 way). The

rest of time it would be parked in a camp ground (NH) or driveway (FL). We’re

also planning 3 – 4 occasional short distance trips (600 miles roundtrip) per

year from either location. Thanks in advance for your help, Kevin and Mrs.Kevin </span>



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Old 05-06-2012, 06:39 AM   #2
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200 lbs for personal effects is really under estimating it. Most people tend to pack about 1000-1500 lbs into their trailer. Clothes, dishes, linens, chairs etc really do add up fast. So you are really looking at closer to at least 6000 lbs loaded. You then want to look at about 13-15% of the loaded weight for hitch weight (about 900 lbs if weight is 6000 lbs). Look at the sticker inside the door of the tundra you are looking at. What is the listed available payload (or weight cargo and occupants should not exceed)? You then subtract your 500 lbs for cargo and you plus the 900 lbs of tongue weight from the number in the door. Are you still in a positive #? Also, what is the GCWR of the tundra you are looking at? Subtract the loaded weight of the tundra from that and it will give you your adjusted towing capacity. (ie loaded weight of both tundra and trailer need to be less than GCWR and tongue weight needs to be less than available payload). Hope this helps you some. For what its worth, the newer tundras have a pretty good rep for towing but that is the larger engines.
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Old 05-06-2012, 06:48 AM   #3
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Helloyou have a really nice trailer and wow my wife and I were in Cary NC around end of March,me for a business trip put us up in a nice hotel. Anyways thanks for the info, more homework to do.. so this is rocket science. We are hoping after all the calculations to be able to come under for the 4.6 vs the 5.7 V8( w tow package ) the 5.7 get real pricey but we'll have calculate thanks for your help, Kevin
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Old 05-06-2012, 07:22 AM   #4
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Small world huh? Around here, Cary is an acronym that stands for Containment Area for Relocated Yankees. I am one of those relocated yankees. As for the rocket science... I didn't do enough homework in the beginning and ended up having to upgrade my tow vehicle. I only paid attention to the overall tow capacity of my armada and not the payload and I ended up pushed all over the road by passing vehicles (not just semis) and I was even pushed down a 7% grade. Needless to say, I am now a big supporter of spending the money on the bigger TV.
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Old 05-06-2012, 07:31 AM   #5
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Hi Cary, NC and thanks for the great belly laugh. And you certainly conveyed words of wisdom that I think we mayneed (mm gulp) to consider the 5.7 V8 Tundra w/tow package. Ok the grandkids will just have to be happy with gifts from the dollar store...lol
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Old 05-06-2012, 03:06 PM   #6
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kelticroam,

Perhaps my situation may add something to your ultimate decision.

We currently have a 2 yr old Slingshot 23CK ( 3200 empty, about 42- 4300 lbs loaded, including passengers) which, for the first year, we pulled with a 4.8 litre GMC Sierra. We do a lot of long distance travelling i.e. from BC Canada to Oregon, Banff and the US southwest (I am actually typing this in our trailer from Page Arizona). Even though the trailer is only 42-4300 lbs, we found the former truck could tow it reasonably well on flat up to about 50 mph. However, when trying to do 60 or more on flat Interstate or anything through hills/mountains, the truck bogged right down and I was in 3rd or 2nd and hitting pretty high revs, with speeds right down to 35 mph, especially doing the hill climbs. I could not drive even on flat without being in 3rd gear and doing about 2800 rpms. It was so bad that, after the first year of towing the trailer, we bought a 6.2 L, 6 spd, rated for 10,400 lbs (and even with this truck, I am in 5th at 2300 rpms at 65 on the flat).

Not sure what that truck is rated to tow, but don't get too confident with the manufacturers specs. My former truck was rated to tow about 7000 plus and I'm sure they got this rating by towing downhill through a school zone at 20 mph cause it could not have been during real driving scenarios.

Can you tow the trailer with the truck you described? Probably. But you will sure know you have a trailer and will really be working it if you travel Interstates or over 55 or up/down hilly country. If you were towing to/from the lake on a short 50 mile trip on the weekend, the combo would probably suffice. But I'll guarantee, for the distances you describe, you'll pretty soon regret your decision. I would go for at least a 5.3 (or smaller trailer....).

My thoughts.
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Old 05-06-2012, 09:34 PM   #7
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Hi Marpel, your thoughts were excellent and we thank you. We went out to dinner last night and Mrs. Kevinsaid you know from what we're hearing from people we may have to bite the bullet and get the 5.7 Tundra V8 why take any chances. This is what we're hearing from folks could be cutting it close and having problems like the ones you said in the post. I read an article the other day which hits one of those points you said..The truck manufacture uses some pretty skewed methods to determine their towing capacity..of course all in the name of salesand can leave many consumers left in the dark. So thankful for boards like this. So Marpel you were right I found in the same article that Toyota was the first manufacturer coming forward and stating "Ah shucks we'll give you the real tow capacity" So on website 5.7 Tundra V8 is rated for something like 10,100 lbs...what the real tow capacity is 8200lbs which would be much better for us cause you know that 4.6 is much lowerSupposedly truck manufacturers are suppose to comply with the real tow rates in 2013 but I didn't read exactly how they will do this. Thanks again Kevin and Mrs Kevin
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Old 05-07-2012, 02:08 PM   #8
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kelticroam,

Glad I could help. Getting the right vehicle to tow a trailer makes the excursions so much less stressful, however the cost is always a factor.

I don't think the new tow ratings are compulsory (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that) but are a set of standards that the major truck makers have agreed to use when rating their vehicles (although I think one is talking about backing out - could be Toyota). I think Dodge (could be wrong on that, but one of them) is already using it, which is why their tow ratings went down from one year to the next. If I recall correctly, they have even agreed on a grade and length of hill to test their trucks for pulling power as well as a standard rpm when quoting the load rating (like what does ______ lbs at 5800 rpms have to do with the real world anyway?).

Anyway, good luck with your purchase.

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Old 05-10-2012, 01:36 PM   #9
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< = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0">

This info scares me. We are in the midst of purchasing a 2011 Slingshot 23ck (UVW 3220#)to be picked up end of May. Test tow was done with our 2007 Trailblazer 4.2 inline six with no issues whatsoever.

We are using an Equalizer brand hitch. Could this make that much of a difference?
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Old 05-10-2012, 09:49 PM   #10
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We bought an F-150 ecoboost screwcab with tow max to tow our gt25bh. Way overkill, but tows with extreme confidence. The truck may have saved our lives when a very large flat fronted charterbus bow wave at 80+mph gave us a lift off the road. The stability control took over and kept us on the road. That kind of comfort level is worth every penny!
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Old 05-11-2012, 09:02 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RBL
&lt; = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0"&gt; This info scares me. We are in the midst of purchasing a 2011 Slingshot 23ck (UVW 3220#)to be picked up end of May. Test tow was done with our 2007 Trailblazer 4.2 inline six with no issues whatsoever.
We are using an Equalizer brand hitch. Could this make that much of a difference?

So I really doubt you are going to put 4000 lbs worth of gear into the trailer. However shopping by UVW is not a good way to go about it as you will buy more trailer than your truck can handle. That said, I do not know the specs on your TV to really give you an educated answer. What is your trailblazer rated to tow? What does the sticker inside the TV door say in regards to payload (or weight of cargo and occupants should not exceed x amount)? The absoulte best way to find out your vehicles abiliities is to go load it as you would for camping and fill the gas tank up, weigh it at a catscale (or local grain scale or whatever). Take the weight you obtain and subtract that from the vehicles GVWR. This will give you your available payload. Take the weight obtained on the scale and subtract it from the vehicles GCWR and you will get your adjusted towing capacity. Next you need to understand that your trailers tongue weight comes off of your payload. You need to know that the dry tongue weight will not be what you tow. You will have a heavier tongue weight. If you figure you put 1500 lbs in the trailer, then you are looking at a loaded trailer weight of 4720 lbs. Take 13-15% of the loaded trailer weight to figure out your tongue weight. 15% of 4720 is 708 lbs. Can your trailblazer handle that? If you use the lower end of weight and load it w/ 1000 lbs, then you are looking at a loaded weight of 4220 lbs and a tongue weight of 633 lbs. What kind of payload do you have in that trailblazer? I recommend usinga good WDH and sway control to help you out. A good WDH should transfer some of the tongue weight back to the trailer but that will probably be negated by the weight of the actual WDH itself. I hope this helps you figure things out a bit. It is not fun to have too much trailer for the truck, trust me, I have been there.
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Old 05-11-2012, 11:48 AM   #12
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you could als look for a nce 2009 f150 with 5.4l we had one to pull our sumset trail 29qb weighed about 7k and was a very comfortable tow
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Old 05-12-2012, 06:29 AM   #13
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< = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0">

My Trailblazer is rated to tow 5,200# with 3.42Axle Ratio.

GVWR is 5,750#

GCWR is 10,000#

Combined cargo weight not to exceed 1082#

My hitch is an Equalizer 4-point WDH w/ built in sway control.

Our combined weight of myself, wife &amp; Golden Retreiver would be 400#

( The dog being heaviest of course HA!HA! ).

We will be tavelling on long trips.

Any comments welcome.
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Old 05-12-2012, 08:22 AM   #14
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Depending on how you load the trailer/TV you will be at or over your max. If you subtract the 400 lbs from the listed payload, you get 682 lbs. Depending on what chevy says, this may or may not include the weight of a full tank of fuel. I am not sure of this. You would need your tongue weight to be less than the 682 lbs. If you load 1000 lbs you geta tongue weight just over 600 lbs. You would not be able to load more than 1000 lbs into your trailer to be at your max. Towing that close to max is doable for some but not for others. It will probably give you a white knuckle experience and you may be wanting more power on the hills. Will you be pulling a lot of steep grades or mostly on the flat? I can tell you that I towed w/ an armada that was within overall tow capacity and over on payload before I understood all of this. I struggled up and down 7% grade. In fact, I actually got pushed down the 7% grade. That was my final straw for the new truck. We used to get pushed around by semis and even cars and small suv's on the highway. I was miserable. I felt like the trailer steered the armada (kinda like the tail wagging the dog). Switching to this truck, I no longer have issues with anything passing me and I am now actually able to pass them as I am not chugging along in the slow lane trying to just hang on. I can comfortably do 65 mph (whereas 55 was pushing it with the old SUV). I have not yet attempted a steep grade with the new combo though. I think at minimum you will want a top of the line hitch system and you will white knuckle it. YOu should also make sure you have a proportional brake controller like the Prodigy P2 or P3 and not a time based brake controller. You may find yourself wanting a larger tow vehicle sooner than later. You may also be ok with how it handles. Point is, you bought the TT, so you might as well try to see how it handles. We ended up dumping all kinds of money into the aging armada to try and make it work (ie $1200 for E rated tires, $120 for a prodigy P3 brake controller, and anything else that would get suggested) . It didn't work, we gave up and got the bigger TV. Oh and you didn't mention if your trailblazer has a tow package that includes things like a transmission cooler. You will want this if you don't have it already or you will find yourself overheating. Use your lower gears on the hills (up and down), go slow and see how it goes. Best of luck to you. Let us know how it goes.

Edited by: anaro
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Old 05-12-2012, 09:16 AM   #15
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< = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0">

I will be towing mostly on flats except when we head out to western Canada and through the Rockies. The Trailblazer has a factory tow package including transmission cooler. I am using a Tekonsha Voyager 9030 inertia activated proportional braking system. I will not be in a position to upgrade my tow vehicle as I am now retired. We have a cottage in Northern Ontario where we will spend most of our summers. The trailer was part of my dream to travel to Newfoundland &amp; Alaska so it would only be used to do a variety of trips after which we would either sell the trailer or possibly the cottage. I can still cancel the deal and lose a small deposit if necessary but I have not seen a travel trailer with queen walk around bed and full bathroom at even close to this weight or layoutelsewhere. The trailer towed very well when on a test tow for about an hour plus. It also has the widestance axle which I found does make a difference.
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Old 05-12-2012, 10:23 AM   #16
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In terms of the TT towing ok, remember that was an empty trailer and probably at least 1000 lbs lighter than it will be when towing. I am guessing if you are talking about towing to alaska then you will probably encounter some pretty steep grades at some point. I can only tell you what my experiences were, I can't tell you what to do. I can only help you to understand weights as they apply to towing.
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Old 05-12-2012, 11:13 AM   #17
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< = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0">

Thanks anaro,



I do very much appreciate the info you have given mebased onyour knowledge and experience towing. You have certainly educated me better than the other people I have listened to on this subject. You are correct in that I will have to make my choices based on the more appropriate information now before me.
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Old 05-13-2012, 01:20 PM   #18
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I purchased a 2012 GT29BH about a year ago. By the numbers, my 2004 Durango was at the limit. About an hour from the dealership the water pump blew, although it was probably due to happen regardless of pulling the trailer.

After getting the water pump fixed and dragging the metal box another couple hours, it was clear that towing at the limit by the numbers was a poor choice.

Now the TV is a 2009 GMC Sierra, rated at 9,500#. It's a very comfortable combination.

Also be quite aware that the brochure towing capacity is the one you end up with if you have all the right options.

The 2009 Sierra with the "Heavy Duty Towing Package" is rated at 5,500# even though the brochure says 10,500#. The right transmission and heavy duty cooling package is what gets it to the 9,500# rating, and an optional engine upgrade (IIRC) gets it the rest of the way to 10,500#.

So do your research and don't trust the truck dealer.



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Old 05-15-2012, 03:29 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RBL

&lt; = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0"&gt;

Thanks anaro,



I do very much appreciate the info you have given mebased onyour knowledge and experience towing. You have certainly educated me better than the other people I have listened to on this subject. You are correct in that I will have to make my choices based on the more appropriate information now before me.

RBL...based on trailer weight and length, your Trailblazer should handle the 21CK fine. You will want to watch gear weight, but you seem to be on track with about 1100# of gear. Make sure you spend some time on hitch setup, too. GVWR for the trailer is important, but as stated you likely will not put 3-4000# of gear in it. ACTUAL LOADED weight is what matters.

Our actual dry weight is 4620# on our Zinger....pushing 5300# loaded.We have the long wheelbase TB and it handles it...but we plan to upgrade soon. We crunched numbers and weighed trailer...she tows well, but we want a larger vehicle (Suburban).
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Old 05-15-2012, 01:50 PM   #20
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< = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0">

Quote:
Originally Posted by ewbldavis
Quote:
Originally Posted by RBL
&lt; = =text/ ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&amp;0=0&amp;0=0"&gt; Thanks anaro,



I do very much appreciate the info you have given mebased onyour knowledge and experience towing. You have certainly educated me better than the other people I have listened to on this subject. You are correct in that I will have to make my choices based on the more appropriate information now before me.


RBL...based on trailer weight and length, your Trailblazer should handle the 21CK fine. You will want to watch gear weight, but you seem to be on track with about 1100# of gear. Make sure you spend some time on hitch setup, too. GVWR for the trailer is important, but as stated you likely will not put 3-4000# of gear in it. ACTUAL LOADED weight is what matters.



Our actual dry weight is 4620# on our Zinger....pushing 5300# loaded.We have the long wheelbase TB and it handles it...but we plan to upgrade soon. We crunched numbers and weighed trailer...she tows well, but we want a larger vehicle (Suburban).
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