What is the best tow vehicle?
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:42 pm
Recently on several different FB pages there have been a lot of discussions about tow vehicles.
As I have said many times before, any time two RV'er's get together and start talking about tow vehicles you are going to have a minimum of three opinions as to what is best.
Some go for the overkill with medium duty or heavy duty toter trucks while others who have drunk the kool-aid dispensed by a certain Canadian AS dealer like to prove some point while taking the minimalist approach.
Regardless of what choice of tow vehicle you have made it is very important to know how much your trailer weighs, how much the tongue weighs, and how much weight is on each axle when fully loaded and ready to go camping.
The numbers that are the most important, which will be your limiting numbers, is how much weight can each tire on the tow vehicle and trailer support, and how much weight each axle can suppport. Regardless of how much the tow rating might be, if you have four kids, a m-i-l, and two dogs packed into the tow vehicle along with bikes, lawn/camp furniture, and pop up canopies/extra rooms you might be close to the gross weight rating on the rear axle before you ever hitch a trailer to the tow vehicle. If you are considering a vintage tow vehicle you might be able to extrapolate the information you need from some of the literature put out by the OEM back in the day when your vintage TV was made. But a good place to start is the weight rating molded into the side of the tires.
Do not take a salesman's word, a published number put out by the OEM, or a guess by your best friend as to what anything weighs. Don't worry about the empty weight--no one goes camping in an empty RV. Take your fully loaded rig some place that has a scale that can give you a printed record of what everything weighs. Most truck stops have Cat Scales that cost very little to use. Scrap metal recycle yards, garbage dumps, rock pits, and grain elevators also have scales that can record your weights. You can also use your state's DOT scale houses on the side of the highways if they are closed (no officers present) as most leave the scales turned on with the weight displayed where the driver can see the numbers.
Running overweight with your tow vehicle/trailer combination can result in catastrophic failure of the tires, brakes, or axles. It can further void any new or extended vehicle warranty you may have. And worse case it can also subject you to civil and criminal legal jeopardy.
I know my 34V hitched to my 1995 K1500 Suburban is pushing the envelope really hard. I am not overweight but I have virtually zero room for anything or anyone else in the tow rig. I am working on getting our new-to-us 1997 K2500 Suburban ready for the road which will have no problem handling the weight of the 34V with plenty of room for more junk and plunder or people in the tow rig.
Be smart and be safe!
Mark R. Obtinario
Winlock, WA
1981 34V
As I have said many times before, any time two RV'er's get together and start talking about tow vehicles you are going to have a minimum of three opinions as to what is best.
Some go for the overkill with medium duty or heavy duty toter trucks while others who have drunk the kool-aid dispensed by a certain Canadian AS dealer like to prove some point while taking the minimalist approach.
Regardless of what choice of tow vehicle you have made it is very important to know how much your trailer weighs, how much the tongue weighs, and how much weight is on each axle when fully loaded and ready to go camping.
The numbers that are the most important, which will be your limiting numbers, is how much weight can each tire on the tow vehicle and trailer support, and how much weight each axle can suppport. Regardless of how much the tow rating might be, if you have four kids, a m-i-l, and two dogs packed into the tow vehicle along with bikes, lawn/camp furniture, and pop up canopies/extra rooms you might be close to the gross weight rating on the rear axle before you ever hitch a trailer to the tow vehicle. If you are considering a vintage tow vehicle you might be able to extrapolate the information you need from some of the literature put out by the OEM back in the day when your vintage TV was made. But a good place to start is the weight rating molded into the side of the tires.
Do not take a salesman's word, a published number put out by the OEM, or a guess by your best friend as to what anything weighs. Don't worry about the empty weight--no one goes camping in an empty RV. Take your fully loaded rig some place that has a scale that can give you a printed record of what everything weighs. Most truck stops have Cat Scales that cost very little to use. Scrap metal recycle yards, garbage dumps, rock pits, and grain elevators also have scales that can record your weights. You can also use your state's DOT scale houses on the side of the highways if they are closed (no officers present) as most leave the scales turned on with the weight displayed where the driver can see the numbers.
Running overweight with your tow vehicle/trailer combination can result in catastrophic failure of the tires, brakes, or axles. It can further void any new or extended vehicle warranty you may have. And worse case it can also subject you to civil and criminal legal jeopardy.
I know my 34V hitched to my 1995 K1500 Suburban is pushing the envelope really hard. I am not overweight but I have virtually zero room for anything or anyone else in the tow rig. I am working on getting our new-to-us 1997 K2500 Suburban ready for the road which will have no problem handling the weight of the 34V with plenty of room for more junk and plunder or people in the tow rig.
Be smart and be safe!
Mark R. Obtinario
Winlock, WA
1981 34V