Topic: Up gradeing to bigger trailer????

[BigRed2005]

Hi,
I'm new and this is my first post. I've had my AV since 2005 and never thought there was a club out there.  I found this site while researching info on pulling a trailer.  Currently I have a 16 ft super lite (3000 lb) travel trailer, and I'm thinking of buying a 21 ft weighting around 6500 lb.  I zip around town with my TT and forget it's back there but now I'm concerned abut pulling something so heavy.  Can anyone give some feedback or advice, can the AV handle this trailer?
Thanks,
Kathy
Irvine CA
2005 AV

[oHIobellboy]

1st off  ,  While I don't do much towing with my Avy, I thought I'd ask you this. Is yours a 2500 or 1500? There are some members here that will chime in shortly with a better answer for you. Mine is an 04 z71 and the 3.73 gears which gives me a towing capacity of 7100 lbs. I would also look into a tranny cooler and trailer brakes if you do a lot of towing just to keep things on the safe side

[Donnie1]

OBB is absoultely correct. Check into a tranny cooler and see which gears you have in the rear. Ours is an 06 with 4.10's in the rear. I pull a 24' pontoon boat quite regularly with no problems. Of course it doesn't weigh as much as the trailer you are getting but I don't think you will have any problems. Now if you have the 2500 Av, you may as well get a bigger trailer because I know it can handle it.

Oh and welcome to the family.

[BigRed2005]

Thanks for the welcome.
Your right it would help if I gave more facts.
1500
3:42 ratio
130" wheelbase
The owners manual states I can pull 7300 lbs but I wanted to know if that was safe?  I also wondered if 21 ft is to long, I don't want to have the "tail wagging the dog" effect.

[MyBigToy]

My biggest concern for you is the 3.42 gears. You will suffer from a lack of power, especially at takeoff and on long uphill grades, with a heavy trailer. The weight and length are not a physical problem as long as you have an auxilliary transmission oil cooler, brake controller, and possibly a weight distributing hitch.

I just pulled a 24' travel trailer over 200 miles with my Av last weekend and had no issues (other than a hose that blew off the aux tranny cooler, and that's another story  - it's already posted here) and I don't have a brake controller or weight distributing hitch. That said, if I towed on any type of a regular basis, I would consider both accessories mandatory. I don't plan on dragging the travel trailer around on a regular basis as it was purchased to be housing at my farm. I do have an auxilliary tranny oil cooler, 4.10's, and a supercharger.  Pulling power was not an issue for me.

[Ski Edition]

I pull a 23' TT, but loaded I weigh about 5K+.  I put on some bigger tires and 4.56 gears and can't even tell it's back there unless I'm in the mountains pulling a grade.  I think you will be fine if you have a leveling hitch and trailer brakes.  You might consider 4.10's if you run sluggish with that much weight.

[Richie_Rich]

I assume your 16ft has electric brakes.
If so, you probably already have an electric brake controller.

You definitely will want to get a load distribution hitch.
Check out www.etrailer.com They are somewhat local to me and have very good prices.

We bought our Av 2500 just to tow our 27' TT.
We had an '02 Durango with the 4.7L engine.
I put 4.10 gears in along with a SuperChips tuner.
It did the job except on long hills.
That little engine just didn't have the torque.

6,500# is a lot of weight. Actually the weight is not the issue.  It's the drag from towing a big square box down the road at 55mph.
If you stay on relatively flat roads, you should be fine.
If you don't already have one, make sure to get an auxiliary transmission cooler.
Preferable one with it's own little fan. Something like THIS
You will also want to get a trans temp gauge if you don't already have one.

Where are you from?
It's always nice meeting up with people while out camping.

[BigRed2005]

Wow, Thanks for all the good input.
I do have trailer brakes for the 16 ft and I'll be adding a Trans Cooler.  I plan on getting a load distribution hitch (that's another question).  I was REALLY suprise when I went to my local Chevy dealer and found out my "Hitch Package" is only the hitch...I talked with several sales people, at the time of purchase, and asked if I was getting a heavy duty hitch pkg and they said yes.  I did not know anything about the axel ratio...did some AV come with 3:43 and other with 3:73, the guy in the service dept was surprise I had a 3:43. Oh well at least on my next AV purchase I'll be a better educated.

Thanks again, I'm glad I joined,
Kathy
Irvine, CA
2005 AV
Soon to be towing a 2009 Pioneer 21CKS

[Ski Edition]

Good luck and post some pics of your AV and new TT!    

[Waynesworld]

The towing package came with a larger trans cooler
The trailer package came with a hitch receiver & wiring
If you are going to pull a trailer that large you might think
about changing the fan CFM also if you install a larger trans cooler.
A load distribution hitch will really help on the open road @ high speed.
And I did forget 1 Thing

    

 Youll really enjoy your AV MORE you found us...

                 

[MyBigToy]

I did not know anything about the axel ratio...did some AV come with 3:43 and other with 3:73, the guy in the service dept was surprise I had a 3:43.

I believe 05 was the year they started using the 3.42s to try to help improve gas mileage some. GM found out pretty quickly that the 3.42s weren't ideal in a 6000 lb truck with a 5.3 L engine. There was a lot of grumbling on the different websites/forums from owners with 3.42s back then. Prior to that a 3.73 was standard and a lot of the trucks had 4.10s. When I started looking to purchase in 02 there were more trucks with the 4.10s than 3.73s and I knew from prior experience that I wanted the 4.10s. Good luck and let us know how it goes when you start towing.