Hey everyone! Travel trailer question..

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LyoddChrissmiss

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I pulled the trigger on the Sumo Springs CSS-1168. $166 from etrailer. I didn’t have much sag before but anything will assist.
I’ll advise on ride quality and overall feel when towing.
 

LovinPSDs

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I pulled the trigger on the Sumo Springs CSS-1168. $166 from etrailer. I didn’t have much sag before but anything will assist.
I’ll advise on ride quality and overall feel when towing.

My brother in law put some on his 2020 and said they made a noticeable difference in the handling with the trailer. I'll actually see him tomorrow so I'll get more info. Looking forward to your report back. Seems like a nice addition for the price.
 

Randymac

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There is a big difference between towing, and towing comfortably. Had a 2011 Limited towing a 24' Jayco under 6K lbs. Towing was OK, a little squat but put 1000's of miles together including a 4K mile road trip a few years ago. Upgraded to a 2018 Limited for lower mileage vehicle and Ecoboost expecting more power and a better ride. Was never happy afterwards. Plenty of power but not enough back end to tow well...and no good options for suspension upgrade. Talked to probably 10 different mechanics, suppliers, trailer specialists. Upgraded the trailer this year (pre-covid) to a Lance 2375 which has comparable total weight. Still hoping to find a suspension upgrade. As it turns out the Lance has a heavier tongue. Towed it a few 100 miles home from the dealer and knew it wouldn't work. Found a 2008 F250 low mileage Diesel. After just 3 trips I can tell you the difference in the payload and performance on the road is worthwhile. The power of the diesel is awesome too, but not as critical as the payload. If I were buying a trailer to pull with my Expy, I'd insist on hooking it up and taking it for a ride. The dealers (both the car and trailer) will all tell you you have more car than you need....I'd really rather have more than I need. P.S. I still have the Expy. I love it too, just not for towing.
 

Squark

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I just picked up a 33' Grand Design trailer that we had to order because of low inventory. I wish we had towed it before we purchased it. It's a giant sail whenever a big truck passes by. You initially get pulled towards the truck and then pushed as it passes, so it's a bit unnerving. Keeping it under 60mph helps. I'm still dialing in the Blue Ox SwayPro hitch, but I think it's about right. I have very little squat. The tongue weight is around 650lbs and the trailer is close to 7,000lbs the way we have it loaded, so it's well within the towing and payload limits. There's just a lot of surface area that pushes and pulls on the back of the Expy. I might end up looking at an F-250, but I really don't want to give up the third row and the ability to park in the garage. Before this TT we rented a 29' that was closer to 6,000lbs and it towed a bit better. I think the length is the biggest issue.
 

LyoddChrissmiss

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Yep that’s a long trailer for the Expy. However I absolutely love the Blue Ox WDH. I say as long as keep her nice and conservative on your speeds you will be fine.
I’ve pulled my trailer with a 10’ V8 Explorer tow pkg. Seemed ok, to pulling it for a long trip in a new rented F250 (was child’s play) to my current vehicle my new Expedition. It pulls jus fine
 

LovinPSDs

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I just picked up a 33' Grand Design trailer that we had to order because of low inventory. I wish we had towed it before we purchased it. It's a giant sail whenever a big truck passes by. You initially get pulled towards the truck and then pushed as it passes, so it's a bit unnerving. Keeping it under 60mph helps. I'm still dialing in the Blue Ox SwayPro hitch, but I think it's about right. I have very little squat. The tongue weight is around 650lbs and the trailer is close to 7,000lbs the way we have it loaded, so it's well within the towing and payload limits. There's just a lot of surface area that pushes and pulls on the back of the Expy. I might end up looking at an F-250, but I really don't want to give up the third row and the ability to park in the garage. Before this TT we rented a 29' that was closer to 6,000lbs and it towed a bit better. I think the length is the biggest issue.


Tongue weight sounds a hair light for 7K lbs....
 

shane_th_ee

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I just picked up a 33' Grand Design trailer that we had to order because of low inventory. I wish we had towed it before we purchased it. It's a giant sail whenever a big truck passes by. You initially get pulled towards the truck and then pushed as it passes, so it's a bit unnerving. Keeping it under 60mph helps. I'm still dialing in the Blue Ox SwayPro hitch, but I think it's about right. I have very little squat. The tongue weight is around 650lbs and the trailer is close to 7,000lbs the way we have it loaded, so it's well within the towing and payload limits. There's just a lot of surface area that pushes and pulls on the back of the Expy. I might end up looking at an F-250, but I really don't want to give up the third row and the ability to park in the garage. Before this TT we rented a 29' that was closer to 6,000lbs and it towed a bit better. I think the length is the biggest issue.
Your tongue weight is less than 10% of the trailer weight*. It's going to sway, and probably dangerously. TW for a travel trailer should be 12-15% of trailer weight.

*650lbs is the weight you measured, right. Not the spec weight which doesn't include batteries and propane...
 

Squark

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Tongue weight sounds a hair light for 7K lbs....
Your tongue weight is less than 10% of the trailer weight*. It's going to sway, and probably dangerously. TW for a travel trailer should be 12-15% of trailer weight.

*650lbs is the weight you measured, right. Not the spec weight which doesn't include batteries and propane...
You guys are good! It's funny that I know the rules and somehow didn't even think about them with the stress of getting this trailer all set up. :banghead:

My math was a bit fuzzy and I forgot about the propane and battery. The dealer weighed the tongue at 600lbs (the manufacturer specs say 658lbs). The propane and battery put ~100lbs near the front (I'm assuming the dealer weighed it before those were installed). I added ~75lbs to the front passthrough storage. I also have about 75lbs stored in the rear storage behind the axles, so that'll offset some. The dry weight is 6,300lb. If I had to guess, I'm sitting around 6,700lbs. With those rough numbers I should be a touch over 10% on the tongue. I'll try shifting some weight forward see how it responds. I really should take it to a scale to verify the distribution once we finish loading it up.

I also tightened the weight distribution chains to reduce the squat in the rear, which lifted the tongue a bit, so I'm going to drop the ball height to compensate. I don't know if that'll make a significant difference, but I'd rather it be level. Thanks for your quick and helpful replies!
 
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Greg Parker

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There is a big difference between towing, and towing comfortably. Had a 2011 Limited towing a 24' Jayco under 6K lbs. Towing was OK, a little squat but put 1000's of miles together including a 4K mile road trip a few years ago. Upgraded to a 2018 Limited for lower mileage vehicle and Ecoboost expecting more power and a better ride. Was never happy afterwards. Plenty of power but not enough back end to tow well...and no good options for suspension upgrade. Talked to probably 10 different mechanics, suppliers, trailer specialists. Upgraded the trailer this year (pre-covid) to a Lance 2375 which has comparable total weight. Still hoping to find a suspension upgrade. As it turns out the Lance has a heavier tongue. Towed it a few 100 miles home from the dealer and knew it wouldn't work. Found a 2008 F250 low mileage Diesel. After just 3 trips I can tell you the difference in the payload and performance on the road is worthwhile. The power of the diesel is awesome too, but not as critical as the payload. If I were buying a trailer to pull with my Expy, I'd insist on hooking it up and taking it for a ride. The dealers (both the car and trailer) will all tell you you have more car than you need....I'd really rather have more than I need. P.S. I still have the Expy. I love it too, just not for towing.

I think this all goes without saying. A truck...especially a 3/4-ton diesel (with solid front & rear axles) is going to tow anything way better than a half-ton, fullsize SUV with 4-wheel independent suspension. All that being said, if I compare...

1) My old '07 Duramax 3/4-ton | no WDH | 6200# 26' camper | ~650# tongue-weight
2) My new '19 Limited with HD towing | with Husky WDH (800-1000# bars) | 6200# 26' camper | ~650# tongue-weight

...the Expy tows it better. I credit a meticulously setup WDH for much of that. I think my Duramax would have been the superior tow rig if I'd had used a WDH with that setup too. Nevertheless, I've been very comfortable behind the wheel of my Expy towing our camper. It's only been once ...but we braved some of the toughest conditions (I-17 in AZ), in some of the most annoying winds I've ever had ...just kept swirling into always being a 10-2 o'clock 30-40mph wind ...and ambient temps were some of the hottest we've had so far this summer. While I had (and still have) some concerns about the trans fluid temps that I saw (it never got out of spec...but close), I would tow anything under 7500# with a great big smile on my face. I was quite comfortable and can't think of a time that I felt as confident behind the wheel towing something significant (with what is essentially a "big car").

Keep in mind, I've been towing things since before I even got my full driver's license (mostly campers and boats ...but some enclosed trailers and horse trailers too), and I am sincerely impressed with the control, comfort, and ease with which I was able to tow my camper. Again, I give a lot of credit to the hours I spent getting the WDH just perfect, but I have zero complaints. My only real regret in selling my Duramax is the lost cargo space; however, the family (6 of us) is much happier not being shoulder-to-shoulder ...and the dogs are happy they get to come now too.

(BTW - the Lance 2445 is on my list. It'll be our next coach, barring financial disaster.)
 
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