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07 Avalanche LTZ tow 2016 Flagstaff Super Lite 29RKWS?

newvision

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May 1, 2016
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So I've been researching travel trailers as my wife and I enjoy camping. In my effortless research to find a trailer we like and would feel comfortable in I found the Flagstaff Super Lite 29RKWS https://cheyennecampingcenter.com/rvs/flagstaff-super-lite-29rkws-travel-trailer-by-forest-river

According to the manufacturer website, the tongue weight is 674lbs, the UVW is 6399lbs and the GVWR is 8,074 lbs. I know these numbers are always off. Taking my tow stats for my 07 this trailer will work. I have the auto leveling suspension also. Any other advice or recommendations from anyone is greatly appreciated.
 
That is a nice trailer, but I think it's a bit too much for the 1500.

You also have to consider all the stuff you are going to put in it like bicycles, luggage, food.

The auto-leveling isn't going to help with the tongue weight of 674lbs, which is already 74 lbs over your limit.
 
Its just the wife and I. No bikes and a bunch of crap. When we camp, we always pack light. From what I understand, my LTZ with tow package has a max tongue weight of 800lbs. Is etrailer incorrect?
 
I don't think it's that high.  There should be a label on the driver door that should give you the specs for your AV
 
That's a nice rig.

Tongue weight and actual hitch weight will vary when weight distribution is applied.

You will want to ditch the factory hitch for a good aftermarket version. I have a draw Tite that is very nice and beefy. Lots of posts about making the swap.

The safe bet is to shop for trailers using the gross rating on the trailer and figure tongue weight (without weight distribution) at 12% or so.

Auto ride is not a plus. You load the truck for the trip and then turn off the truck while hooking up the trailer. You then load tension on the WD bars to get the front wheels back down to where they were unloaded this will take several hundred pounds off the rear and put it on the front wheels and back onto the trailer. The rear axle doesn't "see" all of the tongue weight. The front needs to have the same weight as it did unloaded.

I have a 29' BH that weighs in fully loaded at 5600lbs, which is super lite for a trailer that length. I had a 3.73 gear installed by 4wheel parts. I have a Diablo tune on it. I use a blue ox hitch with 1,000 lb bars. The truck works hard to keep the trailer at 65. Depending on wind conditions, I have to run in fourth gear. I have a 2011 with the six speed....so the 3.73 gear is like have a 4.10 or so with the four speed. The truck can feel that trailer move around on a windy day. I am just slightly over on GVWR but under on all other weights. I wouldn't think of doing a longer or heavier trailer. I don't know. I would bet money you will be over on your GVWR once hooked up.

From what I can tell, you never know all the real numbers until you get to a scale and weigh out the axles separately. You can shift weight around by adjusting the WD hitch but there's only so much of that you can do.

You could probably make it work but my guess is that you'll be looking for a 2500 if you plan to use the trailer.

Have fun looking and buying!  Camping is a blast!
 
I found another trailer that we like that according to manufacturer is a little lighter on tongue weight and overall weight, but like you said. You never really know until you get on the CAT scale. Here is my other choice http://www.goevergreenrv.com/page/454/S293RK
 
The LTZ autoride actually has less tow capacity than the standard leaf spring/coil Avalanches. Spring helper bags, weight distribution setup, and a class 5 hitch will make towing safer. BUT you still need to stop all that weight too.


 
I've not seen any WDH documentation/instructions that say anything other than to deflate any air bags to minimum pressure. I think some of the fiver guys will use bags to get rid of sag.

My rig stops as good with the trailer than without. I have a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller and when dialed in, it works awesome. Of course, I don't tow in the mountains so I don't have to worry about smoking brakes coming down a long grade.

Looking at this second rig, assume it comes in all loaded at 8k. Figure 800 lbs of tongue weight at a minimum.  Some of that will come off with WDH, so maybe 500 on the rear axle and 200 on the front?  Some of that weight will go back on the trailer but I just don't know how much. If your Avy is like mine, you have 1000 lbs of payload, so the hitch weight will take up half of your payload. What scares me is that I've read about some trailers won't track well with 10% tongue weight and more is needed. Check the payload sticker on the door of your truck.

I wouldn't buy that rig if I planned to keep the Avy. We're just talking about weight here.  That second trailer is 33' long. That's a lot of trailer to control. At the end of the day, you have to figure out how far you want to push things but I think you'll find the tow experience to be quite stressful. I would encourage you to check out RV forums (rv.net) and read the towing sections. You'll have to sift out the way conservative posts from the pragmatic posts, but I think you'll scale back on your rig specs. Also, ask yourself if you are willing to step up to a bigger truck if the Avy doesn't work out. If you are good with that, then go for it and worst case scenario is that you'll be buying a different truck...and I can tell you from experience that 3/4 ton trucks are pricey. :)
 
Those are super nice trailers, but I think a downsize is in order, when you get into the 30 foot range they can be tricky even for my 2500. I had to modify a lot of things to handle them. Swaybars, a very expensive WD system, E load range tires etc...
 
Everything that we like is around the 28'-30' range from hitch to rear. I'm still searching to find something within our weight limits. This KZ Spree fits our layout http://www.kz-rv.com/products/spree-travel-trailers/263RKS.html
 
MS03 2500 said:
Those are super nice trailers, but I think a downsize is in order, when you get into the 30 foot range they can be tricky even for my 2500. I had to modify a lot of things to handle them. Swaybars, a very expensive WD system, E load range tires etc...

My camper is 35.5 feet long and 8500 lbs dry and we pack ALOT of crap and all I did was Firestone airbags and new receiver hitch. My WD system and sway friction thingy is cheap Chinese junk the dealer supplied when I traded my hybrid in. I figured I would need to maybe upgrade but have had zero issues with sway past couple of years. Just pulled it 2300 miles to Florida and back  :love:
 
Should I do the Draw-Tite 41930 conversion also. I've checked about airbags. Since I have the auto ride it states the firestone bag system isn't compatible.
 
newvision said:
Should I do the Draw-Tite 41930 conversion also.

Yeah I believe that is what the 2007 up AVs are using.
 
Yes much better, plus it has a 60 gallon grey water tank.
 
That draw Tite is the one I have. Pretty easy install.

Firestone does make a set of bags that are compatible with auto level. I'm not convinced they are needed if you set up the WDH correctly. The auto ride will pump up and bring the rear back to original height. The key is to get the front back down to pre-hitch level.

That trailer is still going to be on the heavy side. You'll likely be over payload by 100 - 200 pounds. If you tow in hills, it will be a bit of a slug. If you don't have a trans cooler, you'll want one.

Spend good money on a good hitch. I like Blue Ox. Equalizer is another good one.

I'd check out the rv forums and the KZ owner's forum and see if you can find someone who has that rig and get some feedback about how it handles and how much tongue weight it needs to track well.

Final thought.  If this is your first TT, go buy a used one. The depreciation on these things is mean. If you buy one and you don't like it or if you find you can't tow it comfortably with your truck, it may be a more difficult situation to handle. Just $.02.
 
cadboy1 said:
Light weight

Remember this thread is about a 2007 not a 2500 and yes I don't have airbags either
 
Oh I plan on buying used! This will be our first TT. For WDH, I have been researching the Reese Dual Cam so far.
 
I had the airbags on my 1.2 ton AV. The ones you shove in the coil spring. Both on my 1/2 ton and now my 3/4 ton, I find they help the ride when towing. I didn't use them to falsely increase towing capacity but to help with stiffing things up. It sounds like airbags would make things more bouncy but I find its just the opposite.. :love:
 
I found two systems for the 1/2 ton Avy http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&inc_subcat=1&categories_id=1806&year_select=2007&make_select=616&model_select=7979&x=113&y=16
 
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