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Can my 2004 av pull a 30 ft travel trailer

blackzx10r

Full Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
76
I believe the weight is 9000 lbs.......What would I need to do this? I will not be doing it but a few times a year. I have a 2004 1500 av Z-71

Roy
 
blackzx10r said:
I believe the weight is 9000 lbs.......What would I need to do this?

A 2500 Av.

Sorry, but that trailer is outside of any reasonable capability for a 1/2 ton. *Especially* when you consider that most trailers actually weigh more than the sticker claims.
 
I agree, that is just to much trailer for your Avalanche.

Butch
 
My camper is about 4300 lbs dry and empty. I would not tow anymore then 6000lbs with the 1500 Av...
 
I have a 30' (9000 lbs) which I tow with the NF(1500).
Airlift and weight dist bars and it tows just fine.
Tow package also. The hills are a little slow.


Dave
 
Dayum that's a lot of weight.  :eek:  Hope you have some good mods to support that weight, e.g. 4:10 gears, aux toc, GoodSams insurance. etc.
 
Also take it to the scales and get a true weight. Published weights are rarely correct.
 
I hope you heed everyon's warnings. A 30 foot trailer is too much for any half ton.

AVid
 
You also have to consider all the rest of the crap you load up when you go on vacation. All that stuff adds up quick :cool:
 
i have a 2004 AV with 3.73 . i pull an 11000 lb boat/trailer combination about 5 times a year on a 300 mile road trip with no problems what so ever. not the fastest on the highway but no problems at all holding 63 mph on cruise in 3rd gear on essentially level to slighty hilly terrian. the trailer is an aluminum triple axle with 3 axle straight electric braking and 500lbs tonque weight.
 
linksalot said:
i have a 2004 AV with 3.73 . i pull an 11000 lb boat/trailer combination about 5 times a year on a 300 mile road trip with no problems what so ever. not the fastest on the highway but no problems at all holding 63 mph on cruise in 3rd gear on essentially level to slighty hilly terrian. the trailer is an aluminum triple axle with 3 axle straight electric braking and 500lbs tonque weight.

11,000 LBS ??? With a 1500 ??? I towed my 4400 lbs Impala SS and 2500 LBS trailer for total of 6900 LBS and I have 4:10 gears and the AV did it but it certainly was not happy at all :( If I had to do it often I would be in a 2500 :love:
 
I pulled a 4200lbs trailer from Milwaukee to pocatello and my Av was just OK. It pulled fine but my speed was limited to about 63 and i did spend a lot of time in 3rd, ecspecially with heavy wind and hills. I did find that slowing down to 55 on the open road and 35 in the mountains helped a lot. If I tried to push the truck to hard it would start heating up. As soon as i let of the gas and took my time it ws fine. I also have 4:10 gears.
 
linksalot said:
i have a 2004 AV with 3.73 . i pull an 11000 lb boat/trailer combination about 5 times a year on a 300 mile road trip with no problems what so ever. not the fastest on the highway but no problems at all holding 63 mph on cruise in 3rd gear on essentially level to slighty hilly terrian. the trailer is an aluminum triple axle with 3 axle straight electric braking and 500lbs tonque weight.

OK, first, I really hope I never get within ten miles of you while you're pulling that rig. You're somewhere near 4,000 lbs over the manufacturer's max rating, and in my opinion, the manufacturers over-inflate the tow ratings of 1/2 tons.

Second, boats are a whole different story than travel trailers. TTs have far more frontal area, and are thus more affected by air resistance. TTs also have more side area, and thus are far more affected by sway. An 11,000 lb TT needs a bare minimum of 1,100 pounds on the tongue, and more likely 1,300+ in order to be stable. You're not going to drop 1,300 pounds on the tongue of a 1/2 ton Av without causing trouble.
 
I'd certainly agree with the concensus here.  9,000lbs is definitely too much to SAFELY tow with the 1500.  And yes, pulling a boat and a TT are entirely different.  I have a 19 foot boat that weighs about 3850lbs total with trailer and puts about 400lbs on the tongue.  My TT which weighs about 5000 pounds puts about 750lbs on the tongue, so I must use a weight-distributing hitch.  Towing these two are totally different, even though the TT only weighs about 1000lbs more. It feels like I'm really towing something, while with the boat, I hardly notice it.  A few times I've tried to tow the TT to different sites in a campground without the W-D hitch and it is pretty hairy.  The truck feels like the front steering is almost not there, as the trailer is unloading the front end so much.  I can't imagine towing an 11,000lb vehicle with the 1500!
 
so does this mean that my window sticker on my AV is wrong.... the tow package I have on my 1500 says it is a 11,000 lb package.  This is a big deal to me as I tow a great deal of stuff, tractors, hay, feed etc...
 
ShadowHunter said:
so does this mean that my window sticker on my AV is wrong.... the tow package I have on my 1500 says it is a 11,000 lb package.  This is a big deal to me as I tow a great deal of stuff, tractors, hay, feed etc...

I would suggest you reread the sticker . Check this site <SITE> for further info. According to GM, 8200lbs. for a 2WD 1500 with 4:10 gears is the max. More than that. you need the 2500, good to 12,000lbs.

Please don't overload any truck. I have personally seen people die because they had too much trailer and not enough truck. Half ton trucks are jacks of all trades, yet masters of none. If you have any serious towing to do, you need a 2500 or better.

AVid

BTW.... :welcome:
 
ShadowHunter said:
so does this mean that my window sticker on my AV is wrong.... the tow package I have on my 1500 says it is a 11,000 lb package.  This is a big deal to me as I tow a great deal of stuff, tractors, hay, feed etc...


Yes, it's wrong. Very wrong.
 
Great, Thanks for the heads up...  Even though I never really tow anything above 7K total I don't want to over load either by chance thinking "oh it can take it".  I called the dealer and they addmitted that it was a mistake when the sticker was printed.
 
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