How much can a 2008 Tahoe with 3:42 gears pull?

[RollTide2008]

I'm looking at buying a travel trailer but not sure how much I can pull.

Also, does anyone know when figuring the weight on a trailer do you add the Dry weight and the Hitch weight, or do you just consider the dry weight?

 

[73shark]

Welcome to the Tahoe Forum.

According to the sales brochure, 6,400 w/ FlexFuel & 6,500 w/o. Both with 5.3L & 2WD. (BTW this info s/b in your owner's manual)

The hitch weight is a portion of the total trailer weight.

 

[RollTide2008]

Welcome to the Tahoe Forum.

According to the sales brochure, 6,400 w/ FlexFuel & 6,500 w/o. Both with 5.3L & 2WD. (BTW this info s/b in your owner's manual)

The hitch weight is a portion of the total trailer weight.

Thanks for the reply. With the trailer weight it just depends on which dealer I talk to. Some say you have to add the hitch weight and the trailer weight together to get total weigh and others say you just use the dry weight to determine how much you will be pulling.

 

[Vrrooom]

Thanks for the reply. With the trailer weight it just depends on which dealer I talk to. Some say you have to add the hitch weight and the trailer weight together to get total weigh and others say you just use the dry weight to determine how much you will be pulling.

The hitch weight or tongue weight is how much weight is on the actual hitch. This is part of the trailer's total weight. As you know with any trailer, the front end which attaches to the vehicle has no wheels to support itself, it rests on the vehicle and the vehicle holds that weight. But just because the weight of the trailer is 5000lbs, doesn't mean there's 5000lbs on that hitch. There's maybe 500lbs on the hitch and 4500lbs held by the wheels of the trailer.

However, you're still pulling that weight; it makes no sense to add the weight of the trailer to how much of it's weight is resting on the vehicle.

So really, for towing weight you always just look at the total weight of the trailer, but keep in mind to leave room to load it up.

 

[RollTide2008]

The hitch weight or tongue weight is how much weight is on the actual hitch. This is part of the trailer's total weight. As you know with any trailer, the front end which attaches to the vehicle has no wheels to support itself, it rests on the vehicle and the vehicle holds that weight. But just because the weight of the trailer is 5000lbs, doesn't mean there's 5000lbs on that hitch. There's maybe 500lbs on the hitch and 4500lbs held by the wheels of the trailer.

However, you're still pulling that weight; it makes no sense to add the weight of the trailer to how much of it's weight is resting on the vehicle.

So really, for towing weight you always just look at the total weight of the trailer, but keep in mind to leave room to load it up.

Thank you, makes sense!

 

[73shark]

To clarify my answer, the total trailer weight is what you'd get if the trailer was sitting on a scale and not attached to a vehicle.

Rule of thumb is you should load trailer such that the hitch weight is ~ 10% of total trailer weight for proper handling.

 

[turboedmsp]

i did make a 600 mile camping trip pulling a 24ft travel trailer that was said to weigh 5000lbs. let me just tell u i was not impressed with my tahoe ltz w 3.42 gears and 22in wheels. i rented this trailer for a camping trip even tough i made it, i would not reccomend it to pull all the time.. transmission temps were getting 230 degrees and coolant gauge would go to almost 3/4 then drop down to 1/2 (like normal) i was struggling to do 65 mph and really reving on minor hills. i too was looking for a travel trailer but my have to look a different pulling rig. look at my past threads and you my find my original post.

http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=9123

 

[Black Dog]

i did make a 600 mile camping trip pulling a 24ft travel trailer that was said to weigh 5000lbs. let me just tell u i was not impressed with my tahoe ltz w 3.42 gears and 22in wheels. i rented this trailer for a camping trip even tough i made it, i would not reccomend it to pull all the time.. transmission temps were getting 230 degrees and coolant gauge would go to almost 3/4 then drop down to 1/2 (like normal) i was struggling to do 65 mph and really reving on minor hills. i too was looking for a travel trailer but my have to look a different pulling rig. look at my past threads and you my find my original post.

It's your gears and wheels, for sure man. I pulled about 4500 with 4:10s and 18"s and it felt like it was barely even there. Get a transmission cooler too.

 

[RollTide2008]

i did make a 600 mile camping trip pulling a 24ft travel trailer that was said to weigh 5000lbs. let me just tell u i was not impressed with my tahoe ltz w 3.42 gears and 22in wheels. i rented this trailer for a camping trip even tough i made it, i would not reccomend it to pull all the time.. transmission temps were getting 230 degrees and coolant gauge would go to almost 3/4 then drop down to 1/2 (like normal) i was struggling to do 65 mph and really reving on minor hills. i too was looking for a travel trailer but my have to look a different pulling rig. look at my past threads and you my find my original post.

http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=9123

I am going to have 3:73's put into it. Hopefully that will help.

 

[RollTide2008]

It's your gears and wheels, for sure man. I pulled about 4500 with 4:10s and 18"s and it felt like it was barely even there. Get a transmission cooler too.

How can I tell if it already has one on it? I think we have the trailer tow package