See those trucks

**Firebirdjones** · 05-20-2014, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by 0rion

yeah....for longer trips where you'll be at highway speeds for extended periods I would swap over to the e tires. Short trips you would be fine I would think. Just between you and me.......I would worry my ass off every mile I traveled with those tires on there and that load on there. I realize not everyone worries about it like I do though. I always have my kids with me when I'm towing so it's always in the back of my mind that I have to be as cautious as possible.

I worry too ever since I moved out here seeing blowouts more often, and then blew out a tire of my own at 75 mph with not only my family aboard, but another friend of my son too. I would worry just like Orion mentioned, I won't have anything but "E" load tires on my trucks knowing the sole purpose of owning a truck for me is towing and hauling.

Have you checked the weight on that pop up? They are very deceiving. I was suprised to find out while I've been on the hunt for a new camper that the new pop ups are actually heavier than a nice 16-18 foot camper!! Lightest pop ups around here come in at 5,000 lbs. without gear, But the fancy 18 foot fully enclosed campers are 3500 lbs. That's a big difference. I could even fill that 18 footer with all the water and supplies I need and still not hit the 5,000 mark.
The salesman told me it's all the moving parts in the pop ups that add the weight. He also said the manufactures of the full size campers are striving to build them lighter because more people are towing them with smaller SUV's. I couldn't believe how light even some of the bigger campers are.

**Cutlass** · 05-20-2014, 10:48 AM

Yeah this is a '85ish Jayco J-series I think. I'm borrowing it. Guy says it weighs around 2000 pounds. We won't have any gear or water in it. I towed it before with 1 ATV in the bed of my truck. Barely felt it back there.

**Cutlass** · 05-20-2014, 03:15 PM

**5.0THIS** · 05-20-2014, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by Cutlass

**Firebirdjones** · 05-21-2014, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by Cutlass

Ah okay gotcha. That's a little feller. Got a picture of that setup with both of those quads on your platform?? That might be an interesting pic

**Cutlass** · 05-21-2014, 07:23 AM

I'll have one in 2-3 weeks!

**Firebirdjones** · 05-21-2014, 02:16 PM

Here's a shot of mine from a few weeks ago, pulling the trailer with a car inside.

**0rion** · 05-21-2014, 02:36 PM

I would say no matter how you shake it out that with the 2 quads and the camper you'll be over weight once you put passengers and fuel in the truck. I'm not exactly sure what the gvwr is on the truck but payload wise you'll probably be a little over. I never really worried about weights too much until I started hauling the big camper just because my family is in there with me. Back in the day I hauled a 3k lb pop up with a zr2 sonoma.....there's no way I was under weight with that once I loaded everything down. The only place I felt it was in the brakes and going up steep hills. That 4.3 did pretty good hauling it but there were a few hills where I would be down in 2nd by the time I got to the top.

**Cutlass** · 05-21-2014, 06:04 PM

I'm gonna have to lighten my truck up so I can weigh in under payload. Maybe I'll leave the spare tire, back seat, and bumpers at home...lol. I'm just messing around.
I looked it up and it looks like my payload is around 1600 pounds. I'm over that with 2 quads, the tonneau cover, and me as a driver. But that number seems to be very conservative. Regardless, I will drive cautiously with common sense.

**Cutlass** · 05-22-2014, 06:57 PM

I just remembered that I'm not hauling that heavy assed Polaris tank (blue one) in the pic when I'm hauling the camper. I'll be bring an ATV that is about 200 pounds lighter, so that'll help out quite a bit. But maybe its time for me to get a REAL truck. I'm gonna look around for a 2500HD.

**0rion** · 05-22-2014, 08:04 PM

Is double towing legal in WI? That would change the whole game if it is. Now you're just talking about tow ratings because the hitch weight would be pretty low. Personally I wouldn't spend a ton of time losing sleep over it either way as I'm sure you're not. I just wouldn't be doing 80 mph and drifting around turns.

I leave tomorrow to tow out to PA.....spent most of the day today getting the camper ready and loading shit into it. Even though I have a big ass camper that already has most of my stuff in it already it amazes me just how much other shit I still have to pack for a trip. This is the worst trip of the year though because I'm switching everything over from a hunting camper to a summer camper so a lot of shit has to come out and even more shit go in. After this trip the bear's share of it will already be done and it's just clothes, food, and go. This time I'm loading cornhole boards, all of our beach gear, and stuff like that which will stay in there all summer.

**Cutlass** · 05-23-2014, 02:12 AM

Yes. Double towing is legal. One of the trailers needs to have brakes if over a certain weight. I kinda consider double towing a PITA but it is an option.

**NoQuarter** · 05-23-2014, 03:40 AM

Those 900 series Escalade wheels are SHARP! Man, that's fan-freakin-tastic!

**0rion** · 05-23-2014, 05:09 AM

Originally Posted by Cutlass

Yes. Double towing is legal. One of the trailers needs to have brakes if over a certain weight. I kinda consider double towing a PITA but it is an option.

I agree.....I would love to do it with mine so I could take the quad places when we go but you get caught 1 time where you need to back up and what a huge pain in the ass that becomes. Actually.....just putting my camper into the driveway now becomes a huge ordeal. Having that 5th wheel is nice but I sure miss having the bed.

**xssv** · 05-24-2014, 04:39 AM

The new tow rig....4x4 Z71, SLT, 6.0. Lol....air conditioned seats

**REVNORR82** · 05-24-2014, 04:44 AM

You all suck with your new trucks color me jealous makes me want to start fixing the rust on my truck

**5.0THIS** · 05-24-2014, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by xssv

The new tow rig....4x4 Z71, SLT, 6.0. Lol....air conditioned seats

Great looking truck. Best looking wheels you can have on one as well, hands down.

**Cutlass** · 05-25-2014, 05:27 AM

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Here's a shot of mine from a few weeks ago, pulling the trailer with a car inside.

That thing is HUGE!! I'm curious how much tongue weight you think that thing is putting on back of the truck. 1000 pounds?

**Cutlass** · 05-25-2014, 05:31 AM

Originally Posted by xssv

The new tow rig....4x4 Z71, SLT, 6.0. Lol....air conditioned seats

That is a sharp looking truck there!!

Originally Posted by REVNORR82

You all suck with your new trucks color me jealous makes me want to start fixing the rust on my truck

totally agree

**Cutlass** · 05-28-2014, 07:15 PM

I finished installing my load leveler spring kit today. Its the Firestone AirBag helper spring kit for the 1/2 ton Silverado. I usually get the best negative/ rain on my parade feedback here (which is actually a good thing in my mind). So any thoughts?