I know after reading all the posts that lots of people prefer 5er's over Travel trailers, but i bought one anyway(price was a big issue).Anyway i tow a little 14 footer cargo trailer all week, never anything 30 feet long. Any tips or advice for a first timer towing a big trailer and have a safe ride ?


Thanks

I tow a 31' Holiday Rambler travel trailer with my 03 Duramax. Works fine! In addition to your equalizer hitch, add a stabilizer anti-sway bar. I need my truck bed for a Goldwing, ATV, or dirt bikes. A 5er is out of the question for me. Bill Martin

Like Bill said, make sure you have weight distribution hitch and sway control. Also I assume you have a good brake controller right?

With a big trailer like that make sure you check tire pressure. Make sure you have a spare and you check it too. Also a good idea to check the lug nuts before you get started.

If you want more info, you can check out some of the RV forums. The two that I frequent are RV.net and IRV2.com

I tow a 31' Holiday Rambler travel trailer with my 03 Duramax. Works fine! In addition to your equalizer hitch, add a stabilizer anti-sway bar. I need my truck bed for a Goldwing, ATV, or dirt bikes. A 5er is out of the question for me. Bill Martin

Bill - I am considering selling my slide-in camper to get a trailer so I too can haul my Goldwing in the truck bed. With a big heavy bike like that how do you load it .. any special system? Thanks......:confused:

1. Correct weight distributing hitch setup
2. Sway control, use the "2 finger" rule. Tighten it up using your index & middle finger then back it off 1/4 turn.
3. Good brake controller...see my sig below..

Go real wide on the turns and watch your trailer tires until you get use to the lenght of your trailer. I went from a 24' to a 27' and was amazed at how much more the 27' cut the corners.

Hook it up, go to a nice empty area and practice turns, backing up etc. Practice so you feel comfortable before you hit the road. Seat time as they call it. Take it to the store with you and around town, remember to look up before you go under low stuff, watch those tree branches.. Have fun, enjoy..

If you are going to load down the bed also, you may want to consider a set of air bags. I've heard a lot of good things about the Goodyear Ride Rite systems.

Just my $.02 :)






Gary

Air bags work great. Check the trailer lug nuts for proper torque occasionally.

Have a spare tire and a way to jack it. :)

1. Correct weight distributing hitch setup
2. Sway control, use the "2 finger" rule. Tighten it up using your index & middle finger then back it off 1/4 turn.
3. Good brake controller...see my sig below..

I don't want to start a hitch war, but, don't waste your money on friction sway bars. I had two with my wd setup and it doesen't hold a candle to my new Equal-I-Zer setup. Sway, control and turnablity are much better than the old wd and 2 swaybars. But if you already have it, then I agree with Txdutt.

You can never have too much 'emergency' stuff, like a good jack, lug wrench, reflective triangles, airpump, and something so simple as an old turnsignal flasher. Flasher you say? Yep, if for whatever reason, you need to detach you trailer and leave it on the side of the road, plug in the flasher to the 7-way connector. It is a perfict fit and angle from the b+ to run lights, that will make all of your lights flash on your trailer warning oncoming traffic as if your vehicle flashers were on.

Have a spare tire and a way to jack it. :)

Absolutly!!! Although the truck jack will jack it up, but it is a huge PITA...:(

Absolutly!!! Although the truck jack will jack it up, but it is a huge PITA...:(

Don't forget a good 4-way wrench either! Odds are the lug wrench for the truck will not fit your trailer lugs.

I'll tell you my story of woe and let you all laugh at me as a lesson to others...

On my second trip with the brand-new 25' TT (and the truck was only about 2 weeks old too), I was coming back from a star party in Nowhere, PA on a Sunday morning. Trailer was quite empty so I'm not sure how it happened, but a tire went down and I didn't notice it until taking a left-hand turn in Shinglehouse, PA. After unloading a $5000 telescope, among lots of other stuff, from the back seat onto the sidewalk to get at the jack under the seat, I saw the joke GM had played on me. After many struggles, it was obvious that this wasn't going to work. What do you do on a Sunday morning in a small town?

Fortunately someone (a saint?) mowing his lawn right where I stopped saw my problem and came over with a floor-jack and a 4-way. Said he knew what it was like to have trouble on the road. Fixed me right up and I was on my way (checking tires every 20 minutes for the rest of that trip).

Now there's a 2-ton scissors jack, 4-way, full tool set, emergency triangles, blinkies and compressor in a bin in the bed.

I'm glad that story didn't end with you saying you drove of without
your $5000 telescope!
They are usefull tips for anyone towing.

Thanks for all the replys. I appreciate the warnings, but they sound like flats happen all the time on trailers.

Does anyone know what the extra wire on the hitch harness does? It said something about a trailer, but not sure if its something i need?

Thanks again ya'll

You now have some good information,but flat tires are not some thing to have al the time.
With good tires and level the trailer when pulling the tires will last.Took a while to learn but have pulled one over thirty years and not one flat tire.

mpjman,

If you're not concerned about the price, you may want to look at the Hensley Arrow series hitches, they're pricey, but the people I've talked with that have them, love them. I have used the Reese Dual Cam HP sway control with decent results. The dual cam set-up is supposed to eliminate sway before it starts insted of dampening it after it happens like the friction type sway controls.

Does anyone know what the extra wire on the hitch harness does? It said something about a trailer, but not sure if its something i need?

Hmm not exactly sure what you're talking about. There is a 40amp fuse that you need to plug in to your power distrib box under the hood if you want to feed 12v to your trailer batteries (inverter actually) when it's connected. The fuse came wrapped with the factory brake controller harness.

I installed the fuse and they work fine, but there is a little blue wire, capped off behind the harness, and remember the dealer saying something about it being for a trailer?!

I've been racking my brain because when I installed mine I remember finding out that it didn't need to connect to anything. I just can't remember what I found out it was and it's pi$$ing me off! :o: :mad: Anyway, I only remember it didn't need to be connected...I'm still thinking...!!! :)

Ah ha!

Light blue-center high mounted stop lamp

CHMSL- center high mounted stop light:exactly:

Thanks all. Picked up the trailer today and was alot better and easier than i thought it would be tow it, but thanks for all ur comments and advice.

No ones mentioned getting rid of GM OEM receiver and replace with Cl V receiver. Putnam, Curt, Reese, etc. More effective at distributing tongue weight to front axles. Look at Reciever were bolts to bumper...can you get a buisness or credit card between the bumper and flange when hooked up.?...too much flex. Changing to the Putnam made for solid feel in towing for me. Go to RV.net subject:towing...lots of good information.

Longer trailer?...... be prepared to compensate for the "Blind Side Tail Swing"! That is the passenger side of the trailer behind the axles which "sweeps" out in a turn. If your not carefull, it can "bat" parked cars, light poles, etc. in tight places, and wreak real havoc before you notice it (if you even feel ... or hear anything at all).

RF