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camper pulling

8.9K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  Stevef  
#1 ·
I have a small popup camper and looking to upgrade. has anyone pulled a camper with there 3.5 Colorado. I have a 04 z71 cc

pictures would be great

thanks steven
 
#4 ·
I occasionally tow my T@B trailer, it's 2000# max, usually I have it to 1600#.
Tows like a dream but I haven't had it on any 5000 ft mountain passes yet. I Leave the trans in 3rd to keep it from hunting in and out of OD.



BTW, it has the factory tow package, 2" receiver, 4000# hitch. My general rule for towing is 60-75% of the max towing capacity. Just because you can tow 4K doesn't mean you should.
 
#6 ·
I tow al kind of thing all the time. My 3.5 Work Truck just turned 100, 000 miles. up to 3,00 or 4,000 pound you will ever notice the weight. My heaviest thing is my Diesel John Deere on a dual axle trailer. Together they weight 9,300 pounds (with the back hoe installed). I just unloaded and disconnected the trailer today this afternoon. This the time of year where I go around and roto-till all of my friends' gardens for them. If loaded properly, you will not notice the weight in semi-flat land country.

What you will notice is towing big items with flat front surfaces. Large single or dual box trailers or large front surface campers.

Two comments.

Tow in 3rd gear if you notice a lot of automatic transmission down shifting. My heavy tractor or a trailer does not have a lot of front surface area and does not cause this, but a much lighter empty box trailer sure causes the shifting problem.

If running much over 3000 pounds, install a trailer brake controller. If the trailer is commercially made and has brakes then install the controller. States vary in their weight requirements for trailer brakes but even if your state does not require it, I would install brakes on the trailer if it is over 3,000 pounds loaded.
 
#7 ·
i have a 63 fleetwing canned ham. weighs in around 1400 lbs. my 40 pulls it nice but then its got 50 CI more engine and more torque than the canyon does not to mention a 4.56 rear. im anxious to see how the canyon does but that time isnt here yet.
 
#8 ·
I have pulled a pop up with mine, and it was no problem. MOST pop ups are going to come in under the max weight, unless they have slide outs. I agree that a brake controller is a good thing to have. The other thing you need to keep in mind is tongue weight. On mine the hitch has a MAX of 400LBS. It can be pretty easy to hit that limit. I have heard several people talk about adding a weight distribution hitch to up the tongue capacity, but I am of the opinion, if the weight is over, it's over. I believe the police would have the same opinion, so why take the chance.
Check the loaded weight of the trailer you are interested in, and see what the tongue weight is, loaded. Don't forget that Propane and battery are going to increase the tongue weight. ( I'm sure you already know that, just making sure).
 
#10 ·
@08Canyon

I don't know if I'd say the 3.5l isn't a tow vehicle. It tows light to mid range weight trailers pretty well.

I just towed 3 atvs plus a fully loaded truck 400 miles round trip up north WI for the first time with the rado and I was satisfied. I had to use 3rd occasionally to keep pace, but it had no problem.

I went 200 miles with a tail-wind and was at a half tank when I got there. I had a head wind on the way back and still felt pretty stable. I've also towed snowmobiles in heavy snow pretty good in 4x4.

I know these aren't heavy loads but my the Colorado does really well with them. Its no diesel but it tows lighter things pretty good.
 
#11 ·
I bought my Colorado specifically so I could tow a small travel Trailer. My old compact SUV wouldn't tow over 1500 pounds and I wanted more capability. My 'Rado pulled a 2700-ish pound (dry weight) trailer without too much trouble--I could tell it was there, especially on a windy day, and took a hit on mileage, but it worked fine. I ended up not liking the trailer enough to justify the expense, storage and upkeep, so I sold it, but I still have the truck!

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