Newbie to future RV purchase

[Gibill]

New to the forum. My wife and I are in the market for our first RV.......had been itching for a Toy hauler 5th wheel......but with duallys costing what they are......and gas prices what they are, we have scaled back to a light weight travel trailer to pull with our 05 Chevrolet Silverado crew cab short bed. Any suggestions, on length and max weight and even manufacturer? Have looked a little at Winnebago Micro Minnie.........thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[AbdRahim]

Welcome

 

["EZ"]

Welcome from Georgia! You can Google the towing capacity of your Chevy. Then find the weight of your camper. Don't forget to add several hundred pounds for your "stuff".

 

[kayakterp]

I agree that more info on your tow vehicle is needed. What is the payload (cargo carrying capacity), tire size & max load, does it have a trans cooler, is it a 1500 or 2500, what kind of tow package does it have, etc?

 

[Joe Hogan]

After attending a Driving School for a Class A, my recommendation is to find a large parking lot of open area, get some cones, and work the angles. You will probably only need an afternoon of practice before you have the basics down. Time better spent than a school in my opinion. One tip, when close maneuvering using reference points, steer lock to lock to get consistent arcs. That way you will learn what a particular sight picture will produce.

 

[Gibill]

I agree that more info on your tow vehicle is needed. What is the payload (cargo carrying capacity), tire size & max load, does it have a trans cooler, is it a 1500 or 2500, what kind of tow package does it have, etc?

1500 Z71 package. 7000# gvw

 

[Fish]

My information/advice is to make sure you can be happy with a smaller trailer.

I've ate more in depreciation than I've spent in rv park fees since we didn't get what we really needed first.

 

[John&Andrea]

Don’t over load a 1/2 ton pick up. I know most have high tow capacity these days. Most of my towing was with a 3/4 ton. It’s not just about pulling the trailer down the road. Turning, towing up grades and stopping are all important parts of towing. Best of luck in your search.

 

[Skipper N Martha Bishop]

Welcome My opinion only. 1/2 ton PU 28' or less. 30' is pushing a 1/2 ton. Anything over 38' a 250 or 2500. If a 1/2 ton with a 5.0 or 5.3 V-8 a 373 rear end. JMHO.

 

[dbarnes]

I would recommend you not focus solely on trailer length. These days with a wide variety of all RVs having slide outs, then it makes much more sense to focus on GVWR of the TRAILER. Trailers tend to get loaded up to something close to that GVWR when "wet" for travel use.
When you have a trailer pushing say 6K pounds and 10% of that weight needs to be supported in tongue weight, that means your hitch needs to have a 600# load rating (not pull rating). Then look at the GCWR of your truck. How much cargo and load will be in truck and an additional 600 lbs on the hitch has to be included. Do you want to mess with a equalizer hitch?
It is always better to do the math and not make a mistake, but many don't want to work on the decision process because it isn't as fun to do.
So while your truck may lay claim to be able to Tow X amount of weight, you may not be able to do that and do everything else you expect.
The ability of a truck to handle a trailer isn't all just in that Tow rating claim. If you have any experience with towing it will help some.
If you haven't ever towed a trailer before, try renting one for a bit and see if you are comfortable maneuvering one around.
DB