Towing a 2018 GMC 1500 4x4

[Jim]

Now that we own an RV lot in Gulf Shores, we've taken a harder look at our future coach purchase as well as our transportation needs when we get where we're going. We love our Jeep Wrangler, and had always considered it the ideal toad. And while it can't be beaten off-road, it suffers in comfort while traversing city streets.

Also, owning and maintaining 50 acres requires a truck, just no way around that, so last week we traded our 2500 HD diesel in on a GMC 1500 4x4. It answers the need for a truck on the property, and as a toad, will give us a much nicer ride when we get where we're going. We've pretty much decided on a Dutch Star (when the time comes) so towing/stopping the truck shouldn't be a problem.

I'm looking for feedback from those who are using a larger truck as a toad. What do I need to know while towing? Did you install the base plate yourselves or have them installed professionally? And what base plate did you go with?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Fish]

Now that we own an RV lot in Gulf Shores, we've taken a harder look at our future coach purchase as well as our transportation needs when we get where we're going. We love our Jeep Wrangler, and had always considered it the ideal toad. And while it can't be beaten off-road, it suffers in comfort while traversing city streets.

Also, owning and maintaining 50 acres requires a truck, just no way around that, so last week we traded our 2500 HD diesel in on a GMC 1500 4x4. It answers the need for a truck on the property, and as a toad, will give us a much nicer ride when we get where we're going. We've pretty much decided on a Dutch Star (when the time comes) so towing/stopping the truck shouldn't be a problem.

I'm looking for feedback from those who are using a larger truck as a toad. What do I need to know while towing? Did you install the base plate yourselves or have them installed professionally? And what base plate did you go with?

Thank you in advance!

I wish I had my 2500hd chevy diesel back. I like a stiff ride, it would have been great to tow. My 60 gallon aux tank in the back of it that I sold might have been handy also.

2010 is a long way from today and my silverado is a 2010. I got a blue ox baseplate and it isn't exactly what I always envisioned a baseplate to be. Just 2 arms that stick into the frame rails in place of the tow hooks. I almost broke my wrist drilling the frame for it with a 1/2 inch drill, in fact I broke one half inch drill in half and had to buy another one.

I wouldn't want to do it again. Need to have the truck in the air and I refuse to jack up a vehicle and get under it anymore.

Also I bought the ready brake for it's advertised simplicity and it's turned out to be a major pain to install, routing all the cables. Hopefully it will all be worth it when I'm done.

 

[Old Bubblehead]

We have the midsize truck, Colorado, since our last coach was a gasser and we were limited on weight.
We had a Roadmaster rep do our install, but I reviewed the mounting instructions before hand to see if I wanted to give it a go. Time and tooling stopped me. If I had a shop I could get it into the air with, and extra hands to help with bulky or difficult leverage, I would have gone that route. We needed a neutral battery shut off, just the rats nest around that battery was enough to give doubts.
Check out the Roadmaster/ Blue Ox sites and look at the mounting directions, they may help inform your choice.
We would like to go larger, for some of the same reasons you mention, and may try to make the tow set up part of the deal......we shall see.

Oh the quandaries of life, retire or buy the Wagoneer.........

 

[Fish]

eTrailer has an install video for a blue ox base plate on a 2018 gmc sierra at this page:

https://www.etrailer.com/Base-Plates/GMC/Sierra+1500/2018/BO94FR.html?VehicleID=20185001744

It's pretty much the same install I had to do on my 2010 except I didn't have to remove my bumper and grill and on the 2018 you have to remove them.

 

[MapNerd]

I'm looking for feedback from those who are using a larger truck as a toad. What do I need to know while towing? Did you install the base plate yourselves or have them installed professionally? And what base plate did you go with?

We tow a SuperCab Shortbed F150, so we’re about the same size I think. Prior to that we towed a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and after a year of stowing my legs in the dash, I couldn’t take it anymore. The truck seems to have an infinite amount of space.

We went with Roadmaster for our base plates and towbar. Did not install any of it ourselves. Took it to a hitch shop in Elkhart to have everything professionally installed.
For supplemental braking, we use the AFO system. Between the two, it’s a pretty seamless, trouble free set up.

Pulling with a DP, you’ll hardly notice it’s there. We also put a camper top on the truck bed which allows to keep stuff in the truck bed dry and secure. I honestly have never liked the look of a camper top and I don’t like how this one looks, but it’s very functional for us. If I was doing it all over again, I’d do a tonneau cover with a bed-rail bike rack.