Four weeks till I’m Idaho bound. I heard it’s state law there you have to have a camper. So, I got a STEAL on a 21ft Prowler. Only 1500$. It’s in great shape. Thing is, i’m wondering if either of my trucks are up to lugging it up the Rockies. I have a 97’ Silverado with a 4.3, and Holly has a 08’ Trailblazer with a V6. I’m not really worried about tearing the bumper out of them, I’m more concerned if the motor / transmission will be up to it. What do ya’ll think? I’d sure had to kill the Weaze-mobile somewhere in Wyoming.
Here she is boys. Will be pulling with the Trailblazer though. Not my truck.
Also, check the tires on the trailer as they might need replacing, cant just look at the tire as trailer tires wear different. The treads dont go the sidewalls do because of the forces put on the in turns.
Lots of good info at the RV.net forums.
Your a travel trailer , thats where you want to hang out
Sorry to be so honest but that is a LONG TOW, safety first.
I tow our camper around all Summer, 24 foot Nomad
Yeah, thats a good thought too.
My truck has a tow package. Tranny coolers are pretty easy to install Weaz, should be able to tie it in right in front of your radiator.
Gas mileage, yeah that’ll drop through the floor.
I get 18 on the highway with my truck, towing the trailer it goes down to around 10.
Hope we havent talked you out of anything yet Weaz, just getting you some info
;D, luckily with your probable route, there ain’t much lugging up the Rockies involved.
Lots of lonesome country tho, the flats of Wyoming.
Man, you are gonna have some fun. Hell of a deal on a camper. ;D
You don’t just latch on to it with a bumber ball do you? Seems like you would need a receiver hitch?
I have reciever hitches on both trucks. The one on my Silverado (Allie as I like to call her) is major beefy. You could pull a house with it. The camper has e-brakes, so I would just need to put a controller on my truck. the tires on the trailer are brand new also. A tranny cooler seems like a good idea. Should be pretty easy to install to. Basically just mount the small radiator up front, and and tap in the tranny lines into trucks radiator, right?
Weez- you should have weight distribution hitch, anti sway bar and brake controller. I assume your trailer doesn’t have a slideout (which adds a ton of weight) so you should be fine w/ your tow rig. You probably don’t NEED the tranny cooler, but the weight dist hitch and anti-sway bar make a HUGE difference. You’re gonna dig it in Idaho.
A good question was asked earlier. How much does it weigh? I had an older 24’ Prowler & that thing weighed a ton! 6500 lbs. IIRC We towed it short distances with an Astro Van with a 4.3 HO & 4:10 gears. Definitely needed a load balancing hitch, sway control, tranny cooler and electric brakes even for those short trips. I would never have taken it cross country.
Thanks for the advice all. The trailer comes with sway bars. As for the weight of it, he said it is really light. As far as how light, I’m not sure. He told me “it does not weigh a ton”. i’m not sure if he meant that literally, or figuratively. Think I’ll look for that controller now.
I had an older 24’ Prowler & that thing weighed a ton! 6500 lbs.
Umm . . that’s three and a half tons! ;)
Weaz,
Seriously, I pull a Haulmark 16 ft. dual axle closed trailer stuffed to the gills with pyro equipment with a '94 Olds Bravada that has the 4.3 Vortec. Admittedly, it does have the tranny cooler, but it’ll pull the trailer just fine . . up to about 60 mph. I have found that more than the weight, the issue is drag off the rear of the trailer. The Bravada accelerates off the mark just fine, but when you get to about 60, it’s like a parachute is deployed out the back from all the flat surface area. I guess what I’m saying is you will be able to pull the trailer , but just don’t plan to break any speed records.
The weight of the trailer should be on a placard.
Left front of the trailer , near the door or behind a cabinet door above the counter.
Thats DRY WEIGHT.
Below about 5000 lbs gross weight and 400 lbs tongue weight, you should be fine with a standard receiver hitch. Above that, you may want to look into the previously mentioned load distributing hitch.
;)