Shopping for a new travel trailer.

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cop4hire

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Pierce Conty, WA
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2020
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Cummins
One of the trailers we are considering is the Coachmen 231 MKs. The trailer is advertised as
Hitch Weight 718 lbs
Dry/Unloaded Weight 6052 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight 7600 lbs
My question is:
Am I going to have problems towing this with my 2016 Ecodiesel 3.55 rear end 2016
MAX TOWING*
7160 LB?
Video is the model but not the dealer.
 

OC455

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I think you will be good with this trailer. If you don't load it completely out to it's max, you should be fine. Just make sure you get a good WDH and set the hitch to the trailer as it is loaded out and you should be good to go. Pretty sure your EcoDiesel will handle towing it just fine.
 
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cop4hire

cop4hire

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I think you will be good with this trailer. If you don't load it completely out to it's max, you should be fine. Just make sure you get a good WDH and set the hitch to the trailer as it is loaded out and you should be good to go. Pretty sure your EcoDiesel will handle towing it just fine.

I just did the recall/lawsuit update on the truck. I hope it has no ill effects on it's towing abilities. Thanks for responding.
 

Firetruck41

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You need to consider real world/loaded tongue weight (factory weights are notoriously low), count that towards your payload, add yourself, whoever is riding with you and any other cargo that will be in the truck/truckbed, and see if you are still below payload capacity. Might tow it fine, but you could be technically "over loaded" if that matters to you.
 

Blue2500CC

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You need to consider real world/loaded tongue weight (factory weights are notoriously low), count that towards your payload, add yourself, whoever is riding with you and any other cargo that will be in the truck/truckbed, and see if you are still below payload capacity. Might tow it fine, but you could be technically "over loaded" if that matters to you.

X2!

Often times the “brochure” tongue/hitch weight doesn’t even include the propane tanks or battery weight on the tongue. 2-20lb tanks and a battery add ~120lbs to the “brochure” weight before loading anything else in the rig. 2-30lb tanks and a battery add ~160lbs.

As a reference, our rigs “brochure” tw is 910lbs, and we have scaled at 1440lbs loaded for a trip!

Be sure the dealer sets you up with the correct rated wdh for your rig’s loaded tw, not based on the brochure weight.

Good luck shopping!!!
 

Elkman

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You will be fine on flat ground. Where I get concerned is the time and distance traveled when pulling onto a freeway and needing to get truck and trailer up to 55 mph. This is where more horsepower/ torque and lower gears make a great deal of difference. If it takes more than 20 seconds you will find yourself in a lot more dicey situations.

At a minimum you will want to budget the total load in the truck (passengers and gear) and the load in the trailer. This is where CAT scales are quite valuable as for under $15 you get the weight on each truck axle (rear includes tongue weight) and the trailer wheels. Add all these numbers and verify it is less than the GCWR for the truck.

Before buying any trailer I would carefully research any problems with the various manufactures and the items like pumps and plumbing and appliances that they use. A few years back a particular manufacturer's trailers were known to have a design defect and the leaf spring shackles would break away from the undercarriage.

The RV owner websites provide a great deal of model and year specific information about trailers and can help you to avoid problems.

Once you drive the trailer off the dealer's lot its resale value drops by more than 20% and then you have to buy all the necessities for the trailer and that also does not add to the resale value. For my part I would buy a used camper less than 8 years old that has been well maintained and not abused inside. Craigslist is quite useful in finding trailers around where you live.
 

OC455

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The listed tongue weight for my TT is 645lbs. I purchased a TruTrack WDH rate for a 800lbs to 1000lbs tongue weight and a 10k lbs trailer, even though my trailer does not weight that much, the weight will creep up the way the trailer is loaded out.

Things to consider when you are looking at travel trailers and the like. But most companies include the weight of full propane tanks into the tongue weight.

I bought my trailer used and in good shape. I've replaced the hand crank tongue jack with an electric 4k lbs jack. Really not much of a difference in weight between the two...not enough to worry about the added weight.
 

Toddbigboytruck

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Coachman are great trailers. Take it for a test drive tow. And as long as the numbers work and you are happy with the two go for it. In Canada if you are in a accident towing they look at your truck and it towing capacity and the weights of the trailer I have heard in one accident a child was hurt. And the truck was towing more ther the truck allowed the insurance would not back up the truck owner Please check your numbers
 

OMW2SKI

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View attachment 173594Our coachman and truck. Steel have to deal with the back sag.
I have a 24 foot bunkhouse. GVWR is 7,000lbs. I had some sag too. After properly adjusting my WDH, I added Airlift 1000HD in coil spring bags. What a difference. No more sag or porposing. Hellwig sway bar was also a great mod for towing.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 

Toddbigboytruck

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I have a 24 foot bunkhouse. GVWR is 7,000lbs. I had some sag too. After properly adjusting my WDH, I added Airlift 1000HD in coil spring bags. What a difference. No more sag or porposing. Hellwig sway bar was also a great mod for towing.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
Did you install the airbag or have them done. I did raise on hole on wdh. And have not tried it in the trailer yet

Do you also heel the air bags on pressure all the time ?
 

OC455

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One of the trailers we are considering is the Coachmen 231 MKs. The trailer is advertised as
Hitch Weight 718 lbs
Dry/Unloaded Weight 6052 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight 7600 lbs
My question is:
Am I going to have problems towing this with my 2016 Ecodiesel 3.55 rear end 2016
MAX TOWING*
7160 LB?
Video is the model but not the dealer.

From the video, the dry weight is 5330lbs, and your gross is 7522lbs.
 

OMW2SKI

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Utah
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2018
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Did you install the airbag or have them done. I did raise on hole on wdh. And have not tried it in the trailer yet

Do you also heel the air bags on pressure all the time ?
Yes, it's an easy install. Lots of YouTube tutorials. But you just need a couple of hours and basic tools. I leave about 5-10 pounds in them a the time. 35-45 pounds when towing the TT.

Also, watch some videos on how.to setup the WDH. Getting it right makes a huge difference.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
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