*Truck and Towing thread........ask your questions here.*

[Sluf]

I need some help. I recently (2 weeks ago) bought my 5er. It's a 2007 32' copper canyon. It has ST225/75R15 load range D tires on it. The date code dates them to the 27th week of 2010. That being said, I'm about to purchase 5 new tires. I plan on buying load range E tires. So far, I haven't been able to find a maximum psi for the wheels. Max weight for each wheel is 2830. They are plain Jane steel wheels, most likely OEM. I haven't taken them off yet, so I don't know if it's stamped on the rear of the wheels anywhere. An internet search doesn't reveal much either. Are most/all steel wheels rated for 80 psi?

Thanks.

 

[Sluf]

Here's my new 5er and tow vehicle. Do I need airbags to level it, or is it OK as it is?

 

[North of Mouse]

Okay, to keep this on a towing subject, I am curious about other females point of view on this. We got any female posters that have input on driving the rig?

Ok, I'll chime in!! Yes, I always towed our bumper pull trailers regardless of length, never had any issues but would usually switch over for dh to drive near/in large cities (even on interstates). Dh makes backing one look so easy, (of course he had excellent help outside) but I never would try that!

The last 10 or so years we have had Class A's and for some reason cannot make the transition to drive it with/without tow. A good friend drives theirs and says it's not hard at all - will soon get the nerve to try for myself!

 

[2goofycampers]

I haven't tried towing the TT. I doubt I will. I have towed our pontoon boat and backed it into the lake.

 

[PaHunter]

I need some help. I recently (2 weeks ago) bought my 5er. It's a 2007 32' copper canyon. It has ST225/75R15 load range D tires on it. The date code dates them to the 27th week of 2010. That being said, I'm about to purchase 5 new tires. I plan on buying load range E tires. So far, I haven't been able to find a maximum psi for the wheels. Max weight for each wheel is 2830. They are plain Jane steel wheels, most likely OEM. I haven't taken them off yet, so I don't know if it's stamped on the rear of the wheels anywhere. An internet search doesn't reveal much either. Are most/all steel wheels rated for 80 psi?

Thanks.

Should be stamped on the back of the spokes of the wheels. Most likely they are rated for 80psi, unless putting Goodyear 614's or Sailun's on should not be a problem.

 

[Teamubr]

I need some help. So far, I haven't been able to find a maximum psi for the wheels.

The PSI rating for the wheel is often stamped on the inside. The tire changer will have to look for you. Great idea to move up to "E" tires if the wheel can handle it. Maybe take the spare into a tire shop and see if they can tell you.

Ok, I'll chime in!! For some reason cannot make the transition to drive it with/without tow.

Good friends just switched from a T@b to a 28ft TT and just bought a 38ft Class A. She would never tow any of the trailers, but has already driven the MH 3 times and they have only had it 6 weeks. Her husband was an OTR truck driver so it's no big deal to him. Our friend said the MH "was easy".

j

 

[Sluf]

Should be stamped on the back of the spokes of the wheels. Most likely they are rated for 80psi, unless putting Goodyear 614's or Sailun's on should not be a problem.

Yeah, wasn't planning on either. I'm off Wednesday, so I'll pull one of the wheels off and see if it's stamped on the back. We've had a considerable amount of rain recently, so it's too wet to crawl under. I'm still waiting on my doggone truck, too. Hopefully I'll get it Wednesday evening.

 

[Sluf]

The PSI rating for the wheel is often stamped on the inside. The tire changer will have to look for you. Great idea to move up to "E" tires if the wheel can handle it. Maybe take the spare into a tire shop and see if they can tell you.


Good friends just switched from a T@b to a 28ft TT and just bought a 38ft Class A. She would never tow any of the trailers, but has already driven the MH 3 times and they have only had it 6 weeks. Her husband was an OTR truck driver so it's no big deal to him. Our friend said the MH "was easy".

j

THE SPARE!!! All I have to do is look at the spare! Lol. I didn't even think about it until you mentioned it.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Okay, to keep this on a towing subject, I am curious about other females point of view on this. We got any female posters that have input on driving the rig?

My wife won't touch our current set-up. Our first camper was a 21' hybrid that we towed with an Explorer. Roughly 37' in total length. She would pull that from truck stall to truck stall between service areas on major turnpikes (think OH/IN), but nowhere else. Our current rig is a 35' trailer towed by a Suburban, about 54' in total length, and she won't go near it - I don't think she ever will.

 

[proudmomof4]

I have a question about towing with a new vehicle.

We just bought a 2018 Chevy Silverado 5.3L V8, there should be no problem towing our 23 foot hybrid.

The manual says not to tow for the first 500 miles of driving and that’s no problem as we don’t have a trip planned until later in September and by then the truck will probably have 1,000 miles on it.

The manual then says not to exceed 50 mph for the first 500 miles of towing. My DH says he just can’t picture us on the interstate doing 50 all the way to the Fort and back.

We would have to do this for September, November and at least 1 other trip to the Fort.

Thoughts?

We live in Tampa and really only camp at FW.

 

[PaHunter]

I have a question about towing with a new vehicle.

We just bought a 2018 Chevy Silverado 5.3L V8, there should be no problem towing our 23 foot hybrid.

The manual says not to tow for the first 500 miles of driving and that’s no problem as we don’t have a trip planned until later in September and by then the truck will probably have 1,000 miles on it.

The manual then says not to exceed 50 mph for the first 500 miles of towing. My DH says he just can’t picture us on the interstate doing 50 all the way to the Fort and back.

We would have to do this for September, November and at least 1 other trip to the Fort.

Thoughts?

We live in Tampa and really only camp at FW.

Once had the owner of a dealership tell me that I should drive the vehicle, normally even during the break in period. I can't see it being safe to tow at 50mph while towing, and for some people, that would be a lot of trips camping to rack up 500 miles. Never have had a new vehicle that I towed with, strangely enough.

 

[Teamubr]

That's interesting it has it in the manual. The way most engines are manufactured now, there really isn't a "break in" the way there used to be. My RS came with a supplement from Ford Racing that pretty much said the engine is ready to fly from the factory (very high strung engine- 350 hp from 2.3 liters). Hammer it as intended was the summary. We would do a complete rebuild on our race engines and immediately put them on the dyno to tune them. If you haven't seen dyno runs, they are hard pulls at full throttle up to the red line. Tuning generally takes multiple runs before you can get to the "3 averaged runs" for certification. This was on crate engines or rebuilds.

I would think if you had 1000 miles on the truck by the time you needed to tow, I wouldn't worry about anything else. I would consider changing the oil at 1000 miles. This used to be a standard recommendation due to remnant metal from the block machining. The machining residual isn't the primary reason now given the build wash process, but more because of the oil that may be in the new engine. My RS takes 5W50 full synthetic. The oil from the factory was very thin. Others have sent it in for analysis and it tested at 0-5W30.

Either way, get as many miles as you can/need before your trip, hitch up and head out.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

Not over 50mph towing for first 500 miles? You did say Chevy right?

Just kidding.

I have heard this for every truck including Ford and Dodge as well when it comes to the towing. Specifically the towing at highway cruise speeds. Typically recommended to get 500-1000 miles on the vehicle before you tow if possible. I don't recall ever hearing about towing at 50mph however, just that you should have greater than 500 miles on the vehicle prior. To me, you are at increased risk of causing an accident if you were towing on interstate at 50 mph.

I do agree with Teamubr, and I do typically change my oil after first 1000 miles. We have done same with tractors after about 30-50 hours of initial use we would change the oil in them for same reason. Just in case there is any free metal floating around from manufacturer though recent advances have probably eliminated this need. It's just an old habit.

 

[peg110]

Break it in like you want to drive it. That's the advice I was given.

My first new car was a Dodge Shadow Turbo 5 Speed that I picked up when I was in Germany (in the Military). I picked it in Bremerhaven Germany and had a 300 Mile Trip back to my base.... on the Autobahn.... 50 MPH wasn't going to work well for me on that trip. I think I did 55 MPH for the first 25 Miles... then I said screw it and pumped the Cruise control to 85 the rest of the trip (That's the fastest the car would allow the cruise control to set.)

Had no issues with that car (at least not related the engine).

I cannot imagine traveling on the Interstate even here in the USA at 50 MPH and not getting run off the road at some point by someone else with road rage.

 

[Sluf]

I got my 5th wheel rails mounted today. Gonna bring my camper home Thursday or Friday. I had to make a place for it. I've had to pay storage for a month while I was waiting to get my hitch installed and the parking spot cleared. Gotta say, I'm pretty excited.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

I got my 5th wheel rails mounted today. Gonna bring my camper home Thursday or Friday. I had to make a place for it. I've had to pay storage for a month while I was waiting to get my hitch installed and the parking spot cleared. Gotta say, I'm pretty excited.

Congrats - and good luck. I'm jealous. When we moved from MA to WI, 3 years ago, I lost my at-home spot for our trailer. We've had ours stored at a lot 15 minutes from the house ever since. Not only is the money annoying, but I really miss the convenience of having it right there for maintenance, loading, unloading, etc...

 

[Sluf]

Congrats - and good luck. I'm jealous. When we moved from MA to WI, 3 years ago, I lost my at-home spot for our trailer. We've had ours stored at a lot 15 minutes from the house ever since. Not only is the money annoying, but I really miss the convenience of having it right there for maintenance, loading, unloading, etc...

At the moment, mine is at a storage facility about 5 minutes from my house. Like you, it's not very far, but it is inconvenient. Not sure what you're having to pay, but mine isn't bad at $25/month. It's definitely going to be better having it at home to work on it.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Not sure what you're having to pay, but mine isn't bad at $25/month.

Wow - $25 is great. I'm at $59 and that's a pretty good price around here (and it's 15 minutes from the house). Of course, we are in a more suburban and heavily populated area, so that plays a role. Enjoy having it at home.

 

[Sluf]

Not sure if yours is covered at $59, but mine is not.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Not sure if yours is covered at $59, but mine is not.

Nope!