How much truck do I need for my 20ft trailer?

Hi all,

How much trailer do you usually need for a 20ft open car trailer? It's rated to 10k lbs, and weighs 2350 empty.

I have a '00 Tahoe w/ the 5.3, 4L60 and 3.73 gears, so the "right" towing package. On my longer drivers with it, and this is only 5500lbs on the trailer, I feel that the short wheelbase makes the drive more wearing than if I had a longer wheelbase vehicle. There's probably 450lbs in the SUV, including me + track gear, so about 1000lbs total payload. The rear does sag 1-2 inches more than I would like.

I'm contemplating getting air bags and some tow mirrors on the Tahoe to make the drive more pleasant. But the thought did come into my head that the Tahoe is just too short and may never handle a trailer of this size that well. I wouldn't mind stepping up to something with a bed since then I wouldn't need to rent a utility trailer if I need to do yardwork or housework.

I'd consider skipping the bags and getting a weight distributing hitch. 

Short wheelbase is something you only think about if you feel it moving around. If you feel it moving around, put 5 more psi in the rear tires and see what happens. 

If you have a plethora of decent reasons to own a truck, then sure, get one that will make you feel more comfortable. 

Everything Vigo said. 

Does the Tahoe come with OEM rear sway bar? 

I want to get those updated rear less springs and a rear sway bar on my excursion. My suspension is getting a bit tired. 

I second the weight-distributing hitch, and the pressure increase (up to the tires' max pressure). It may be moving around more than you'd like because you might not have enough tongue weight, because it sags more than you'd like. I had the sag/sway problem with my '96 F-150. I went with helper bags because my truck also sagged with 150 pounds in the bed (it sits level and pretty low by today's standards when empty) and I wanted it to do truck things every once in a while. 

Spend your $$ once and get a good WD hitch, like a Blue Ox Sway-pro.  Yes not cheap, but you'll buy it once and never wear it out never need to replace it.  There new (well 4-5 years ago) rotary chain latches are the best.  I just spent the $$ to convert from the older flip up style to the rotary units and wow does it help with better sway control in the wind.  Towing down to Daytona in a Nor'Easter with one race bike and two street bikes wasn't much fun but i would not have done it without my blue ox.     http://www.adventurerv.net/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=blue+ox+sway+pro   

This is where i got mine 8 years ago.  Looks like they still have deals going, BUT Note the picture shows the older flip up style hook up with loops for swap control. Those work fine but I lost a loop and there no longer made. Yes i could have made it but the upgrade to the rotary was a improvment so you may want to shop are to find deal on unit with rotoary hook ups.

   blue -ox with rotary units.

I towed an 18' open trailer for years with my old Suburban and Yukon XL with no issues at all. A friend has an 05 Tahoe and has never complained towing his open trailer. It looks like about a 12" -14" wheelbase difference between Suburban and Tahoe depending on year. Sounds like you may just have a weight distribution issue that could be easily fixed with a WD hitch. I tow a 20' enclosed trailer presently with a Suburban but did have to get a WD set up as it sagged too much even when the trailer was empty. I use a Reese set up. Works well takes about an extra 5 minutes to hook up the trailer, takes an inch and a half of sag off the rear end of the truck.

The correct answer is "As much truck as you can afford"

I went through this a couple years ago with my buddy. F250 quad cab, bringing back a Miata in a 25' enclosed trailer. We had a strong enough headwind, he had the pedal to floor on the diesel, and we were still getting passed by semis on the interstate. The truck couldn't go into OD because it would lose speed. 

Since then, I've become a fan of way more truck than you need. If we had tried that in my V6 Frontier, the wind would have knocked us off the road, or we would have to just stop for the day.

The blank box above is an interesting video about tongue weight and trailer sway. 

Hmmm...so is it safe to say it doesn't matter about the length of the trailer as long as tongue weight is correct?

Say I have a 30ft trailer, same 5000lbs and 500lb tongue weight. As long as I have everything set up correctly, I wouldn't feel it back there? For instance today, same trailer but using work's F250 (6.0 CCLB) and hauling an F150 on it, about 8000lbs total, it felt the same empty as loaded. Both trailer and truck were very level. I feel the empty trailer already on my Tahoe.

The WDH does look like an option. It may be a pain to start out with, since the trailer isn't "mine" but the work trailer that I borrow. I wouldn't want to leave the spring clamps on the trailer and it would be annoying setting it up every time I use it.

If I kept the Tahoe, I'd also do Silverado tow mirrors and a tune. It becomes pretty gutless with a trailer behind it. I will still search a longer wheelbase pickup if I find the right deal, but I want to keep a certain level of luxury the Tahoe already has (it's a fully loaded LT).

FYI... this was the towing setup for last weekend. Level trailer, but you can see the rear sagging a bit. The car's mass is in front of the trailer axles, so I should have about the right tongue weight.

Watching Ben Sasse' Tahoe being 30 point turned and hit the entrance by him or a staffer ( didn't get that close prior to a AEI talk just laughed from 20 ft away ) I coined Tahoes as 'Junior Senator' wagons as opposed to the plethora of 'Burbans for the more senior and kind of a big deal head honchos eedjits number ones in town. Not a real world analysis admittedly.  I will follow this and similar conversations avidly because tow-pig. 

AIUI, weight distribution is the *most* important factor in trailer stability, but wheelbase of the tow vehicle is also relevant.  I tend towards overkill, though, and used to tow my 16' open trailer with a 3/4 ton crew cab diesel.  (have since upgrades to an enclosed trailer, still using the pickup)

Know anyone with a Suburban you can borrow to try out and see how stable it is?

That amount of sag wouldn't concern me at all.  I'd call it perfectly normal and within what the vehicle is designed for under load. 

Stability is also helped by less weight behind the trailer axles.  Pushing the axles back on the trailer adds stability at the expense of tongue weight (unless you also make the tongue longer). 

Looking at the picture, it doesn't seem like an excessive amount of sag, but I think (like mentioned several times) that a good WD hitch will really help.

Also, if you don't already have them, upgrade to LT tires.  They really make a huge difference in stability in my experience.

Next time you tow, experiment with the position of the car. I can actually tell if my car is 2" further back on the trailer. It's not like it's undrivable, but it's definitely more stable when it's further forward. 

In reply to MINIzguy :

I towed my 20 foot enclosed trailer all over the country using a short box(6&1/2’) regular cab pick up. 

Across mountain ranges deserts city and county. Freeway and back country roads.  

 More than 20 hours non stop except for fuel at a time.  Usually by myself occasionally with someone   

I can make Minneapolis to San Diego in 30 hours.  Minneapolis to Miami in 26.  

The trick?  A properly aligned trailer well balanced. 

Pull it straight and run a string line down both sides. Measure carefully to ensure the trailer wheels are aligned with the truck. The center of  the hitch is in the center of  of the truck and the center of the trailer 

Hmm ok so it looks like the consensus is that the truck is fine, I just need a better balanced trailer and a WDH. Or do I even need a WDH if the sag I have is OK?

On the other hand, I just did a round trip with the above setup. Felt 100x better than the Tahoe with 2500lbs more weight. 

In reply to MINIzguy :

WDH, Your trailer is fine. 3/4 ton trucks are just that much better at towing especially diesel. But your Tahoe is def good enough for the job!

As far as weight distribution  / car placement, if the trailer is long enough to get the car so it barely (if at all) sticks past the rear axle of the trailer, try loading the car backwards and further forward than normal.  That may leave less weight behind the trailer axles and give it less momentum to sway with. 

Awesome, easy enough. Since I can justify keeping it, I think I can also do some towing mods to make it easier too. Tow mirrors are definitely gonna help out, and I want that tuuuune.

And to address other topics everybody mentioned: yes, this has a rear sway bar. It is on P tires, I run them 40psi hot. I don't think I need E rated tires, especially since the load rating for the current tires exceed the rear axle capacity; I will run 245's instead of the 265 balloon tires currently once I need tires though.

rslifkin said:

As far as weight distribution  / car placement, if the trailer is long enough to get the car so it barely (if at all) sticks past the rear axle of the trailer, try loading the car backwards and further forward than normal.  That may leave less weight behind the trailer axles and give it less momentum to sway with. 

I got 20ft of trailer to play with with a small E36. I think I have 6+ feet of room left on the trailer for tires, etc., when work decides to sell the trailer and I make it mine.  Guess I just didn't load it that well.

MINIzguy said: It is on P tires, I run them 40psi hot. I don't think I need E rated tires, especially since the load rating for the current tires exceed the rear axle capacity; I will run 245's instead of the 265 balloon tires currently once I need tires though.

The E rated tires aren't so much for load rating, but they have significantly stiffer construction.  It is very noticeable from a stability perspective.

MINIzguy said:

... It is on P tires...

 

P as in, P265 as opposed to LT265?  If that's the case then tires would be my first upgrade.  The passenger car tires have much more flexible sidewalls and till wiggle around a lot more than an LT tire.

APEowner said:

P as in, P265 as opposed to LT265?  If that's the case then tires would be my first upgrade.  The passenger car tires have much more flexible sidewalls and till wiggle around a lot more than an LT tire.

Ok, I can't really tell. They're Starfire 510's with a 116 load rating, but no P or LT designation. They're extremely compliant, but that may be because its a 265 on a 7.5" wide wheel.

MINIzguy said:

APEowner said:

P as in, P265 as opposed to LT265?  If that's the case then tires would be my first upgrade.  The passenger car tires have much more flexible sidewalls and till wiggle around a lot more than an LT tire.

Ok, I can't really tell. They're Starfire 510's with a 116 load rating, but no P or LT designation. They're extremely compliant, but that may be because its a 265 on a 7.5" wide wheel.

Hmm. That seems to be an LT tire but it's also advertised as delivering a smooth comfortable ride at a low cost which doesn't sound like the ultimate in trailer towing tires.

I suspect that 8k is close to the upper limit of what your Tahoe can handle.  Still, with good tires and a WD hitch with a sway controller on it you should be comfortable.