New Tahoe Towing....26ol
02-28-2011 | 12:56 AM
#11
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 52
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From: Houston, TX
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Well she didnt like it but she got the job done before I wised up and bought a diesel. I think the lower profile Nitto terra graplers really helped out with the sway, and the trailer brakes work really good but your right I was headed no where but to the scene of a accident with this rig
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Now this Is my new rig and I feel a whole lot safer.
[/IMG]Well she didnt like it but she got the job done before I wised up and bought a diesel. I think the lower profile Nitto terra graplers really helped out with the sway, and the trailer brakes work really good but your right I was headed no where but to the scene of a accident with this rig
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[/IMG]Now this Is my new rig and I feel a whole lot safer.
02-28-2011 | 08:54 AM
#13
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Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Grand Lake (E-Dock Junior Varsity)
02-28-2011 | 10:17 AM
#14
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 11,332
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From: chicago
When it comes to hauling heavy loads, i'll take chassis, suspension, and brakes over engine power if thats my choice. Nice to have both though. I tow with a big block gasser dually now. It doesnt have the power my chipped up diesel had, but it is what it is. So many of us have been spoiled by the high powered newer diesel pickups. Being a semi-driver, im used to taking a long time to get to 60mph when the rig's at 80,000 lbs. Its not how fast you can get to 60, its how fast you can get from 60-0 when it comes to towing! 
02-28-2011 | 11:14 AM
#15
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,200
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From: Simsbury ct
Mild, I towed my 26 ft sutphen with a 97 ford expedition, air suspension package and a 4.6 litre and it towed great. never swayed once on me. If your swaying you need to stop towing imediately cause that means your distribution is way off and your gonna have a problem.
I now tow my 31 ft sutphen with a 2500 hemi dodge, It tows very well and will cover most hills better than my freinds deisels but sutphens are fairly light boats. Mine is about 5800 lbs at 31 ft . Both my boats were twin outboard boats and thats a weight savings but it also probably helps with weight distribution because all that weight is hanging off the back and boat trailers have long toungues in front of the wheels.
My car trailer loads the weight very different than my boat. much worse and needs weight dist bars. Not sure why we dont see weight dist bars on boats trailers?
I now tow my 31 ft sutphen with a 2500 hemi dodge, It tows very well and will cover most hills better than my freinds deisels but sutphens are fairly light boats. Mine is about 5800 lbs at 31 ft . Both my boats were twin outboard boats and thats a weight savings but it also probably helps with weight distribution because all that weight is hanging off the back and boat trailers have long toungues in front of the wheels.
My car trailer loads the weight very different than my boat. much worse and needs weight dist bars. Not sure why we dont see weight dist bars on boats trailers?
02-28-2011 | 11:18 AM
#16
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,897
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From: LOTO Performance Boat Center
30FT Boats with a Tahoe? I dont care if a Tahoe can pull the boat at 100mph. They have NO suspension, Small brakes, 6 or 8 ply tires, a wheelbase not much longer than a Ford Taurus. Realistically, I wouldnt tow much more than a 21FT boat with one.
Realize that a Tahoe, pulling a 30ft baja, on a steel trailer, loaded with gear, gas, and a few people, will weigh in around 16k-17k lbs total. I dont know about the newer Tahoe's, but the old 4L60E trans didnt like heavy loads. Smoked em.
I drive a semi for a living. Most recreational tow'ers don't realize how close to being on the edge of disaster they really are. Towing 10k lb trailers with a walmart hitch rated for 5k lbs, running c rated tires that are about to burst from the weight and summer heat, they think that tuggin and swaying on the back of the truck is just "normal". Never mind the fact the short wheel base Tahoe with the fact it has over 1000 lbs on the hitch, causing the teeter/tawter effect making the front steer axle so light it's gonna push right thru a turn in a emergency manuever. Brakes? Not exactly heavy duty.
The sales brochure might tell you that you can haul a 8000 lb trailer. Well, once you figure in a few people in the truck, a couple suitcases, and some other goodies, it will probably be closer to 7000 lbs trailer capacity.
My old 24FT Four Winns liberator with a single big block, on a steel trailer, weighed in at 8k lbs, with 1/4 tank of gas on the scale at the truck stop. So i can see a twin engine 29 Outlaw or 31 Formula being every bit of 10k or more. My old 40FT Formula weighed in at 16,800 on the trailer, with less than 1/4 tanks of fuel.
Realize that a Tahoe, pulling a 30ft baja, on a steel trailer, loaded with gear, gas, and a few people, will weigh in around 16k-17k lbs total. I dont know about the newer Tahoe's, but the old 4L60E trans didnt like heavy loads. Smoked em.
I drive a semi for a living. Most recreational tow'ers don't realize how close to being on the edge of disaster they really are. Towing 10k lb trailers with a walmart hitch rated for 5k lbs, running c rated tires that are about to burst from the weight and summer heat, they think that tuggin and swaying on the back of the truck is just "normal". Never mind the fact the short wheel base Tahoe with the fact it has over 1000 lbs on the hitch, causing the teeter/tawter effect making the front steer axle so light it's gonna push right thru a turn in a emergency manuever. Brakes? Not exactly heavy duty.
The sales brochure might tell you that you can haul a 8000 lb trailer. Well, once you figure in a few people in the truck, a couple suitcases, and some other goodies, it will probably be closer to 7000 lbs trailer capacity.
My old 24FT Four Winns liberator with a single big block, on a steel trailer, weighed in at 8k lbs, with 1/4 tank of gas on the scale at the truck stop. So i can see a twin engine 29 Outlaw or 31 Formula being every bit of 10k or more. My old 40FT Formula weighed in at 16,800 on the trailer, with less than 1/4 tanks of fuel.
02-28-2011 | 11:18 AM
#17
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,200
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From: Simsbury ct
It would be very safe indeed . youd only be going 25 MPH .LOL
02-28-2011 | 11:25 AM
#18
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Posts: 3,897
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From: LOTO Performance Boat Center
We have a customer that needed to buy a 3/4 ton truck, but only opted for a half ton. After his first trip towing his large camper, he called and said his vehicle had excessive valve train noise. When he bought the vehicle in for inpsection my tech bought this issue to my attention. rear diff got so hot all the paint on the cover burnt off. I guess the freaking genious didn't need the 3/4 ton after all!
02-28-2011 | 12:26 PM
#19
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 11,332
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From: chicago
Mild, I towed my 26 ft sutphen with a 97 ford expedition, air suspension package and a 4.6 litre and it towed great. never swayed once on me. If your swaying you need to stop towing imediately cause that means your distribution is way off and your gonna have a problem.
I now tow my 31 ft sutphen with a 2500 hemi dodge, It tows very well and will cover most hills better than my freinds deisels but sutphens are fairly light boats. Mine is about 5800 lbs at 31 ft . Both my boats were twin outboard boats and thats a weight savings but it also probably helps with weight distribution because all that weight is hanging off the back and boat trailers have long toungues in front of the wheels.
My car trailer loads the weight very different than my boat. much worse and needs weight dist bars. Not sure why we dont see weight dist bars on boats trailers?
I now tow my 31 ft sutphen with a 2500 hemi dodge, It tows very well and will cover most hills better than my freinds deisels but sutphens are fairly light boats. Mine is about 5800 lbs at 31 ft . Both my boats were twin outboard boats and thats a weight savings but it also probably helps with weight distribution because all that weight is hanging off the back and boat trailers have long toungues in front of the wheels.
My car trailer loads the weight very different than my boat. much worse and needs weight dist bars. Not sure why we dont see weight dist bars on boats trailers?
You would be surprised what your boat and trailer weigh when you put it on the scale. I have pulled everything from a bass boat to 42FT boats, enclosed car trailers, snowmobile trailers, open car trailers, and bobcats with pickups. And semi's, everything from 53ft vans, to 48 ft flatbeds loaded with steel, to 39ft dump trailers and 24ft dump trailers.
Expeditions, tahoes, escalades, and yukons werent designed to be haul vehicles. They are for getting the kids to soccer practice, and to tow the waverunners to the lake with the kids. A independent rear suspension with air shocks as the main weight carrying part of the suspension turns me off. I would never consider towing a 30FT offshore boat with one, but thats me. To each their own.
I cant justify recommending one to a fellow boater to tow a boat that is over the trucks legal limit, mechanical abilities, and or safety limitations. That one time some jerk turns in front of you, and you T-bone him, when the insurance companies get involved it can get real ugly.
02-28-2011 | 12:45 PM
#20
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Joined: May 2001
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From: Worldwide
Remember folks, surge brakes only work when the truck and trailer are tying to stop in a straight line. The instant the truck and trailer have any type of angle between them, you are going to jackknife.
