Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Camper size?

You might even get by with a 12x12....If you stay outta the mountains

And as someone already said, remember to factor in water and gear in the camper. Also, other people and crap in the truck. Schitt adds up quick.

Never listen to the salesman. I see 1/2 tons pulling some pretty long trailers. The ass is usually dragging

Go rent you one of the black 4 wheeled hyd dump trailers ....run truck thu the scales .....add trailer ..run thu scales......add 3 yards gravel ....get weighted...go drive around ....go back and add more ....repeat . You will know in minutes ...betya u aint going to like the gravel/ trailer weight on the 1st go around..., my 2.00$...

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And this.

Do all the math with gvwr, gawr, gcwr, etc and the Chevy manual. Depending on where you go, how far you go, and your tolerance for discomfort you may want an upgrade. I towed a 22' box super light (6,000 pound) with a 2005 5.3 with the tow package. Next year I bought a duramax. My kid has a 2500 with the 6.0 and it does just fine as well. It is as more about the brakes and suspension than the motor.

IMO, take the max towing capacity of your truck and subtract one ton of weight. The remaining weight is your max tow weight meaning, loaded with all the junk you will put in the camper!. With this formula you have some room for performance without dogging your truck. Yes, it is limiting but safety on the road is important. Also, any hills or grades you encounter will be easier. Camper salesman will try to talk you largest camper you truck can handle. Once you roll off the lot with it you will realize you made a mistake and need a bigger truck. Just my 2 cents, as if anyone cares!

The Basic Rule of Campers is that they all come in Size 2.

They're 2 small to live in, and 2 big to tow around.

Trucks have the same rule, but reversed. They're 2 small to carry stuff and 2 big to drive.

I personally would say around 21 foot or smaller unless you are going mostly to smooth flat campgrounds. My family wanted 30-35 foot units and I relented and got a 26 footer. Beautiful 2006 model about 6 years ago. My 2004 F150 does ok with it but I like to go remote places at times. I know there are options on trailers and towing, but I am watching for a smaller unit for a lot of my trips. My daughter and son-in-law got a 2015 GMC 1/2 ton and it really doesn't have any advantage over my Ford. A 3/4 ton with a healthy towing package would be a lot better for this particular camper.

^^^^^^ This ^^^^ at least this is what was explained to me when I bought my trailer. Max towing cap - 1k pounds. Mine is a 28 footer at about 5300 pounds and my 2013 F150 3.7 ( plain jane- no eco boost) pulled it up some big ass hills just fine. My truck is rated for around 6500. If your Chevy doesn't have the cooling package then it is roughly similar. If you do- then add another 500 pounds to capacity.

I bought a towing package so it is not a bumper pull -AND I installed a trailer brake. Would not like to do it without either. This with passenger tires on my pickup. I have since gone to LT's and feel better if pulling it again.

A friend on my lease told me I was way over cautious on all this and that he routinely pulled stuff over his towing max with no troubles. He hauled stuff all the time working for a heavy equipment retailer. I tend to error on the side of caution.

I skimmed these posts so sorry if already mentioned but if you have not taken possession of the camper my advice is to make them test anything having to do with water. Faucets leak, pumps leak, the little valve on the toilet s are notorious for freezing and developing splits in seems- as are some p-traps. Then we can talk about mice and rats.... Al lot of it is avoidable. Don't know how familiar you might be with trailers but pm me if you like and I can tell you some things that may save money and headaches and make your camper life more pleasant. When everything is good they are wonderful.

it’s not so much how much you can pull but how much you can safely stop when you have to. A bigger truck is better for towing.

DING!!

Motel is cheaper.

Get a Scamp.


You can tow em with a 1973 Pinto.

Truer words were never spoken.

The winner!!

Watch out for the salesmen, they will tell you "your truck will pull this just fine", all the while neglecting to tell you about the need to get stopped, to say nothing of the handling qualities.

Use enough truck.

It somewhat depends on where your towing also, there is a big difference towing in the flat lands vs towing in rockies. I have a 26' toy hauler that runs 9k-10k, I towed for a year with my 5.7 gas 3500 which is rated at 13k towing. That gas engine was working hard towing that much trailer in the northern rockies, 6 MPG and my foot on the floor most of the time running 4000-5000 rpm. It did the job, but not really well in the mountains, it would have been fine in the midwest. I traded that 3500 in on a diesel 6.7 2500 with a 17k towing capacity. Having more than truck than you need is really nice and makes for a more enjoyable trip.

Always just a little bit more!!

-Jake

viking,

FWIW-
I own a 25' travel trailer, that with batteries, propane tanks full, loaded down with camping stuff, sometimes water, will go 6-7K. Add more stuff to the bed of the pickup, plus two passengers and dog, and it's easily 7K on the weight.
I used a Ram 1500 for towing the first year we had it. Most of our trips were over mountain passes here in CO, and the Ram was at high RPM and struggling at times, with horrible fuel mileage.

The next season, I traded the Ram for a 2016 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax- wow, what a difference! Not only does the Sierra tow without ever breaking a sweat, the downhill trips with the exhaust braking system are effortless. You feel like you are always in control. On our last trip to New Mexico, average MPG was 12.4- not bad considering travel over several mountain ranges.

You state you won't be towing in mountains, but I wouldn't discount mountain trips just because your truck wasn't up to the task. My own rule of thumb nowadays is- if your tow weight exceeds 6000 lb, a 2500-class diesel is in order.

Right here !!!! Everytime I have to pull that camper I am miserable. The things we do for our wives.

kwg