H3 Alpha towing a travel trailer!

[Paladine71]

I'm thinking about getting a travel trailer but need advice on towing....

Can my H3 Alpha tow a 31' travel trailer that weighs around 6,600 lbs?

would I need to upgrade my sway bar, tranny cooling, etc? I plan to put braking on the trailer...

I'm considering a Keystone Hideout 27RBS.

 

[06 H3]

sway bar would be the least of your worries. Trans cooler would be a good investment for towing and even when your not towing.

 

[DJinCO]

IMHO, (have been towing a TT since 2000) I would not buy a 31' TT to tow with an H3.

I love the H3, but it is not quite enough to handle a 31'. I wouldn't even tow a 31' with my Tahoe and my Hensley Arrow hitch (BTW the only way to tow a TT, again, IMHO...)

For a 31' I would want a Suburban 2500 because of the added wheelbase and enhanced suspension and drivetrain.

I have a 27' that I tow with the Tahoe and many people would tell me that I don't have enough wheelbase. With the Hensley Arrow hitch system, the engineering makes up for the limitation of the wheelbase.

 

[Sethmark]

The issue is rarely if it WILL pull it. It will. The issue is can you stop it, turn it and avoid an accident with it.

I had a Ford Super Duty f350 that I had to panic stop from 66 mph. With smaller brakes or less wheel base I would have been in serious trouble.

 

[Scarsman]

I would agree with these guys. That's way too much trailer for an H3. With long trailers wheelbase and vehicle weight are very important. And also big brakes!

As far as putting brakes on it, you wont find a trailer that big without brakes.

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk

 

[twinmill28]

For a 31' I would want a Suburban 2500 because of the added wheelbase and enhanced suspension and drivetrain

Something about this statement makes me think I should be really insulted.

I would be curious what a good towing range for an H3 Alpha would be. We've been towing our 28' TT at 5400 rated dry pounds (we're pretty sure it comes in heavier than this) with the H2 for the last 3 years and it was always a challenge going thru the mountains; had to go slow, especially on the super steep grades where we had no choice. While we might have had the power to go faster, that came at the expense of heat--radiator and trans. I would have put a bigger tranny cooler on it if we'd have continued to live in the mountains. Now living in flat Florida it does better, though on the one hour trip to the campground in 85-90 degree temps (really high humidity) the trans and rad temps are starting to climb even on relatively flat ground.
Handling of our trailer has never been a problem, though I haven't had to draw down on the brakes yet and pray I never do. We've got an awesome sway bar/stabilizer set-up that holds true and tight and makes interstate towing stress free.
One thing we did learn AFTER we bought our trailer is that you NEED to tow the damn thing before you buy it. I'm not sure that a dealer will let a trailer go out for a test drive, but it should be mandatory to make sure your rig can handle it. Our trailer dealership was right on the interstate with a HUGE grade going back into Salt Lake city, so after we bought it, they hitched it up and sent us on our way with NO experience doing anything like pulling on the interstate. I decided it would be best to take the other slower non-interstate road all the way back home. It was slower but sure gave me some time to get used to driving a trailer of that size.
Good luck!!

 

[f5moab]

Answer is NO.
Max towing capacity as figured by GM is 6K for the Alpha. Max tongue weight of your hitch is 600 lbs (weight carrying...I believe WD is about 1000 lbs). The trailer you are talking about has a "shipping" weight of 6600 lbs and a dry tongue weight of 780 lbs. And that "shipping" weight is dry. Fill the 45 gallon water tank and you just added roughly 360 lbs; throw in all the other essentials needed for a trailer (and I have found there is a lot), and you can easily add 1K to the shipping weight.

Honestly, I would not pull that long of a trailer with my Silverado Crew Cab; regardless of what GM says in their manual. If I was to get a trailer that long, I would get a 2500 minimum. I work with a few people who pull 31 footers; one with a 2500 (6.0L) and another with a F250 (not sure of the engine) and they have told me 31 is the max they would tow.

 

[4speedfunk]

For a 31' I would want a Suburban 2500 because of the added wheelbase and enhanced suspension and drivetrain.

Bing bing bing. We have a winner.

I got a Suburban 2500 and it is a pulling sob. It will drag any trailer you want. Right tool for the right job.

 

[Paladine71]

http://www.terryfrazersrv.com/rv/eldridge+ia/heartland+traveltrailer/501/heartland+wilderness+2550rk

I like this one better anyway.

 

[DJinCO]

That looks nice! Be sure to negotiate a good price (less than they list on the web site!) Camping World has these TT's at a big discount.

Look at the Hensley Arrow vs the standard friction style sway control.

 

[Hunner]

Whatever you get look into an equalizer hitch and overload springs that will kick in when needed and or air bags.
On dual axle trailers I like to add brakes to the second axle.
My 08 partially loaded to go to the lake and the 3600 lb. Whaler hooked up now sits lower in the back than I want so I will be making some changes.

 

[08Alpha]

I have a Kodiak 20qb, 3780 dry weight. eq hitch and Elect brakes both axles. I'm thinking about 5k when loaded. I haven't towed with the 3 yet but I will be. I know I won't be flying down the road but I'll get where I'm going. My issue has been finding mirrors. But thanks to the forum I know what I want just need to research and find a good price. Planning on a trip to Yellowstone in Aug. As with all trailer towing just take it easy and have a good time.
Cheers

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I've towed with both my '07 H3 Adventure, and my current '08 H3 Adventure Alpha.... the truck is plenty capable of hauling the load, however, there is a complete disconnect between what's needed for off-road and towing in the rear suspension. The H3 has softer rear springs to allow for excellent articulation, so loading up the rear with a trailer really taxes the rear springs (a nice way of saying, overloads). If you solve that problem, then it should tow with no trouble at all. It's got the same capabilities as a 1/2 pickup, but less weight, and with trailer brakes stopping (which, IMO is the most important part of towing) isn't an issue....

In short, I'm in agreement with towing that trailer with a 2500 Suburban. Get a trailer in the 18-21' range, and you'll be doing what I do a lot .... or do what I do, load your diesel suburban on a tilting car trailer and tow it with your I-5 H3

Oh, and if you do two with the H3, and get the overloads, also buy a handheld programmer to change the shift-points and line pressures in your automatic transmission to help that 700r4...err... 4L60e survive.