Chevy Colorado as Tow Vehicle

TI

tiNillinois

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Mar 27, 2010
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I own a Chevy Colorado 2 wheel drive truck. I would like a camper to pull but I'm concerned that my truck would have difficulty pulling/stopping one. Is anyone currently pulling with a Colorado? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
towing with a light truck

I suggest you check with your local Chev. dealer for the tow rating of your truck. This will tell you how large or small you can tow. For a short while I tryed towing a 1982 21 funlight with a Bronco II. It was very bad!! there was sway, not enough power and after the second trip on flat ground. I bought a Dodge 1/2 ton with a large v8. It was like the trailer was not even there, like night and day. With the right tow vech and trailer match travling the country is fun. But if you try towing a trailer that is to large for you truck you will not enjoy camping as you will always be worring what may go wrong. Now I have Ford 3/4 ton 4 dr desiel and tow a 1999 29b Hi-Lo and travel this grate country from shore to shore.
Sam
 
Thanks Sam. I have a 31' motorhome that is just dollaring me to death. We just took a trip to Texas and ended up spending $2500 in repairs along the way. I'd like to downsize using the truck I already own, if possible. I may have to settle for a tent!
 
tiNillinois -

Sam's suggestion will be the most accurate way to find out your tow rating, however, you can also check the tow rating of your vehicle online, here is a link.

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f19/tow-ratings-73/

I'm not an expert, but what I've read says that your load shouldn't exceed 80% of your maximum tow rating. Take a look and see what you can tow with your specific vehicle. Then you can start looking at trailer weights. Keep in mind that the trailer weight is empty (dry), and that your stuff is going to add more weight to it.

From my brief check, it looks like you're going to be between 2200 and 4000 pounds. Your lookup will be more accurate because you know your engine size etc.

Neal
 
I'm with Sam, there's no sense doing it if it isn't safe number 1.
When I first started looking at RV's and then Hi-Lo's and researching a
little bit, I realized that my 1989 Toyota 4 cyl. wasn't going to cut it
at all. Bought a 2506C and a F-150. That was working out OK until we
took it out to Colorado last summer. Now we have a F-250 v10.
The F-150 was doing it up some of those mountain passes, but it seemed to
be working awfully hard. Having bigger brakes doesn't hurt either, as one
lady told me "it's doesn't matter how fast you're going up - but you don't want to go down too fast".
 
Just thought I would let you know that I do tow with a 2004 Chev Colorado, we just got back from a trip to Tenn. Flooting Mill camp ground. To get their we towed up a 4 mile long grade of 8% and a 5 mile grade of 6% we are towing a 19.6 Hi Lo trailer and we weigh in at 3200 lb. loaded. We pulled up the hills at 45 miles per hour and over all trip of 675 miles averaged 17.654 mile per gal. Not to bad. Our Colorado is a 2 wheel drive 5 cylender crew cab. If you are thing about towing stay some what small.
 
We pull a 2007 22 ft TravelLite with a 2008 Nissan Frontier 4x4 Crew Cab with factory tow package rated at 6,200#; I discount the rating 80% for a safety margin at 5,000# capacity. The Nissan has a 4L V6 rated at 285HP and 5 speed Auto. The 22T weighs in at 3,222# and when you add passengers, pets, fuel, fresh water, etc we are at 4,000# which gives us 1,000# of discretionary capacity ... enough if we pack light, shop local and keep the waste water tanks empty. So far there has not been any problem taking local roads with 12% hills ... the brakes don't fade and the engine doesn't protest .... of course we never set any land speed records, either .

Slow and steady ... we see more of the scenery that way!
 
It's a common mistake for people to make when calculating a safe weight to tow, but the manufacturers towing capacity rating INCLUDES the weight of the tow vehicle with a full tank of gas and a 150lb driver. So, the actual legal limit is significantly less than what people think.
 
Good point ... I have taken all of that into consideration and any way I do the math I think I am good to go.
 
I think if you get your 22T weighted the weight will be higher than 3222#, that weight is the factory dry weight with no options, stripped trailer, like air conditioner, bunk bed, spare tire, and what every other options are included on the trailer. The only way to get a true weight is get it weighted. However your truck should pull it ok. I pulled a 95, 21T, weight with out Clothes, food, water, empty propane tanks and etc. was 3400# with a 1999 Ford Explorer V6-210HP and 5 speed auto and I towed it for at least 70,000 miles, trouble free.The SUV now has 130,000 miles on it, at 125,000 I did have a Torque Converter lock up problem which has now been fixed. I am now pulling a 2209T which is some heavier with the same SUV but plans are for a 5.4- F150.
 
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I guess you can't trust what you read ... so I'll drag the 2207T down to the Fruit Growers and cough up the $20 to have them weigh it the next time I take it out. Cheeper than a scorched tranny or bent rod!
 
jimandrobie said:
Recently had our 2209T weighed..............3820 lbs.
Click to expand...

Amazing, Jim - almost exactly what our 1707T weighs with a full fresh water & propane tanks, one extra battery and maybe 40-50# worth of "extra" stuff like fresh water hoses, sewer hoses, plastic wheel chocks, about four 1# propane bottles, a 50' electrical cord, some hand tools (wrenches & screwdrivers), pots, pans and dishes. I frankly do not understand where the extra weight on my trailer is coming from.

- Jack
 
Thanks, jimandrobie, for the weight on the 2209, I knew it was heavier than 95-21ft Tow-Lite, I knew it was heavier just by towing it. Coming from FL. to PA on RT 95 it towed well, but when we took a trip into the PA Pocono MT's over roads I had traveled before I knew the extra weight was there. I will get ours weighted eventually when it is loaded.
 
NDgent, check the trailer weight but also go to the HI-LO site and click on Tow Ratings near the top. Select your year and open the pdf file, your truck is probably rated around 6,000# for the tow trailer. Just guessing, check it out.
 
Don't I wish! I cannot help but believe the CAT scale was correct, and the trailer was sitting on it all by its lonesome, completely disconnected from the tow vehicle.

- Jack
 
I tow my 1996 22" Hi-Lo with my 2001 Toyota tacoma, 3.4 V6, automatic, 4WD with no problem. By the way, truck has 123,000 miles on it. What can I say? It's a Toyota:D
 
Remember, when it comes to tow vehicles, you want the dog to wag the tail not the tail wagging the dog. Be careful and be smart when chosing a tow vehicle.
 
Tow vehicle..

I have a 2005 Dodge 2500 diesel, 4 wheel drive pickup. I get 20 mpg on the highway pulling a 22t HiLo. I don't even know that it's back there. Thank God for mirrors!
 
RetiredCamper,
Well stated! We used to tow our 1969 19' Hi-Lo with a second-hand 1972 Toyoto FJ40 Land Cruiser. It was a mismatch, but all we could afford at the time, and you better believe the dog was wagged plenty! Fortunately the Land Cruiser was geared so low we had to drive slow...probably what kept us alive. Jim
 
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