[bigoilbob]

First off, thanks for letting me into the forum. My 2018, Z71, Duramax, 4wd, crew cab, long bed is now in the Wentzville build queue. Since I live close I'm going to see if I can check it out mid build!

Question. Anyone here tow light fiberglass 5th wheels with your Duramax's? I also have an Escape 5.0 TA on order. I ask because none of the 3 dealers close to me would say for sure that it wouldn't void the warranty. I ordered anyhow, which I realize was impetuous. BUT, if you look at both the 2017 Canyon and Colorado "build and price", an aftermarket 5th wheel trailer lock is offered. AND, the local hitch equipper for the Escape 5th wheels, in Chilliwack BC assures me that they have equipped many Colorado's with such hitches, to tow Escape 5th wheels.

Interested in experiences or even opinions, including critical, and I'll consider all seriously.

Thx in advance..

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

I don't see how it could void the warranty unless they could prove you were towing over rated tow capacity and that caused the failure

I hit the scales with my load occasionally and have that printout to show how much I'm towing, just in case.

 

[bigoilbob]

Agree technically, Rockcrawler. The counter arguments are (1) the dealers I asked won't commit, and (2) in the Chev literature there is explicit mention of (paraphrase) "certain Silverado's" being capable of towing 5th wheels. Nothing about Colorado's, (or even 1500's, if I recall).

Separately, good idea to weigh periodically. I'll do that, at least once.

Basically, I'm seeking any known/experienced tech problems with light (i.e. well within the other truck ratings) 5th wheel towing. Problems with the hitch point being high and swaying the truck from side to side during harder turns, pitching down during harder braking, etc. Not intuitively obvious, but I really want to be open minded - even if I bulled ahead and ordered.

 

[Pergrem]

It will handle pulling that 4000 pounds easy. It's the payload weight you have to figure up. With 5th wheel/gooseneck hitchs, it's easy to max out payload. Our trucks are around 1500 pounds IIRC.

 

[bigoilbob]

Pergram, right on, and I don't think I gave it enough thought. But I think I dumb lucked out. The Escape has much more storage than our old Scamp 19'er and I'll have to stow a lot less in the back seat or bed. But I'll definitely pre weigh some stuff in a bathroom scale, and weigh on the road, fully loaded too. In my 22 year old K2500, I carried ~200# of weights for AM workouts, so I KNOW that I'll be learning to use bands instead....

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

I didn't even know they made 5th wheel trailer that lightweight. My normal 2" tow hitch trailer weighs in at 5600lb with 800lb of that being tongue weight. I also carry an air compressor welder and camping gear in the Colorado. That gets her pretty close to payload cap

You can move your gear around in the trailer to set your tongue weight pretty well. Gear behind the axle lightens up the tongue.

I think the truck would act great and pull great with the setup you want to run.

 

[bigoilbob]

I didn't even know they made 5th wheel trailer that lightweight. My normal 2" tow hitch trailer weighs in at 5600lb with 800lb of that being tongue weight. I also carry an air compressor welder and camping gear in the Colorado. That gets her pretty close to payload cap

You can move your gear around in the trailer to set your tongue weight pretty well. Gear behind the axle lightens up the tongue.

I think the truck would act great and pull great with the setup you want to run.

Thx RC, but Pergrem made a good point on payload. I'll definitely be careful.

Yeah, they make at least 2. Here's the Escape that we now have on order.

http://escapetrailer.com/trailers/the-5-0-escape/

And Scamp, in Bakkus Minnesota has made their 19' 5th wheel for decades. It's a single axle, and is ~2700#. We sold ours last month to buy the Escape, but it served us well. We lived in it for ~1/5th of the ~2 years we owned it.

 

[DeeK]

I towed a Scamp 5th wheel from Indiana to New Mexico when my Colorado was brand new. It pulled it fine, I was super impressed with it, but the mileage went from almost 30 to right around 20 and I drive to maximize mileage. That Scamp was the Deluxe with all kinds of extra crap on it too, I'd guess total weight of around 3,600 but that is more or less a guess. We really considered the Escape 5.0TA, super nice trailer, but decided that even though it was well within the towing capabilities of the Colorado Duramax, it would be more than I'd want to tow and was also worried about clearance between the truck gunnels and the 5th wheel over the bed on the rougher two-track roads we occasionally find ourselves.

 

[bigoilbob]

"...it would be more than I'd want to tow "

I think we'll be ok, but this phrase marks you as an uncommonly thoughtful person. How many trailer owners have we met/known who have bulked up (i.e. HUGE TV and trailer) only to find that they can not comfortably/economically do what they want with them? Lots, in our experience. Our Casita and Scamp set ups have made at least 5 round trips between Missouri and the left coast, and also several other forays about as long. We think we'll be as flexible with our upcoming Duramax/5.0 TA combo, but have pinky sweared, NO LARGER.

IMO, 3600# is a lot for a Scamp 19'er, and I hope you were a little under. I thought that the old Dexter axles were only rated for 2900#, and even the new Lippert axles are rated for 3500# (yes, I know that you subtract hitch weight). But feel free to correct either my memory about which axles when, and/or my interpretation of the spec...

 

[Bobbo]

First off, thanks for letting me into the forum. My 2018, Z71, Duramax, 4wd, crew cab, long bed is now in the Wentzville build queue. Since I live close I'm going to see if I can check it out mid build!

Question. Anyone here tow light fiberglass 5th wheels with your Duramax's? I also have an Escape 5.0 TA on order. I ask because none of the 3 dealers close to me would say for sure that it wouldn't void the warranty. I ordered anyhow, which I realize was impetuous. BUT, if you look at both the 2017 Canyon and Colorado "build and price", an aftermarket 5th wheel trailer lock is offered. AND, the local hitch equipper for the Escape 5th wheels, in Chilliwack BC assures me that they have equipped many Colorado's with such hitches, to tow Escape 5th wheels.

Interested in experiences or even opinions, including critical, and I'll consider all seriously.

Thx in advance..

Been towing our 5.0 TA with a '15 Canyon gas with Andersen Ultimate hitch short bed. See pic in What are you towing thread #124. Have Trademasters set the hitch ball centered about 34" from the rear window. ETI wants it at 29" but that won't leave you enough walk around room when the tailgate is down. The hitch rail edge closest to the tailgate is 15" away from it. The 650# kingpin weight is nothing for that bed. Squat is 1.5" and 90 degr turns are no problem. I can't wait to pull with the '19 diesel.

 

[bigoilbob]

Been towing our 5.0 TA with a '15 Canyon gas with Andersen Ultimate hitch short bed. See pic in What are you towing thread #124. Have Trademasters set the hitch ball centered about 34" from the rear window. ETI wants it at 29" but that won't leave you enough walk around room when the tailgate is down. The hitch rail edge closest to the tailgate is 15" away from it. The 650# kingpin weight is nothing for that bed. Squat is 1.5" and 90 degr turns are no problem. I can't wait to pull with the '19 diesel.

We are quite happy and have towed ours ~15000 miles with our Z71 CCLB. But you WILL have less power. For all the talk of torque, it's what you get to the rear wheels that matters, and applying 50% more HP to the rear wheels at 60 m/h, through higher r/m and lower gears gives you 50% more torque - at the rear wheels. Sorry if this comes off condescending - I am probably not telling you what you don't already know.

Will your diesel be a short bed? I think they look better and know they turn tighter, but I wanted more hitch centering, a better ride and room for a couple of longer items in the bed. I have seen at least 2 CCSB diesel owners towing 5.0TA's and they seem totally fine.

Higher price diesel notwithstanding, you'll REALLY like the mileage. Also the smooth, intuitive, automatic jake braking in tow mode. G'luck....