Not to mention,,,it is very unsafe to expect a 1/2 ton to stop and handle all that weight.

 

sell the trans-am and get a new truck too!!

with a 1/2 ton truck I would get an 18' or 20' Carson Trailer (local to me) and put 2 big quads in the trailer and your kids quads in the bed of the truck and not fill your water tank and fuel jugs until you get to your destination.

a tranny temp guage and break controller are a must.

have you ever thought you smelt propane when on the highway??? that is the rear differential burning up on someones truck pulling too much weight.

 

Greg what kind of trailer are you looking for?
A "Toy Hauler" is a travel trailer (full living quaters, beds, bathroom, shower, kitchen, etc) with a fold down rear ramp to store your toys, for it to ge big enough to haul 4 quads it will be very heavy when fully loaded out, 6.000-7,000 lbs depending on options (just a guess). That kind of weight would kill your truck & you'd get 4 MPG!!

A "car hauler" trailer like I got has several advantages (IMO). It's lighter, you can haul 4 quads with a much smaller trailer than a "Toy Hauler", Lower center of gravity (toy haulers are much taller overall & the floor is above the wheels), living quaters are an option but your getting long & heavy with that too.

I have a SouthWest Expressline 23' V nose (I'm sure you've seen the pics) & I am currently hauling it with my 97 Dodge Dakota 318 V8/Auto/trans cooler.
I can haul it pretty well but I wouldn't consider a real long trip or try to cross the mountains with it. I restrict my travel to in state only, I haul it to Sahara & Atoka, I wouldn't consider a longer trip.
It's approx 3500 lbs empty, about 4500 lbs loaded with my quad & supplies for a week long dune trip.
I carry a futon to sleep on (bed at night, couch at day) & it's actually very comfortable to sleep & live in short term, but I don't have to haul a wife & kids with me.
It can be a challenge to haul in traffic especally if it's hilly or windy & the 6 mpg I get is expensive with gas prices the way they are.
What gear ratio is in your truck? Mine has 3.53 & was originally equipped with low profile sports tires, with that gear ratio & the taller truck 8 ply tires my low end torque is non existant!!
I'm averaging 6mpg, 5 mpg with a headwind!!!!
I'm deisel shopping now.

 

Thanks for all the input guys.

I have a 1999 with the 5.3L Vortec engine. IT pulls real well, but it is reated at a little over 8,000 lbs. towing capacity. The 21 ft. All American Sport was one model that we looked at. The idea is to get away from having to shell out $100+ a night to stay at hotels everytime we go somewhere. Rhonda doesn't want to have anything to do with a tent, so it has to be something live-able and nice. I know that it would take a lot of hotel stays before we would justify the expense of a toy hauler, but at least it would be a predictable expense and we would probably go more riding more often because we had it.

The bad thing about getting a new truck is that this one is paid-off and only has 34K miles on it. I have it all dressed up and it still looks new. Even though it stickered for $32,000 new, I will probably only get 16K or so out of it because of the market. I would love to get a new truck, but I would rather sell Rhonda's 1999 Bravada and my 1999 Monte Carlo LS and get a big Tahoe or 3/4 ton Avalanche or something like that. She could drive the Avalanche and my Silverado would become my primary vehicle.

I'm not selling the TA BlueLeader. Nope, nope.............nope!!!

 

Greg, I dont know what the ratings are on your truck, but you need to check the gcwr and gvwr also. It is easy to be within the tow rating and over the gcwr or gvwr, and some states and insurance agencies are cracking down on gvwr or gcwr ratings.

I love my camper, and it is great with the kids, you can come in at night, shower, bath the kids, turn on the air, play some card games, tell stories, whatever you like. I will never go back to tenting again.

To me it has been one of the best investments I made and it has brought my family closer together.

Good luck with the trailer shopping, it can become dizzying.

Bat

 

GregV - We love our All American but it is heavy. I can fit the 4 quads in my sig, but one is a mini. I don't think you could fit 4 full size quads in the 21 ft. toybox. The flimsy wheel well covers won't hold any weight so I built some wooden ones around the stockers. I think the 5.3 will pull the load, but if you pull very often you will see a decrease in engine life. Make sure you use a good brake controller, I like the Tekonsha Prodigy. Also make sure you get a good weight distributing hitch. Most RV dealers will install it but they probably won't set it up correctly. I have some good instructions for setting up WD hitches so just let me know if you need it. Good luck!

 

sell your current vehicles and get a BIG used truck and a BIG used toy hauler. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

We had to sell our 2001 5.3 Z71 to pull our trailer (see my pics). It weighs 6800 lbs UNLOADED and around 10K loaded. The trailer people tried to tell me my Chevy would pull it. I didn't want to chance. You might be able to PULL it, but can you STOP it?

Remember: you can never have enough truck!

Get a Diesel [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

The deal with the 1/2 ton is this, the tranny, suspension, and brakes wont hold up!! The motor may do fine for awhile but the other stuff will wear out WAY quicker, especially the brakes!!! They just aren't designed for it. My buddy has a 1/2 ton Dodge 4x4 and he gets a whopping 2.8 MPG on relatively flat ground pulling only a 20ft Fun Runner with 1 quad, 1 YZF426, and a PW50 and his food and gear. Not exactly cheap to fill up all the time, and not to mention how many stops we have to make also!!

I'd try for a bigger truck first, JMO.......

 

also, towing a toyhauler is like pulling a parachute.