Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 12-11-2014, 04:35 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Midland
Posts: 1
Trailer to be towed with an Acadia

Hello,

First time posting here. We recently purchased a GMC Acadia with a tow package rated up to 5,200LBS. Just wondering what size trailers RV'ers have purchased for towing with this type of vehicle. Thanks, Richard
Richard55 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2014, 04:56 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: MD
Posts: 3,856
Welcome to the forum Richard. I can't answer your question, but I'm sure some suggestions will be posted shortly. How many people do you want/need to sleep in it?
__________________
2017 JayFlight 28BHBE
2014 JayFlight Swift 264BH (Sold)
2007 GMC 2500 Sierra Classic Crew Cab LBZ Duramax / 6spd Allison
SouthCo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2014, 05:07 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 1,588
Greetings. You will want to consider the SLX line of trailers (single axle), some of the Hybrids, and the Jay Feather lines. You won't want to max out your tow vehicle at 5200lbs either. There are a couple nice bunk house models in these lines that will sleep 4-6 people and keep total trailer weight at or below 3500lbs.
SkyBound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2014, 07:56 PM   #4
Member
 
scottystang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Boston area
Posts: 44
We just bought a 2015 GMC Acadia Denali and plan on towing our 2014 Jayco X17Z with it. We were previously towing it w/ our 2011 Mazda CX-9 that only had a capacity to tow 3,500 lbs. so I'm hoping the Acadia has an easier time.
__________________
2018 GMC Yukon SLT 5.3L V8
2016 Jayco Jay Feather X23B
2015 GMC Acadia Denali AWD (traded in)
2014 Jayco Jay Feather Ultra Lite X17Z (traded in)
scottystang is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2014, 08:02 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
nwminnesota's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Blaine
Posts: 294
IMOP, I would choose a trailer that is half of your tow rating. 2600lbs would be the max I would go. This number would include all your stuff in the trailer, water, food, clothes, dishes, etc...
I think they over rate the tow ratings. Sure it may tow 5200lbs but you won't feel comfortable doing it. Also pay attention to the weight capacity/payload for the vehicle you also don't want to exceed that as well.
__________________
2014 6.6L Duramax 2500hd CrewCab
2018 5th wheel on its way
2011 x23b (sold)
05 f150 5.4 v8 (sold)
nwminnesota is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2014, 10:41 PM   #6
Member
 
BrettSLC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Utah
Posts: 67
I tow a Swift 184BH with my Xterra and it is rated to 5000 lbs. As suggested make sure that you have enough head room for gear and stuff with the trailer you pick. The last thing you want to do is get a trailer that is 5000, which would not give you much room for cargo.

Somebody once told me to have at a minimum of 1000 lbs available, so in your case that would be a max of 4200 lbs.
BrettSLC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2014, 09:22 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Missouri City, The Republic of Texas
Posts: 5,063
The rated towing weight isn't the whole story. Look at the yellow sticker on the driver's door jamb. It will tell you the Front/Rear GAWR, then visit a CAT Scale and get the actual axle weights (full of fuel and your camping load of people). Subtract the rear axle weight from the Rear GAWR. This is the amount of cargo you can add to the rear axle. A WDH will weigh 50-80#. What remains is how much cargo (camping stuff) you can add in the back of the Acadia and what the max tongue weight can be. The tongue should be about 15% of the trailer weight. So, if MTW is Max Tongue Weight.
MTW/0.15 will be an estimate of the max your trailer can weigh. The max trailer weight will be the weight of the trailer from its yellow sticker PLUS the gear, water, etc that you load into the trailer.

I expect you will max the rear axle before the trailer reaches your 5200# point.
The CAT Scale is your friend! It'll be $10 well spent.
__________________
Cheers,
T_

2013 F-350 CC SB 2WD 6.7PS
2013 Eagle Premier 351 RLTS
-SOLD- 2012 X23B
-SOLD- 2003 Ford Expedition 5.4, Bilstein shocks
RedHorse1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2014, 06:58 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
bucko's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: In a house
Posts: 1,000
As already mentioned with the posts, that towing amount has to include all the weight the vehicle will be pulling. In simpler terms, your towing weight of 5200 pounds has to take into consideration the passengers that will be in the vehicle, any and all additional camping gear (clothes, toys, bikes, etc) that you also take along....it all adds up quick. If the trailer your going to pull is rated at 3200 pounds, that gives you 2000 pounds remaining for passengers, and additional gear you may take along. Sounds like the featherlights are a good choice for your vehicle.

I have a Ford Ranger 4x4 that has a 7000 pound GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). After subtracting the weight of the truck itself, I have a "towing weight" of around 4800 pounds. This remaining weight has to include passengers, gear, and the trailer itself. And don't forget the tongue weight as well.

Here's a good link to read up on to understand all this towing "stuff":


http://www.onlinetowingguide.com/guidelines/gvwr.html
__________________


2005 Jayco GreyHawk Class C
2007 Ford F150
bucko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2014, 10:43 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Lsuduke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 196
Richard, welcome to the group, I have a 2010 Saturn Outlook, same as your Acadia and we tow a Jay Feather 228 without issue. I did install an extra oil and tranny cooler to keep everything cool. The 228 has been discontinued but came in around 4200 lbs. Your trailer will be a reflection of your needs, I have 2 young children, 2 dogs and my wife and myself, wife wanted bunks for the kids, so that what pushed us toward our 228. Use the guide posted in the previous reply to get an idea, then hit up a dealership and Jayco.com to do some research. Just make sure you are comfortable with your trailer, you will want to use it and love it, not regret your purchase due to weight restrictions. Good luck and keep us informed.
__________________
2010 Saturn Outlook
2013 Jayco 228BH
Husband and father of 2
Dogfather to Yoshi our rescue German Shepherd
and Alley our husky mix rescue
Lsuduke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-23-2014, 05:42 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pohatcong
Posts: 216
I had the same question with my liberty. In the owners manual it had 2 ratings, one was weight and the 2nd was frontal area of trailer which reflects drag. I bought the 184bh which we are very happy with and came close to weight. Good luck. Any camper will be a blast but make sure your safe doing it.
chrisb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-24-2014, 08:36 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
bucko's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: In a house
Posts: 1,000
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lsuduke View Post
..... I did install an extra oil and tranny cooler to keep everything cool. ...
Two good points. At least the automatic transmission cooler to reduce the heat; this is the number one killer of an automatic, so towing, no matter how light, puts extra strain on the transmission.

A cooler, and more frequent automatic transmission flushes (not just a pan drop and filter change; that only nets you about 3 to 4 quarts or fresh transmission fluid; torque converter holds a bunch more that usually cannot be drained on its own; no drain plug on the newer torque converters).
__________________


2005 Jayco GreyHawk Class C
2007 Ford F150
bucko is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:28 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.