Towing x213 with GMC Envoy?

[GS400]

New to the forum and asking the age old question about towing capacity. I have spent hours going through this web site and the internet to determine if my 2008 GMC Envoy can handle a 2011 Jayco X213. This is the info that I have:

From the Envoy manual
Max trailer wt 5200 lbs
GCWR 10,500 lbs
Tongue wt 400lbs / 912 with weight dist hitch

Truck door sticker
GVWR 5750 lbs
GAWR front 2950 lbs
GAWR Rear 3200 lbs

From the factory hitch (Envoys come from the factory with a hitch)
Max trailer wt 4000 lbs / 7600 with weight dist hitch
Max tongue wt 400 lbs / 912 with weight dist hitch

Jayco X213 (2012)
Yellow Sticker 4252 lbs with full propane
Measured tongue weight 400 lbs

I entered this information in the trailer weight calculator on changing gears.com capcity calculator and got this info back;

When using the max tonge wt of 912 lbs (I have a WD hitch)
Max trailer wt 4750 lbs
Max trailer wt with 10% margin 4275
Max tongue wt 712lbs
Max tongue wt with 15% margin 641 lbs

If I use the max tongue wt of 400 I get these numbers:
Max trailer wt of 2667 lbs
Max trailer wt with 10% margin 2400 lbs
Max tongue wt 400
Max tongue wt with 15% margin 360 lbs

From the first calculation (max tongue wt with WD hitch) I am pretty much at the limit of my towing capacity with the Envoy.

I have beem pulling a 2000 Flagstaff 23LB that was rated 800 lbs less than the X213 and while the I6 Envoy struggled up hill it still felt safe.

Do the calculted numbers look correct? Is anyone else pulling an X213 with an Envoy/Trailblazer?

Thanks,

[DocBrown]

It'll be safe, but...

I towed our X20E for one season with an '03 Trailblazer EXT, I6, 3.42 gears. My towing capacity was 4900#, the trailer's GVWR is 4750#. So I was close to my capacity. It worked, but it struggled on hills and in the wind. Mine had 165k miles on it and was going to need an exhaust and a couple of other things so it became a no-brainer to upgrade. My Sierra tows our X20E like they were made for each other. I don't miss the TB in the slightest.

A couple of other things you haven't considered.

The weight on the yellow sticker is not the weight you will be towing. When you add your "stuff", it will at least 500# more, probably higher than that. the GVWR of that trailer is 5500#. If you max out the weight of the trailer, you will be several hundred pounds over you rated max.

Ignore the weight sticker on the hitch. That's the max of the hitch itself, go by the manual (Tongue wt 400lbs / 912 with weight dist hitch). Also ignore the 400#. That's the max dead weight. You will not be towing this thing without a WD hitch. The suspension on GMT 360/370s is too soft to tow a trailer this size without one.

Plan your tongue weight to be 13% of your trailer weight. Just assume 5000# ready to camp, that's 650# of tongue weight. So that's not an issue.

However the other thing you need to look at is payload. Look at the sticker in the door, it'll tell you your payload. IIRC, mine was something like 1200#. Sounds good? Subtract the 650# tongue weight, and say you have a wife, 2 kids, and a dog, total weight 225#. Your leftover payload is 325#. Oh wait, we forgot to add in the grill and the bikes! You can see how we run out of payload real fast. That's why a lot of people go into full size trucks, more payload. My Sierra has a 1621# payload and now if we want to add "stuff", we don't even think about it.

I can tell you that you'll probably be OK on short trips (2-3 hours) over relatively flat terrain. Don't even think about mountains. You'll be thinking about a bigger truck by next season.

[RedHorse1]

I would suggest a trip to the CAT Scales. For $10 you will learn your current axle weights. IMHO the keys are the Rear GAW vs Rear GAWR and the front/rear GAW with and without the WDH. You've got a pretty good start at estimating your TT weight and the resulting tongue weight. The WDH on our old rig (Ford Expe + X23B) transferred about 200# from the rear axle to the front.
You can see my weight results here: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...ets-28187.html

The CAT Scale is your friend.

[JulesForSure]

I have a question about towing. We have owned a Jayco Eagle 328RLS for the past two years as a "stationary" vehicle parked in a campground. Now we are trading it in for a smaller vehicle that we hope to tow down to the state of FL, and then in the state of FL. It is a 21' 195RB. What is the proper vehicle to buy to tow it with effectively? We need inside auto space for the pups (3) and possibly the cat. Everybody tells us something different. We are looking at a Ford Edge, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave. RV dealer says we need a vehicle that will tow a minimum of 4,000 lbs. Help?

JulesForSure.

[Garyburbank]

Nice we have a 2006 GMC Envoy xl we tow with do you have any other trailers you tow

[sciencenerd]

A quick google shows 1,146 to 1,389 lbs for your SUV's payload. I think that's going to be your limitation, unless you pull the trailer with an empty truck. The x213 is known to be tongue heavy. There are threads around the forum where people have measured north of 800 lbs. That would leave you roughly 300-400 lbs for passengers and cargo.

I have a x213 and tow with a 1/2 ton Silverado with 1,700 lbs payload. Wouldn't want to go heavier than the x213.