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Old 08-31-2017, 01:51 PM   #1
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23BHM with Chevy Colorado?

Hi All!

We are looking to buy our very first RV and are really impressed with the 2018 Jay Feather 23BHM. We also like the 25BH but it might be too big for our TV.

We are a family of 4 with 5yr old and 7yr old boys. Been tent camping for years but we're ready to try RV'ing!

I'm wondering if I can tow the 23BHM with my 2015 Chevy Colorado v6 with tow package. I've ready many, many threads on towing basics but I'm still not sure.

The Colorado has the following ratings:

Tow Rating 7000
Payload 1590
GVWR 5800
GCWR 12000

The 23BHM is rated:

UVW 4930
GVWR 6250

We will have 430 lbs of passengers in the truck. Figure another 150 lbs of gear (car seats, small backpacks, drinks, snacks, misc.). I don't know how much gear in the trailer as we've never owned one. The dealer said around 500-600 lbs was normal. Figure 600 lbs plus propane. So that adds up:

Loaded trailer weight 5590 lbs
TW 600 lbs

Truck Payload 1590
Minus passegers 430
Minus gear 150
Minus TW 600

Total Payload left 410 lbs

Tow Rating 7000
Minus passengers 430
Minus Gear 150

Total TV Tow Rating 6420

TV Loaded weight 4790
Loaded Trailer 5590

Vehicle + Trailer Combined Weight = 4790 + 5590 = 10,380 lbs


I think that means we'd be under the tow rating by about 830 lbs or 13% and under the GCWR by 1620 lbs or 13.5%.

Is this safe and controllable, especially for first timers? We are in SoCal and would be doing a mix of "flatland" and some mountain camping in places like Big Bear. I don't want to go to a full size truck if I can avoid it but safety and control are very important.

Any thoughts?
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Old 08-31-2017, 02:55 PM   #2
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I'm in the same boat as this is our first travel trailer. From the research I've done, 15%-20% of GCWR is the sweet spot. With weight distribution I'd be ok with 13.5%. I had a dealer offer to load up the trailer we were interested in and let me take it down the road before deciding. Might want to ask your dealer if they'd consider something like that.

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Old 08-31-2017, 03:14 PM   #3
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I think you'll be OK. Your tongue weight is going to be closer to and probably over 700#. Err on the side of caution. You'll certainly be safe so long as it's set up properly.

That said I think you'll be disappointed with your mountain towing experience. I think that truck with the V6 will struggle a bit in the mountains. Keep in mind that your kids are growing. In just a few years they will be quite a bit bigger, that is heavier. So maybe a full size truck is in your future anyway. I won't go back to mid size, and it's just my wife and I. A full size truck is so much nicer to drive and so much more capable.

Try it out. It certainly won't hurt anything.
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Old 08-31-2017, 04:17 PM   #4
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Thanks for the responses. It's pretty clear that an F-150 or Silverado would have more capacity and power, just not sure if it is in the budget. The truck is also my daily driver.

Has anyone on the forum pulled at 5500lb trailer with a Colorado? I'll ask over in the Colorado owners forum too and report back.

Joe
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Old 08-31-2017, 05:00 PM   #5
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I use to tow my 25Z (Weight) close to yours with a v6 tacoma with towing pkg the truck would tow it but stopping is another issue never felt comfortable i now tow same camper with a full size tundra difference between night and day, something for you to think about.
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Old 08-31-2017, 06:57 PM   #6
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Pulling is one thing. Controlling and stopping is another.

Plug your numbers into the spreadsheet and see where you end up.

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Old 08-31-2017, 10:35 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jopopsy View Post
Pulling is one thing. Controlling and stopping is another.

Plug your numbers into the spreadsheet and see where you end up.

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x2, SAFETY FIRST!
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Old 08-31-2017, 10:37 PM   #8
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Wth......leads to add.....
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Old 08-31-2017, 10:40 PM   #9
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The link at RVITCH is good. Just tried it and the numbers calculated there are in line with what I calculated also. Thanks for putting that up.

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Old 08-31-2017, 10:51 PM   #10
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Must be something at my end. Sorry
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Old 09-01-2017, 08:04 PM   #11
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Towing with a Colorado

Just my personal experience...I have towed with a v-6 and now a Silverado 5.3 litre. My 23BH has a dry weight of about 4900#. With 1,000 to 1,500 # fully loaded I am at 6500#. That leaves me a margin of approx 1,000 to 1500# before I max out the recommendation from the Mfg. Where you will really notice it is in pulling grades. A v-6 will really work hard...too hard in my opinion. I recommend you try out towing the one you want to buy and especially pull a grade or two to see how it performs. Good luck in your decision.
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Old 09-01-2017, 11:37 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by dougfir1 View Post
Just my personal experience...I have towed with a v-6 and now a Silverado 5.3 litre. My 23BH has a dry weight of about 4900#. With 1,000 to 1,500 # fully loaded I am at 6500#. That leaves me a margin of approx 1,000 to 1500# before I max out the recommendation from the Mfg. Where you will really notice it is in pulling grades. A v-6 will really work hard...too hard in my opinion. I recommend you try out towing the one you want to buy and especially pull a grade or two to see how it performs. Good luck in your decision.
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Old 09-02-2017, 04:59 AM   #13
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Just throwing this out there. Have you considered the Jay Feather 7 narrow body line? They may be a better fit for the smaller profile of your Colorado. I will admit that I was a little hesitate at first, but we absolutely love our 22BHM JF 7. I thought it would be cramped inside for our family of 4, but after nearly 40 nights in it since we picked in up in May, we couldn't be happier.
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Old 09-02-2017, 08:01 AM   #14
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JV,

Welcome and congrats on wanting to join the madness of owning a tt!!!

As for your tv, it's hard to say. Though there is a guy here in Mi that is on the FB Jayco Club page towing a 28 BHBE with the diesel model that states he is under all the weight ratings... Bet he would say you'll be fine! Just hard to believe he is good to go until weight slips are posted.

OK, in all seriousness.

If you are going by the "brochure" dry weights, throw those weights out the window!!! There will be a yellow sticker in every tt you look at that states the actual empty weight of THAT TRAILER as it rolled off the assembly line. Often times the manufactures do not include the weight of options (even the "mandatory" options) int he "brochure" dry weights.

Know that for a safe, stable tow you generally need the tw to be 12-15% of the loaded tt weight. This does vary from trailer to trailer, but better to plan on a heavier tw than find out your over. Speaking of tw, check the trucks factory mounted receiver hitch for a max tw rating. This rating along with the tv payload is usually the limiting factor.

Did you list your trucks payload per the yellow door jamb sticker, or the "brochure" listed payload? As mentioned, the kids weight will only increase as they grow. Try to estimate any and all cargo weight you may want to haul in the bed of the truck. Bikes, coolers, firewood, etc.... Also, have you added any accessories to the truck: tonneau cover/truck topper, step bars, mud flaps, etc? All the accessories weight will eat away the payload as well.

Don't forget to include the weight of a good wdh with integrated sway control. The Reese Dual Cam, Reese SC, and the Equal-I-Zer 4 way systems are all very good models. The Reese hitch head (same for both trunnion models) does allow a little more fine tuning for the hitch head tilt adjustment vs the Equal-IZer model. The Reese wd bars are interchangeable as well. So if you need different rated wd bars down the road for a new tt, you could just buy the new bars. The Equal-I-Zer you would need to buy the whole new wdh system as the wd bars are not interchangeable. But know that all three models will do the job just fine.

A buddy has the Husky Centerline and has been happy with it so far. And I have read good things about the Recurve R6 model as well, but I don't have any personal experience with it.

Make sure to get the proper rated wd bars and not choose them based on the "brochure" dry weight.

If needed, follow my signature links for a ton of wdh info!!!

Good luck shopping!!!
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Old 09-04-2017, 09:50 AM   #15
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I tow our 23BHM with an f150 5.0. It came from the Jayco factory weighing 5151 with a tongue weight of 638. Adding the weight of the battery and the WDH puts us at a TW of close to 800 lbs. without anything loaded in the trailer. We don't load heavy but I can still figure on a range of 850-900 lbs. on the hitch. I haven't felt the need to go to the scale because our payload (2067), hitch rating (1100), and towing capacity are all good.

We live in the mountains in Pennsylvania so lots of up and down towing, and the Ford muscles the trailer around. I use Tow/Haul mode (braking causes the truck to downshift) and lock out three or even four gears (six-speed) coming down hills. I'm very careful and very cautious.

That all being said there isn't any way on God's green Earth I would try to haul that trailer back and forth with a smaller truck. I read posts by people who tow right up against their limits and God bless them, to each his own. But man that would scare me.
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Old 09-04-2017, 01:44 PM   #16
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I'm towing 2017 23BHM with Colorado long bed crew cab diesel 2016. Towing rating is 7700 and payload is 1500, I believe. Family of four as well. Just got back from month long trip going from Toronto to Newfoundland and back. 7,500 km total. It tows OK, didn't have any major problems but on windy days on highway I wished I had a bigger truck. Mountains weren't an issue. I was limiting my speed to 95 km/hr (55 MPH) and it was fine. Overall fuel consumption was 16 MPG for the whole trip.


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Old 09-04-2017, 06:13 PM   #17
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For all of the above contributions and my own extensive towing experience, i say no. We have a very similar built and rated trailer, and our Ram 5.7 Hemi with 3.55 rear end is at my minimum safety, vehicle stress, and personal comfort requirements. You will likely be at or over 700lbs. on the hitch with propane, battery, WDH, bed cargo, TT front storage, and gas. Very good advice to ditch the factory paper. Only a CAT Scale will get you real close to the truth, and it is often startling to learn how much it all adds up.

The Jay Feather 7 line up would be more appropriate. You also lack the wheelbase with that Colorado. It makes a difference. You will be at least 26' hitch to bumper with a 23' box. That's a lot of length for your truck. Your truck will not only work overtime mechanically to haul this unit, but that TT will also get the better of your truck when road conditions and weather kick in. I do not enjoy pushing the margins of my TV's capabilities. And I especially do not want to push the margins of safety. You will likely be on or over those margins.
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Old 09-05-2017, 07:43 AM   #18
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23BHM with a Chevy Colorado

We upgraded to the 23BHM in May and have done two trips (3800 & 1500 miles).

Our 2007 Nissan Titan SE 2wd crewcab with factory tow package rated for 9400# was a capable vehicle but I knew climbing was going to be a struggle for it. Crosswinds definitely affected the drive since you could feel the trailer move the TV at times. Stopping was never an issue and always under control.

During the first trip a transmission cooler line burst on a Sunday morning and we had a lovely two night stay in beautiful Needles, Ca while the repairs were made. So ever since that happened I've had that doubt in the back of my mind on the dependability of the TV. Granted we made it home with no issues and even went on the second trip up and down west coast.

During the second trip, the up and down climbing through the Cascades on the 101 worked the TV and then the bad crosswinds over Pacheco Pass in central California showed the need for more truck. There was a lot of movement in the TV from the trailer.

So while the numbers for the Chevy Colorado are within the operating limits, you may want to consider what the others have said. It will probably do the job but can it be safely.

The 07' Titan was a workhorse in for us on those trips but it did work hard in the mountains and I had some white knuckle driving in the wind. So last Monday, while it wasn't in the plan or budget we purchased a 2017 Nissan Titan XD SV diesel 4wd crewcab. Heading out next week for a 500 mile trip and can't wait to see how it handles the TT.

Best of Luck to you and your trailer decision.
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Old 09-05-2017, 08:04 PM   #19
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I think you will find that a bigger truck is in it future plans. I started out a few years with a Nisan Frontier and a 197 Jayco. Upgraded to a F150. Upgraded to a 26RLS. Upgraded to a F250. Weights on all were under, but the safety and driving experience is improved drastically.
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Old 09-20-2017, 07:12 PM   #20
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Thank you all for the great replies!! This is a fantastic community!

Taking into consideration all the advice, running the numbers on the spreadsheet and deciding that safety was the highest priority, we decided to upgrade to a full size truck. I was able to trade in the Colorado for a new F-150 with tow package, 3.6L Ecoboost and all the other things we need. We picked up the trailer last weekend and hauled to the storage yard. I made sure to go up some steep hills (241 between Riverside and OC has some big hills.) It was stable and comfortable the whole way. The truck did not struggle at all on the hills. Felt great. I'm not positive the dealer correctly set the WD hitch (Husky Centerline) so I'll be checking it this weekend.

We're going to do a short shake-down at a local campground in two weeks. The whole family is very excited!
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