Show us your tow rigs!

[PEARCE]

I have 2 teenage girls, it isn't too bad. Until "that time" of the month when all 3 women in the house have synced up cycles. Then I just keep my mouth shut and spend a lot of time in the garage.

I have one teenage daughter and a teenage son, thankfully, so my boy and I will kinda do the same. If we're not outside riding bikes or in the garage doing something you'll find one or both of us in the media room playing some video games.

 

[F.M.]

I have one teenage daughter and a teenage son, thankfully, so my boy and I will kinda do the same. If we're not outside riding bikes or in the garage doing something you'll find one or both of us in the media room playing some video games.

My daughter's take over the media room when they're not "feeling well", and I get told to get over it.

 

[OB WI]

Correct. That is a Truxedo Sentry CT. Good eye!

I 100% hate the rattling this cover makes at any speed above 10mph. It's wildly annoying and having the rear slider (Love the airflow with just the slider and sunroof open) open makes it even more noticeable. Honestly the only thing I dislike about the cover, but it's a big dislike.

I talked with Truxedo about the rattling. Sent some emails to customer support with videos and description of the noise. The answer, while very friendly worded and otherwise exceptionally supportive was basically "yea, it does that. Sorry".

So I bought that foam you see there to try and help the issue. And it did for the first month or so until it permanently deformed into the shape you see there. The rattling is better, and somewhat less noticeable, but still very obvious and very much present.

The foam is from Home Depot I think, might have been Autozone, I can't remember. It's sold as the foam that goes between truck beds and topper caps to weather seal. It's maybe 3/8in thick, soft open cell rubber/foam with an adhesive backing. I think I have some left in the garage, I'll see if I can find it and snap a picture.

It's not a solution, but it does make it slightly better. I've been threatening to get some closed cell silicone and try that, but haven't been annoyed enough with the rattle to follow through.

When I called them they acted like it was a new issue they have never heard of. They told me to try spraying some silicone on the rails. Im sure I would need to do that often though. I did ask my buddy that owns the dealership and he said to try the loop side of Velcro. I haven’t yet but probably will in the spring. Was worried that if it got wet then froze in the winter here if it would cause more of a problem or not. I like the cover but I don’t think I would buy one again unless they find a solution to that sound. It’s super annoying.

 

[2kwik4u]

When I called them they acted like it was a new issue they have never heard of. They told me to try spraying some silicone on the rails. Im sure I would need to do that often though. I did ask my buddy that owns the dealership and he said to try the loop side of Velcro. I haven’t yet but probably will in the spring. Was worried that if it got wet then froze in the winter here if it would cause more of a problem or not. I like the cover but I don’t think I would buy one again unless they find a solution to that sound. It’s super annoying.

100% agree. Love the cover aside from the rattle. I think it's driven from the side to side of the slats in the frame. Doubt silicone spray would do anything since it's a mechanical tapping or contact-nocontact repeat. Spray would only help with a sliding squeak.

 

[jthackman]

new tow vehicle, traded '15 ram 1500 on a '20 ram 2500..first diesel for me.

 

[2kwik4u]

@jthackman Were you towing that 5'er with a 1500 before or is that a whole new package?

 

[jthackman]

new package..traded a 27' travel trailer for 32' fiver.
was very determined to just get a larger bumper pull as i really liked the 1500. it was super comfortable, capable and had a topper which was pretty great to put camping/boat stuff in bed all locked up....but caved in on a fiver for the better floor plan and more space in a shorter total package. and that meant new truck shopping.
we'll see how much i miss the topper, but in two short weekend trips, the way better camper layout has been great.

 

[Bohdiez]

My tow rig is patiently waiting for delivery date to come in May.

 

[2kwik4u]

new package..traded a 27' travel trailer for 32' fiver.
was very determined to just get a larger bumper pull as i really liked the 1500. it was super comfortable, capable and had a topper which was pretty great to put camping/boat stuff in bed all locked up....but caved in on a fiver for the better floor plan and more space in a shorter total package. and that meant new truck shopping.
we'll see how much i miss the topper, but in two short weekend trips, the way better camper layout has been great.

Wife and I are just starting to debate getting a camper. I'm 6'2" tall and don't fit well in most bumper pulls. We've rented a few times and stayed at friends campsites a few times to try and get a feel for it, and I keep coming back to a 5th wheel setup in a "semi-permanent" spot. We love the idea of community style RV parks, but we're travellers at heart, so doing things like building a deck around a camper in a permanently parked location just isn't for us. We'll want to pull it out a few times a year, and go somewhere else. The park is relatively cheap storage though. Lease on spaces like that are around $1,500/yr which is cheaper than I can find storage on a gravel lot, and I can keep the boat there as well if I like.

The problem with that plan.....I've got a 1500 class pickup now that I really really like. Getting a fifth wheel at this point means new truck as well, and man they're expensive. On top of that, I daily drive about 70mi round trip for my commute, so that's a ton of time and miles spent in a giant truck that I only really NEED a few times a year.

Anywho, nice looking setup!

 

[Babin Farms]

Wife and I are just starting to debate getting a camper. I'm 6'2" tall and don't fit well in most bumper pulls. We've rented a few times and stayed at friends campsites a few times to try and get a feel for it, and I keep coming back to a 5th wheel setup in a "semi-permanent" spot. We love the idea of community style RV parks, but we're travellers at heart, so doing things like building a deck around a camper in a permanently parked location just isn't for us. We'll want to pull it out a few times a year, and go somewhere else. The park is relatively cheap storage though. Lease on spaces like that are around $1,500/yr which is cheaper than I can find storage on a gravel lot, and I can keep the boat there as well if I like.

The problem with that plan.....I've got a 1500 class pickup now that I really really like. Getting a fifth wheel at this point means new truck as well, and man they're expensive. On top of that, I daily drive about 70mi round trip for my commute, so that's a ton of time and miles spent in a giant truck that I only really NEED a few times a year.

Anywho, nice looking setup!

I was in the same boat as you regarding the truck. Hard to justify having a daily driver 2500 to only haul hay & cattle a few times a year(both trailers are gooseneck). I was thinking about getting a 1500 and beefing up the suspension and doing what I had to do to make it work but then my thoughts turned to "why put a 1500 through hauling that much weight". I finally figured if I could get around 14mpg daily driving I would be happy and glad to say, I'm happy with the decision.

 

[2kwik4u]

I was in the same boat as you regarding the truck. Hard to justify having a daily driver 2500 to only haul hay & cattle a few times a year(both trailers are gooseneck). I was thinking about getting a 1500 and beefing up the suspension and doing what I had to do to make it work but then my thoughts turned to "why put a 1500 through hauling that much weight". I finally figured if I could get around 14mpg daily driving I would be happy and glad to say, I'm happy with the decision.

I've considered similar approaches to the problem. One of which is getting a secondary "small car" to commute in, or perhaps a motorcycle to offset the fuel usage a few days a week. Then just drive the big truck when it's really necessary. Motorcycle has hiccups with logistics of 2 kids and needing pickup/dropoff/soccer/baseball/etc. Schedule will often not allow the time to return home for additional seats, and even if it did, most likely that moves some parenting logistics workload to the wife, and lord knows she does enough already. A second car becomes hard to justify for me as I'm right on the threshold of a reasonable payoff timeline. If I could "break even" in fuel savings in 3 years I think I would be happy with that setup. Then keep the setup for 5-6years total. At my mileage and the cost to get a reasonably reliable spare car for that time, it's hard to hit that 3yr window. If I drove more then it would be an easier sell......Plus then I'm paying for a nice 3500 pickup that just sits.

I've considered renting through a site like Turo, or Enterprise the few times a year we need that level of capability. But getting a hitch setup, and all that shenaniganery is going to be a tough sell for a 5th wheel. Large bumper pull, maybe, but even then it feels like a lot of hassle, although perhaps not as much as the cash I would spend on fuel would be?!?!

Current plan is to go back to tent/truck camping for this season. Make sure we really enjoy the "travel all the time" side of things. If that works out, we've discussed possibly getting a slide in camper for the 1500 truck so we can still bring the boat, or possibly just a large roof top tent. The big draws there are they get us up off the ground, provide a little insulation and padding for us, and with a slide in, some semblance of A/C in the summer. It kills me how much 1500 class slide in's are though. The Cirrus 620 we like is almost $27k. The GIANT 38ft 5th wheel we like is only $50k. Granted that's double the cost, we get almost 6x the interior space in the 5th wheel. A roof top tent, and supporting roof rack/bed rack is going to be in the $3-4k range depending on size/age.

Not sure where we'll land. I'm sure we'll know more after this summers adventures. If we really like travelling, perhaps the upgrade to a 5th wheel and 3500 pickup is worth it. If we don't, maybe we just buy the 5th wheel, have it delivered to the place we like, then build a deck around it and go there every weekend

 

[AZMark]

I've considered similar approaches to the problem. One of which is getting a secondary "small car" to commute in, or perhaps a motorcycle to offset the fuel usage a few days a week. Then just drive the big truck when it's really necessary. Motorcycle has hiccups with logistics of 2 kids and needing pickup/dropoff/soccer/baseball/etc. Schedule will often not allow the time to return home for additional seats, and even if it did, most likely that moves some parenting logistics workload to the wife, and lord knows she does enough already. A second car becomes hard to justify for me as I'm right on the threshold of a reasonable payoff timeline. If I could "break even" in fuel savings in 3 years I think I would be happy with that setup. Then keep the setup for 5-6years total. At my mileage and the cost to get a reasonably reliable spare car for that time, it's hard to hit that 3yr window. If I drove more then it would be an easier sell......Plus then I'm paying for a nice 3500 pickup that just sits.

I've considered renting through a site like Turo, or Enterprise the few times a year we need that level of capability. But getting a hitch setup, and all that shenaniganery is going to be a tough sell for a 5th wheel. Large bumper pull, maybe, but even then it feels like a lot of hassle, although perhaps not as much as the cash I would spend on fuel would be?!?!

Current plan is to go back to tent/truck camping for this season. Make sure we really enjoy the "travel all the time" side of things. If that works out, we've discussed possibly getting a slide in camper for the 1500 truck so we can still bring the boat, or possibly just a large roof top tent. The big draws there are they get us up off the ground, provide a little insulation and padding for us, and with a slide in, some semblance of A/C in the summer. It kills me how much 1500 class slide in's are though. The Cirrus 620 we like is almost $27k. The GIANT 38ft 5th wheel we like is only $50k. Granted that's double the cost, we get almost 6x the interior space in the 5th wheel. A roof top tent, and supporting roof rack/bed rack is going to be in the $3-4k range depending on size/age.

Not sure where we'll land. I'm sure we'll know more after this summers adventures. If we really like travelling, perhaps the upgrade to a 5th wheel and 3500 pickup is worth it. If we don't, maybe we just buy the 5th wheel, have it delivered to the place we like, then build a deck around it and go there every weekend

I don’t get the roof top tent thing. I know they are a must have now for the off-road/overland crowd but $3-4k is a lot of money to spend on a tent in a country where there aren’t animals that will eat you.
You can get a really good and easy to set up ground tent and air bed for $6-700. We use a 6 person tent for 2 of us and a dog and it’s great even in bad weather.

 

[2kwik4u]

I don’t get the roof top tent thing. I know they are a must have now for the off-road/overland crowd but $3-4k is a lot of money to spend on a tent in a country where there aren’t animals that will eat you.
You can get a really good and easy to set up ground tent and air bed for $6-700. We use a 6 person tent for 2 of us and a dog and it’s great even in bad weather.

We've tent camped for years and years, and it seems we can never get the tent setup for a good nights sleep. Always not level, or crap poking us in the back, or deflating whatever inflated contraption we have with us. Before kids we went through about 4-5 different "setups" on the ground and never really got what we were looking for. Found a review awhile back of a sleep setup for a ground tent that we're considering this season. Here's the review. If we could get a good tent and pad/sleep setup, honestly that might be plenty for us.

The RTT doesn't add anything other than a nice firm platform to rest on, and a good 3-4in thick mattress to sleep on. Has the downside of having to descend a ladder to answer natures call in the middle of the night. It very well could be a complete bust and not worth the effort/money. I've talked to a number of owners, and they all have great reviews and positive feedback from the experience. An odd benefit I didn't expect was the ability to camp in a Wal-Mart or Cracker barrel parking lot overnight on a long trip. Saves a night of hotel stay.

Honestly, I think we would be 100% onboard with the slide in truck bed camper. If they weren't sized for larger trucks. Taking a camper with A/C and internal bathroom with us ALONG with the boat is a pretty ideal setup to be honest. One tow vehicle, and an easy way to drop the camper at the campsite and launch the boat or run around the local area would be ideal. They're so dang expensive for the floor space you get, and still require a bigger truck, they lose some alure there.

 

[AZMark]

We've tent camped for years and years, and it seems we can never get the tent setup for a good nights sleep. Always not level, or crap poking us in the back, or deflating whatever inflated contraption we have with us. Before kids we went through about 4-5 different "setups" on the ground and never really got what we were looking for. Found a review awhile back of a sleep setup for a ground tent that we're considering this season. Here's the review. If we could get a good tent and pad/sleep setup, honestly that might be plenty for us.

The RTT doesn't add anything other than a nice firm platform to rest on, and a good 3-4in thick mattress to sleep on. Has the downside of having to descend a ladder to answer natures call in the middle of the night. It very well could be a complete bust and not worth the effort/money. I've talked to a number of owners, and they all have great reviews and positive feedback from the experience. An odd benefit I didn't expect was the ability to camp in a Wal-Mart or Cracker barrel parking lot overnight on a long trip. Saves a night of hotel stay.

Honestly, I think we would be 100% onboard with the slide in truck bed camper. If they weren't sized for larger trucks. Taking a camper with A/C and internal bathroom with us ALONG with the boat is a pretty ideal setup to be honest. One tow vehicle, and an easy way to drop the camper at the campsite and launch the boat or run around the local area would be ideal. They're so dang expensive for the floor space you get, and still require a bigger truck, they lose some alure there.

We use a similar setup to that review but not the same brands. That exped mat looks really nice.
Last time we camped my wife was very pregnant so we brought our queen sized double height Aerobed & it was the most comfortable I’ve ever been camping. I don’t know if you’ve ever used one of those but they are way better than regular air beds and don’t really sag at all, even on the edges.
We just threw down a moving blanket under it so it wouldn’t get popped & plugged it in to an inverter in the truck to pump it up.

 

[I_squared_r]

I don’t get the roof top tent thing. I know they are a must have now for the off-road/overland crowd but $3-4k is a lot of money to spend on a tent in a country where there aren’t animals that will eat you.
You can get a really good and easy to set up ground tent and air bed for $6-700. We use a 6 person tent for 2 of us and a dog and it’s great even in bad weather.

I paid either $1100 or $1200 for a used roof top tent package deal: Thule Tepui Kukenam (3-person tent), bed rack, and 2 thule sidearm bike mounts. Ground tents are good too but the roof top tent sets up in seconds, is of greater quality than any ground tent i've seen, it has 3" foam + 2.5" memory foam, crazy amount of ventilation, a top that opens up to the stars, and it closes with all the bedding and pillows inside. I admit it's a little gimmicky, but I have some colorado/utah destinations in mind that we will wake up with the best views looking over the canyon.

 

[jthackman]

Yes, the tow rating is only 9k for some reason. It's all we need. But there are many half tons with higher ratings. The diesel is 300-400lb lower than the 5.3L and 6.2L options. The max tow package gets up to the 13,400lb, but that includes a different axle and axle ratio that's not available on the little Duramax. I'm guessing the gear ratio of the 3.42 axle might be the issue. It might be less efficient coupled with the lower RPM range of the diesel. For instance, the max torque of the diesel engine is produced at 1,500 RPM vs the 6.2L 4,100 RPM.. just a guess?
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@J-RAD...nice looking. any chance you know what the payload is on your exact truck? i mean momma's truck...

 

[J-RAD]

@J-RAD...nice looking. any chance you know what the payload is on your exact truck? i mean momma's truck...

Pretty sure it's 1,870lbs I believe. I'd have to check the sticker on the door to be certain.

 

[iamdarrick]

2021 Chevy Suburban Z71

 

[Bizywk]

 

[Scott7890]