I am going to run this by you guys and see what you think.

Me and a group of guys are going out to Moab UT in Late April to do some off roading with the 4x4's. There are 5-6 of us going and we are trying to get as many as we can hauled with our trailers. I have an 03 3500 SRW and a 30' 15K Deckover Gooseneck, my buddy has an 02 2500 Duramax with a 24' 11K lowdeck gooseneck. I am thinking about putting 3 rigs on my 30'. The 3 I am thinking of are A Suzuki Samurai (mine) 2500lbs, a 46 ****** 2500 lbs, and a 92? Jeep YJ (Mostly stock) 3500lbs. Add the weight of the rigs and the empty trailer wgt that gets a total trailer loaded wgt of 15k. I think I can fit all three on by putting the front wheels of the samurai up on the hitch of the gooseneck and the other 2 on the deck. Is this going to be too much for 1300 miles and going over the pass outside of Denver? Or if I take it easy will I be ok.

The Duramax would be just taking 2 rigs with him.

Here is a pic of the last trip we made 2 years ago. The ****** and Samurai are on my trailer. I know that is a Duramax pulling it, but I had a Superduty gasser at the time (the one behind it pulling 1)

 

I dont think it will be a problem.

 

mite be a bit wobbly with the wieght on the hitch but the truck will pull it fine

 

look into some airbags and make sure your trailer brakes are bueno! if you can swing an exhaust brake that would be nice, but i dont forsee any issues! have fun

brett

 

I would say if you are careful you will be fine. I made this trip from Jersey to Moab last May with a 28 footer. I had my YJ and an LJ on the back and there wasn't much extra room. I would imagine with the sammy on the neck, the ****** in the middle and the YJ hangin' off the back it should fit. As mentioned earlier, I would definetly try to swing the exhaust brake. The pass through Denver on route 80 is scary with all that weight. My one concern is that you say its a 15K trailer. I am not familiar with a 7.5K axle. Most trailers like this are only rated at 14K like mine. My weights for the trip were:

Steer axle 5480
Drive Axle 5620
Trailer Axle 13420
Gross 24520

Just be careful how you load the trailer with the single rear wheels in mind. Otherwise, I like it. You guys should have a blast. I'll be back out again in May 2008

 

Mine has a rating of 15K, 2 7K axles and they must assume the truck will carry at least 1K. The pass through denver is my only worry.

When it warms up a little I am going to do a test load of it and weigh it. I figure I will get pretty close to your loaded weights.

Thanks guys.

 

Yeah, that was kind of my thought too. Interesting how different manufactures rate it different.

The truck and trailer rode great with these weights, but I would have liked to have seen a little more weight on the rear axle. When I go this year, I will be adding a 100 gallon transfer tank and probably swap the YJ and the LJ on the trailer.

I basically climbed out of Denver at about 35mph and creeped down the hill at about the same. We were way ahead of schedule at this point in the trip, so I figured I could take my time. Hopefully this year I will have a smarty jr so we'll see if I can do any better on the climb and maybe average a litte more than 11mpg. Good luck on the trip

 

Dont know how the laws are out your way but if its a 15k trailer and thats based on the axle ratings then you can legally put another 15% on the truck for weight and not be considered overwieght. I bet you will be ok just take it slow and make sure your brakes are in good condition.

 

Exhaust brake might be good.

 

The trailer mfg has a stamp on it that say 15K rating so I should be good there as far as legal issues. I have it regestered for 15K also. I just need to make sure I am below 26K.

I don't think I will be installing an exhaust brake, I Don't like putting a $1,000 into it that I will only use once maybe twice. Plus from what I have read, you have to do some trans upgrades to make use of it ( I have an Auto). I am from the flat lands and we make this trip every 2-3 years, so this truck will likely make this trip once more at most before I trade it. The rest of the time I tow is over small hills and flat lands.

Keep in mind this is a stock truck no mods, and I don't plan on adding any. I can live with it taking a little more time.

 

Yeah... good point on the 26K. Kind of ironic considering you will be legal with your truck (single rear wheel) and a 15K trailer, and I am not with my truck (dually registered @ 12,200) and 14K trailer. Laws are written kinda crazy!!!

Like you said, as long as you are not in a hurry you should be fine.

 

You mentioned that yours is stock.
Silly question but do you have gauges?
If not at least put an egt in so you know what temp the exaust is at.

 

Didn't think that would be an issue with the truck being stock. I have thought about putting in a tuner, but not until I pass the 100K mark if I do it. I don't want to risk the warrantee. I have already had a water pump covered by it.

 

My truck is stock and going over the Denver pass at similiar weights to what he will be at, my EGT's could have easily reached 1400-1500 degrees if I let it. I held it at about 1200 which in the high altitude only let me carry about 35 mph. I too would recommend a gauge.