We have a 2004 Chevy Avalanche 1500 Z66 2 wheel drive with every available option, with 62,000 miles on it.
I bought it new, have meticulously cared for it and it still looks and runs like new. It is not worth much on a trade-in now, so we are considering selling our motor home and dingy and buying a TT to pull with the Avalanche.
Last weekend we looked at a brand new 29' Jayco Jay Feather and we love the layout and the appearance of it. Having done some research, it appears that the Avalanche is technically capable of pulling it with approximately 700 pounds load capacity, after subtracting the combined weight of my wife and me.
Can anyone offer any advice, pro or con? Will the Avalanche have enough power (295 HP)to pull this TT? Is an Avalanche any better or worse for towing than a Suburban or a Silverado? Is pulling a trailer this size any more difficult to drive than pulling a dingy with 28' class C motor home?
It's impossible to say without more details about both the trailer and the truck. There certainly is nothing about the NAME of either than cause any concern. It's all about ratings and weights and details about engine, gearing and payload. Good luck / skip
I have the TT in the signature and I believe are close to the weight of what you are looking for. I used to have a 2004 Z71 Avalanche. In my opinion and I do speak from personally experience I had two issues when pulling with the Avalanche.
1. Power, to keep at 65 sometime below I would have to average around 2600 RPM consistently, anything lower the tranny would shift back and forth trying to find a good spot to run. A small incline, the engine would bump upp to 4000 RPM. I know some will say that's where gas engines get the best torque, but I never felt confortable running that high very long. The other issue around the engine, would be fuel economy. 6-8 at best when pulling the TT.
2. Could never transfer weight to Avalanche. I would crank the distribution bars down to 3-4 links in the chain, and I would notice, the back end would drop and the hitch would twist a slight amount. NO matter where and how I positioned everything,I could never get the Avalanche to handle the weight. Add firewood and it would really struggle.
I moved to the Duramax/Allison and treat it as my everyday vehicle and tow vehicle when camping and will never go to a gas engine again. Handles weight without issues and the power at low RPMS is unreal. And I average when pulling 65-70 12 MPG or so. Even better when unloaded, best 19.5 trip to Kansas City, KS from Memphis, TN.
Strictly my opinion, I loved the Avalanche, it was a great truck when pulling our old pop-up moving to the Jayco TT we have, I had to change trucks.
Ro646a wrote: snip........ Is an Avalanche any better or worse for towing than a Suburban or a Silverado?
An Avalanche IS a Suburban from the C pillar forward!! Built in the same plant using the same frame, just a different back end.
Get the specs for your truck. It's ability will depend on the axle ratio but I suspect you will be OK. It won't win any drag races or hill climbs but will be pretty close to what a 1500 'Burb can handle.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors.
I don't know which Jay Feather you are considering but at first glance I think you are looking at too heavy and long a trailer to pull with your Avalanche.
A Jay Feather 29D UVW is 5,810 lbs. In comparison, my loaded Outback 26RS with Hensley hitch weighs about 6,000 lbs. I pull this trailer with no problem with a 2007 Avalanche. However, this vehicle has a 6.0L engine, 4.10 rear end, transmission oil cooler, 4L70E heavy duty transmission, and external engine oil cooler. Pulling the Outback, GCVW (vehicle, trailer, all fuel, passengers and cargo)is 12,900 lbs. (My Avalanche’s GCVW rating is 14,000 lbs). An important point will be to find out your vehicle's Gross Combined Vehicle Weight rating. (Current model Avalanches with 3.73 gears are rated at 13,000 lbs GCVW). If so, with even modest loading of the Jay Feather, you are likely to be at or over the Avalanche's gcvw rating.
The other issue is the Avalanche's wheelbase. A 25 or 26 foot trailer is about the longest trailer I would want to pull with this vehicle's 130" wheelbase. To pull a 29’ trailer, I think you are looking at a long wheelbase, 3/4 ton truck.
Incidentally, I have the same issue as Jayco 2001 in not being able to transfer enough weight to the front axles. I think this issue is related to the OEM hitch that GM puts on these vehicles. Based on several trips to the scales, I cannot crank up my Hensley's equalizer bars hard enough to distribute what I consider adequate weight to the front axles. The vehicle handles fine (maybe due to Autoride) but the scales say I am carrying an undue share of weight on the rear axles. Someone suggested that swapping the OEM hitch for a Putnam will do the trick.
My personal opinion is that you should look for a smaller trailer to pull with your Avalanche. I hope this helps.
Thank you for all for your advice and suggestions.
It appears that I am probably further ahead keeping our Class C. It only has 14,000 miles and we really enjoy it, and it tows our dingy with ease.
We really liked the spaciousness and the floor plan in the Jayco, so I had to inquire.
I suspected that, although the Avalanche met the weight capacity requirements with 700 pounds to spare (based upon GCWR, rear axle, etc.), it would probably be safer not to tow that big of a unit with the Avalanche.
Ro646a wrote: Thank you for all for your advice and suggestions.
It appears that I am probably further ahead keeping our Class C. It only has 14,000 miles and we really enjoy it, and it tows our dingy with ease.
We really liked the spaciousness and the floor plan in the Jayco, so I had to inquire.
I suspected that, although the Avalanche met the weight capacity requirements with 700 pounds to spare (based upon GCWR, rear axle, etc.), it would probably be safer not to tow that big of a unit with the Avalanche.
Thanks again and best regards to all.
Roland
Roland, I have a 03 Avalanche (65,000) with 4.10s in the rear and my truck pulls my Jayflight 28BHS like it is almost not there. I have been really impressed with the towing ability of that truck and with the upgraded gears I think it improved it quite a bit. I have a 1200lbs Reese Dual Cam WD hitch and sway is not a problem AT all. You would be completely fine pulling a 29BHS with the Aval, don't let all the stupid math fool you. Take it from people who have a similar setup like your asking about and enjoy. The Avalanche rocks.
I had an '03 Avy Z66 with the 3.73 rearend. I had a 26' TT that weighed in at 6000 and it handled it great, never knew it was there. I up-graded to my current TT of 7300lbs and it struggled a bit, I chipped the Avy and had a fine trip to florida the first year with the heavier TT, just struggled a bit on large grades, but what doesn't. I up-graded to my current TV for the reasons I got the Avy in the first place. All that said, I don't tow alot but plan on a trip to Yellowstone and I know I would have struggled there.
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