Welcome to the new Trail Boss Camping Forum!

Looks like a blast!

Hey gang!

Just got my 2021 Custom 4x4 last month and now we're looking at travel trailers. Mine has the 5.3 and I believe its the 6speed trans. So all the rigs were looking at are between 26' - 34' in length and 6000 - 8000 lbs empty and was just curious what weights everyone else is toting around with the 5.3 as well? We're on the Virginia Coast so we stay mostly in the flats as my son and I hit the NASCAR circuit pretty hard. Yet we do have a couple places up in the mountains we like to go to as well. Nothing crazy, prolly nothing over 3000' so hills shouldnt be a problem. What weights are you guys enjoying?

taskforce3guy said:

Hey gang!

Just got my 2021 Custom 4x4 last month and now we're looking at travel trailers. Mine has the 5.3 and I believe its the 6speed trans. So all the rigs were looking at are between 26' - 34' in length and 6000 - 8000 lbs empty and was just curious what weights everyone else is toting around with the 5.3 as well? We're on the Virginia Coast so we stay mostly in the flats as my son and I hit the NASCAR circuit pretty hard. Yet we do have a couple places up in the mountains we like to go to as well. Nothing crazy, prolly nothing over 3000' so hills shouldnt be a problem. What weights are you guys enjoying?

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I tow a 30 foot box TT running around 7,500 wet. It is a bit too much for my stock suspension. I need to add air bags. In my opinion manufacturer recommended max ratings are always way over anything I would be comfortable with. The 2 inch factory lift and the junk Rancho shocks mean my front end is light and squirrely at 7500.

The 5.3 has all the power I need to tow anywhere I take it. Even steep mountainous climbs. I have the 10 speed trany. That makes towing a dream. I rarely touch my brakes on steep decents.

My trailer is a 2007 tail dragging beast. My next one will have ground clearance the way many of them come with now. TT length is a personal decision based on your needs. My big box served us well when my boys were teenagers and we were out with big family stuff all the time. Now that they are grown I can't wait to downsize it. When it comes to boats and trailers every foot makes a huge difference in many ways. NASCAR track campgrounds can handle a 34 footer easy. Many Forest Service campgrounds are limited to 24 feet. If your into going to private commercial hookup campgrounds (i avoid them) 34 feet is not a problem. We boondock all the time, I tear mine up because of its lack of ground clearance. So...34 feet and 8000 lb dry is not a good fit for a stock TB without suspension mods IMHO.

Steve

PHXPHOTOG said:

I tow a 30 foot box TT running around 7,500 wet. It is a bit too much for my stock suspension. I need to add air bags. In my opinion manufacturer recommended max ratings are always way over anything I would be comfortable with. The 2 inch factory lift and the junk Rancho shocks mean my front end is light and squirrely at 7500.

The 5.3 has all the power I need to tow anywhere I take it. Even steep mountainous climbs. I have the 10 speed trany. That makes towing a dream. I rarely touch my brakes on steep decents.

My trailer is a 2007 tail dragging beast. My next one will have ground clearance the way many of them come with now. TT length is a personal decision based on your needs. My big box served us well when my boys were teenagers and we were out with big family stuff all the time. Now that they are grown I can't wait to downsize it. When it comes to boats and trailers every foot makes a huge difference in many ways. NASCAR track campgrounds can handle a 34 footer easy. Many Forest Service campgrounds are limited to 24 feet. If your into going to private commercial hookup campgrounds (i avoid them) 34 feet is not a problem. We boondock all the time, I tear mine up because of its lack of ground clearance. So...34 feet and 8000 lb dry is not a good fit for a stock TB without suspension mods IMHO.

Steve

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Sure appreciate it my friend! Kinda exactly what I was looking for!! Great looking setup!!

This is almost 2 years old. Just a video of me and a friend wheeling near a local lake I camp at a lot. On springtime late afternoons you see a lot of rattlesnakes on the trails. All they want to do is get away from you. The rest of the year you don't see that many of them.

Steve

first camping trip of the year in Ontario Canada provincial park

Pulled my buddy's boat to camp while he pulled the camper. Was a pretty rough spot to get into, glad I had a Trail Boss!

Picking up this guy later today. Will be our first.

2018 Palomino SolAire Ultra Lite 292

camping in point farms provincal park Ontario

11 day 10 night overland trip. Northern AZ, Southern UT. August 23 to Setember 3
1,861 miles total, almost 500 miles off pavement
4 nights sleeping on the groud under the stars. My favorite way to sleep
3 nights in tent due to weather
Wimped out for 3 nights in a moab hotel for much needed showers and a bed
We go to Moab in August on purpose to avoid busy trails. We went into backcountry so remote we did not see another vehicle for three days

Day one, camped on the Mogollon Rim in AZ. FS 300 is a well graded Forest Service road that follows the rim cliff with dispersed tent sites on the edge of the rim. You camp with views looking out over miles of central AZ and your up in cool weather in ponderosa pine forest. It is awesome.



Day Two: Went through Monument Valley, did not do the loop as I have done it before. Instead we found an awesome isolated campsite in Valley of the Gods.

Continued from above.
Day Three: pounded some miles North to the southern San Rafael Swell. Found an amazing isolated campsite near an old Urainium mine.







Day Four: Now the 4wheeling really begins in the San Rafael Swell

Eagle Canyon Arch on the Swasey Cabin Trail



Intersate 70 traverses the San Rafael Swell East to West. Here you drive under bridges. In other places you drive through tight culverts under it.



After the underpass we took the Eva Conover Trail and others to do 39 miles mostly in 4WLO. Long day of slow crawling and wanting to camp before dark we basicly trew down our bags and made diner in a less than ideal spot (legal) but it served its purpose.



Day Five: Lots of cool 4wheeling on the trails. Worked our way to Moab for a hotel room, beers, and a dinner we didn't cook.




to be continued

Day Five: Wheeled Moab trails in the Mourning and ended up doing Courthouse Rock late in the day. Note the rock that looks like a dinosour head. We were able to hike and "boulder" our way up until we were on top of it. Verry cool way to end a day of rock crawling.



Truck in backround of image.



This is just a fun picture. I did not scale the nose from there. I cant do that anymore.....but once upon a time I might have tried it. we went to the top of the head an easier way.



Got dark on way out so lit up the desert with the off road lights


to be continued

Day Six: More Moab trails.

This is Hidden Valley. The tracks down there are mine. Hidden Valley trail is rated easy and it is. But you can't camp in the valley. So we took Hidden Valley Overlook Trail to one of the best campsites I have ever been in. We were there last year and had to go back. The overlook trail is rated moderate in our Charles Wells guide book. We find it to be a very difficult moderate due mostly to ground clearance on the TB. Lots of technical rock crawling. It was awesome.



We did countless miles of this. It is what makes Moab so special.





Sometimes you find a little water in the desert.





The reward at the end of the trail. Our campsite overlooking Hidden Valley.

Woke up to a full moon setting and the sun rising at the same time.









Camp overlooking Hidden Valley.

Looks like an incredible adventure @PHXPHOTOG and great photos as always!