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[cpaharley2008]

pictures, pictures...

[skyfree]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

pictures, pictures...

I wanted to hook up the trailer and give it a trail tow today and take some pics of the combo, but looks like I need about a 5 1/2-6" drop for the 17B on this truck so my existing hitch setup will not work.

I have a Snugtop Rebel cap on order so I can keep our stuff dry and secure. I don't plan any more mods except for maybe an onboard air compressor and 2nd battery. That's why I got this truck -- didn't want to have to buy tires, rock sliders, lockers, etc. for hanging with my off-road friends. The diesel is more for range so I don't have to carry a lot of extra fuel when going on long off-road routes where range is always an issue.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by skyfree

I wanted to hook up the trailer and give it a trail tow today and take some pics of the combo, but looks like I need about a 5 1/2-6" drop for the 17B on this truck so my existing hitch setup will not work.

I have a Snugtop Rebel cap on order so I can keep our stuff dry and secure. I don't plan any more mods except for maybe an onboard air compressor and 2nd battery. That's why I got this truck -- didn't want to have to buy tires, rock sliders, lockers, etc. for hanging with my off-road friends. The diesel is more for range so I don't have to carry a lot of extra fuel when going on long off-road routes where range is always an issue.

Make sure you add the shells weight to what you can carry.
We have a Leer and I had it weighed and was surprised it weighed 192 Lbs.
They told me less than 150Lbs they thought around 138 Lbs when I contacted the manufacture.
So that needed to be subtracted from the 1395 Lbs I can carry along with hitch and tongue weights.
Our hitch weighs 86 Lbs, figure 500 Lbs for hitch weight, add the 192 Lbs and we are down to 618 Lbs left to carry us and a few items in the truck. Yours has a bit more payload but a compressor and extra battery and whatever you leave in the truck normally would eat that up.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by wetzk

Make sure you add the shells weight to what you can carry.
We have a Leer and I had it weighed and was surprised it weighed 192 Lbs.
They told me less than 150Lbs they thought around 138 Lbs when I contacted the manufacture.
So that needed to be subtracted from the 1395 Lbs I can carry along with hitch and tongue weights.
Our hitch weighs 86 Lbs, figure 500 Lbs for hitch weight, add the 192 Lbs and we are down to 618 Lbs left to carry us and a few items in the truck. Yours has a bit more payload but a compressor and extra battery and whatever you leave in the truck normally would eat that up.

We have a Unicovèr Fiberglass topper on our 2014 Ram Quad Cab.
truck.
It weighs about 170 lbs , the ones for a full 8 ft bed are right around 200 lbs,.
When I also mentioned here that the topper subtracts from the vehicles payload, the answer I got was get rid of the topper.
Accurate and obvious but not very helpful !

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We have a Unicovèr Fiberglass topper on our 2014 Ram Quad Cab.
truck.
It weighs about 170 lbs , the ones for a full 8 ft bed are right around 200 lbs,.
When I also mentioned here that the topper subtracts from the vehicles payload, the answer I got was get rid of the topper.
Accurate and obvious but not very helpful !

I brought it up because a lot of people do forget to add stuff like airbags, winches, compressors, hitches, and truck caps, etc . 618 Lbs is enough, it leaves over 300 Lbs for stuff we might want in the truck. It just means we do not get to play long long trailer and load up the truck bed with rocks. We have plenty of capacity in the trailer so we load everything we want to carry in it. Sorry, no rocks.

[Patrol35]

Originally Posted by skyfree

Not much love in this thread for diesel or mid-sized trucks. So people will groan when I tell them that I just picked one up that has both of those deficiencies: A 2018 Chevy Colorado ZR2 with the 2.8 Duramax. All I can say is that it's fun to drive, easy to park in my garage or any parking spot, has great off-road credentials, and looks pretty cool. Having owned every size truck from a 1980 Toyota to a 2012 F350 dually longbed supercrew, I feel like this one hits the sweet spot of size vs. function and it's a very smooth ride unloaded with those high-tech DSSV shocks.

Can you tell me more about your experiences with the ZR2. That model is the only Colorado, or Canyon for that matter, that is available with the Diesel engine and the extended cab configuration. Otherwise you either have to get the gas V6 engine with extended cab or the diesel with the Crew cab style. I don't want a crew cab style, I just need some storage space behind the front seats, similar to my Tacoma Access cab style.Then add the diesel engine and that would be prefect for me. The only issue with the ZR2 is has all kinds of off-road accessories that run the cost up and are of no use in towing to me. So tell me more of your experiences towing and not towing.
Thank you,

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by skyfree

I wanted to hook up the trailer and give it a trail tow today and take some pics of the combo, but looks like I need about a 5 1/2-6" drop for the 17B on this truck so my existing hitch setup will not work.

I have a Snugtop Rebel cap on order so I can keep our stuff dry and secure. I don't plan any more mods except for maybe an onboard air compressor and 2nd battery. That's why I got this truck -- didn't want to have to buy tires, rock sliders, lockers, etc. for hanging with my off-road friends. The diesel is more for range so I don't have to carry a lot of extra fuel when going on long off-road routes where range is always an issue.

Hi: skyfree... Macho tugo but still no trailer tow mirrors. Why do they do that? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[skyfree]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: skyfree... Macho tugo but still no trailer tow mirrors. Why do they do that? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

It's definitely not marketed as a tow vehicle so I doubt there is much demand for them. The other thing to remember is that large mirrors have a LOT of wind-resistance. If that wasn't the case maybe EVERY vehicle would have trailer tow mirrors

The 17B is narrow enough that I don't need tow mirrors, but I know that people with the larger trailers are looking for those. I would just get a set of Milenco Aero3 clip-ons. I used those for my old huge trailer with my VW Touareg.

[skyfree]

Originally Posted by Patrol35

Can you tell me more about your experiences with the ZR2. That model is the only Colorado, or Canyon for that matter, that is available with the Diesel engine and the extended cab configuration. Otherwise you either have to get the gas V6 engine with extended cab or the diesel with the Crew cab style. I don't want a crew cab style, I just need some storage space behind the front seats, similar to my Tacoma Access cab style.Then add the diesel engine and that would be prefect for me. The only issue with the ZR2 is has all kinds of off-road accessories that run the cost up and are of no use in towing to me. So tell me more of your experiences towing and not towing.
Thank you,

Darn, I had a nice long reply typed up but it got lost when I hit the button...

The gist is that I have no tow experience yet but we have a 2 week trip planned in February and I will report back then. We actually have a trip planned over Christmas but will need to use the Honda Pilot as a tow vehicle because the Snugtop won't be ready in time.

You should seriously consider a short bed crew cab LT or Z71. Even with the Z71 you will save about $6,000 over the ZR2. It is the exact same overall length and wheelbase as the extra cab long bed, and much easier to sell when you are done with it. If you don't need the long bed it's a no-brainer.

The ZR2 has a 5,000 lb tow rating vs the other trim's 7,700 rating due to the fact that it's lifted, heavier, and has those trick DSSV shocks that are tuned for a specific purpose. This was the only currently available vehicle that met all of my requirements, but it's not for everyone!

FYI, Costco has a great program now on GM vehicles if you are an Executive member. With that, a little negotiation, and the competitive lease program, I got $4,000 off MSRP + a $700 Costco card = $4,700. Check into it.

[Islanders]

Merry Christmas everyone!
We’ve been considering the Colorado for towing our 5.0.
But hadn’t really researched hitches and 5th wheel tailgates.... we have a Reese currently but I’ve only seen the Anderson Ultimate mentioned.
Has anyone used a standard 5thwheel hitch and found a tailgate that will work?

Thanks for sharing your experiences and wisdom!