Tongue weight

[PopBeavers]

A long wheelbase is good for towing. Unfortunately neither you nor anyone else has any data to support "how good" or "how much better" a longer wheelbase is, so that one could make proper inferences about how much wheelbase is enough. Example: If wheelbase is important, wouldn't it be better for you to tow with an old fire truck instead of a van?

You don't need a firetruck. My 2500HD long bed is big enough.

 

[Wavery]

You can't beat a long wheel base for the safety of driving down the highway. However, when it comes to making u-turns or backing into a campsite, in a crowded CG............I often wish that I had a small SUV (just for parking).

We were at a CG called "Carmel by the River" a few years ago. I had my S10 (127" W at that time and I was just able to squeak into that space with about a 16 point turn. There is NO WAY that my Silverado (157" W could have gotten that trailer into that space. I now choose my campsites wisely.

I have the same issue in my parking garage (subterranean apt building garage). I used to back my TM into my space easily with my S10. Once I bought the Silverado, I had to go out and purchase an electric dolly to get the camper in my space.

 

[PopBeavers]

I wish I had a video of the U-turn I made with my 2500HD longbed towing the 2720. It was at least 19 points.

I could pull forward or back up about 10 to 15 feet at a time, sometimes less because I was dodging trees.

It was in the dark but my daughter was helping me with a small flashlight.

It took about 20 minutes to make that U-turn.

I agree with you. If I had used my 1500HD with the shorter bed that would have saved me about 2 feet of length for the truck.

Due to the very uneven surface, and the fact that it was rocks covered by pine needles, without 4wd it would have been much more difficult.

My wife watched from the 1500HD. She was towing the other trailer. She was not in as far and with better visibility around and over the ATV trailer she was able to back out.

 

[Bill]

I faced this problem at my cabin in Maine, where I sometimes store the trailer in a spur off my driveway. There is a very tight S-turn that I needed to get around, with a big tree on one side, and a big rock on the other. The first time I tried it, I did the 19-point turn that you describe, and still couldn't get all the way in. So, having no choice, I left it, only halfway into the spur, and so non-level that I couldn't open it. Grump grump grump.

The next time I tried it, I did the first back-in, then got out to survey the situation. The camper was pointed kind of in the right direction, but the truck and the camper were at an extreme angle, almost jack-knifed, and I couldn't see any maneuver that would straighten it out. Then a little voice in my head (I admit, I hadn't taken my meds yet) said "The camper is in the right place and pointed in the right direction. It is the truck that is poorly positioned. If I could just move the truck without disturbing the camper, I'd be OK."

So I did. I unhitched the camper, repositioned the truck (really easy without the camper!), and hitched up again. Voila! Done. Not a handy thing to do, but a lot better than a 19-point-turn that didn't work.

Bill