Considering 32BUDS-New to RV'ing

reo4ua

Member
2005 Yukon XL with 4.10 (?) gears. Since i've never owned a camper I'm interested to know what I will have to spend money on if I purchase that isn't obvious. They will "throw in" the sway bar, stabilizer bar and trailer brakes. Will I need any mods to my vehicle to pull? The weight fits within the published limit. Hoses and other RV specific items is what i need to know about-things that you might not realize you need until you get to the campsite.

Thanks!
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Reo4ua, welcome to the forum. Lots of great information here.
There will be plenty of stuff you might find that you need as you camp.
Some of the things you will need would be a good water hose. A white one meant for drinking out of. A water pressure regulator. Our rigs are good to about 60 psi. Some campgrounds provide much higher pressure. Don't cheap out with a $5 plastic Walmart special.
You will need a sewer dump hose.
Electrical adapters so you can hook up to any source. Your dealer may provide these.
These are just a few things. Others will have more suggestions.

Peace
Dave
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
Most dealers I have dealt with give you a "push" package that contains the items Cookie mentioned, but the quality isn't always the greatest. It was always enough for us to try out the rig and then decide what we wanted to upgrade. Other things I carry are a heavy gauge extension cord, an extra hose, a splitter for the water tap to accommodate two hoses. and of course an assortment of tools and electrical stuff. After a trip or two you will have learned what you need for whatever style of camping you plan on doing (such as generator(s), fuel for same, fresh water can, maintenance and cleaning items, etc.). Mike
 

Invizatu

Senior Road Warriors
reo4ua... Just for the record, the dealer is not "throwing in" the trailer brakes, they come that way. As far as any mods to your tow vehicle, if it has the tow capacity for the trailer, you are good to go sort of. More details about you TV would help. Did it come with a factory tow package? If not you would probably want to add a transmission cooler at a minimum. What size motor / horse power / torque, transmission / # of speeds / rear end ratio etc. Also how many miles on your TV? All of these factors will figure in to how safe and how comfortable you will be with that combination of TV and TT. Another thing to consider might be your side mirrors, regular mirrors won't allow you to see far enough back properly.
 

reo4ua

Member
Thanks for all the replies. In response to your questions, 5.3l v8, factory tow package, 4.10 gears and 160k on odometer.

reo4ua... Just for the record, the dealer is not "throwing in" the trailer brakes, they come that way. As far as any mods to your tow vehicle, if it has the tow capacity for the trailer, you are good to go sort of. More details about you TV would help. Did it come with a factory tow package? If not you would probably want to add a transmission cooler at a minimum. What size motor / horse power / torque, transmission / # of speeds / rear end ratio etc. Also how many miles on your TV? All of these factors will figure in to how safe and how comfortable you will be with that combination of TV and TT. Another thing to consider might be your side mirrors, regular mirrors won't allow you to see far enough back properly.
 

JeremyN

Well-known member
reo4ua,

The Yukon XL does sound like it would be a pretty good tow vehicle. Especially with the 4.10 gears. The only thing I worry about though is not the engine, not the rear end, but the suspension and its capability to handle that large of a trailer.

I have a 2011 28BRS and I used to two it with a 2000 GMC Ext Cab 1500 with the 3.73 rear end, tow package, 5.3L engine, etc. I also had the weight distribution hitch and all the correct towing equipment, but it just never towed my trailer like I wanted it. I had a lot of sag in the rear end and I was always quite particular about how I loaded the TV and TT. I would always equal out the weight the best I could. My truck sagged down quite a bit in the back and would never stay in overdrive while I was towing. I would be pulling it at 60-65 mph down the interstate and I would be at about 2800rpm. I could literally watch the fuel gauge going down as I drove every mile. :) Plus, I just never felt comfortable in the drivers seat. The trailer always felt very unstable behind me. Especially with any sort of good cross wind. I played with the settings on the hitch quite a bit and it still didn't tow as well as I wanted it to.

I recently bought a 2007 Silverado 2500HD crew cab with the 6.0L motor. I haven't pulled my trailer yet, but I did pull a buddies from the dealer to his storage facility after he had some work done. His trailer is slightly over 30ft and probably weighed about 2500lbs more than mine does loaded. But my truck handled it wonderfully. I was even getting about 13-14 mpg's going down the interstate. The 6 speed transmission that I now have did wonders compared to my old 4 speed. I was thoroughly impressed with how stable the entire rig was while pulling. I was much, much more comfortable pulling his trailer than I ever was pulling mine.

There is just something to be said about having a TV that is actually suited to pull large trailers like we have. The difference is amazing between at 1500 and a 2500. The decision is purely up to you, but coming from someone that used to pull with a 1/2 ton, I would honestly never go back. Just the stability in the vehicle alone is worth the extra money!

Thanks for all the replies. In response to your questions, 5.3l v8, factory tow package, 4.10 gears and 160k on odometer.
 

teamlkc

Member
Just curious, I've got a 2000 Suburban 2500 6.0L V8. It has 138K miles, but runs great and everyone tells me it will tow the 32BUDS just fine. This is our first big trailer, so I'm nervous. Any advice on tune-up type service to get before we make the big purchase?
 

JeremyN

Well-known member
Just curious, I've got a 2000 Suburban 2500 6.0L V8. It has 138K miles, but runs great and everyone tells me it will tow the 32BUDS just
fine. This is our first big trailer, so I'm nervous. Any advice on tune-up type service to get before we make the big purchase?


If your Suburban has a tow package on it, I would assume you should be fine. The 6.0L motor is plenty big and it should have the 3/4 ton suspension, it should work just fine.

Before we purchased our 28BRS, I brought my truck in and got new heavy duty shocks put in specially designed for tow vehicles (my old truck was also a 2000 and I had the original shocks in yet). I also got my transmission fluid and rear-end fluid changed.
 
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