Ok give it to me straight.

[richp123]

Traded our 16' Bambi A/S in for a 297RSTS GD TT. Went from Bambi weighing in at 2800 LBS to the Reflection weighing in at 7700 LBS dry. My tow vehicle is a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali, 6.0 V8, 140,000 miles. Im feeling very insecure about my 1/2 ton pulling this trailer. I towed it 2 1/2 hours home with no issues. Actually felt smoother than the A/S due to the weight difference. Am I asking for trouble with this set up?

[Trailmaster]

Grand Design specs notwithstanding, the 297rsts is a tongue heavy trailer. Loaded and ready to camp, your hitch weight will probably exceed 1200lbs. With just you behind the wheel and your trailers' hitch weight, you will probability exceed the payload of your 1/2 ton truck. Check your doorjamb for the payload of your truck which is probably around 1400lbs unless its a 1500HD. With a quality hitch such as the equalizer 1400/14000 or the Blue OX Swaypro 1500 you MAY be ok if you pack light in the trailer and haul as little cargo as possible in the truck, but I suspect you are going to want a bigger truck.

I suggest you go to the nearest CAT scale to get three scaled measurements (TV only, WD bars on, WD bars off). There are many posts on this forum that provide the details on how to do this. Good luck and great trailer by the way!

[Country Campers]

Get a bigger truck!!!! you wanted it straight....

Brian

[Canyonlight]

Traded our 16' Bambi A/S in for a 297RSTS GD TT. Went from Bambi weighing in at 2800 LBS to the Reflection weighing in at 7700 LBS dry. My tow vehicle is a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali, 6.0 V8, 140,000 miles. Im feeling very insecure about my 1/2 ton pulling this trailer. I towed it 2 1/2 hours home with no issues. Actually felt smoother than the A/S due to the weight difference. Am I asking for trouble with this set up?

Your insecure feeling may be well founded. Seems to be a very marginal situation especially if your trailer towing capacity as noted in the attached towing guide from Trailer Life is correct stating 7600 lbs or the HD1500 (did not know of a HD1500) at 10,200 lbs. Either way you will be right at limits to over or WAY over if 7600 lbs is the correct # when trailer and truck are loaded........unsafe situation for you and others on the road.

http://www.trailerlife.com/wp-conten...Guide-2005.pdf

What does your owners manual state for the various towing specs. and what does your drivers door payload yellow sticker state for payload ? Your hitch may have specifications noted on it as well but if greater than what GM states for your vehicle as built, you will need to reduce to vehicle limits.

As I recall most folks with the 297 on this forum are towing with 2500s and some with 3500s.

Dan

[klenger]

I tow my 297RSTS with a Ram 2500 Cummins diesel and would not consider anything less than a 3/4 ton truck. My hitch weight comes in at about 1400 lbs. With 140,000 miles on your truck, you shouldn't feel too bad about upgrading to something a bit more robust. Consider a 1 ton SRW if you think you might ever move into a 5th wheel.

[richp123]

Thanks for the feedback, I know there are some experienced RVers on this sight and I appreciate the time and effort taken
to give me some good advice.

[Jerryr]

If you decide to buy a new truck there's a Ford $3000 private cash offer that you can get that's good till end of this month. If interested post here and I'll give you the details on how to get it.

I just ordered a new 2019 F350 and after negotiating price I used the PCO to reduce the price by $3000.

Details from the offer:
"* New 2018/2019 vehicles: $3,000 on F-150 and Super Duty only. Not available on F-150 Raptor or F-150 diesel. May not combine with other private or commercial offers. A/Z/D Plan ineligible. Nontransferable out of household. Limit one per household. U.S. residents. Must redeem using original offer; no duplicates accepted. Prior purchases not eligible. Take new retail delivery from an authorized Ford Dealer's stock by 10/1/18. See dealer for details. Note to dealer: Claim in VINCENT using #36596 and customer ID."

[howson]

Traded our 16' Bambi A/S in for a 297RSTS GD TT. Went from Bambi weighing in at 2800 LBS to the Reflection weighing in at 7700 LBS dry. My tow vehicle is a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali, 6.0 V8, 140,000 miles. Im feeling very insecure about my 1/2 ton pulling this trailer. I towed it 2 1/2 hours home with no issues. Actually felt smoother than the A/S due to the weight difference. Am I asking for trouble with this set up?

I suggest two posts in the REFERENCE LIBRARY that are well worth your time to absorb/understand. Once you do you'll be able to make your own informed decision.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...ity-Calculator

and

https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...ns-Spreadsheet

[TucsonJim]

Richp123 - The tongue weight on my '17 297RSTS when fully loaded is just like Klenger's. I'm around 1,400#. What is the receiver hitch on your 1500HD rated for?

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Richp123 - The tongue weight on my '17 297RSTS when fully loaded is just like Klenger's. I'm around 1,400#. What is the receiver hitch on your 1500HD rated for?

Jim

I was just thinking the same thing . . . All “half tons” have Class IV hitches, unless you have something custom built. This limits them to about 1200 lb hitch weight with a WDH . . . even though the heavy payload versions can have 2500 lb payload capability.

Rob