Pulling a camper, on & off road.

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Hey all, it's been forever since I've been on this forum, and from the looks of it there doesn't seem to be much activity anymore. I'm still hopeful the hardcore TB guys are still checking in and may have some experience to guide me.

I still have my 2006 LT and it's going strong at a very low 48K miles. I'm looking to get into camping, but don't want to trade in my rig for a 1500 or larger truck to pull a full size camper. I've been strongly considering a Rockwood Geo Pro camper (19'-21') with the offroad package (31" tires & underbelly protection) due to it's 3K lb dry weight (~4K wet/full weight). I have a I6, 32" tires under a BDS lift with 373 gears. Factory max tow weight is 5700 lbs, but with the larger tires, I think I should take 10% off that number. The Geo Pro's are PLENTY under the max weight this truck should handle, but on-road isn't really my concern.
One of the main reason's I'm looking into a camper is to spend summer weekend's on the beach. My truck handles beach driving beautifully, but what can I expect pulling the trailer on the beach. IS this weight/size camper going to be too much? Will I be safe and capable? Any experiences with beach/soft sand towing/camping with these trucks?

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Hey Muchael, glad to see you back on here. Is has calmed down a bit, but we still check back in periodically. When it comes to towing, the real limiter is highway. Offroad or on sand, you're going much slower, in a lower gear, and therefore decreased towing/forward force output from the larger tires becomes a non-issue really. Your best reference here is going to be the following chart: http://offroadtb.com/diff-gear-ratio-calculator/

With your 32s and 373 gears, you're looking at what we call the "efficiency" or fuel economy range. You'll probably find that you'll want to tow that trailer in 3rd gear on the highway. You do that, and you'll probably be fine. I wouldn't worry as much when going slow. The biggest thing about sand is how much work your vehicle has to do to maintain speed over sand. You'll be trying to maintain 30 mph on sand, but your engine load will be higher than normal 30 mph. Just watch your engine and trans temps if you're doing long sand driving.

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Hey James, thanks for checking in and sharing the info...I'm going to be constantly watching my tach now. Is the transmission temperature available through the OBDII connection? My blue driver app does not support transmission temperature (for any vehicle). Is there an easy obdii solution to read/monitor the transmission temp?

Are you still conquering the country with your TB?

Mine is still like new, with only 49k miles. It has become a weekend toy, primarily to take my family out on the beach. The camper purchase is to extend our day trips to weekend trips on the beach (a camper is required for overnight says unless we're actively fishing)

Maybe you could give some additional advice regarding pulling the camper and my tires.
I have Goodyear Duratracs, and usually keep them at 32psi front and 37psi rear (15psi on the breach). Should I alter my on road pressures when towing the camper?

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On an update, I installed a P3 brake controller, added the Ultragauge Bluetooth adapter and downloaded the gm pods so I can monitor the trans temp. Heading to the beach in the morning, so I'll get a good idea of where the trans temp is on the highway and on the beach.

After checking with the GM service info, it looks like the transmission temperature should be around 200°F normal, plus there's a bulletin to notify owners that we should always tow in 3rd gear, not putting the transmission into drive.
I'm pretty sure I'll be fine with such a light trailer (3900lb loaded, 3k dry, 420 tongue) and a Andersen WDH both on and off road. Thanks for the info guys.

I also bumped my tire pressure up to 35F/40R for on road driving.

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Update...picked up or camper this weekend and stated the drive in 3rd. Averaged 6.5mpg through the mountain area with the trans temp staying under 200°, so I tried 4th forbetter has mileage. No different in the mountains; the truck knew it was pulling something and stayed in 3rd (a lot of high revving 2nd driving up hill) until making it over the crest and staying downhill. Mileage got much better once on flat ground, bumping up to annoy 8.5-9mpg. Trans temp never exceeded 215°. I'm sure it will be higher when towing in hot weather; what's a good temperature to run, what's the high and I should stay below?

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Has anyone installed Airlift helper bags in their lifted rear to help with ride height when towing? I'm running BDS spacer with Z71 springs along with the Fox shocks; rear drops 1"-1.5" when hooked up with Andersen WDH.