Towing with a pickup vs suburban

[travelnman]

Those of you that have a pickup does the tailgate go down with the
RV on the hitch or will it hit the hitch if you lower it all the
way. I use a suburban now but looking at a chevy pickup high country.
The suburban's rear tail gate lifts up and out of the way so I can
get to the gear and tools in the back but will the pickup allow me
to do this, I thinking not but where do you store your equalizer bars,sway bar, and other hitch parts? I have observed most everyone is using pickups now I'm probably the last one of the old timers that
use a suburban. I found a beautiful High Country pickup 2014 with very low miles and have been considering it to replace the suburban, it has a much higher weight rating for one thing which is a good reason alone to go with the pickup but it looks like it would be difficult to store the hitch parts when the tailgate is down so I would be reaching up and over the tailgate all the time. Where do you store the hitch parts if not in the back of the pick up?

[Wishin]

When I'm at camp I pull out the hitch head and put the ball up into the trailer coupler and lock it on. I also put the lock pin through the draw bar and lock that end of it also so nobody could try to hook up to the trailer by sliding the hitch head into their hitch. It also lock my 2-2.5" hitch adapter to the hitch head as well. It is so heavy I don't want it in my Suburban and I wouldn't want to pick it up into storage compartment either. I just put my bars under the trailer or in the side trailer compartment if I' worried about theft or weather getting them wet/muddy.

I also wouldn't want a heavy object free inside my vehicle since in an accident it could cause some serious damage to someone. Even in the bed it could come through the back window.

I imagine my next tow vehicle will be a pickup, I'll miss my Suburban but they don't make 2500 models anymore so I likely won't end up with one. My plan is to keep this one going a long time.

[actiontowing01]

depends on the trailer https://www.actiontowingservice.ca/our-gallery/ like this one

[Camper_G]

I can't open the tailgate on my 17 Ram when I hitch it to the Layton. I keep my sway bars weight distribution hitch and hitch head in one of the compartments on the trailer and lock it. Never had an issue

[deltabravo]

Grit dog wrote:
depends on the trailer. tailgates clear 95% of the different trailers I've hooked up over the years (100s of trailers

It really depends more on the truck and hitch than the trailer, and sometimes the type of tongue jack used.

Trailers us the same coupler, which have the jack in the same location across the board.

I hauled RVs (transport from dealer to factory) for two summers. Never once did I have a trailer that I couldn't open the tailgate while hitch up.

If the hitch is tucked forward under the bumper some, and a short hitch stinger is used, then you might run in to an issue.
I have a longer than normal shank for the WD hitch I use, but even the standard one worked and gave me plenty of clearance to drop the tail gate.

[hornet28]

One way I've used to keep the hitch safe is to weld a short receiver to the bottom of the tongue and use the hitch lock to keep it there

[travelnman]

Thanks everyone, you gave me some real great ideas. I had a hitch stolen at
a hotel. The one time I didn't have the lock on thought I could get away with
it. Looked around but none looked like mine (had a chrome ball and my initials,
this guy (or gal) was long gone. Don't like traveling with the head inserted in
the hitch when I'm not towing. All this stuff needs a place, think I will build
or modify a box where the battery is, liked that idea especially. Getting to old
to toss this stuff up and over. You saved my wife from her next great camping experience 🙂

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

My tailgate does not have room to go all the way down when hooked up. Never thought this was an issue. I just handle bars and hitch when I am a foot away. Not a big deal.

Good luck,
Stu

p.s. Prefer the pickup over my Suburban. Like the longer wheelbase and also having cargo and associated rattle in the bed rather than behind the back seat.

[Sprink-Fitter]

Bionic Man wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
We have a burb and a pickup truck and myself, I prefer towing with the burb but ours is a 3500 with the big V8.

Much more comfortable than the pickup truck.

I think you are the only one in the world with a 3500 Suburban Denali. But you also are the only person I’ve heard who has a truck that Ford brought in and custom tuned for a customer.

Better keep both of those vehicles a long time.

The auto makers must like him better so he gets the better vehicles.

[samsontdog]

My tailgate clears the elect jack no problem on my Ford P/Up. I also store the bars etc in the storage compartment of my TT which is in the front of TT

[Campfire_Time]

I have a longer shank and it allows me to open the tailgate.

[Grit_dog]

Bionic Man wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
We have a burb and a pickup truck and myself, I prefer towing with the burb but ours is a 3500 with the big V8.

Much more comfortable than the pickup truck.

I think you are the only one in the world with a 3500 Suburban Denali. But you also are the only person I’ve heard who has a truck that Ford brought in and custom tuned for a customer.

Better keep both of those vehicles a long time.

Don't burst his bubble.
I read "3500" a while ago in a post and assumed a typo. Considering it has to be a GMT 800 if it has the L-18 and GM did not make a 3500 Sub, it is definitely rare.

[Bionic_Man]

SidecarFlip wrote:
We have a burb and a pickup truck and myself, I prefer towing with the burb but ours is a 3500 with the big V8.

Much more comfortable than the pickup truck.

I think you are the only one in the world with a 3500 Suburban Denali. But you also are the only person I’ve heard who has a truck that Ford brought in and custom tuned for a customer.

Better keep both of those vehicles a long time.

[George3037]

I have a Silverado 2500HD and when opened the tailgate just misses the electric jack on the trailer. Buddy of mine has a F150 and can't fully open his tailgate when hooked to his TT. I think it not so much the truck but depends on what brand TT you have and where the manufacturer placed the mount bracket for the jack.

I store the hitch head in the bed and the bars across the TT frame.

[LIKE2BUILD]

travelnman wrote:
Those of you that have a pickup does the tailgate go down with the
RV on the hitch or will it hit the hitch if you lower it all the
way.

Where do you store the hitch parts if not in the back of the pick up?

Positioning of the tongue jack is usually what dictates being able to open the tailgate. If the jack is too close, you might be able to get a hitch drop shank that is a little longer to give you more space. Of course, that will also mean the hitch sticks out further is a greater opportunity to whack your shin on the blasted thing.

When camping I just store the hitch head and WD bars under the trailer. Also, you can lock the ball in the coupler and let it hang from the trailer. I've also seen folks mount a 3" of 4" piece of pipe under the A-frame and slide the bars in from each side. There's lots of ways to slice this pie.

KJ