Help - TV - Lance 2445 & Escalade

[Bonefisher]

Hello all and my SINCERE thanks in advance for possible help...

Summary as follows:

We live in Park City Utah and currently own a Winnebago 2100BH. We have loved going to Yellowstone / Tetons / Rushmore / etc...

We have decided to sell our Micro Minnie and move up in size... we identified a TT that we love... the Lance 2445... Dry weight 5525 lbs...

We were pretty far down the road on ordering and hit a snag... One dealer said our TV was "absolutely fine" and and another said "well not sure"...

We have a 2019 Cadillac Escalade... 6.2 V8 (420hp and 460 pound foot torque) with the towing package / air suspension and a rated tow capacity of 8200 lbs... the Lance exactly as we have it specd is 6225 lbs with propane and batteries.. GVWR of 7600 lbs... tongue weight of 620... guessing loaded weight around 7000 lbs and tongue weight of 800...

The Micro Minnie had weighed in at 4300 before gear (just propane and battery) and a tongue weight 550 - and the Escalade did great with it..

Guess the concern was the "Cargo Capacity" of the Escalade - which is 1400 lbs... but felt like I was still acceptable?

Again... I would love some opinions on this... feel lost and really dont want to buy a special truck just to tow a 6000lb TT?

THANK YOU!

[p220sigman]

Can you find one on a lot within a reasonable distance and take your tongue scale and see what the tongue weight is? Then you won't be in as much of an estimating arena.

Personally, I'd change to LT tires if it doesn't have them already and give it a go. You may have to be aware of what and how you are packing to not add to the load on the TV and still keep adequate tongue weight to keep the tail from wagging the dog.

[TurnThePage]

I'd do it. Maybe make sure you load all extra stuff in the trailer, preferably the rear of the trailer... Air up the P rated tires to max, and give it a try.

[BurbMan]

With kids and the associated stuff, you'll be closer to 7300 on that rig when it's packed and ready to camp. Even at 11% tongue weight that's 800 lbs.

The Escalade will certainly tow it but you'll be overloaded to some extent, you won't know for sure how much until you buy the trailer, load it up, and get it to a scale.

If you're happy with how it tows, then I would invest in a transmission temp gauge so you can watch the temps rather than wait for the idiot hot light light to come on. You may or may not want a larger trans cooler depending on how you see the temps behave when you are towing. Don't assume the factory "HD" cooling setup is adequate for towing that kind of weight. It may very well be fine, but don't assume that without a temp gauge.

Also look into a Mag-Hytec rear diff cover with expanded fluid capacity and cooling fins. These are the two weak spots for GM 1500/SUV drivetrains when towing heavy. Also make sure you have a good brake controller and hitch and keep the TT brakes dialed up so the TT does its share of the braking.

When you go to the scale with the trailer, you get 3 weights for the Caddy front axle, rear axle, then trailer axles. Check the max load rating on the Caddy tires and be sure that the rear axle weight is under the load rating for the rear tires. If there's enough margin there then upgrading to LT tires won't get you much.

[kincade]

OP, fellow Utahn here. I own a Lance 2185 and tow with an F150.

Although I love the Lance trailers (we've had 2 now), their tongue weight is usually much higher than they say (as with many other manufacturers). My 2185 comes in at 1100# tongue weight with batteries, water, etc. From what I understand your trailer will have an even higher tongue weight which will put you far over your payload.

I would check the lance owners forum, someone there is bound to have measured that trailer's tongue weight and can give you exact specs.

My gut feeling is that no, your TV is not ideal for this trailer and could be dangerous. But best to get exact specs to make an informed decision.

Good luck.

[miltvill]

Not sure what the factory tow ratings were based on. If it were me I would upgrade the tires from passerger tires to light truck tires (P to LT). The P rated tires will baloon out with any weight and will be unsafe. With a good qualty load distrubtion hitch I would give it a shot. If it does not work out then upgrade the tow vehicle. Every day you don't camp is a day you will never get back. Life is short. Just be safe.

[goducks10]

Rear airbags? Maybe they just aired them down for easier egress?:)

[LanceRKeys]

Wow, that’s a lot of squat! Looks like they could use a WDH, bring the tail up and nose down.

[Thermoguy]

You should be OK...

[Me_Again]

Being a bunkhouse means more people in the TV and their weight has to be factored in also.

[Me_Again]

A lighter tongue weight is not necessarily a good thing, as trailers with light tongues do not tow well.

[goducks10]

I think you'll be borderline maxed out. I'm guessing that the TW is heavier than you think. If you go to Lances site you can build your own 2445 and it will tell you what the UVW will be. I loaded one up with most nice stuff and it added 551 lbs.
Batteries, propane, stuff in the bedroom and front cargo area will push it towards 900 lbs. That leaves 500 lbs. I see it's a bunk so guessing you have kids? Whats the weight of everyone and the gear going in the Caddy?
If you're comfortable being at max payload then it looks doable.
You certainly have the power.

[LanceRKeys]

Like stated already, you will probably be right at, or over your payload. I’m not sure how that air ride system will handle all the weight. You do have a lot of things in your favor, that Escalade is going to be long (I assume it is the suburban length and not Tahoe length), it’s heavy and you have a lot of power. Even with a transmission cooler, you will want to keep an eye on your temperature while towing, although it may never be a problem. If you upgrade something, you may want to consider LT rated tires since the Escalade probably came with P rated tires.

[Grit_dog]

I wouldn’t expect a new Escalade to have a lick of issues in any department with a 7klb or so trailer.
Proceed with confidence.
And be warned you’ll get more than one reply that says you should have a 3/4 ton but then you’ll still be “close” on payload so you need a 1 ton. Stay your course unless you’re looking for an excuse to upgrade vehicles, but anything short of a new HD diesel will not really be an upgrade from what you have now.
Nice rig btw!

[Bonefisher]

First off... Many thanks for the reply on this thread...

One of the interesting things is the Lance tongue weight dry is only 550lbs... much less than others... so the 800lb estimate I used was with hitch... which would leave me 600 lbs of payload... which is enough... or right at it...

I realized from looking at my old tow vehicles and what many people tow I was likely always over the "cargo capacity" (not that it makes it right in any way)...

I do own a tongue scale so idea was to MAKE SURE my numbers were right as well... and put a 10,000 lb equalizer hitch (guessing that is assumed)

CarnationSailor - thanks for the note... the 2019 has "external heavy duty oil and transmission cooler" so hopefully that covers that concern...

Again appreciate all the feedback...