Sovereign weight and Preferred tow vehicle

[JLD]

Hi. This is new owner ALMOST again. Does anyone know the weight of the 31 ft Sovereign? The former owner said he was recently told it weights 5600+. It has never been an issue with him as he tows with a big diesel 4 x 4. I don't know about tongue weight on top of that. Right now I have a GMC safarai minivan that is certfice to haul 6000 lbs. The former owner recommends I shop around for a PU like his. I haven't the slightest idea what that would set me back. More than I have probably. Right now we intend to use it for a beach house and shop for a shortie to use on the road.

[thenewkid64]

I would not use the safari as the tow vehicle for a 31 foot airstream. Even if the weight ratings are as close as you state. The weight of the tow vehicle, ponies under the hood, as well as the wheelbase make a tremendous diffrence in towability, handling and safety. based on a 95 model the van itself only weighs 3988, with a cargo capicity of 5950. I will admit that 1962 Pounds seems like alot but that needs to include you, yourFriends/family, The dog, gear, gas, and the 800 lbs of tounge weight.


I have seen smaller trailers and boats pulled by a safari, but I would not reccomend it. I have seen trucks in my region that would be capable haulers of your trailer in the 6-7K range that are 6-7 years old.

[davidz71]

You didn't say what year your 31' Sovereign is but the '77 center bath twin dry wt. is 5025 lbs. with a tongue wt. of 710 lbs. My '77 Excella 500 31' rear bath has alum. 40 lb. tanks and the tongue wt. is almost 1100 lbs. loaded for travel. I will have to look up the entire weight at home since I weighed it a few months ago. I have a '95 Astrovan at home but would not even think of towing my trailer with it. A Suburban 2500 or a 2500 light weight extended cab 3/4 ton pickup truck would make an excellent tow vehicle. I opted for the '01 2500HD ext. cab pickup with shortbed and have been extremely happy with my choice. The only change I would make would be to swap the 8.1 V8 gas engine for the new Duramax diesel engine for better gas mileage. A 3/4 ton pickup with the Cummins diesel is also a good choice as well as the Chevy 2500 with 6 litre engine.

[greg_n_sam]

Good question... We also just purchased a '78 Sovereign 31' center bath, rear queen bedroom and were woundering if a 1985 restored F150 with a 302 engine and 4 speed bulldog transmition would do the trick?