dry weight tahoe tradewind

[thollis]

am i safe to assume that a 1978 tradewind (25') with a published dry weight of 4200 lbs, is safe to tow behind a tahoe 5.3 vortec with tow rating of 6800 lbs? i tow completely dry, and can't imagine that i would have 1800 lbs of sofa and cargo in the trailer.

i guess my concern is that although we have towed comfortably all over 2 lane mountain highways in arkansas, we are contemplating a trip to new mexico down i40 for 10 hours. i have the original eaz lift weight distributing hitch with no sway bar. i have never noticed any appreciable sway, but then again i haven't towed with 10000 18-wheelers down i40 before. is a sway bar mandatory? is the friction bar setup effective, or should i consider scraping the whole deal for a new reece dualcam or equalizer?

any advice would be appreciated. btw my tahoe is equipped with airride load levelling suspension.

thanks

[Safari-Rick]

You're more then ok assuming that you're not going to pack the Sub with a lot of heavy "carbon based life form".
I went to Lake Tahoe via HWY 395 dry with the exception of food in the refer and the back of my P/u fully loaded. going up the hills on the hottest day of the year was a challenge and that's with a 4.7L engine but we made it.

[rickandsandi]

We tow our Safari with our '06 Tahoe which sounds like yours. 5.3L with the tow package and auto-level system. We use the reese with a friction sway bar and have had no problems. Up the Big Horn and down and across the Rockies. Just remember the total tow weight includes not only what you put on the ball but also what you put in the truck!