New member, new Z- 218TD

[morphrider]

Hello all,
Larry from Colorado here. We just purchased a 2015 Z-1 218TD to make it easier to go camping with our ATV's. Filled the paperwork out on 2/16, set to pick it up on 2/20 but it was not prepped, so we got a freebie generator out of the deal and will be seeing it delivered to our home this Wednesday the 25th. I know it says half ton towable but I can see through that in my mind, so we will be borrowing the in-laws 2500 to pull when fully loaded. We sold our 1994 Starcraft Starlounger pop up to do this major upgrade and we are very excited! Looking forward to chatting with fellow enthusiasts in here.

 

[Jerry Pinkard]

Welcome to the Forum...

 

[mark5w]

Welcome and good luck with your new purchase

 

[ZT211RD]

Welcome and Congratulations

 

[morphrider]

Thanks all. I look forward to loading it up and posting different weight configurations on it to help others decide what will work. There is very little info on the net concerning these trailers. I feel like a guinea pig of sorts.

 

[Lloyd S]

I think there is at least two other members here on the forum with that particular model.

 

[MooManChu]

Welcome to the forum.

Lloyd is right, there are few folks with that cool looking setup. Your abslolutely right on the money towing that setup with a 3/4 ton. I'd imagine with your toys loaded your hitch weight is going to be up there and vary depending on that load.

I've posted this a couple times, but I went out and bought a tongue scale. There around $150. One of the best purchases I made since we're camping packracks.

http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Tite-578...8&qid=1424777991&sr=8-4&keywords=tongue+scale

That load at the hitch is your variable here. If you have a 1/2, Your going to max out around 1K depending on the vehicle setup assuming you have a weight distributing hitch.

What's your TV (tow vehicle)

 

[morphrider]

I personally have a 1998 chevy K1500 with v8 but not the tow package. So for now it will be the in-laws 2001 chevy 2500 Silverado. Or I can borrow my brothers dodge 2500? Diesel. That thing will for sure have no issues. Once snow melts around here I will spend a day loading this up different ways with different bikes and measuring tongue weight as I go.

 

[MooManChu]

I personally have a 1998 chevy K1500 with v8 but not the tow package. So for now it will be the in-laws 2001 chevy 2500 Silverado. Or I can borrow my brothers dodge 2500? Diesel. That thing will for sure have no issues. Once snow melts around here I will spend a day loading this up different ways with different bikes and measuring tongue weight as I go.

Those 3/4 TVs shouldn't be an issue. I recommended the scale based on your original post that you had a 1/2 ton and probably pushing the limits.

Those ATVs run at least 750 lbs plus the weight the dry camper puts on the hitch.

You can lookup the capacities here that covers nearly all vehicles. Good resource and is updated annually.

Trailer Towing Guides | Trailer Life Magazine

 

[Lloyd S]

I think there is a pretty good chance that particular model fully loaded up front with a couple ATVs might be more then most 2500s can handle on the hitch.

 

[morphrider]

We run sport quads, a lot lighter than the utility quads. Raptor 700 which weigh in at 450 wet. Another Raptor 250 that is in the 300 range. So even with 2 of the 700's on there it would be 900 lbs. If I put one 700 on there and a 250 in the front it will lessen the tongue load. Either way I am looking at a Saturday of playing around to see what any tongue load will really be.

 

[MooManChu]

Plus add 10% of your loaded trailer weight

 

[Tim D-XRD]

My Grizzly weighs 750 lbs. Two of them on the front plus tongue weight you are getting up there fast.

 

[JEH412]

Welcome, Larry. We made the switch from popup to travel trailer last fall. We had an '08 Fleetwood Niagara and bought a Z-1 208, so our weights didn't go up dramatically. We were over 4k with the popup...

 

[morphrider]

Snow has held us up again. Perhaps Friday it will be in our drive.

 

[coastn]

Welcome and happy campin' from a fellow Coloradoan. The snow is really a pain up here in the High Country! Need to bring my 5er up from Pueblo but there's not a non-snowing day forecast for another week. Enough already!

 

[Tim D-XRD]

Snow has held us up again. Perhaps Friday it will be in our drive.

Be patient. You don't want to tow it in that crap anyway. Mine is at dealer for service behind a huge snow berm. I can relate. My driveway has berms as well so I couldn't bring it home if I wanted too.

 

[morphrider]

Good weather today. They delivered today. Also went online and purchased an Eaz-lift 1200 lb tongue weight distribution hitch that should be in by the end of the week. Still have plenty of time to get the other camping necessities. Waste hose, all the other must haves. Thanks for all the good info found in here!

 

[morphrider]

Got the WD hitch today. Looking forward to hooking up this weekend for trial runs. Should be sunny and in the low 50's. Finally some decent weather here!

 

[ConveyTrex]

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new trailer. I have a 2015 Z1 252TD, the next one up from the 218, but I think the decks are the same. This is what I found out about weight on the deck....I was told 1/2 ton tow-able too. My tongue weight is 690 dry and tows great with my 1500 Ram and an empty deck. But with both my atvs on the deck (1100 lbs total) my tongue weight jumped to 1600 lbs. I called Crossroads and spoke to engineering and they told me that with 1100 on the deck, 1600 at the tongue was normal for these toy haulers. The total payload of my 1500 Ram is only 1400 lbs. Even on the 2500 trucks I think the stock class IV hitches max out at 1200 lbs weight distributed....1600 lbs needs a class V hitch.
I ended up finding and buying a 2002 Chevy Avalanche 2500 with 8.1 L motor, has about 2500 lbs payload and will tow 12k. I will also be putting on a Curt class V hitch (good for tongue up to 2500 lbs) and a Blue Ox WD with 1700 lb bars as the stock hitch is only rated to 1200 lbs WD.
It is a really good idea to load your deck up with everything you're gonna put on it, tools, gas cans, battery, propane tanks, and your WD hitch and get an accurate tongue weight....it may be heavier than you think because of these decks carrying so much weight near the hitch...mine (and yours is pretty much the same as mine) works out to about 75-80% of any weight put on the deck going directly to the ball. There are a couple of others here on this forum that have found out the same thing, and I also got an email recently from someone who purchased a new front deck toy hauler (different manufacturer) and his tongue was 2200 lbs loaded. He was asking me what my I-beam and box-beam sizes were on the Z1.....I guess his frame bent at the box-beam section in front of the deck on his first outing and it had to go back to the factory for repairs. Hope this info helps.