Towing with a 4 cylinder

[74deluxe]

Hello all. I have a 1982 Sunline 15'tt. Can it be safely towed with a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado? It's 4x4, extended cab, with 2.8 four cylinder, manual tranny. Not sure of the tow rating, or the weight of the camper for that matter. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
John

[mainah]

Yeah it will be slow be sure you check your GVW and make sure you are not exceeding it. I think you can find out the weight of your Sunline on line pretty easy. I have towed some amazing weight with 4 cylinder Toyota Tacoma's but it did require a good deal of shifting.

[pwb01]

You really need to find out your towing capacity not just for enough horse power but for engine and transmission cooling and tongue weight, etc. I'm sure someone here knows your units weight.

I've heard that a good rule of thumb is to tow no more than 75% capacity. I think that works.

Your unit is much lighter than mine I'm sure but I towed my T-1950 with a 4cyl Nissan Pickup 4x4, (155hp) cap 5500# towing about 4800#. I couldn't keep up with highway speeds, it took more than the ramp to get to speed to merge, I slowed to 20mph on long hills and I spent a lot of time at 4500rpm in low gear averaging 8mpg as a result. I get much better milage with my F150 towing the camper now and hardly know it's back there.

You'll need confirmation from others but my guess is that you may be within your capacity. You just need to know the limits and take it easy if you need to.

[mainah]

One of the problems with a modern 4 cylinder pickup is the gearing, they are geared for economy not for towing. The sticker on your door frame should give you the GVW and your truck weight front and rear. Does it have a tow package or an aftermarket hitch? And is it a frame hitch or a bumper hitch? I tow a T1700 (about 1 1/4 ton empty) with a Tacoma V6 but it's a good bit heaver and it also has a 100 more HP and a factory tow package with electric brakes.