Welcome morphius421 to the Sunline Owner Club (and family).
Congratulations on you new Sunline, you chose well. Great floor plan and better coach. You’ll get many years of enjoyment out of it.
I don’t agree with the person who told you that your experience as a tractor trailer driver would be of minimal help. Your experience and knowledge of the road will be invaluable (and considerable help to us
).
To answer your question about what type of tow vehicle to get, focus on the following manufacturer’s specification on the tow vehicles you’re looking at:
Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
Tow Rating.
A starting rule of thumb that I use is if the tow vehicle’s tow rating is greater than or equal to the trailers GVWR, then the tow vehicle is a potential candidate.
Your T-2363 has a GVWR of 6,000 lbs. So look at tow vehicles that have a minimum of 6,000 lbs tow rating. I would recommend looking at tow vehicle with ~7,000 lb tow rating, because for trucks and SUV, the tow rating is reduced by the weight passengers and cargo located in the tow vehicle.
Here are some formulas that may help you look at the weight ratings of the tow vehicles you’re looking at.
Total Loaded TV + Total Loaded TT < TV’s GCWR
Total Loaded TV + TT Tongue Weight < TV’s GVWR
Total Loaded TT < TT GVWR
TT Tongue Weight + TV Load on Rear Axle < TV’s GRAWR
Weight of Cargo in TV + Weight of Passengers in TV + Total Loaded TT < TV’s Tow Rating.
Inside one of your cabinet doors in your T-2363 should be a weight sheet that tells you the Dry Unloaded Vehicle Weight (UVW) and weight of LP and water. You can use this UVW and LP weight + say 1,000 lbs for cargo (probably a high estimate, but better to estimate high) to come up with an estimated trailer loaded weight. Than take 15% of the trailer’s loaded weight to estimate the trailer’s tongue weight. (also probably a high estimate) If you use a weight distribution hitch, not all the trailer’s tongue weight will be transferred to the tow vehicle, but again to estimate on the high side is ok, use the 15% value as TT tongue weight.
We towed our previous Sunline (a T-2670 with a GVWR of 7,000 lbs) with a Ford E-150 conversion van that had a 5.4L engine and 3.55 gears that had a 12,000 lb GCWR and 6,900 lb tow rating. It towed it extremely well.
What I would recommend, if looking at ½ get at a minimum a large V8 engine (5.4L Ford, 6.0L GM, Hemi, Dodge, etc.). 3.73 gears would be good, 4.10 gears would be over kill for your needs plus probably lower you mpg. Other tow vehilces with smaller engines may pull your trailer, but you probably won’t be a happy camper
.
Check the weight ratings to make sure you’re within the manufacturer’s specifications for any tow vehicle your looking at.
Also remember, what every you get pulling, you have to get it stopped also, so make sure the tow vehicle has capable brakes and get a good brake controller. I would recommend a proportional brake controller (like
Tekonsha) over a time based controller.
Hope this helps some.
Again congratulations and welcome to the club.
Hutch
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