# New To The Rv World



## Jara97 (Jul 9, 2005)

First of all hello to all and have been checking this site out as a guest and think it is a very good site full of information. My wife and I are trying to decide on an RV. I have a Chevy Silverado Z71 extended cab with 5.3L, 3.73 Gears and a Powertech Chip and are thinking about either a 23RS but really like the 25RS but not sure if I have enough truck. Have been fighting either getting the outback or a KZ frontier but am leaning towards the outback. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
James


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

James,

Welcome to the forum. I am sure some others will chime in, but I think you should definately be fine with the 23RS. Some others in the forum have had some eye opening experiences at the scales with the 26RS.

Anyway.......Welcome and I am sure you will love the Outback!

Tim


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Look on the inside driver's door post and let us know what the front axle weight rating, rear axle weight rating, and gross vehicle weight rating is. Also, look in your owner's manual and give us the gross combined weight rating or tow capability. That information is important in making any kind of judgement call.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

I'm towing a 26RS with an '02 1500 Avalanche, 5.3L Vortec and 3.73:1 gears. The truck tows fine, but does leave me wanting for some more torque on the hills. The scales tell me I am over weight just a touch, but a new TV is not in the cards at the present time.

I think that most of the half-ton trucks are running close to max, or even overweight when towing.

Tim


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Welcome. We love the OUTBACK. Good luck in your decision.


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## oiler (Jan 5, 2005)

We are towing our 25RSS with a 98 1/2 ton ext cab with a 350 vortec and 3.73 gears.
We've got airbags on it plus a Reese dual cam.
The rating for our truck is 7000lbs.
it pulls it just fine lots of power and no problem braking.
I'm a 20 year GM Tech and i've fixed a lot of trucks that have been damaged by overtowing and pulling the Outback doesn't bother me at all.
Sure it'd be nice to have a Dmax or a 8.1 with a Allision trans but when I think about the amount of time I'm towing it just doesn't make sense to drop all the monet on a new TV
Jeff


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## Jara97 (Jul 9, 2005)

Thanks for all of the good information. I am in the military and will be relocating for about a year so want something as nice as possible but want it to tow well. Am leaning towards the 23RS and have received a price on it with the hitch and the designer package etc. for $17,900.00. Not sure if that is a good price or not but unit seems to be pretty loaded. I noticed the hitch weight is pretty low which I believe should be a little easier to tow for a half-ton. Thanks again for your kind words

James


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Welcome Jara97 to the group
You always ask the dealer if you test tow the two
around the block or lot to get some feel about them
Just an ideal









Don


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## stapless (Feb 20, 2005)

welcome! I also looked at KZ vs OB. both very nice, both very similar floor plans. choose OB as DW







liked white interior, and for me, this website







is a tremendous resource that clearly tipped the scales for us. I've got a 28 BHS. weighed in the other day right at 6000 pounds loaded with 'stuff', empty grey/black tanks, a splash of water in fresh tank, and full propane tanks. my truck (see sig below) pulls it fairly well, but huffs and puffs on steep hills or above 65 MPH. truck itself weight is a shade over 6300 lbs and hitch weight right at 700 lbs. my truck is rated at 7500Lbs for towing and 13,000 GCVW, so I'm within the limits, but certainly wouldn't want to attach any more weight to the back of the vehicle, and my truck would really struggle in mountainous terrain, though does just fine around the midwest where we live.

you may want to consider a 'test tow' with those TT behind your truck to get a feel for yourself, knowing the TT will be even heavier once fully loaded. for us, a new TV will be a couple years away







, but for now, have enough truck for the job. just my 2 cents.


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## Gone Fishing (Jul 3, 2005)

We are towing a 25RSS with a 1/2 ton and have no problems. Our tv was built to the hilt though for towing (ie. tow package, Z71 suspension, 3.73 gears, 5.7 liter vortec, heavy duty tranny, tranny cooler, etc.) We have no problems pulling, or stopping so far. Although a bigger truck would be nice, my Silverado has had no problems. Just remember your not going to set any speed records and you'll be fine. Can't justify a bigger truck yet. I like the idea of test driving out both models though. Excellent suggestion.


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## Lostcamper (Aug 3, 2005)

I just want to let you know that we lost our Outback 25rss to a cross wind that flipped the trailer and our tow vehicle due to the rear heavy weight of the outback. We truely loved the trailer and would get one again if not for the rear weight. Good luck!. nancy


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Lostcamper,
As other posts have said, the Outback is not heavy in the rear. The weight of the camper is distributed in the design process to provide a specific tongue weight in the range of 500 lbs. The ONLY way your Outback was heavy in the rear is if you loaded something very heavy on the back of the camper. Keystone would be very much at risk if they sold a trailer whose center of gravity was improperly positioned towards the rear of the camper. Your experience is regretful but please don't mislead others on the forum who are seeking advice.

Brian


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Man! Sometimes it's hard to hold one's tounge!


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Jara97,
We pull the 23RS with an Expedition. We have a 7300lb GVWR which is likely similar to your rig. The pull is fine; plenty of pull capability on the flats, struggles with steep hils and gets lousy gas mileage (9-10) but the load is fine for the TV. You can certainly overlaod a TT for a long trip whether it is the 23RS or the 25RSS so you have to watch it a little more than if you had an F-350 or equivalent. In making our decision on which Outback we also had to decide which to choose between the 23RS and 25RSS and the only thing that changed our mind was the second queen otherwise we would have chosen the 25RSS for the living space. The weights and lengths of the two trailers are very similar.

BBB


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## MaeJae (May 12, 2005)

I consider myself to be an excellent researcher when it comes to campers. (lite weight) I researched and went and looked, felt and took a good long look at many campers before buying the BEST choice of an Outback!
Check out a recent topic titled convince me to buy an Outback there is a lot of info in that thread. 
*************
IMHOâ€¦ IF the Outback was rear heavy like believed to beâ€¦
Then every time you un-hitch it from the ball it would tip backâ€¦wouldnâ€™t it?
After all when you lift the camper off the hitch ball you have to raise it high enough for the vehicle to be moved out of the wayâ€¦if it was really that much heavier it would teeter and want to tip backâ€¦ just a thought.

Never, in any of my posts is it my intention to degrade or belittle anyone! We all have opinions. My personal opinion of the Outback camper line is that it is an excellent product! Worth every cent.

Camp-on sunny 
MaeJae


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## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

MaeJae said:


> IMHOâ€¦ IF the Outback was rear heavy like believed to beâ€¦
> Then every time you un-hitch it from the ball it would tip backâ€¦wouldnâ€™t it?
> After all when you lift the camper off the hitch ball you have to raise it high enough for the vehicle to be moved out of the wayâ€¦if it was really that much heavier it would teeter and want to tip backâ€¦ just a thought.


That's a brilliant retort, MaeJae...Bravo! Someone's using their noggin!!


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

And if you want yo exaggerate MaeJae's assertion even further -- pull out the rear slide and dump 300 pounds in it. Does it raise the tongue any? I don't have a TT, but I'm guessing no, as I'm sure one of you would have complained about sleeping on an angle.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

And now back to our regularly scheduled thread...










Jara,
Any luck on the decision? Any questions we could answer?

BBB


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## matty1 (Mar 7, 2005)

we too went back and forth between KZ and the outback, after seeing them side-by side (our outback, the Sportsmen Ultralite and the frontier) for a couple weeks - you can see my earlier post - we are very happy with the wifes decision.

And the fact this forum exists to answer ANY question in a helpful and fun manner, makes it feel like I have a repairman on-call 24X7.

Yeah, we have had a few minor problems...but the dealer just called and she is ready to pick up, everything fixed!

Oh yeah, think we might have the same truck. My truck year pulls and stops fine with the 26RS, would like a 2500HD but that will have to wait. Couple big hills tested her, but no real problems


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