# 2011-12 250Rs Weight Please Read...



## Brett R

- Hi all...Looking to come to the dark side.... I'm concidering purchasing a 2011-12 250rs outback. the brochures say its shipping weight is 5915 lbs. how accurate is that#? I will be towing with a 2008 silverado z71, crewcab, 5.3 with 3.73 gears, 4x4..truck curb weight is 5199 LBS., towing of 7500lbs, gcwr of 13000 lbs. I know i"m close to the limit for the tv, but am need to know if the weight of the trailer is accurate. need to know if i will be ok.. wife really likes this model...

ALSO-

- when they say carrying capacity ofthe trailer is 1635 lbs, is that including the clean water tank? or is that empty, and you have to include the weight into the equation.(ex. 1635lbs.- weight of water(APPX.400lbs.)= left over of carrying capacity of 1235lbs...)

- How long is the camper with back bed slide in? How long with it extended?

REALLY NEED SOME ADVISE, RV SHOW HERE IN UPSTATE NY IS MARCH 1ST... "GOTS TO GET A HANDLE ON IT!"

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!


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## duggy

I believe the published weight is with no battery, empty propane tanks, and empty water and holding tanks. As well as adding them into the equation, you may be surprised how much all the "stuff" you bring in the trailer adds up to. I've never weighed my 2011 250RS, but I guesstimate it's about 7000 pounds loaded. I'm towing with a 3/4 ton Express van with a 6.0 liter V8. My truck's towing capacity is 8000 lbs. I think they rate the vans pretty conservative. Even with the Duramax deisel, it would only be rated at 10,000 lbs. My van handles the Outback with no trouble. I think you'd be okay with your combo, but as you said, you would be near your limit. You would really struggle in mountains and such, but probably be fine in flatter country. We always travel with the fresh water tank around 1/4 full. I don't need to carry the extra weight, and also, the tank is behind the axles, so it hurts tongue weight, which can lead to problems with sway. Naturally, we also try to have our black and gray tanks empty for travel.

I highly recommend this model. It has a nice open layout with plenty of room to move around on a rainy day. I think the published overall length is pretty accurate for closed. You can add about 5' with the rear slide extended.

If you're in Upstate NY, you may be interested in contacting Great Outdoors RV in Fulton NY. We had a price from Holmans in Cincinnati, and Great Outdoors matched it. It saved us about four hours of travel each way.


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## Insomniak

The 250RS is a very popular model, and many people tow them with 1/2 ton trucks. I think you'll be ok, but I'm a little surprised at the towing limit on your Silverado. Do you have a towing package and all that? We're on our 3rd Outback, and I've weighed all of them right after we took delivery. In the past, numbers may have been fudged, but I can tell you that in my experience, Keystone's published weights are dead accurate. Since all options are included on the Outbacks, the only extras you'll need to consider would be battery(s), propane, power tongue jack, slide-out awnings, etc. Like Duggy mentioned, you may be surprised at how quickly you can load 800-1,000 pounds of "stuff" in the trailer, so watch out there. And yes, the carrying capacity would include water in the fresh tank and water heater, which can add several hundred pounds (our 301BQ sticker indicates 140kg or 308lb). Good luck with your decision and have fun shopping!


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## W.E.BGood

What the others already said...I can only add I believe the length from tip of the hitch to the back of the spare tire on the rear bumper was 27'9", and in case you need it height is 11'3" to the top of the A/C unit.


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## Brett R

Thank you for the responses.. I will take your advice and still highly concider the 250rs.... now comes the fun part, the waiting until march, and the little payment book that the bank sends!
Thanx again.... Brett


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## H2oSprayer

I'm not sure if they are still doing it or not, but the weights that were listed in the brochures do not include any of the "options". Options include such items as the awning, AC unit and LP tanks. So be sure to do your research and enjoy the show!!


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## KTMRacer

H2oSprayer said:


> I'm not sure if they are still doing it or not, but the weights that were listed in the brochures do not include any of the "options". Options include such items as the awning, AC unit and LP tanks. So be sure to do your research and enjoy the show!!


on our 2011 295RE, the brochure weight vs. actual empty weight sticker and weight I measured on the local scales was within 25 lbs. The brochure weight included the "std build options". but as mentioned, be sure to add the propane, batteries and any water you carry. Since they leave the factory with empty tanks and no batteries, these aren't included in the empty weight or tongue weight. And yes, water is considered part of the allowable "cargo" weight. the biggest "gotcha" IMHO on new trailers, now that they MUST by law be weighed with an actual empty weight sticker attached is the "empty" tongue weight. Take the "empty" tongue weight and add at least 60lbs for the propane, and weight for batteries, about 75lbs/battery. so with full propane and dual batteries, you've already added 210lbs to the "empty" tongue weight. And to that all the normal stuff you carry will add/subtract from tongue weight depending on where it is located in the trailer. As an example the "empty" tongue weight on our 295RE was about 700lbs, but the REAL tongue weight as loaded with dual golf cart batteries, full propane tanks and all our stuff is 1300lbs. With a full water tank it is slightly over 1400lbs.

Visit a local dealer and look for the yellow sticker on the entry door. It will list the empty weight for that exact trailer as measured at the factory and the cargo carrying capacity (CCC). Compare that to the brochure weight. Interestingly, the Cargo weight listed for the specific trailer assumes full propane tanks, but no water or battery so batteries reduce your allowable cargo weight as does water in the fresh tank (8lbs/gal) or water heater (50lbs) or grey/black tanks. If the dealer adds accessories that increase weight by more than a certain amount (about 100lbs IIRC) the dealer by Law must add a suplimental sticker showning the added weight and the new allowable cargo weight. If your trailer is certified for sale in canada, the sticker on the drivers side front will list the allowable CCC with a full tank of water per the canadian requirements.


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## Piecemaker

If you would like my $.o2.

I had a 2007 Chevy Z71 ext cab, 4x4, 3.73 gears, 5.3 and we pull a 2007 23rs.
We bought our tt at Schaffers in Pa. Coming home to NJ up hills, no problem. After we put in moderately what we 
need, going up the same hills was a problem. This is my dw and myself only, no kids, pets or goldfish.

They say you add about a 1000 pounds to your total weight. Awning, fresh water, coffee pot, food, clothes
and whatever other supplies you might take.

If you are going to the show in NY I would guess you are from the NE. There are to many hills and mountains here, that setup would
be good on the flats. 
Since I have had to upgrade the tv.

My honest suggestion is Not to do it.


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## thefulminator

Brett,

One other thing you need to consider is how much weight you are putting in the back of the truck. I am assuming your truck is a 1/2 ton. I have a 2009 Silverado crew cab 1/2 ton with 5.3L and 3.42 rear end. It will tow our 2008 21RS without any problems. I go over Stevens Pass with it every couple years which is very steep. The tranny starts getting pretty warm but we always make it over alright. The problem I have is that with the limited storage space in the 21RS, most of our stuff has to go in the back of the truck. When you add together the weight of the driver, passengers, gas, stuff in the truck bed and tongue weight of the trailer, I'm always over the max weight for the rear axle and the gross weight for the truck but well below the truck GCWR.


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## Brett R

What i dont understand is how others slverado's have 8500,9500 lb towing cacities and mine is listed in the manual at 7500lbs..?.am i looking at something different?


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## jake's outback

Brett R said:


> What i dont understand is how others slverado's have 8500,9500 lb towing cacities and mine is listed in the manual at 7500lbs..?.am i looking at something different?


So I looked at 2008 and the 2009 manuals. The 2009 manual shows an increased towing capacity if you have the HD Cooling option. (K5L). Check the build sticker for K5L, or call the dealer where you purchased the truck give them your vin and they will print you the build sheet. As well they should be able to look at the installed options to give you your towing capacity.
If you didn't buy it from a GM Dealer any one would/should help you!

Happy Trails!


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## Brett R

ok i got the build sheet..there is no k5l for aheavy duty cooling system. But there is knp hd aux trans. Cooling system. A z82 hd trailering equipment, pdu trailering package, and vr4 weight distrib. Platform hitch... so are these things that will help increase my towing capacity?


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## jake's outback

Brett R said:


> ok i got the build sheet..there is no k5l for aheavy duty cooling system. But there is knp hd aux trans. Cooling system. A z82 hd trailering equipment, pdu trailering package, and vr4 weight distrib. Platform hitch... so are these things that will help increase my towing capacity?


Seems to be. It is the cooling you need to save your equipment (truck) and the proper hitch , so call your dealer to be sure since nothing is listed in the 2008 manual. The biggest factor I think that you will face is going to be the GVWR limitation. I had an 09 silverado 1500, crew 3.42 gears and a capacity of 9500 for towing. GVWR for the truck itself was 7000# I was frequently at or over GVWR. I upgraded to a 2500HD and now the GVWR is 9500#.
here is a link to your on line manual

http://www.extendedgmwarranty.com/owners-manual/chevrolet/2008-Chevrolet-Silverado.pdf


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## Brett R

jake said:


> ok i got the build sheet..there is no k5l for aheavy duty cooling system. But there is knp hd aux trans. Cooling system. A z82 hd trailering equipment, pdu trailering package, and vr4 weight distrib. Platform hitch... so are these things that will help increase my towing capacity?


Seems to be. It is the cooling you need to save your equipment (truck) and the proper hitch , so call your dealer to be sure since nothing is listed in the 2008 manual. The biggest factor I think that you will face is going to be the GVWR limitation. I had an 09 silverado 1500, crew 3.42 gears and a capacity of 9500 for towing. GVWR for the truck itself was 7000# I was frequently at or over GVWR. I upgraded to a 2500HD and now the GVWR is 9500#.
here is a link to your on line manual

http://www.extendedgmwarranty.com/owners-manual/chevrolet/2008-Chevrolet-Silverado.pdf
[/quote]
first of all.. thank you Jake for sticking with me on this.. ok, thats the same manual that i"ve been looking at also..my question is.. how can changing gears from 3.73 to 4.10 increase its towing from 7500 lbs. to 8500lbs., and increase its gcwr fror 1300 to 1400? nothing else on the truck has changed.. i can see that u will have a little more torque, but how does that affect the gcwr?? thanks again, maybe i"m missing something..


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## Brett R

oops, i
I ment 13000 to 14000 lbs


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## Brett R

thefulminator said:


> Brett,
> 
> One other thing you need to consider is how much weight you are putting in the back of the truck. I am assuming your truck is a 1/2 ton. I have a 2009 Silverado crew cab 1/2 ton with 5.3L and 3.42 rear end. It will tow our 2008 21RS without any problems. I go over Stevens Pass with it every couple years which is very steep. The tranny starts getting pretty warm but we always make it over alright. The problem I have is that with the limited storage space in the 21RS, most of our stuff has to go in the back of the truck. When you add together the weight of the driver, passengers, gas, stuff in the truck bed and tongue weight of the trailer, I'm always over the max weight for the rear axle and the gross weight for the truck but well below the truck GCWR.


 Thanx for your input.. i wont be loading up the back of the truck with alot of stuff, but will have a canoe on the truck roof... i cant understand how between '08 and '09 they increased the towing limit from 7500 lbs. to your 9500lbs.on the same truck? the gearing that u have should have lowered the weight instead of raising... or... am i lost here?
thank you..


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## jake's outback

Brett R said:


> oops, i
> I ment 13000 to 14000 lbs


That's the benefit of taller gears, but that's not all. If i took a bone stock truck with a 3.08 gear and jacked it up to 4.10 and did nothing else and pulled the max trailer(without exceeding the GVWR of the truck) the transmission and engine will die do to the heat. Changing the gears will not change the GVWR of the truck.
Now change the rear gears, _*add trans and external oil cooler and maybe a bigger rad,*_ now I could considerably pull 9500#. 
Now as I said I had an 09 silverado 1500, crew 3.42 gears and a capacity of 9500 for towing. GVWR for the truck itself was 7000#, on the flats I was fine, but hills with I guess 7500# trailer DW, dog, fire other stuff The poor 5.3 was being pushed sometimes:sweatdrop:. not to mention me the driver!

Look at what I have now 2011 2500HD and my max trailer with my set up 6 liter, 3.73 gears HD Cooling is only 9500# Same as my 09 15000! But I have a GVWR of the same 9500# compared to 7000# of the 2009 We had. The TV/TT combo is much more stable, and if I'm pulled over and checked for GVWR I will be ok! The truck does not struggle going up hill.

Not sure if this helped...call a dealer and make sure you get someone who knows trucks, or call GM. I belong to a GM forum and there is a GM customer service rep on there that you could probably ask! I will send you a PM with a link to that site!


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## Brett R

ok thanks... still a little confused, but.. getting back to the original question...after all things concidered... i should be ok, but on the edge, to tow this trailer.. right?


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## Brett R

ps.. the k5l has extra engine and tranny cooling. even thou i dont have the engine cooler,i do have the traany cooling.. So the k5l package is about cooling,then the truck isnt changing in handling, suspension. the safety is still the same except for possible overheating of the mechabical end of things, right?


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## duggy

Brett R said:


> the safety is still the same except for possible overheating of the mechabical end of things, right?


That is the conclusion I'm drawing. The suspension and brakes will be up to the task. Gm is keeping the towing capacity down, to save warranty and longevity problems with the engine and transmission. If you go ahead with this trailer you should be safe, but you will be pushing the powertrain's limits. Then it comes down to what kind of terrain you travel, and how hard you push the truck.

When I got my 250 RS, my new van hadn't come in yet. My old van had a 4.3 V6, and was rated at 4400lbs towing capacity. I pulled the empty 250RS back from NY, about 1500 lbs over capacity, then went camping close to home a couple times before the new van arrived. I wasn't too concerned because the same van with the 5.3 V8 was rated at 6500lbs. The suspension, transmission and brakes were the same between both trucks. The combo was underpowered, and I took it easy, but I feel it was safe. Getting the new 3/4 ton van with the 6.0 V8 made trailering a breeze.

I think you can do it with this truck, but I wouldn't be surprised if you were ready to upgrade your TV before long.


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## jake's outback

Doug beat me on the reply, if you have the DIC select the transmission temp display while towing. Monitor this and I am not sure where you live but here in Southern Ontario I didn't see mine over 190F and that was a peak temp!


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## Brett R

Thats kinda what i figured. Thanks for all your help.. now i have to wait patiently for the march first show to do some comparing!
Thanks again... Brett


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## thefulminator

Yes, it's the cooling that makes all the difference.


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## Brett R

yes i agree with the cooling.. but that chart u have shows the truck having 3.42 gears.. mine is 3.73... i should be able to pull the rate 7500 lbs...maybe more with the hd tranny cooler..yes??


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## wolverine

Brett R said:


> yes i agree with the cooling.. but that chart u have shows the truck having 3.42 gears.. mine is 3.73... i should be able to pull the rate 7500 lbs...maybe more with the hd tranny cooler..yes??


I believe that thefulminator's 2009 truck has a 6 speed trany with the 3.42 gears, which is a lot different than a 4 speed with 3.73 gears. If you have a trailer towing package then your truck should have all of the cooling options you will need.


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## thefulminator

See attached.


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