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Old 04-30-2019, 06:29 PM   #1
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Towing a Micro Minnie 2106DS

Thinking of purchasing the above Minnie. My truck is a 2019 GMC Canyon with a 2.8 Liter Diesel. My towing capacity is 7600lbs. Can I tow the Minnie safely and without overworking the engine and transmission? Thanks to all that respond.
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Old 04-30-2019, 08:41 PM   #2
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Winnebago website list the trailer's GVWR of 7,000. Nearing your max but within the limits. What's your trucks cargo capacity? Where will you be towing? Mountains or flat? How often and for how far?
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Old 04-30-2019, 09:44 PM   #3
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I believe trucks cargo capacity is 1300lbs. Cargo is just me and my wife and small dog (350lbs) plus other small items to be determined. We will be towing mostly flat lands with some hills; rarely in the mountains if ever. Not sure how many miles we will travel with the camper. I will use it mostly for in state hunting trips; 2-3 times per year (500 miles per trip). Thanks for your input.
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Old 05-02-2019, 08:16 PM   #4
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You should be within your limits without much gear in the truck.
1,300lbs. - 350lbs. (Cargo)= 950lbs.
950lbs.- 700lbs. Trailer tongue weight (10% of gross)= 250lbs.
250lbs.-125lbs. (20 gallons of fuel)= 125 pounds of available cargo weigh till your max. limit. It adds up quick. Be safe and enjoy.
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Old 05-08-2019, 04:30 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by grogers View Post
Thinking of purchasing the above Minnie. My truck is a 2019 GMC Canyon with a 2.8 Liter Diesel. My towing capacity is 7600lbs. Can I tow the Minnie safely and without overworking the engine and transmission? Thanks to all that respond.
When I bought my 2108DS I had a 2016 Chevy Colorado and it pulled the trailer pretty well. It felt safe and didn't feel like I was working the truck too hard. I had to add extended mirrors. I really liked the Colorado. Having said that, since we were planning longer trips, I traded for a 2016 Tahoe. The Tahoe is just a much more comfortable ride and pulls the trailer more easily. Gas milage is about the same with both.
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Old 05-08-2019, 08:25 PM   #6
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Thanks Mainely for your input. As I read your response I was wondering how much your fully loaded 2108DS weigh when it was fully loaded. I assume you had the 2.8 Liter Diesel. Also, did you have a weight distribution hitch? I wanted a TV that would fit in my garage and after seeing a few U-Tube road tests with people towing 6,000 to 6500 lbs with the Colorado and Canyon diesels I went out and purchased a new Canyon. Still in the break in phase and looking for a 2106 DS or FBS. Hope I can tow one with my Canyon without over working the engine and transmission. I even thought maybe I should go with a 1706FB or the 1700BH as they are lighter but I really prefer a 2106. However, I do not want to purchase one and regret it later. Anyway thanks for sharing your experience with the Colorado and good luck with your Tahoe.
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Old 05-09-2019, 03:45 AM   #7
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grogers, I had the gas 6 cylinder. The 2108DS weighs about 3900 lbs dry, I never weighed it but I don't think I added more than 1000-1500 lbs to travel. I was well within the towing capacity of the truck. Mine came with the factory tow package, Z71, 4 door cab, short bed. I added a brake module, and used the Equalizer hitch and it worked great. I really had no problems with towing the camper with the Colorado. I traded for the Tahoe mostly for long ride comfort and a few more luxury features. Like you I really liked the size of the Colorado.
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Old 05-09-2019, 06:14 AM   #8
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350 Lb, that is one hell of a big dog
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Old 05-09-2019, 06:39 AM   #9
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We have a GMC Canyon with the same configuration and are pulling a Micro Minnie 5th wheel with no problem. We don't go up and down huge mountains (Texas), but so far, so good.
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Old 05-09-2019, 11:39 AM   #10
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350 Lb, that is one hell of a big dog
Funny, but that 350 is the combined weight of me, wife and dog.
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Old 05-09-2019, 05:55 PM   #11
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Went through a very similar process just last year when we purchased our first TT. We're now a couple weeks into our first "big trip" and I've experieced a couple of very important lessons.

First and foremost, our trailer, a Minnie 2250DS, as recently weighed at a CAT scale, came in fully loaded with a full fresh water tank and all our gear at 5,500 pounds exactly. The brochure says the dry weight should be 4,800 pounds, but I am convinced we have added way more than 700 pounds to the dry weight of the trailer. The fresh tank alone would add over 320 pounds! I also confirmed by exact measurement that our black tank is only 20 gallons, not the 25 that the brochure lists. My point being that you cannot rely on the specs in the brochure.

More to the point, even fully loaded at 7,000 max trailer weight, we are well within the 9,600 pounds our GMC Sierra 1500 can "tow". However, and here's where it gets tricky, we were only 10 pounds under our max allowable rear axle weight of 3,950 pounds when we hit the road for this trip. More importantly, we were 280 pounds over weight for the truck as a whole!! Fortunately, I was able to easily shift weight off the truck and into the trailer to correct the situation. The point here, of course, is you must watch your truck's weight and it's maximum axle load as well. The calculations aren't complicated, but the devil is in the details.

For what it's worth, our truck tows our trailer and all our stuff wonderfully. I keep the speed to around 65 mph on the freeway and it is a comfortable and stable ride. My sole complaint is our range. With a 26 gallon tank, we can only drive about 200 miles with a reasonable reserve at our normal 9.3 mpg mileage -- less in hills or a stiff headwind, much less in big hills and a stiff headwind.
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Old 05-10-2019, 10:47 AM   #12
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To Jaeger

Thanks for posting this information, it is helpful to know there are several things to keep in mind when determining if you are within "specs".

Forgive my being such a "newbie" but how does one go about making these calculations?
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Old 05-11-2019, 12:57 AM   #13
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Hi, I have a 2017 Colorado with the V6, it came with the full trailer tow package and a WD hitch as well. I have a 2106DS and the truck has had no problem with the trailer and I have traveled through the Rocky Mountains a number of times and have had no problems. I rarely travel over 60 MPH as just about any speed faster results in high/poor gas consumption.
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:26 AM   #14
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Hi, I have a 2017 Colorado with the V6, it came with the full trailer tow package and a WD hitch as well. I have a 2106DS and the truck has had no problem with the trailer and I have traveled through the Rocky Mountains a number of times and have had no problems. I rarely travel over 60 MPH as just about any speed faster results in high/poor gas consumption.
Thanks TrailerDon for your feedback. It really helps me decide that my Canyon will work well with a 2106. My Canyon has the trailer towing package too. Have a great weekend.
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Old 05-11-2019, 07:40 PM   #15
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Thanks TrailerDon for your feedback. It really helps me decide that my Canyon will work well with a 2106. My Canyon has the trailer towing package too. Have a great weekend.

Yes your rig will do just fine. I now wish I had opted for the diesel engine myself instead of the V6, but then in 2017 who would of though gasoline prices would increase to the level they now are in BC Canada. Back in 2017 diesel was more expensive than reg. gasoline, not so now.


Still happy to have the truck though. Am just getting everything ready for the summer trips, cleaned and purified the water tanks and lines, wheel bearing repacked, brakes checked. Almost ready to start traveling.
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Old 05-16-2019, 03:41 PM   #16
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I tow my 2106DS with a Tacoma V6 with manual transmission and it does fine. Mountains in OR can be a challenge but I'm no slower than the tractor/trailer rigs so I'm fine with that. RPMs are my friend.

Yes, the trailer has a 7000 gross weight but that is because it is dual axle. Dry weight is less than 4000 lbs and I doubt you'll put more than 1000 lbs of stuff in it for a camping trip. You're really looking at a loaded weight of 5000 lbs give or take.
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Old 05-16-2019, 04:26 PM   #17
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Keep in mind that towing is one thing, but you also have to stop the thing....
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Old 05-18-2019, 04:26 PM   #18
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Keep in mind that towing is one thing, but you also have to stop the thing....
My Canyon has an exhaust break plus a trailer brake control. Stopping should not be a problem with a 2106DS.
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Old 05-24-2019, 06:00 AM   #19
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We just bought our DS and our 1/2 ton Chev Avalanche does great. People look at the gross weight,but the DS is 3878 /dry empty, on the sticker right from the factory. Why carry water in tanks, unless dry camping? We carry a jug of water for toilet use only while on the road. The dry weight, plus what u add inside truck and camper is what the focus should be on. Plus keep in mind how low profile the front cap is on Micro Winnies, its a joy to tow. Happy trails to ya!
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Old 09-05-2019, 04:53 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by TrailerDon View Post
Hi, I have a 2017 Colorado with the V6, it came with the full trailer tow package and a WD hitch as well. I have a 2106DS and the truck has had no problem with the trailer and I have traveled through the Rocky Mountains a number of times and have had no problems. I rarely travel over 60 MPH as just about any speed faster results in high/poor gas consumption.

UPDATE - UPGRADED TOW VEHICLE



This year my travels had me traveling up steeper roads and also running into higher temperatures and I decided that the Colorado with the V6 engine was not quite up to the task of pulling my 2106DS trailer. In order to try to keep to the speed limits and not hold up traffic I found that I was in fact pushing the Colorado to its limits, keeping in mind I had the factory trailer package and also used a ASB trailer hitch I decided for peace of mind that I would upgrade my tow vehicle, I opted to buy a 2019 Chev Silverado Trail Boss with the 5.3 V8. I can honestly say that with the new vehicle I can hardly notice that I was pulling a trailer. What I found surprising was that my gas milage is actually better with the new vehicle, I would assume that is because the motor does not have to work so hard. I do miss the Colorado as it being smaller that the full size Chev Pickup was easier to drive in City traffic. I hope those with the diesel engines fare better than I when I had the Colorado with the V6.
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