The plan is simple enough. Load the camper, take I-77 south from Winnsboro, and drop into Lake Wateree State Park before the weekend crowds settle in. What makes that trip actually work is matching the right Silverado 2500HD configuration to what your trailer really weighs loaded (not what the brochure says it weighs empty). A cold October morning at the boat ramp is no time to discover you left the wrong number on the door-jamb sticker.
The 2026 Silverado 2500HD is the right foundation. Set it up correctly for a fall run to the lake, and the drive nearly runs itself.
What's the Plan at a Glance?
Lake Wateree State Park sits on Desportes Island about 30 miles northeast of Columbia, just east of I-77. From Wilson Chevrolet on US 321 in Winnsboro, you're talking roughly 35 minutes of driving. The park runs 72 reservable campsites, most with water and electric service, and many sized generously enough for a full-length fifth wheel and tow vehicle. Reservations require a two-night minimum, so plan a proper weekend rather than a quick overnight.
| Stop | What to Do | Best Time | Parking and Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Wateree State Park campground | Set up camp, connect to water and electric hookups | Check in from the office; paved sites and roads | Large RV parking lot adjacent to the office (pull-through access available) |
| Boat ramp and tackle shop | Launch the boat, buy bait, fuel up at the refueling dock | Early morning for fishing | Paved ramp; the tackle shop is small but stocked for a weekend |
| Wateree shoreline fishing | Crappie, largemouth bass, catfish, striped bass in a 13,000-acre lake | Dawn and dusk, especially in fall when bass are feeding actively | Walk-in from the campground or by boat |
| 2.3-mile nature trail | Stretch your legs, watch for osprey and bald eagles along the shoreline | Mid-morning after temps rise | Trailhead accessible from the main park area |
| Annual Creepy Campout | Halloween event held the last Saturday of October every year | Late October | Plan a reservation well in advance; this weekend fills fast |
Know What Your Camper Actually Weighs
Your trailer's dry weight is not the number you're actually towing, and that gap is where a fall trip quietly goes sideways, because a loaded 24-foot rig carries far more than its spec sheet ever admits. Load that travel trailer with water tanks, gear, food, and bikes, and you've added well north of 1,000 pounds to the printed figure. A mid-size travel trailer in the 24-to-28-foot range commonly lands between 5,500 and 8,500 pounds once loaded for a real trip. A fifth-wheel pushes higher, with many fully loaded units sitting between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds before you add anything from the house.
Browse available Silverado 2500HD configurations and you'll see two engine choices, and the right one depends directly on where your trailer lands on that scale.
Chevrolet lists the 2026 Silverado 2500HD's standard 6.6L V8 gas engine at 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque. For a conventional-hitch travel trailer under 10,000 pounds loaded, that gas engine does the job cleanly. Step up to the available Duramax 6.6L Turbo-Diesel V8 and output jumps to 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft of torque (per Chevrolet's own specification page). That torque figure shows up most at low RPM. Chevrolet's Duramax delivers its peak torque at just 1,600 RPM, which is why it feels effortless pulling away from a dead stop at the boat ramp with a loaded fifth wheel behind you. It doesn't feel like it's working.
For a fifth wheel or any loaded rig above roughly 12,000 pounds, the Duramax stops being optional. It's the necessary tool.
The Route and Why Fall Timing Is Exactly Right
If you're eyeing the half-ton Silverado 1500 for this kind of trip, it handles travel trailers under 8,000 to 9,000 pounds comfortably, though pulling a fifth wheel changes the conversation entirely. The 2500HD's frame, suspension, and brake system are built for the sustained load, well beyond the peak rating on paper.
Flat and manageable at HD towing speeds, the I-77 corridor from Winnsboro to the Lake Wateree turnoff won't test the truck much. What you want in the bed is enough gear to cook a proper camp dinner and enough capacity in the truck to bring back a cooler of lake fish. The Silverado 2500HD carries up to 3,689 pounds of payload (check your specific truck's door-jamb sticker for the number that actually applies to your build). Payload is where a fifth wheel bites, because the pin weight, typically 15 to 25 percent of the trailer's total weight, counts against your payload, not your tow rating.
Fall is the right season for this trip, no question. South Carolina's October temperatures drop to a reasonable range for camping without the summer heat and humidity that turns an August campsite into a misery contest. The park's annual Creepy Campout runs the last Saturday of October. Book that weekend early, especially with a long rig, because sites that fit a large fifth wheel plus tow truck go first.
Why the 2500HD Is the Right Truck for This Trip
For a lightweight travel trailer under 8,000 pounds, a Silverado 1500 can do the job cleanly, and it'll be easier to thread through the campground loop, so we won't push more truck on you than the trip needs. We'll tell you that plainly. The 2500HD is harder to park in a tight, wooded campsite, full stop.
Buyers who come to us with a fifth wheel, a larger toy-hauler, or a trailer loaded with a kayak or two on the back are in 2500HD territory every time. The gas tank holds 28 to 36 gallons (per Chevrolet) depending on configuration, and that range matters on a trip where you're pulling weight and the nearest station past the park entrance requires backtracking. The Duramax's fuel efficiency under load is meaningfully better than the gas engine at sustained highway speeds with a heavy trailer, which is the exact condition you're dealing with on the run back north on I-77 on a Sunday afternoon.
We'd also flag something that rarely makes it into a towing guide. The available 14-camera surround-view system (Chevrolet lists up to 14 cameras on the 2500HD) includes a transparent trailer view that lets you see past the camper while moving. Backing into a tight Riverside campsite loop at Lake Wateree, where the wooded sites run close together and the pad is paved but your sight lines aren't great, that camera system earns its keep in the first ten minutes.
Plan your fall camper trip. Get your 2500HD into our service center for a pre-tow inspection before you hitch up. The lake will be there. Arrive ready.
By the Wilson Chevrolet Team | September 2026
