[MightyBobo]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Actually, weight guidelines apply to everyone. Once you're hauling for money, things get more stringent and it isn't necessarily tied to weight (although being above certain weights could require DOT placards).

Used to tow a 16000lb fifth wheel until recently w/ my dually. This is the truth.

ESPECIALLY relevant if you get into an accident that may not even be your fault, any lawyer worth his salt will take you to the cleaners once they find out you've exceeded your recommended weight allowances.

[FarmerFran]

There are more aspects to towing then just the "tow rating". Max tow ratings from the mfg are bullshit



Towing, payload and axle ratings. You need to be within all of them. There should be the payload and axle sticker on the door jamb. If you get pulled over you better not be over those weights.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by MightyBobo

Does this service truck even have the 5.3L in it? I had a 2008 Silverado extended cab with the towing package, and that barely was allowed up to 10000 lbs I believe, and that was with the max towing package if I recall correctly.

I would be very nervous about towing a big enough enclosed trailer PLUS car in it, especially with a bare-bones truck such as this. You even need to fix up the rear-end with a hitch and whatnot, if it even has one already underneath all of that diamond plate. I used to tow my 370Z (which is like, 600-700 lbs lighter than the ZL1 I believe) with a UHaul open car trailer (2200 lbs) - so roughly 5500-5600 lbs. I can't imagine wanting to pull 7000 lbs of car and trailer, PLUS all of your gear, with that old-arse truck.

Ill be honest, trying to use this as a tow vehicle is a head-scratcher for me.

I have a 2015 Sliverado Crew Cab 4x4 w/ the newer version of the 5.3L in it. I towed my Camaro on a U-Haul trailer like you describe and it was like was barely there.

For comparison, my equipment trailer weighed roughly 2500 lbs. I would commonly tow that trailer with two tons of wood fuel for my stove (6500 lbs total) and there was never a question that I had that load behind me. lol

Sometimes, it doesn't take a huge difference in weight to make a pretty significant difference in the towing experience.

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

There are more aspects to towing then just the "tow rating". Max tow ratings from the mfg are bullshit



Towing, payload and axle ratings. You need to be within all of them. There should be the payload and axle sticker on the door jamb. If you get pulled over you better not be over those weights.

Yep... How much can each axle carry? How much tongue weight is there? How much of the tongue weight needs to be transferred to the front axle (WDH hitch)? How much braking capacity does the tow vehicle have? How much payload can the tow vehicle carry in addition to having the trailer attached? There is actually quite a lot that goes into towing safely. And there's a lot of good reasoning behind limiting the "average consumer" to 10K gross trailer weight no matter the tow vehicle...

[BlackbeastSS2]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

There are more aspects to towing then just the "tow rating". Max tow ratings from the mfg are bullshit



Towing, payload and axle ratings. You need to be within all of them. There should be the payload and axle sticker on the door jamb. If you get pulled over you better not be over those weights.

All good info from everyone. Thank you.

Edited:
After checking sticker on door jam and manual I have to stay at suggested manufacture GVWR of 6400 lbs which is combined weight of trailer, car on trailer, and anything else I put in truck bins or trailer.

The open aluminum 16 foot trailer weighs in at 1620 lbs plus car 4,000 (estimate) going to the scales at later date. That’s 5620 lbs

So I have 720lbs for tools, parts, whatever.

It does say max towing capacity is 9700lbs for my vehicle in manual and on a GM site but maybe my sticker is taking in the account of a heavier truck with the service truck compartments.
The axle rating is fine, it’s a 4x4.

Further Edited:
Okay I am trying to understand GVWR vrs towing capacity.
My GVWR is 6400. If I stay within in that weight for just the truck not counting the trailer then I am good for my towing capacity which is 9700. Is this correct in how I am interrupting the GVWR vrs towing capacity?

[MightyBobo]

Originally Posted by ember1205

I have a 2015 Sliverado Crew Cab 4x4 w/ the newer version of the 5.3L in it. I towed my Camaro on a U-Haul trailer like you describe and it was like was barely there.

For comparison, my equipment trailer weighed roughly 2500 lbs. I would commonly tow that trailer with two tons of wood fuel for my stove (6500 lbs total) and there was never a question that I had that load behind me. lol

Sometimes, it doesn't take a huge difference in weight to make a pretty significant difference in the towing experience.



Yep... How much can each axle carry? How much tongue weight is there? How much of the tongue weight needs to be transferred to the front axle (WDH hitch)? How much braking capacity does the tow vehicle have? How much payload can the tow vehicle carry in addition to having the trailer attached? There is actually quite a lot that goes into towing safely. And there's a lot of good reasoning behind limiting the "average consumer" to 10K gross trailer weight no matter the tow vehicle...

My 2008 5.3L was ~50 hp/torque less than the 2015 was, so... Also, they still ran drum rear brakes back then lol.

To be clear, I felt my ~6000 lbs of car, trailer, and gear wasn't bad at all to pull. But I suspect a big enclosed trailer would be a much different experience especially on this old work truck with a heavier bed on it that is almost certainly taking away from towing/payload weight.

[ariZona28]

For the record my trailer weighs 2K, my Z/28 is approx 4K so it's right at the limit of 6K. That's why a 3/4 ton 2500 GMC or Chevy is on my shopping list.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by BlackbeastSS2

All good info from everyone. Thank you.

Edited:
After checking sticker on door jam and manual I have to stay at suggested manufacture GVWR of 6400 lbs which is combined weight of trailer, car on trailer, and anything else I put in truck bins or trailer.

The open aluminum 16 foot trailer weighs in at 1620 lbs plus car 4,000 (estimate) going to the scales at later date. That’s 5620 lbs

So I have 720lbs for tools, parts, whatever.

It does say max towing capacity is 9700lbs for my vehicle in manual and on a GM site but maybe my sticker is taking in the account of a heavier truck with the service truck compartments.
The axle rating is fine, it’s a 4x4.

Your truck should be fine then.

My 2000 Silverado had the same max tow 9700lbs.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

For the record my trailer weighs 2K, my Z/28 is approx 4K so it's right at the limit of 6K. That's why a 3/4 ton 2500 GMC or Chevy is on my shopping list.

Yes but you can get 10,000lbs hitches. I had one installed on my 2017 Silverado. I doubt a new truck being a problem.

A 1500 can pull a lot more than what people think. (What Farmer Fran was referring to)


The hitch rating is what I was referring to earlier. Along with tongue weight.

Far as I know GMC Sierra and Silverados are the exact same truck just different wheels/emblems/price tags.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

For the record my trailer weighs 2K, my Z/28 is approx 4K so it's right at the limit of 6K. That's why a 3/4 ton 2500 GMC or Chevy is on my shopping list.

I would expect a good Weight Distributing Hitch would be a lot less money that replacing the truck and opens up the ability to drag a heavier overall trailer (trailer+cargo). Have you looked into that as an option?

[BlackbeastSS2]

Originally Posted by FlukeSS

Yes but you can get 10,000lbs hitches. I had one installed on my 2017 Silverado. I doubt a new truck being a problem.

A 1500 can pull a lot more than what people think.


The hitch rating is what I was referring to earlier. Along with tongue weight.

Yes, thanks I will be getting a trailer hitch rated for 12,000 lbs. just to be on the safe side, over kill that’s me. I contacted U -haul and they have the recommended hitch for the truck, plus they will put it on.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by BlackbeastSS2

All good info from everyone. Thank you.

Edited:
After checking sticker on door jam and manual I have to stay at suggested manufacture GVWR of 6400 lbs which is combined weight of trailer, car on trailer, and anything else I put in truck bins or trailer.

GVWR relates ONLY to the truck. GTWR is ONLY to the trailer. GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) is the two together.

Your truck should have both a GVWR -and- a GCWR listed.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by BlackbeastSS2

Yes, thanks I will be getting a trailer hitch rated for 12,000 lbs. just to be on the safe side, over kill that’s me. I contacted U -haul and they have the recommended hitch for the truck, plus they will put it on.

That is one thing Uhaul is good about. Doing that install properly and having the right equipment for it.

[rcoe]

Quite a bit of mis-information here. For towing it does not matter what your brother's friend towed with his easily or how much power the engine does or does not have. Certainly does not matter if it is a 4WD, actually that will lower it. The more a tow vehicle weighs the less it will be rated to tow, my King Ranch F350 is rated to tow less than the exact same truck with the stripped interior simply because all the interior goodies weigh much more.

GVWR = the max weight of the vehicle, nothing to do with the trailer.

How to Calculate Towing Capacity
To calculate your vehicle’s towing capacity, you’ll need to know the full GCVWR — Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating — of the vehicle you plan to tow with and the trailer you plan to tow, together with all the cargo each will carry, from people to wiper fluid.

Then you’ll need to know your tow vehicle’s curb weight – the weight of the tow vehicle itself when filled with gas and all the other fluids it consumes while driving.

Subtracting the curb weight from the GCVWR gives you the vehicle’s towing capacity. Manufacturers will stress that you should never exceed your vehicle’s towing capacity. We would add that, for safety reasons, it’s best to never come within 10% of that total.


This truck pulling an enclosed trailer with a 4k car would certainly be quite a bit over it's rating. It would certainly pull it, but ratings were put in place to protect you and others on the road in the case of an emergency stop or some sort of other unplanned incident. If you are going with an enclosed trailer make sure it has good brakes and get a good controller for your truck.

Does it really matter? Not unless something happens.

[FarmerFran]

..Curb wieght is weight of vehicle as it left the factory including all fluids/full tank of fuel


..Payload is weight of all combined items you put in or on the truck, including people, covers, cell phone, anything not from the factory, including the 100lb WDH and the tongue weight.


GVWR is curb weight + payload


..combined is max weight of truck and trailer fully loaded.

WDH are not magical. But are great tools.



99% of the time you will run out of payload before you ever hit max towing.