Hey everyone,My wife and I bought our first travel trailer 2 years ago and we have been living in it full time and love it. We just had our first baby boy and the trailer we have now is starting to get cramped and we're looking to upgrade to a fifth wheel or larger travel trailer. My father in law said we can borrow his truck to tow and says it's a "2002 3/4 Ton Heavy Duty Diesel 4x4 Chevy (pretty sure it's a 2500) He says it can tow around 16,000-18,000 pounds but I'm having a hard time finding the towing capacity online. Can someone help me find the towing capacity?Or if you have the same truck, I would really appreciate it if you could give me the specs for this truck. Thanks in advance!-Nate

Your father in law is so wrong on this I don't know where to start.

This site says 12,000lb tow capacity:https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2002-Chevrolet-Silverado+2500HD-LT__4x4_Extended_Cab_6.6_ft._box_143.5_in._WB/specs/

it's a "2002 3/4 Ton Heavy Duty Diesel 4x4 Chevy 3/4 ton truck from that era had around 9000 gvwrs and 6084 rawr. My 2500 Dodge/Cummins 305/555HO NV5600 tranny 3.73 gears has a 13400 lb tow rating. A '02 2500 GM diesel will have around the same tow rating. A 13000 lb 5th wheel trailer can have around 2600-2800 lb hitch weight which will go over the truck 6084 lb rated rear axle. The weight of the hitch and other gear in the bed adds up also so your looking at approx 3000 lbs at the most for your 2500 truck. 3/4 ton trucks that era rear axle weighs in the 2700-2900 lb range. You have the truck so drop by a CAT scale and find the trucks front and rear axle weights with attention to the trucks rear axle numbers.....then do the math. You don't want to exceed GM 2500 6084 rawr numbers (tire/wheel/rear spring pack). I would stick with a 12k-13k gvwr (9000 lb dry weight) 5th wheel trailer as a max size. .

^^Good info from JIMNLINWhile the truck may be capable of towing a heavier trailer, it can only carry the weight of the axle wt ratings. A FW trailer will have a pin wt of 20%, or slightly more. All this pin wt sits over the rear axle.Jerry

i remember a lot of folks buying BIG 5w trailers on this forum at the time towing with a 2500HD. A year later trading them in on a dw rig. Towed fine, bottomed out the RA a lot. limit on rear is due to the tires. reality tge springs are good to 6400. BUT, dump a 3-4000 lb pin load, you're in trouble. My 96 CC LB 6.5 with similar specs, was closer to 2200-2400 empty on the rear. My swag is the 02 will be around here, about 4400-4600 on the FA. IF you pack heavy, you may overload this truck. if an occasional move, it will do the job legally if you have enough tonnage on it. A ball mount trailer you can pull about double the wieght of a 5w for a given chassis truck, dur to less hitch wieght. you may want to go to a longer TT.GCWR on my 05 dmax was 21000 for a SW rig, 23500 for a DW rig. I believe the 02 was the same. marty

2002 3/4 Ton Heavy Duty Diesel Chevy 2500 | Good Sam Community

MFL
Nomad II
Mar 10, 2023
^^Good info from JIMNLIN

While the truck may be capable of towing a heavier trailer, it can only carry the weight of the axle wt ratings. A FW trailer will have a pin wt of 20%, or slightly more. All this pin wt sits over the rear axle.

Jerry
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Mar 10, 2023
it's a "2002 3/4 Ton Heavy Duty Diesel 4x4 Chevy

3/4 ton truck from that era had around 9000 gvwrs and 6084 rawr.

My 2500 Dodge/Cummins 305/555HO NV5600 tranny 3.73 gears has a 13400 lb tow rating. A '02 2500 GM diesel will have around the same tow rating.

A 13000 lb 5th wheel trailer can have around 2600-2800 lb hitch weight which will go over the truck 6084 lb rated rear axle. The weight of the hitch and other gear in the bed adds up also so your looking at approx 3000 lbs at the most for your 2500 truck.

3/4 ton trucks that era rear axle weighs in the 2700-2900 lb range. You have the truck so drop by a CAT scale and find the trucks front and rear axle weights with attention to the trucks rear axle numbers.....then do the math. You don't want to exceed GM 2500 6084 rawr numbers (tire/wheel/rear spring pack).

I would stick with a 12k-13k gvwr (9000 lb dry weight) 5th wheel trailer as a max size.

.
Tvov
Explorer II
Mar 10, 2023
This site says 12,000lb tow capacity:

https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2002-Chevrolet-Silverado+2500HD-LT__4x4_Extended_Cab_6.6_ft._box_143.5_in._WB/specs/
bucky
Explorer II
Mar 10, 2023
Your father in law is so wrong on this I don't know where to start.

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2002 3/4 Ton Heavy Duty Diesel Chevy 2500

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