How much can we REALLY tow with our 2015 Sierra 1500?

Which half ton ???

List your GVRW, RGAWR, FGAWR and GCWR....Plus your receiver rating (both dead weight and WD)

Best if you have your TV's actual weight...fully loaded ready to go RVing

You're getting a lot of comments about dry weight and rightfully so but there are two "dry weights." The brochure number which is irrelevant for all the reasons given above and the sticker on the actual TT that gives the weight when it left the factory. You want the latter and the GVWR.

Again, you need to do your math but I bet you'll end up happier if you are in the 5,000 dry, 6,500/7,000 lb GVWR range.

Based on my Tundra, rated to tow 10K and I'm towing 6,500 lbs. or so, I'd suggest that you stay at least under 8K, and 7,500 is probably a better goal to shoot for. No doubt, with a good WD hitch, you can do more and get by even if exceeding the payload weight by a little, but it will take a toll on the truck and may not be the best for driving and handling. Keep in mind when they say a trailer has a dry weight of 7,500 lbs., that doesn't include the weight of options, propane, any water, etc.

Another way to look at it is to use the GVWR and check how much they are allowing for cargo. My trailer had a dry weight of just under 5K. But with added slide out awning, propane tanks filled, and loaded with all gear except for some food & drink, and some clothing, the trailer weighed 6,200 lbs. at the scales. So, with some other mods and with all gear, I figure I'm pulling 6,500 lbs. and really wouldn't want to pull much more. The GVWR for my trailer is 7,500 lbs. It's only two of us, but truck bed gets loaded with 2 folding bikes, blue tote, tool bucket, 5lb. propane tank for grill, a little firewood and other misc. stuff.

I would prefer to allow for some error and tow about 80% of what the manual says I can tow so for you about 8500.

Dry weight of a trailer is a meaningless figure. Often the manufacturer's dry weight excludes air conditioning, awning, microwave, and other items every RV will have. Always use the trailer's maximum weight rating as the weight figure you will be towing. And as others have posted, carefully consider payload of your vehicle.

To answer your question, you can actually tow the maximum weight your vehicle is rated to tow.

At 8300 pounds dry, you can expect to be more like 9500 pounds loaded for a long weekend with 1200 pounds of tongue weight. You should confirm what your receiver limit is as well as the truck's as equipped payload per he tire and loading sticker. I suspect that proposed TT will exceed at least 3 of your truck's ratings. And then there is the performance. What are your expectations? The 5.3L is capable, but its peak torque is over 4000rpm. Are you mentally prepared for towing at 2200rpm with 4000-5500rpm in those mountains? You are pulling two sheets of plywood through the air which takes a lot of base power. Any hill is noticeable.

6k dry is a good range for the most capable half tons and RVers. That will tow worse than a 9k boat.

4fromOH wrote:
...or do we need to shop for lighter?

I would. Unfortunately you haven't provided any details as to how much weight you intend to carry in the TV at the time you're towing (people, cargo, it ALL counts) but with a trailer this heavy which will also present a significant gross tongue weight once loaded and ready to camp it sure will be a challenge to remain within the vehicle's stated payload capacity. :E Especially for towing in the mountains I'd be looking for something much lighter. JMO.

Read through the post on how to calculate GVWR and GVCWR. This was a hard lesson for me that you "load out" before you "tow out." I have a 9500 lb tow rating but my actual max is 6500 lbs because of the tongue weight (TW). I'm hauling a family of four so I could maybe squeeze a little more cargo if I didn't have 4 people but my hitch is 500 without a weight distribution hitch (WDH) and 950 with. WDH weighs 100 lbs leaving 850 for TW.

Look at the stamp on your hitch as see but I bet it's rated to 1,000 or less with a WDH. All the other numbers matter but this may be a limiting factor even if you can squeeze a little more room on cargo.

Good news is, that means you should have some margin in GVCWR which gives extra power for towing up hills.

As Keith said, the issue will be payload after you have passengers and cargo in the truck (needs to be confirmed on the CAT scales). Use the search function on the forum - has been asked and answered many times (with formulas on how to calculate).

Towing won't be the issue, a 1300# (or so) tongue weight will be.
Apart from exceeding hitch capacity it won't leave much payload for passengers and stuff.