Need answer quickly...tow capacity

I agree with Bryan. get it weighed. deduct that weight from the GVWR and that will give you its CCC. conv. vans can vary greatly in weight. they can weigh as little as 400lbs more than a standard passenger van (sometimes lighter than a factory pass. van) to as much as 1k lbs more than a passenger van. If its a loaded leather lined high top it will likely have only 800-1k lbs CCC left. I had a 97 Dodge conv. van. it was a basic conv van nice cloth interior and regular captains chairs and a couch in the back, it was lighter than a factory 12 passenger van (factory van benches are HEAVY!) IIRC I had 1900lbs CCC.

So yes get it weighed and then you`ll know. but a quick answer would be, cloth standard height van on a 3/4 ton chassis should be OK. loaded, leather, high top will probably be a no go!

Good luck!

yillb wrote:

carringb wrote:
The 6.0 GM vans cannot actually tow 10,000 pounds. That number is based on the former DuraMax diesel option.

Gross combined weight rating of the 6.0 is 16,000 pounds.

An empty factory passenger van weighs ~6500 pounds. A fancy conversion van is probably at least 7,000 pounds.

You could run into both limited GCWR and possibly payload, depending on the actual empty weight of the van. I would not even put a deposit down on that van without weighing it first.

The curb weight of the truck shouldn't be in question here, the dealer CAN tell you that number, and they can't lie about it, that's just not how it works. Grab the actual weight of the truck as it was shipped ( the dealer knows it ), and subtract that number from the GVWR, if it's 16k and the van weighs 8k then you have an 8k maximum towing capacity. You can get the payload by looking at the yellow sticker, i'm going to assume your payload is likely around 2k, the contents of the van need to be included in that, as well as the hitch weight of the trailer you want. If the trailer weighs 7k pounds, it's safe to assume it has at least a 700 pound hitch weight, deduct that from the payload too, plus your passenger, and gear.

It's a conversion van, therefore he should go to a scale, weigh each axle, and calculate the towing capacity based on subtracting the actual vehicle weight from rated GVWR and GAWR. I wouldn't trust the dealer to know what the curb weights are after the conversion.

carringb wrote:
The 6.0 GM vans cannot actually tow 10,000 pounds. That number is based on the former DuraMax diesel option.

Gross combined weight rating of the 6.0 is 16,000 pounds.

An empty factory passenger van weighs ~6500 pounds. A fancy conversion van is probably at least 7,000 pounds.

You could run into both limited GCWR and possibly payload, depending on the actual empty weight of the van. I would not even put a deposit down on that van without weighing it first.

The curb weight of the truck shouldn't be in question here, the dealer CAN tell you that number, and they can't lie about it, that's just not how it works. Grab the actual weight of the truck as it was shipped ( the dealer knows it ), and subtract that number from the GVWR, if it's 16k and the van weighs 8k then you have an 8k maximum towing capacity. You can get the payload by looking at the yellow sticker, i'm going to assume your payload is likely around 2k, the contents of the van need to be included in that, as well as the hitch weight of the trailer you want. If the trailer weighs 7k pounds, it's safe to assume it has at least a 700 pound hitch weight, deduct that from the payload too, plus your passenger, and gear.

The 6.0 GM vans cannot actually tow 10,000 pounds. That number is based on the former DuraMax diesel option.

Gross combined weight rating of the 6.0 is 16,000 pounds.

An empty factory passenger van weighs ~6500 pounds. A fancy conversion van is probably at least 7,000 pounds.

You could run into both limited GCWR and possibly payload, depending on the actual empty weight of the van. I would not even put a deposit down on that van without weighing it first.

Review the 2017 GMC towing guides that are on line. Quick decisions are the close relatives of Mr. and Ms. Mistake.

Don't let dealer tell you! Look at the manufacturer's sticker or printed materials for payload and max hitch weight. Next, Class 3 isn't that much. Here's what Reese says:

Class III hitches used as weight carrying are rated up to 6000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a 600 lbs. maximum trailer tongue weight (TW).
Class III hitches used for weight distributing are rated up to 10,000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a 1000 lbs. maximum trailer tongue weight (TW)

Jemzz wrote:
Shopping for a new van and confused on GVWR and towing capacity etc.

Dealer says towing capacity is 10,000 lbs. What is that based on? GVWR on vehicle (after adding conversion package) is 8600 lbs.

Van is a GMC Savana 2500. 6.0 L V8 330HP

Has Class 3 hitch with wiring and electric brake control.

Towing capacity is based on GCWR: the combination of the vehicle plus the trailer. The dealer needs to tell you that number, then subtract the 8600# GVWR from the GCWR and that's the real trailer weight the van is rated to tow.

GVWR of the van (8600#) is the rated capacity of the van for unloaded weight + passengers + cargo + hitch weight.

KJ

The number you need to be concerned about is the "Payload" rating. This should be on the yellow sticker inside the drivers door of the van. Hopefully this was update after the conversion was done. For more info --> Learn More