3/4 ton Duramax capacity

I've put over 2 tons of stuff in my old K3500 with essentially the same setup as the new 2500's, ie 9200 gvwr, 6100 ra and 4600 fa vs current 4800. I had close to the 2 tons available on the ra alone when empty. IIRC about 2200-2400 empty wt.

I've put 3 tons in my dually, grosing at 15K a few times.

Reality is, in anything, it comes down to payload before going over some engineers spec from GM. BUT< depending upon the state you drive in, generally speaking, many do not enforce the manufactures ratings. Wa st is really liberal on this. One would get close to 21K gvw and 10K per axel before being considered over wt. Also assuming you have a paid for wt tag of that amount!

Power wise, the truck should do fine. At some point in time, ie about 12K total, a 9200 gvwr gm does get a bit screwy, in that one will be hitting bump stops on the rear when going over some speed bumps, or if you hit a hole at speed, then start going up quickly, ie a river crossing or equal in a valley....

Marty

I also have a 2500HD Duramax. I also pull a 30 foot 5th wheel. I have taken it across the scales. The rear axle came in 4700 lbs. With 245/75-16 load range E tires, it can safely carry 6084 lbs. The rear axle is rated for 10800lbs. The frame is the same as a 1 ton dually.
Your load limitation is the tires, not the capacity of the truck.

I still have 1384 lbs available.

azdryheat wrote:
I towed my 14,000 GVWR 5er with my prior 2500 Duramax (with airbags and 265 tires) with no problems. Was I over weight? Most likely. I now have a dually and can tell no difference in how it tows.

And please inform us of any accidents or broken axles or any other problems caused by being over weight. Anyone? Anyone?

You must be kidding. That is not possible.
chevman

All I can say is this. I have an long bed 06 LBZ and I put a ton of fertilizer in the bed the other day.

I also have a heavy cap on it and let me tell you it handled that ton of fertilizer great. No wallowing at all and it was on the tail of the truck. The whole ton was up against the tail gate and not in the middle of the bed or up front. :E I was shocked at how well my truck handled this amount of weight. :E

After doing this I would have no problem towing a 5er with a 2k to 2,500 lb pin weight.

I towed my 14,000 GVWR 5er with my prior 2500 Duramax (with airbags and 265 tires) with no problems. Was I over weight? Most likely. I now have a dually and can tell no difference in how it tows.

And please inform us of any accidents or broken axles or any other problems caused by being over weight. Anyone? Anyone?

wintersun wrote:
Guess no one told the 40 truck and trailer owners that their trucks were not up to the job.

I would venture a guess 90% of those SRW people have never been a ross a scales with their trucks.
Most people are blisifilly ignorant of their true weights. Those that have spend money trying to make do and have actually been on the scales understand the numbers. But i guess if you are willing to take the riska, why not simply go ahead and tow that monster fiver or haul that camper with a 1500 truck. Sure cheaper to buy!
The old adage about having the proper tool for the job should be the answer to all these types of questions.

Friend has been pulling a 13.5K 5th wheel for years with a 2005 3/4 ton Duramax. My 2011 handles a 3700 lb. camper with no problems though I added Supersprings and put on Nitto tires rated at 3750 each. The payload capacity is calculated for the truck at the factory based on how the truck is configured at that time. The variable I find time after time that affects the factory payload rating is the wheels and the tires on the different trucks.

With a 1-ton all that changes is the extra set of leaf springs at the rear. There is also the option of DRW to increase payload and towing capacity. Not sure why the manufacturers make the 3/4 and the 1-ton models when all that changes is the leaf springs (except for the 2013 Ram trucks where the 1-ton have a stronger frame than the Ram 2500 trucks).

The GCWR is the key figure. It relates to the stregnth of ALL the components of the truck including the engine bearings, transmission, torque converter, rear differential, frame strength, axle and wheel bearings.

I drove to Las Vegas and back to the Monterey area this past week and decided to count how many SRW trucks and how many DRW trucsk were being used to tow a 5th wheel RV. Counted 40 SRW trucks and 9 DRW trucks towing 5th wheel trailers. Guess no one told the 40 truck and trailer owners that their trucks were not up to the job.

My 2003 crew/longbed had a 15000lb 5er rating.we pulled our Jaco 321rlts with 10500 dry weight 14500 gross.no problems but our new dually does better.

azbohunter wrote:
As you can see by my sig. this is not me but for a friend.
He has a 2002 GMC Duramax 3/4 ton 4 door long bed truck and is looking at upgrading his 5th wheel.
Pin weight for the new 5ver (2005 Montana 3295RK)is 2300 pounds. I know it is border line but is it beyond the recommended capacity for that truck.
He does have plans to upgrade the truck within the next year or two and would consider a 1 ton at the time but not ready to jump there yet.
Any of you pulling this trailer with 3/4 ton?

My Komfort has a relatively light pin ratio and, though I've never weighed it when loaded, the calculated pin wt. at my 11.3k GVW is right at 1,800 lbs. My truck is an 02 D'max 4x4 short bed, so I know I'd be over were I to load that heavy. I don't think I've ever been close, however, so don't worry all that much about it.

Lyle

I think the 9200 was the gross vehicle weight and a 22,000 combined weight rating.
chevman