5th wheel Towing capacity of 1993 gmc Sierra 3500 dually 6.5

My dry weight is about 12,300 and it's a Toy Hauler. I was hoping to safely tow 15K.

Doesn't look like that is going to happen though ;(

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
How big is the 5er your going to tow?

I have the same truck you're talking about except it's a 2500. I've towed with it for 20 years.

As was said by a few, don't worry bout weight, worry about horsepower. I can carry a ton of fertilizer on the end of the bed and it will take the weight just fine.

Mine is a J code engine and puts out 200HP and 425 ft/lbs of torque and has a 4:10 rear end. Contrary to common RV.net thinking, HP is what gets you up a mountain in a timely manner and 200 HP is not much. I've towed over Ike a few times with a 7000 lb TT and I was down to less than 30 MPH. Towing on the flats was fine because I only needed about 100 HP to maintain 65 to 70 MPH. Even in the hills it towed fine. When you get into the mountains is when things get slow.

So to answer your question. It depends. I would not want to tow much over 7K if I towed a lot in the mountains. If you tow in the flats a lot, it would tow a 10K 5er just fine.

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Lucky if it can move itself let alone a trailer too. It's an old truck even in perfect shape I wouldn't want one. Those 6.5s were very troublesome.

B.O.

Not as bad as a 6.0!
But yea unless you like tinkering and fixing all the ill conceived gadgets on the engine, stay away from the 6.5. Now the 93 is better due to the mechanical pump but I wouldn't pay more than a couple grand for one in good shape all around.
They used to make fine commuter trucks back when the only real diesel was in a 20 year old design Dodge and gassers sucked even more fuel than they do now.
Had a '94 6.5 for a while and I loved the 19 mpg on the hi way compared to my gasser trucks.
The 6.5s still seem to bring more $ than their worth IMO to those who want in on having a diesel but don't have much $.
I bought, fixed and flipped/sold a '94 1500 diesel a couple years ago. Truck body etc was in great shape. Made good money on it and the buyer sold it again pretty quick. Probably had more issues, but he was asking more than I did and it wasn't posted long.

How big is the 5er your going to tow?

I have the same truck you're talking about except it's a 2500. I've towed with it for 20 years.

As was said by a few, don't worry bout weight, worry about horsepower. I can carry a ton of fertilizer on the end of the bed and it will take the weight just fine.

Mine is a J code engine and puts out 200HP and 425 ft/lbs of torque and has a 4:10 rear end. Contrary to common RV.net thinking, HP is what gets you up a mountain in a timely manner and 200 HP is not much. I've towed over Ike a few times with a 7000 lb TT and I was down to less than 30 MPH. Towing on the flats was fine because I only needed about 100 HP to maintain 65 to 70 MPH. Even in the hills it towed fine. When you get into the mountains is when things get slow.

So to answer your question. It depends. I would not want to tow much over 7K if I towed a lot in the mountains. If you tow in the flats a lot, it would tow a 10K 5er just fine.

Lucky if it can move itself let alone a trailer too. It's an old truck even in perfect shape I wouldn't want one. Those 6.5s were very troublesome.

B.O.

I meant to say 1994 not 1964, sorry. Also went to a Duramax. What a difference.

Had a 94. Upgraded the water pump and moved the PMD but they were still rated pretty low. Think I looked at my friends 99 and it was rated 7K (1 ton, SRW).

Went to an 01 Duramax. Was night and day in comparison. Just had to deal with replacing the injectors (PITA)

I had a 1964. After 68,000 miles, I had had enough. It did not like to pull a Fiver in hot weather. Living in Colorado, you will be in the mountains. I Think it will be a struggle with the lack of power. The transmission was never a problem.

Tankcar wrote:
Hi. You may want to look in the driver side door frame for a plate / sticker.

Tow capacity is not on the door sticker. It's in the owner's manual in the towing section, based on engine/transmission/cab/bed/gear ratio.

What's on the door sticker is the truck's GVWR, and axle weight ratings. On a truck this old there isn't even payload information IIRC.

Since the truck is well out of warranty, the tow rating is pretty much meaningless. IMHO, "safety" has little to do with factory tow ratings; they are determined mostly by bean counters who don't want to cover warranty work caused by people abusing their trucks, and don't want to get too many angry customers returning their trucks due to poor towing performance.

Your truck is well out of warranty, so basically it can tow whatever you feel safe and comfortable with. There is no way you can go back on GM if you break something, get in an accident, or are not happy with the performance at this stage of the game.

IIRC, the GVWR on a DRW from that era is 10,000lbs. The truck itself weighs around 6500lbs empty, leaving you with a good 3500lbs of payload, though it can carry at least 4000lbs and not even break a sweat or push the tire ratings anywhere near their limits.

The truck itself should easily be able to keep a 12,000-15,000lb fifth wheel off the ground and under control...

BUUUUUUUUUT...

You will not be happy with how it performs. Maybe with 4.56 gears, but you will be redlining the engine at highway speeds.

That, and this is a 20+ year old truck. It's no spring chicken. Might want to go a bit easy on the old girl. No sense thrashing it like a government mule unless you have short term plans to upgrade trucks.

After that intolerably long winded response, I will say that I agree with previous respondents who are saying that 10,000lbs is about all you really want to tow with it.

I have had two of those trucks. I can tell a short horror story about by 93' 3500 CC DRW. I was "attempting" to pull a piece of equipment over the Teton Pass with my 93. Total weight was about 13-14K. I got about 3/4 the way up the pass and had to turn around. I couldn't make it up, I don't suggest trying to turn around with an equipment trailer on the Teton Pass. Obviously I lived to tell the story, but I wont forget it. I bought my first Duramax days after that fiasco in July 2001 If you want to consider something that puts old power in perspective, the specs on the 6.5T were approx. 195 hp and 385 foot/pounds. The little Dmax in the Canyon is 181 hp and about the same torque.

Hi. You may want to look in the driver side door frame for a plate / sticker.