How much weight is too much?

Either the 2011 was a typo, or the Megacab was a typo. A REAL Megacab 1500 only existed in the 3rd gens, and used a 2500 chassis.

With the 4th gens, the biggest limiting factor is rear GAWR - only 3900 lbs. I'm all about pushing the limits, and calling out the OEM ratings that are marketing driven. But axle limits are not a marketing limit, and should be respected.

Power wise, the small block Hemi would keep up / beat any stock big block, with the 8 speed (which the 2011s did not have). When my Hemi is revved out to 5000 - 6000 rpm, my V10 has not chance keeping up.

The part I am having a hard time believing is you have traveled across the USA and ONLY add 450# to your RV.

blt2ski wrote:
8600 gvwr, 8500 gcwr.

Something has to be wrong with this, GCWR can't be less than GVWR.

Bought an 81 gmc new, had a 292 I6, Muncie 4 sp and 4.10s. 8600 gvwr, 8500 gcwr. IOff the line, loaded on steep grades IE over 15%, it would out do equally loaded 88 tbi 454, 89 4 bank 454 3500s I had with th400 tyrannies. Blew those trannies up severely 30k miles like clockwork! Stalled them out a lot also. 292 combo I.never stalled it out! Both 3500s would have been better with 3.42 or 3.73 gears and the Muncie 4sp.
All in how the trans, axle gears are in relation to HP and torque to rear wheels. Some setups are better than others.

Today's rigs are better setup generally speaking. I'd put OPs motor in my 26k Navistar, gm 6.0 too! They would do fine. Especially when at one time, you could get a GM/Ford 292/300 I6 in a 26k gvwr 65 series truck!

Marty

ls1mike wrote:

twodownzero wrote:

As someone said above, what were we pulling trailers with in 1985? Certainly no pickup then was rated to pull 14,000 pounds, and the ones that had the highest ratings were ~200ish horsepower big blocks with 4.56 gears and no overdrive, screaming an engine with a 4.25"+ stroke 3,300 RPM just to keep the load moving. They were noisy, sluggish, and had tiny brakes compared to a modern 3/4 or 1 ton truck, which will have much larger brakes, heavier duty wheels and tires, anti-swaybars, more gears to keep the engine in the sweet spot, etc.

LOL I had that truck for many years. 1989 GMC 1 ton 454/Turbo 400/4.10 gears. Screaming everywhere we went. The 6.0/4L80E/4.10's tows circles around it. Someday it will be nice to upgrade but with 55,000 miles It is going nowhere soon.

Op if you don't mind slowing down I don't see the big deal

I still have a Blazer with an LO5, 4.88s, SM465. It doesn't get anywhere fast. The same combo in a pickup would be a dog, too.

twodownzero wrote:

As someone said above, what were we pulling trailers with in 1985? Certainly no pickup then was rated to pull 14,000 pounds, and the ones that had the highest ratings were ~200ish horsepower big blocks with 4.56 gears and no overdrive, screaming an engine with a 4.25"+ stroke 3,300 RPM just to keep the load moving. They were noisy, sluggish, and had tiny brakes compared to a modern 3/4 or 1 ton truck, which will have much larger brakes, heavier duty wheels and tires, anti-swaybars, more gears to keep the engine in the sweet spot, etc.

LOL I had that truck for many years. 1989 GMC 1 ton 454/Turbo 400/4.10 gears. Screaming everywhere we went. The 6.0/4L80E/4.10's tows circles around it. Someday it will be nice to upgrade but with 55,000 miles It is going nowhere soon.

Op if you don't mind slowing down I don't see the big deal

Grit dog wrote:
Safely? Yes.
Quickly? Likely not as quickly as the current trailer. Although if you’re satisfied with the current performance, the bigger trailer may not bother you.
Everyone has their own speed

That's kinda my thought. While many recognize me as a person who generally informs people that overloading a truck is never a good idea, there's more than one way to overload a truck and they all don't have the same consequences.

Assuming a rig is loaded so as not to bust the GVWRs, axle, or tire ratings, and has appropriate brakes for the load, the GCW is probably the least important number. Realistically, what's the difference between the gas version and diesel version of the same truck? The answer is really nothing other than power; the tow rating represents an engineer's assessment of the ability of the vehicle to move with the flow of traffic.

As someone said above, what were we pulling trailers with in 1985? Certainly no pickup then was rated to pull 14,000 pounds, and the ones that had the highest ratings were ~200ish horsepower big blocks with 4.56 gears and no overdrive, screaming an engine with a 4.25"+ stroke 3,300 RPM just to keep the load moving. They were noisy, sluggish, and had tiny brakes compared to a modern 3/4 or 1 ton truck, which will have much larger brakes, heavier duty wheels and tires, anti-swaybars, more gears to keep the engine in the sweet spot, etc.

Getting back to the original poster, "tow rating" really is a scary number. It makes all sorts of assumptions about how the truck is loaded. I've yet to own a truck that I could find any way to get to the actual "tow rating" without overloading something else. If the "tow rating" really is GCWR - GVW, all I'd have to do to overload the truck was get inside. And I've yet to find a way to get anywhere near the GCWR of my truck without busting, at bare minimum, the GVWR, and perhaps the rear tires and RGAWR as well.

I pull 11,000 pounds with a 1 ton SRW Ram all the time, so it's certainly possible the OP is within his other ratings and it's only the weak engine/gear combo that produced a lower GCWR and thus "tow rating."

That said, it'd be awfully annoying to pull max GCWR with any truck and I doubt any of us have the patience to deal with how slow it'd be unless we all grew up with older trucks, which were dogs compared to now in terms of horsepower.

Safely? Yes.
Quickly? Likely not as quickly as the current trailer. Although if you’re satisfied with the current performance, the bigger trailer may not bother you.
Everyone has their own speed

blt2ski wrote:
Assuming 1000 lbs additional weight, an additional 3HP will be required at 60 mph. Oh dear!
If you added height to rig, ea additional 3 sqft of frontal area is equal to HP of 1000 lbs, or 3HP. Add a foot, 1000 lbs, equal HP needs of 4000 lbs.
BUT!!!!!
If said trailer is more aerodynamic!, you may need less HP than you do now, and get better performance and mpg by .1!
Also remember, tow ratings are a performance/warranty rating. A 2011 is out of warranty. Performance wise, every one of us has different assets, so expectations are different.
Reality, assuming a 2500 series, no big, a 1500, might be a chassis retrain issue.
OPs call. I'd do it in a chebby heartbeat if an 8 lug truck!

Marty

I was thinking on the GMT800 board I am on Facebook some of the folks with the exact same truck as me who are farmers and live in the flats tow 12000 to 15000lbs with the their 02 6.0 2500/3500HD. Some have asked why I only have a 7500lbs trailer. My main reason I like to keep up the flow of traffic out here on the west coast on the bigger passes.

My BIL had a 1998 Dodge Cummins 5 speed 1 ton, oh 7 years ago now and it broke, lost the transmission in Spokane. He worked for the carnival. You should hear some of those stories but it requires alcohol.

Long story short My wife and her family cried until I said I would go get the trailer, a 1985 Carriage 5th wheel, and bring him home so he wouldn't lose his job. I towed that 14,000lbs pile from Spokane to Whidbey Island and while on the big hills I had to slow down. I was surprised at how well the 02 did.

Then I thought about it. What were people towing that thing with back in 1985? A lot less than my truck.

I feel sometimes on here people are like "Oh you have a Pop up trailer? You need at least a 1 ton dually to pull that."

Like blt2ski said your call, but 1000 lbs? I don't think that is going to make or break you.

When the load starts pushing the tow vehicle around, that is usually a pretty good indicator.