Looking at a new Silverado 3500 for the Lance

Our 04 Chevy Duramax, CC, 4X4 long bed dually equiped with camper package says cargo limit is 3300#. That being said, it's been a work truck hauling full pallets of cement, cubes of blocks, pallets of rocks and stacked to the gills with 60#+ bales of hay all handled with no problems. After 11 years it's now actually carrying a camper. Fully loaded with fuel, water, gear and us it just sits on the overload stoppers that were factory, doesn't sag, sway or bounce. Unloaded is like riding in a buckboard old timey wagon. LOL We've not needed to install anything aftermarket for suspension and still run original size tires and wheels with no problems so far. Since getting the camper last summer we've logged over 8,000 miles without problems. Maybe we just got lucky on a great truck when we bought it or the Gods are liking us. ....a lot, but so far we're good. My husband has always loved this truck for the smooth tracking down the highway with minimal steering adjustments. It just goes along straight and true. We're blessed. Happy husband, happy camping.

PFitt wrote:
Checking the Chevy wed site with 11000 gvw you lose the side airbags and tire pressure monitoring system. Just a sticker up date from 10,000-11,000. Get the 10,000 GVW keep the Air Bags and TPMS system and add air bags to rear if you need the to level it up some. I work at the Flint Truck Plant we build Reg and Crew cab Chevys. The springs and axles are the same. If you order your truck you can get in touch with the Ft Wayne plant were it will be built and watch your truck go down the line!! I just had a friend in Tue, to watch his Crew Cab Dually Duramax go down the line!! He couldn't get the smile off his face all day!! Said it was great to watch his truck being built!

You "lose" the side airbags by default when selecting the 10,800 (SRW standard bed) or 11,000 (SRW long bed) GVWR, but they may be reselected.

The ONLY thing you lose is the TPMS, which many people don't like anyway. If you're going to be running with huge variations in tire pressure (maxed out with a camper installed or perhaps even running aftermarket wheels without TPMS, or aired down for off-road driving), having no TPMS is actually convenient.

Also, the Vortec (gas) engine trucks have higher payload ratings than the Duramax (diesel) trucks, since the 11,600lb GVWR isn't available with the gas engine (and the diesel adds an enormous amount of weight).

Checking the Chevy wed site with 11000 gvw you lose the side airbags and tire pressure monitoring system. Just a sticker up date from 10,000-11,000. Get the 10,000 GVW keep the Air Bags and TPMS system and add air bags to rear if you need the to level it up some. I work at the Flint Truck Plant we build Reg and Crew cab Chevys. The springs and axles are the same. If you order your truck you can get in touch with the Ft Wayne plant were it will be built and watch your truck go down the line!! I just had a friend in Tue, to watch his Crew Cab Dually Duramax go down the line!! He couldn't get the smile off his face all day!! Said it was great to watch his truck being built!

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Mote wrote:
The wife and I are considering replacing the old Ram with a truck this spring. Last Saturday we drove a new Silverado 3500, single rear wheel, extended cab, long bed, 4x4 with the gas engine.
The truck drove amazing. Not surprised since the one have now is 19 years old and has 315k miles.
What concerned was the weight tag on the door. It showed the GVWR as 10,000lbs and the cargo capacity of 3100lbs. Both seemed pretty low for a 3500 series truck. Looking at the Chevrolet website it looks at thou the 10,000lbs GVWR is standard, but you can get 11,000lbs as an option. The website doesn't say what the difference is between the two other than the 11k deletes the tire pressure monitoring system.
The dealer I was at wasn't any help either.
Anyone here know what the difference is between the 10k and 11k GVWR ratings?

You can get an extremely detailed breakdown of the payload capacity and front and rear axle ratings with the GM Fleet calculator:
GM Fleet Model and Option Weights Calculator

The difference between the 10,000 and 11,000 lb GVWR is nothing but a sticker. It's solely for administrative purposes where some jurisdictions have different licensing, fee, etc. requirements for a vehicle exceeding 10,000 lb GVWR.

That truck should have a payload capacity exceeding 4,200 lbs with the Vortec gas engine.

I dont know about Chevy, but on the Fords, the difference is mostly how much you pay in taxes. Many states base part of the taxes on the load carrying capacity. The differences between an F250 and F350 SRW are the badge on the body, the sticker on the door, and maybe the tires, *maybe*. The drivetrain, axles, frame, everything is the same. Add the camper package to an F250, and you have the equivalent of an F350+.

The big payload difference comes on the DRW package.

I got all freaked out about the low payload on my F250. Then reading comments here and around the net, realized the GVWR and payload are mostly limited by tires. The important thing to check is the front and rear axle weight limits. Tires are usually the limiting factor.