We are currently looking into a GMC 1500 Sierra or Chevy 1500. We want the max trailing package but the websites are so confusing. The trailer we are looking to pull weighs 8100lbs dry. It is impossible to find a truck here with the 3.73 axel ratio. We would have to get the 3.42, even when I try to build and price directly from the website I can't get the 3.73 ratio to be an option. Do you think the 3.42 ratio is sufficient to pull it. They have a 9,600lb max trailering capacity.

No. And I am not one of the weight police guys who thinks you need a dually to tow a pop up. 8100 lbs dry is going to be much heavier once you add food, pots and pans, tools, equipment, etc. Could weigh in excess of 1000 lbs more or even 1500 lbs more. For your truck you also have to add the weight of a hitch. Now everyone is going to tell you to add a driver, fuel, passengers, more gear in the bed and they are sort of right. My truck's capacity takes into account a full tank of gas. Many also include about 150 lbs for the driver. Look at the cargo capacity rating. You have to figure about 15% of the weight is going to be on the tongue. So you are already looking at about 1200+ lbs of tongue weight.

Modern 1/2 tons can do a lot, but a 8,100lbs dry TT is not something I would consider towing with a 1/2 ton. Get a 2500 or 3500 SRW, whichever is cheaper as they are nearly the same. Max tow rating is the GCWR minus curb weight minus 150lbs for a driver. So every pound the truck has in passengers, gear, hitch, bed liner, floor mats, etc detracts from the max towing capacity. It's very very rare to be able to tow at max tow capacity, it means a trailer with just enough tongue weight to stay withing the 10-15% and not exceed GVWR and no passengers or anything in the truck/bed.

With any 1/2 ton, I would not match it up with any travel trailer exceeding 6500 loaded. A 6500 TT will have a tongue weight of around 13 percent or 850 lbs. Add a 150 lb WD hitch, 300 lbs passengers, 300 lbs stuff in bed; then you are putting about 1500 lbs onto the truck. Most half ton trucks have a payload of 1500 lbs or less. Do yourself a favor and ignore the tow rating listed by truck manufacturers. You will exceed payload long before you exceed the tow rating of a truck. Tow ratings are when towing boats or other trailers with light tongue weights. With travel trailers, a minimum 13 percent tongue weight is necessary to keep trailer sway under control. Also, don't let a truck or rv salesperson tell you the half ton truck will tow anything.

I thought it would be pushing it. I see so many people pulling these huge campers with the same truck and I am thinking how can it be, because I know I have been trying to find one with the 3.73 axel ration so we can get to the 11,500lbs capacity but they are nearly impossible to find in the NYC area.

There are all the naysayers who always say you need a 1T dually to tow anything, then you have folks like me who routinely tow 10K with a Chevrolet 1500, here in the western mountains. Yes you can get the 3.73 but you need to order the NHT package to get it. With the NHT package, your trailer weight is upped to 12K, just make sure you get the model with 2K± carry capacity. If the latest and greatest don't have what you want, I know for a fact that 2011 & 2012 GM twins have the NHT and it comes with the 6.2L engine and the 3.73 rear, so think gently used for a TV. BTW, I am getting 20+ mpg with 1K in the bed, on the highway at 55-60mph.

So confused with tow capacities | Good Sam Community

blt2ski
Moderator
Aug 28, 2014
oceanluver wrote:
blt2ski wrote:
A family of 5 that weighs maybe 400 lbs. Heck, my ex and I weigh that much. Much less when my boys were 9, daughters were 7 and 4! Probably another 150-200 between them.

Marty

I was off by 20lbs, right now we weigh 420 minus car seat. All 3 kids weighed in at the Drs office yesterday at 125lbs. I weigh 115 and my husband weighs about 180. We are not big people. LOL My 2 boys are both in the 25th percentile for weight. They are tall/lean kids. My daughter is tiny like me too.

Sounds a little like mine, 25% for wt, but 125% for ht for twins and child 4. #3 was in the 80th for ht, and 50th for wt. So we are a bit larger on both ends of the scale. Because of this, I have a tendency to use heavier wts than most. We also packed about 2000 lbs into the trailer for gear, food etc. 6 sets of clothes, sleeping gear, cook and eating utensils will add up about the same, no matter the size of the people. Plus because we usually went where there was not hookups, i left with a full tank of water. At the end of the day, better to be guessing a bit on the heavy side vs light!

Have fun with the new rig etc.

Marty
therink
Explorer
Aug 28, 2014
Load your truck as if camping, firewood, bikes, tools, 100lbs for hitch, tools, toys, etc. Go to a scale and weigh your truck. Subtract the scaled truck weight from the truck gvwr posted on tag in door jamb.
That will tell you how many lbs you have left for hitch weight.
Most 1/2 ton trucks exceed payload long before they exceed tow rating (what it is rated to pull). Also, the max tongue weight that your hitch is rated for is another thing to confirm (likely 1000 lb).
oceanluver
Explorer
Aug 28, 2014
blt2ski wrote:
A family of 5 that weighs maybe 400 lbs. Heck, my ex and I weigh that much. Much less when my boys were 9, daughters were 7 and 4! Probably another 150-200 between them.

Marty

I was off by 20lbs, right now we weigh 420 minus car seat. All 3 kids weighed in at the Drs office yesterday at 125lbs. I weigh 115 and my husband weighs about 180. We are not big people. LOL My 2 boys are both in the 25th percentile for weight. They are tall/lean kids. My daughter is tiny like me too.
oceanluver
Explorer
Aug 28, 2014
Wanted to thank everyone for there advice. We found a 1500 with a max towing package with a payload of 1967lbs and a "tow rating" of 11Klbs we have decided to go with a smaller camper rather than the bigger truck. It wasn't practical for everyday use to go with a 3/4ton , since here in NY we would have to get commercial plates and would be limited to only the interstates (which is what we would have to use when towing) and it is not practical for the everyday use when my husband has to go to work and needs to use the parkway system. If you live in the NYC metro area you do not want to be limited to which roadways you can use.
Campfire_Time
Explorer
Aug 19, 2014
TomG2 wrote:
I had a 2009 2500HD and went to a 2012 Silerado 1500 to pull a 7,000 pound trailer. I am back to a 2013 2500HD and glad of it. You can save what money it cost me to experiment if you listen to the folks on here. (Not the ones who say that a half ton is worthless or the ones who say a F-150/1500 is good to tow over 10,000 pounds)

Good advice! I've had similar experiences.

I have twice towed close to my towing limits with 2 different TV/trailer combos. I knew what I was getting into and I was not over, nor did it ever feel unsafe. Its doable for short trips on relatively flat terrain. NOT mountains.

However, what I will tell you is that there is a marked difference in towing with some margin. When its "right", you know it, and it makes for a very pleasurable towing experience. When you push the limits, you know that too, and its always in the back of your mind.

My current TV is a 5.3 with 3:73, 7500 tc, payload of 1600+. Trailer is almost 5k loaded. I could easily take on another 1k, maybe a bit more. But that would be the real world limit.
Ric_Flair
Explorer
Aug 19, 2014
Get a 1 ton diesel doolie and be unconfused
brulaz
Explorer
Aug 19, 2014
Like others are saying, look at your truck's payload.

We are towing a loaded 7500-8000# trailer with a so-called "half-ton" but our payload is 2050#. It's a 4x2 and an extended (not full crew) cab.

Unfortunately, the ride in most "half-tons" is too soft when fully loaded, the suspension is really tuned for "grocery-getting". So we upgraded the suspension of ours and switched to LT tires.

We are very happy with the rig now. It's a stable ride; I only put on my friction anti-sway bar in case of emergencies. And am pretty sure I'm under all the truck's weight limits (but close to the rear GAWR and hitch receiver ratings). Will be going to the scales again soon to confirm.

In the future, we may trade in our 4x2 for a heavier 4x4 as we want to spend more time off-road. I will then probably go for Ford's "heavy half-ton" option (HD Payload option) as that includes the tires and suspension (and rear axle) really needed to carry a full load.

Or if we were ever planning on getting a new trailer with loaded weight greater than 8000#, or a fifth wheel with heavier pin weights, I would probably move up to a 250/2500 truck. But as we are very happy with our current trailer, I don't think this will happen.
jerem0621
Explorer II
Aug 19, 2014
For that trailer I would probably go with a SRW 3/4 or 1 ton with at least 2500 lbs of payload.

9-10k lbs is a pretty serious amount of weight. And you may get very close to that number pretty quickly.

There are some fake half tons that will "easily" handle that weight. However, they are pretty rare and typically special order.

Please remember that a truck having towing mirrors is not an indication that it's a HD truck.

I am a huge fan of the humble Half Ton and I want another one, however it is YOUR responsibility to properly match the truck and trailer together. The great news is that you are asking questions.

I will look for "half tons" with 1600-1900 ish lbs of payload and will buy a travel trailer in the 4500-5000 lb dry weight range. I am a fan of 28-30 ft trailers and feel that they are the optimal size between family space and ease of use in campgrounds and gas stations. Take a peek at the Surveyor and the Apex lines if you are committed to the half ton truck.

Otherwise, you are clearly in 3/4 ton land.

Thanks,

Jeremiah
TXiceman
Explorer II
Aug 19, 2014
8100# dry weight is going to be closer to 9000# by the time it is delivered to you and heavier yet when you load it for camping. You will most likely be closer to 10,000# and a hitch weight of over 1100#. This is going to be too much for a 1/2 ton truck...pretty much end of discussion.

My advice is a 3/4 ton truck or look for a trailer that is a couple of thousand pounds heavier.

Ken
lanerd
Explorer II
Aug 19, 2014
oceanluver wrote:
Do you think a TT with a dry weight of 7300lbs is good for a 1500?

You're missing the point. Forget the towing capacity...that is a number made up by the mfg for sales enhancement. With ANY 1/2 ton pickup (1500 or 150 series), your main concern will be the "payload capacity".

What ever trailer you're looking at, take 12 to 15 percent of the trailer's Gross Vehicle Weight for the tongue weight. Subtract that amount from the truck's payload capacity and what is left over will be what you can use for ANYTHING you put in or on the truck...includes you, passengers, equipment, tools, camping stuff...etc. You'll be very surprised at the figures.

My 1/2 ton pickup was under a lot of stress with pulling my 25', 5500 lb LOADED (weighed to make sure) travel trailer. I had to go to E rated tires, air bags and a supercharger for the engine. In three years, I had to replace the rear differential gears as they were making a lot of noise. Also had to replace the rear wheel bearings and brake shoes.

Granted, 1/2 tons have grown bigger, stronger, and more powerful....but for some reason the mfg'ers have not increased the payload capacity. Strange.

Ron