Forum Discussion

snarkee's avatar
snarkee
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014

Tow numbers

I have a 2014 silverado 1500 and I want to make sure I understand the numbers

My trucks gvw is 7200 according to the door tag
The payload is 1723
The tow capacity is 9600

So I gassed up and hit the scale (single scale)

With just me inside, the truck weighed 6000

The truck with the trailer connected without the wdh and
the trailer off the scale was 6840. Therefore my tongue weight is 840lbs

My truck and trailer weight is 12360 total

And my loaded trailer weight was 5480(plus the 840 hitch) totalling 6320 (trailer sticker wet rating is 6800 so I have room to spare)

My question is, with 7200 registered door tag truck gvw, and my truck with trailer tongue weight is 6840lbs, does that only leave me with 360lbs truck gvw to spare?
Tow Vehicles
  • ib516's avatar
    ib516
    Explorer II
    Jun 14, 2014
    Yep, that's right.

    That's the problem with most 1500/150 series trucks when it comes to RV tow duty.
  • snarkee's avatar
    snarkee
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    Kind of pathetic if you ask me. Doesn't leave me any room after my wife and boy hop in the truck

    I bet many people think they are well within their limits but aren't. My trailer it's even that heavy at all and I'm still going to be over the limits of my truck
  • therink's avatar
    therink
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    As far as travel trailers are concerned, (due to being tongue heavy versus say a boat trailer), most TTs over 6k are 3/4 ton truck territory.

    It is unfortunate that the truck manufacturers are misleading with the tow ratings. You will likely be ok but not the best scenario.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Jun 14, 2014
    Did you notice that the 'payload' (1723#) dropped to just 1200# (7200# truck GVWR minus 6000# truck weight)? Subtract that tongue weight (840#) and that leaves you with 360# of payload/GVW.
    Hopefully the trailer was loaded camp ready when you weighed?

    And that the tow rating of 9600# is unrealistic?
    With that 6840# trailer you have run out of truck (with wife/boy and anything stuff they put in truck).

    MFGs numbers and real world actual numbers never match up

    Same holds true for 250/2500, 350/3500 etc.
  • snarkee's avatar
    snarkee
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    The trailer was loaded as if I was ready to camp ( minus food)

    I'm a bit pissed because I thought I knew what I was doing when I purchased the truck

    To think the dealer tried to force 3.08 gears on me.
  • therink's avatar
    therink
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    snarkee wrote:
    The trailer was loaded as if I was ready to camp ( minus food)

    I'm a bit pissed because I thought I knew what I was doing when I purchased the truck

    To think the dealer tried to force 3.08 gears on me.


    It won't change your tow ratings, but if you plan on Towing a lot you may want to consider replacing the stock P rated tires with LT E rated. It will help with stability and sway.
  • lbrjet's avatar
    lbrjet
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    About 150lbs of tongue weight will be moved to the trailer axles by the action of the WDH. You can add that to the available truck payload. You would have weigh with the WDH attached to see exactly what your remaining payload is.
  • Perrysburg_Dodg's avatar
    Perrysburg_Dodg
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    therink wrote:
    snarkee wrote:
    The trailer was loaded as if I was ready to camp ( minus food)

    I'm a bit pissed because I thought I knew what I was doing when I purchased the truck

    To think the dealer tried to force 3.08 gears on me.
    I thought all GMC/Chevy truck dealers were required to have a "truck specialist" on staff?


    It won't change your tow ratings, but if you plan on Towing a lot you may want to consider replacing the stock P rated tires with LT E rated. It will help with stability and sway.


    X2 on the tires. Not sure you need to go into E rated tires but a good set of Light Truck D rated tires inflated to the max 65 psi when towing will help with stability and sway. Link to Load rating chart.

    Good luck Don
  • MackinawMan's avatar
    MackinawMan
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2014
    snarkee wrote:
    Kind of pathetic if you ask me. Doesn't leave me any room after my wife and boy hop in the truck

    I bet many people think they are well within their limits but aren't. My trailer it's even that heavy at all and I'm still going to be over the limits of my truck


    I'll give you credit for doing the work to figure things out and recognizing the issue....a number of people don't bother/care to.

    And FWIW different gears in the rear end won't help your problem, it's the 1/2 ton suspenion that is the culprit.

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