Towing Capability Question

Jbechtoldt wrote:

Ridgerunner29 wrote:
It appears that a Chevy 1500 5.3 has a higher towing capability than a Chevy 2500 6.0. Chevy site says a 1500 CC std box 5.3 3.73 4X4 will tow 11700 lbs. 2500HD CC std box 6.0 3.73 4X4 will tow 9400 lbs. Am I reading the data wrong? Is there any engineering explanation for these towing specs that seem to defy logic? Or is this just one of the marketing strategies for the 150 / 1500 market.

I thought the society of auto engineers had come up with a method for establishing standards for tow ratings for light trucks. It looks like the sales side of the company is not listening to the engineering side of the company. Or maybe I'm missing something that I should be able to clearly see.

WhenI looked at the GM web site it says:

1500 (with max trailering pkg) 11,500 tow capacity

2500 HD 13,000 conventional tow and 17,800 5th wheel tow

I think the 9,400 lbs you reference for the 2500 is the GVWR

The 2500HD with the 13,000 lb rating has a 4.10 rear end. I am attempting to compare a 1500 and 2500 with both having a 3.73 rear end. 3.73 2500HD with 6.0 tow capacity for conventional trailer is 9,400 lbs.