Towing Capacity 2016 Chevy

Excellent point, Blt2ski.

salem wrote:
Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. Prior to SAE the truck companies apparently just took a wild guess at how much their trucks could tow. Makes me think a lot folks in trucks prior to 2013 may be towing too heavy. Kind of scary when you think about.

Yes and no. If a rig has a payload of say 2500, take out the people, now down to say 2000 lbs for ease of math. With a ball mount, 10% HW, you are at 20K lbs of trailer. So a tow rating as in the past is not an issue this way. The issue is a 5W or gooseneck where one needs upwards of 25% HW, now that 2000 lbs of payload only allows an 8k trailer!

I do recall when the GM DA combo first came out, a lot of folks were buying 15K 5w trailers. No problem from the power standpoint. BUT, they were bottoming out the rear suspension with a typical SW 2500. The DW 3500 was not an issue. There was not a sw3500 at the time.

Too many people only look at one thing one need to tow. Been there done that myself. One needs to look at many items to know if a given rig will be what THEY need, not what I need.

Marty

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. Prior to SAE the truck companies apparently just took a wild guess at how much their trucks could tow. Makes me think a lot folks in trucks prior to 2013 may be towing too heavy. Kind of scary when you think about.

Cargo capacity is key for a 5w. Assume 20% HW for a given trailer. If you want to tow a 16K trailer, you need 3200 lbs of payload/cargo for the trailer, add in another 500-700 lbs for a couple, hitch, Mr Winston the lap doggy! and other assorted odds and ends in truck.......If you need 25% hw, make that 4000 lbs of payload plus the 500-700 lbs. Yeah it may be rated per say, but if you do not have the payload, your screwed!

So it would not surprise me a sw 2500 is down around 8-12K lbs. My old 96 CC with a 9200 gvwr, by the time I added in 2 adults, 4 adult sized teens, rack, canoe, cross bed tool box. I had all of 600-900 lbs of payload left! not a heck of a lot of 5w. ie 4000 lbs. or 8k if I went ball mount at 10-15% hw needed.

Marty

more than likely you will be limited by GVWR and Cargo capacity. Our 2015 2500 GMC CC 4x4 denali short bed has a cargo capacity of about 2500lbs.

If you want towing and cargo capacity, the same configuration in 3500 SRW adds about 1100 lbs of cargo capacity and will cost virtually the same $$$. When we were looking prices on the 2500 and 3500 SRW were virtually identical for the same configuration. For us, the problem was finding SRW 3500's, especially in short box.

Excellent reading, Tiger02. Thanks. So, I looked up the tow rating for my 2005 2500 D/A in the Trailer Life towing guides. It was rated at 16,000 lbs. The 2016 2500 D/A's are rated at 13,900. In reality though, none of the ratings were accurate (probably) until the SAE set the standards in 2013. That's good information to know. There may very be lot's of folks out there towing too heavy and not knowing it, based on erroneous information given at time of purchase. (prior to 2013) Thanks to you guys who posted about SAE and Trailer Life.

salem wrote:
Well, now you got me. I have to admit in front of all the forum members that I don't know what that means.:)

Just a bit of rules to control the advertising department :B

Well, now you got me. I have to admit in front of all the forum members that I don't know what that means.:)