Towing with Silverado 20141500

You'll have between 1100 -1200Lbs of tongue weight from that trailer, plus anything else that gets loaded into the truck. Is the payload for the 1500 high enough for a safe and comfortable tow in ALL your future trips? I would stay with a 3/4 ton for towing more than 5 or 6k Lbs. Some will say "If it can move it, It can tow it". I like to enjoy the journey as well as the destination.

My trailer is 7100lbs dry and 9200 loaded. No way would I tow it with a 1/2 ton. Even If it had the max tow.

I had a 2012 1500 with the 6.2l and the 3.42 rear. My trailer is close to yours in dry weight at just over 7200 lbs. The truck towed great, the 6.2 had plenty of power, as you can see in my sig, I am in a 2500 now. The only thing I didn't like was with that heavy of a trailer loaded I did not feel comfortable with stopping, and having to swerve at 40 mph. I had two close calls that put me over the edge and upgraded to the 2500. I personally would stick to the 2500...

In your scenario, tonque weight is much more likely to be a deal-killer than tow weight or having enough power with the 5.3.

You mention a "dry weight" of 7,501 lbs. This sounds suspiciously like a quote from a "sticker" on your Jayco. If so, that's a very unreliable figure--the last piece of data I would use to make a decision on a new $35k-$50k TV.

Bottom line, if you haven't done so already, I'd highly recommend towing your Jayco to a scale with your current truck and getting it weighed fully loaded, vacation-ready. Before you leave the scale you should have your Jayco's tongue weight, axle weight, and gross weight, fully calculated (tongue weight + axle weight = gross weight).

If you go with the 2014 5.3 and the Jayco, I'd be very hesitant about choosing the 3.42 rear end. Odds are your Jayco weighs closer to 9,000 lbs. vacation-ready. The slight loss in fuel economy using the 3.73 rear-end pales in comparison to the potential strain the Jayco would place on your driveline with the 9,700 lb. limited 3.42 rear end. The 3.73 rear end would give you a much-needed safety margin of 1,500 - 2,000 lbs.

Just my two cents . . .

Spend $14 at a CAT scale to find out where you stand currently. Why guess if you'll be over any of the new trucks' ratings?

The 2014 5.3L has about the same amount of power as the current 6.0L in the HD. If you have an older GMT800, then the 5.3L will have a little more power and far better gearing with the 6-spd over 4-spd. So a 2014 half ton will feel like a rocket. But you may not be pleased with how it handles the tongue weight and whatever you take in the truck bed. Find out where you stand and how much receiver and payload you need.

Payload would be a concern you would need to investigate closely.

What year is your 2500HD and what engine and axle ratio do you have? If it's a GMT800 based truck and it has the 6L the new 5.3L and 6 speed will actually probably offer more HP and torque.

Payload is going to be the concern but don't some of these 1/2 tons offer more payload than their predecessor? In that case, you will just give up ride performance of the 3/4 ton hauling that weight vs the 1/2 ton.

Yes see about the 6.2

Too heavy for the non max tow for sure. If the max tow has the 6.2L engine you may be ok but still seems like 3/4 ton territory to me.