Towing with silverado
I was wandering if anyone has or is towing a camper around 6800 lbs ( short trips less than 50 miles one way) with a 2013 silerado 5.3 liter engine with a 3.42 rear end and what your experience was?
Forum Discussion
- Yes I agree, UVW and dry weight is only highlighted by dealers and fictional to buyers....it's always wise to be able to comfortably tow GVWR.
Owned (2) 5.3's, very good engines that can pull plenty of trailer but payload starts becoming a factor when tongue weights increase and the bed gets loaded up with wood,coolers, bikes and so on.
It's a much more enjoyable experience allowing a buffer on both, payload and towing capacity.
Your truck can tow a 6800# trailer but verify that weight and find out tounge weight. - Spend $10=$15 at the scales to get some actual weight and then some good advice.
I switched my Silverado 1500 to LT tires, Timbren suspsension upgrade, a fancy hitch, and tried towing a 7,000 trailer. I soon purchased a Silverado 2500 HD which was unbelievably better suited for the task. - It's all about payload. What does the yellow door sticker on your truck say about payload? Is the 6,800 lbs. you quote the dry weight or the GVWR of the trailer? (Need to use the GVWR of the trailer and about 12% of that to calculated loaded tongue weight). With half and 3/4-ton trucks, it's not about towing capacity - it's about payload. The 5.3 is a strong motor. If you don't mind 3,500 RPMs for extended periods, it's a good puller.
Use the search function on the forum and you will find many threads on weights and capacities for tow vehicles.
Rob
