Will my truck pull this TT safely?

legolas wrote:

frankhuggins wrote:
I have a 2012 6.2 Chevy Silverado with a GCWR of 16,000 lbs., according to the owners manual. The maximum trailer weight is 10,400 lbs.

The trailer I am considering is 29' in length with a GVWR of 9,680 lbs and a UVW of 6,966.

Will my truck safely pull this trailer, assuming I have it rigged correctly with anti-sway bars, brakes, etc?

Thanks in advance for your help! These weight and towing calculations are really confusing to me.

I have no idea if you have a 1500 or a 2500 HD....so. I have an 08 2500 HD with approx. the same GCWR. My TT checks in at 5700 empty and 6500 loaded for camping. I live in the mountains of North Carolina the Great Smoky Mountains....everywhere I pull I am going up a mountain. I camp in GA often and just this August was in Helen. I have the 6.0 motor w/ 6 spd tranny. I have pulled my TT from NC through Denver to Utah to Bryce and Zion then into Arizona for the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

So to answer your question succinctly MAYBE, but not for me. Your TT is 7000 lbs empty if you really do any camping you will not be able to keep the weight of your added stuff below 600 lbs. If you have kids and bikes and etc you will more likely approach 1000 lbs. I personally like to maintain a margin of capacity for my TV in the event I have an issue. Usually when I am pulling up a good size grade I will be in 3rd @ 3500 rpm. There have been times that I have had to drop into 2nd @ 3500 to maintain speeds of 35 -40. I would not be comfortable pulling TT that weighed another 1000 lbs over my current setup.

So can you pull it safely? My feeling would be that it would be marginal if you approach the 9000 lb weight on the TT. If you are going to be pulling in any sort of mountainous areas I will bet that you won't be sanguine about the experience. You will certainly need to be scrupulously accurate (dead bang on) with all your gear setups. That of course assumes that you saty within the limits of your TV GAWR, GCWR, max tounge weight etc, etc. If it were me I would look for a different TT. You should be able to find a unit that fits your needs which weighs in less.

Good luck in your search.

You could have used a 1/2 ton with the 5.3 and still been fine with your weight. The 6.0 L engine you have does not even make peak torque until 4400 rpm and peak horsepower until 5400 rpm. You can easily let that engine speed up and be much happier with the power delivered. You are really pushing that engine to pull up those hills at such low engine speeds. Give it some more throttle!

The 5.3 engine in a 1/2 ton is more then capable of pulling the trailer as described, but I highly doubt that the hitch is rated for that much tongue weight and I suspect that he will exceed his max payload rating.