Need an expert opinion

Most people do not think that a 1/2 ton pickup is suitable for towing a fifth wheel. There are some companies that claim theirs is light enough (Evergreen IIRC) but I sure wouldn't buy one without a towing trial of several hundred miles including some hills.

Once you sign on the line you are stuck with it.

It is not just the towing weight, but also the rear axle weight as a 5th wheel puts much more weight on your rear axle than a TT. :) Get your truck weighed with a full fuel tank and as many people and equipment as you will have in it when towing than compare your actual rear axle weight compared to the rear axle weight rating and there will probably not be enough to add a 5th wheel. And don't listen to a salesman, they just want to make a sale.

Your truck towing capacity of 7500 lbs would indicate a light payload capacity, probably no more than 1500 lbs. Payload includes passengers, fuel, hitch, and any other equipment or cargo placed in the truck. This leaves very little capacity for the 5th wheel pin weight. I suppose one of the older, very light 5th wheels could be handled by your truck, but limits your choices.

Capacity does not mean fuel...at least not according to Ford. My book says the capacity is "x" assuming a full tank of fuel.

The OP says he has a '05 chevy 1500 HD which is the old 2500 truck.
The 1500 HD comes with a 8600 GVWR and 6084 lb RAWR with 16" load E tires. It has the 6.0 engine with the 4L80 tranny. Tow ratings go up into the 10200 lbs and a 16000 GCWR. Payloads up to 3129 lbs.
This info I have is a paste and copy from a GM website from that era which is no longer available.

Life... you can verify your truck is a 1500 HD by looking at the drivers side door post. It wiil show a 8600 GVWR for the 1500 HD or 6800-7000 GVWR for a std 1500 or the crew cab 1500.

If you have the 1500 HD then you have a much sought after 1500 truck.

JIMNLIN wrote:
The OP says he has a '05 chevy 1500 HD which is the old 2500 truck.
The 1500 HD comes with a 8600 GVWR and 6084 lb RAWR with 16" load E tires. It has the 6.0 engine with the 4L80 tranny. Tow ratings go up into the 10200 lbs and a 16000 GCWR. Payloads up to 3129 lbs.
This info I have is a paste and copy from a GM website from that era which is no longer available.

Life... you can verify your truck is a 1500 HD by looking at the drivers side door post. It wiil show a 8600 GVWR for the 1500 HD or 6800-7000 GVWR for a std 1500 or the crew cab 1500.

If you have the 1500 HD then you have a much sought after 1500 truck.

Jim is correct. What you have there is a pre HD 2500 series truck. I had one and it was an awesome machine. We pulled a 33ft TT with ours and it did a great job. Below is a picture of my old 1500HD.

I agree with JIMNLIN, your 1500HD is the same frame and running gear as the 2500s of the same timeframe. As I recall, certain cab styles were badged 1500HD and other cab styles were badged as 2500. If the rear GAWR is 6084 lbs, then that is the same rating as currently used on swr 2500HD models. If you weigh the truck and compare to the posted GVWR, you can determine what your available payload is before exceeding GVWR. And if you weigh the rear axle separately, you can compare that to the rear GAWR to really see the absolute max. king pin weight. But one warning, you can't use the trailer manufacturer's DRY pin weight when looking at fifth wheels, you will have to estimate what the loaded pin weight will be for any potential trailer.

You stated that towing capacity is 7500 lbs. which is a different issue than payload or carrying capacity discussed above. Anyway, 7500 lbs seems like a pretty low number. I owned a 2000 model year true 1500 series truck with the 5.3L motor and it had a towing capacity of around 8200 lbs. But my point is that if your towing capacity is really that low, it is almost certainly due to the axle ratio and you probably have a 3.42 ratio. If the truck is 2wd, then for about $500 you can get the axle gears changed to a 3.73 or 4.10 ratio. While this won't change your "official" tow rating, it will make the truck tow just as good as any other 1500HD that came factory equipped with those ratios.

You're looking for an expert opinion....you came to the right place! You will find 37 of them within the first 12 post!

It's a 1/2 ton P/U...say's it all. Not a question of if it can pull, questions start when it comes time to stop...quick.

3 dog nights wrote:

It's a 1/2 ton P/U...say's it all. Not a question of if it can pull, questions start when it comes time to stop...quick.

No, a 1500HD is NOT a half ton truck.

You'll be sharing the road and the others will be sharing the risks, I for one cringe every time I see someone hauling too much trailer with too little truck, an accident waiting to happen. You'll never know if you have too much truck but you will defiantly know if it's too small and very likely at the worst time.