Colorado Diesel

[d1h]

Can you tow a 27 foot travel trailer with a Chevy Colorado that is equipped with the Duramax diesel? They claim it has towing power but does it have as much as my 5.3 gasoline full size Silverado?

[Groover]

travelnutz wrote:
Seems there's something you do NOT understand. Max HP is measured at or very near max engine RPM and virtually no one drives or pulls a load towing anywhere near the engines max RPM. Diesels OEM pickup engine max torque is at 1500 to 2000 RPM and that's right where the tow vehicle diesel max torque occurs and where diesel pickups etc run at on the highway towing or not towing.

Revving an engine at or near max RPM to have mass movement of the engines heavy components really only greatly increases fuel consumption per distance made good.

Smart people use the vehicle lower gearing and keep the RPM's as low as reasonable around max torque value to get the most desirable power out of the engine. Especially with a diesel engine. Yes that means slower speed ascents on grades and using the lower gearing to multiply power delivered to the drive wheels but that's only on the way up and then return to higher gearing when on flatter ground. OR, use the engine's higher compression to help control the speed going downhill with the lower gearing and close to virtually no fuel being used.

HP is only a calculation not a measured reading and must have engine's known torque and RPM's values to calculate. HP = known measured engine RPM's times the known torque value divided by 5252 or there's no HP number. It's only torque delivered to the drive wheels which turns the drive wheels RPM's in contact with the road surface to the propel the vehicle to the desired vehicle velocity. Also NO loss of power with altitude gained with a turbo diesel but roughly 3% loss for each 1000 feet above sea level with a normally aspirated (non-turbo) gas engine.

What it means is virtually all vehicles make it to the top of a steep grade or mountain and even with the smaller engine only adds maybe 10 to 30 seconds to a climb of the mountain's grade. Hardly requires a lot of patience! 240 ft lbs of torque will pull about any load up a mountain by just using proper gearing for the multipliers. Virtually all OTR 18 wheelers have very low HP values but have very high torque values and they can pull 100,000 lbs right up the mountains constantly and get to their same destination as you within minutes or the high HP towing vehicles because there's speed limits for safety anyway on roads.

I suggest that you tone down your replies some. While you have some good knowledge I find your comments painful to read of sometimes arrogant. I too am a mechanical engineer but find no need to beat people over the head with that fact.

[VernDiesel]

Well I wasn’t trying to offend you. Again with your second response I fully agree with everything but your last paragraph. Look I have been an OTR truck driver that ran 80,000 pounds through the mountains everyday for a couple years and climbed 77 from NC into VA at 40 mph every night. I now transport TTs for the Mfgs with a diesel pickup (a weaker one a that) mostly Ohio to West coast so I’ve lived & drive the practical applications of what you speak.

I’ve also raced cars where a horsepower bias was advantageous. I’m not interested in turning this into another HP & TQ debate. I love diesels so I appreciate a torque bias for towing and operate mine as you described for fuel efficiency & longevity. My pickup has 535,000 miles on it. I’ve even driven the old DD 6.2s in the 1500s and there is no denying they were slow and produced as you said low power. To tow the TT as you described compared to today’s diesel pickups with more than twice the HP & TQ seems reasonable to me to describe as requiring patience.

[travelnutz]

Seems there's something you do NOT understand. Max HP is measured at or very near max engine RPM and virtually no one drives or pulls a load towing anywhere near the engines max RPM. Diesels OEM pickup engine max torque is at 1500 to 2000 RPM and that's right where the tow vehicle diesel max torque occurs and where diesel pickups etc run at on the highway towing or not towing.

Revving an engine at or near max RPM to have mass movement of the engines heavy components really only greatly increases fuel consumption per distance made good.

Smart people use the vehicle lower gearing and keep the RPM's as low as reasonable around max torque value to get the most desirable power out of the engine. Especially with a diesel engine. Yes that means slower speed ascents on grades and using the lower gearing to multiply power delivered to the drive wheels but that's only on the way up and then return to higher gearing when on flatter ground. OR, use the engine's higher compression to help control the speed going downhill with the lower gearing and close to virtually no fuel being used.

HP is only a calculation not a measured reading and must have engine's known torque and RPM's values to calculate. HP = known measured engine RPM's times the known torque value divided by 5252 or there's no HP number. It's only torque delivered to the drive wheels which turns the drive wheels RPM's in contact with the road surface to the propel the vehicle to the desired vehicle velocity. Also NO loss of power with altitude gained with a turbo diesel but roughly 3% loss for each 1000 feet above sea level with a normally aspirated (non-turbo) gas engine.

What it means is virtually all vehicles make it to the top of a steep grade or mountain and even with the smaller engine only adds maybe 10 to 30 seconds to a climb of the mountain's grade. Hardly requires a lot of patience! 240 ft lbs of torque will pull about any load up a mountain by just using proper gearing for the multipliers. Virtually all OTR 18 wheelers have very low HP values but have very high torque values and they can pull 100,000 lbs right up the mountains constantly and get to their same destination as you within minutes or the high HP towing vehicles because there's speed limits for safety anyway on roads.

[VernDiesel]

Yeah I’m familiar with all that. I’m sure 240 TQ got it moving but 130 HP didn’t go very fast hense the patient man comment.

[travelnutz]

VernDiesel,

Towing the 8500+lb boat was quite a bit easier than towing the 30' Nomad Century TT because the boat's bow has/forms a much more aerodynamic wind cutter than the about 8' by 8' nearly flat TT front. The boat also has a less squared off rear which greatly reduces the strong constant vacuum sucking created by the air coming back together that the towed item had forced apart to go thru.

Note the shape of the higher speed airplanes and airliners fronts and rears! Easy efficient entry and easy efficient exit! Wind resistance progressively squares itself as speed (velocity) increases over approx. 44 mph and thus requires the multiplying of energy (HP) with its required fuel increases required to achieve.

A TT front on most is more like holding 2 4' X 8' sheets of plywood on edge vertically side by side being 8' X 8' in a 60 plus mph wind.

Poor aerodynamics sucks HP and fuel like mad. Rolling resistance however remains constant whether moving at 5 mph or 100 mph. Hint, I'm a retired 39 year mechanical engineer and an longtime engineering company business owner mostly working on automotive projects. in engineering, facts and only facts rule while opinions and BS is for fools...

[ib516]

I think it would be pretty underpowered, and not ideal.

[Humpty]

I have pulled an aluminum 2 horse trailer (with 2 horses) one time for a short distance with my truck. I have no idea what the weight was. It did a great job, but I would not want to put it into service as a travel trailer hauler. GVWR and Rear Axle rating would most likely be the limiting factor.

[VernDiesel]

Groover the Colorado/Canyon is available in normal full length wheelbase. The narrower wheelbase is not a concern due to fighting a high COG but rather the high flat side wall of a TT. You tube has plenty of videos showing a TT and truck being blown over by wind and or flipped over from out of control oscillating sway. A narrower wheelbase has less ability to resist this. But agreed with proper hitch and weight distribution as seen on the axle weights of a CAT scale slip the diesel Colorado would do the job just perhaps with a little less roll over margin.

Travelnuts Good gawd you must have been a patient man to tow a 30'TT or an 8,500lb boat with a 130 HP 240 TQ diesel. Buddy had one of them 6.2 1500s back in the day. With a hot wired fuel pump and turned up injectors as he described it was way more enjoyable to drive.

D1H If you don't already have the diesel Colorado consider the now available for order Silverado 1500 3.0 diesel. 277 HP 460 TQ longer wider wheelbase for a stabler towing platform and as of yet undeclared mileage but certainly dramatically better the 5.3 and a better tow when you do hit the mountains. Mileage should be similar to the 2.8 diesel and who would not rater have an I6 compared to an I4 for towing.

[deltabravo]

d1h wrote:
They claim it has towing power but does it have as much as my 5.3 gasoline full size Silverado?

Check the horsepower on your 5.3 and compare it to the 2.8 Duramax

I would never tow a 27' TT with a mid-sized truck. I'd go full size.

Tow capacity with the Duramax is 7600 lbs.

I've considered a Colorado Duramax for my Nash 17k, but my gut says stick with a full size since the Nash is tall.

[Groover]

I looked up the Chevy towing guide and noticed that they say "small camper" and show one that is rather aerodynamic.

Colorado towing guide

I would be more concerned about air drag than weight. I don't understand the concerns about the narrow wheelbase. That is an issue on high CG loads but a trailer hitch is a low as you will get. The short wheelbase could be an issue when trying to control side to side sway. There doesn't seem to be many aerodynamic 27ft long campers out there but if yours is and you have a good hitch with sway control and proper mirrors it would probably work.

I suspect that a camper shell that would keep air away from the front of the camper would do you a lot good too.

[naturist]

I don’t know about the Colorado/Duramax, but I have experience with a similar vehicle in the Jeep Liberty CRD with which I towed a 21 foot TT with a GW at 5,000 lbs. The I-4, 2.8 liter diesel in the Jeep was rated 188 hp, 335 ft-lbs, and I got around 14 mpg with it. It had only one issue dragging the trailer up the 11,000 foot, 6-7% grade on I-70 west of Denver: a tendency to overheat. I could do 65 mph until the temperature started getting high. 5,000 lbs is all I would want to tow with that size engine. And the Jeep’s successor, a BMW with a 3.0 liter I-6, rated 265 hp and 425 ft-lbs and while it also gets 14 mpg towing, the overall towing experience is much better. So I am thinking that your 27 foot trailer will be too much for that Colorado. If you can even do it, you won’t like the experience.

[Grit_dog]

I'd say I'd really never trade down to a little truck from a full size to tow a trailer that size.
Would I tow with it? Sure, but not if I had a better option.
And be use eyiure asking the question, you should stay with the safety and capability fi a full size.

[travelnutz]

FWIW, we had a 1984 Chevy heavy half ton with a 6.2L diesel which had 130hp@3600rpm and 240ft/lbs of torque and it pulled our Nomad Century 30' TT several years around the Midwest and a trip to the smokies - Cades Cove etc and over the mountain to North Carolina and the Outer Banks on the Atlantic.

We've always lived in West Michigan on the lakeshore and often went to and all around the U.P., Wisconsin etc. too. Wasn't fast by any means but always did the job OK. Also pulled our 27' Sea Ray cabin cruiser (26' 8" on a heavy dual axle trailer with 45 gal of fuel onboard - a little over 8500 lbs total) all around the state and in and out of the launching ramps with the 6.2 diesel with no problems. Slow climbing steep hills with the TT or boat but always made it up and over. Sold it with 168,000 miles and never had any problems with it. Less power than the baby Duramax has but was a heavier truck. Of course, back then, RV's had no slide outs in them but did have a much heavier frame.

[Rover_Bill]

Yes the Colorado/Canyon pickups are narrower than a silverado/f150 so you will need strap-on mirrors if you want to see the trailer sides. But narrower also means easier to park in a parking lot along other cars.

I've been VERY HAPPILY towing my 30ft 7K TT with my 2015 3.6l gas Canyon since 2016 (16,000+ miles). With a properly setup WDH and TowHaul my rig passes up semi's and other full sized pickups going up hill. I can easily pull my 7K TT up a 7% grade doing 75 MPH in southern WVa, northern NH, and VT mountain interstate highways.

The secret is the factory installed TowHaul which lets the computer control the engine speed AND transmission gears for maximum power output. If TowHaul is NOT turned on, the truck will be a dog when pulling a 7K TT. (Could be what Bionic Man experienced.)

IMHO, your diesel version should not have any issues pulling a 27ft TT that has a GVWR below 7,700# AND you use TowHaul.