GM overstates 2014 tow ratings by almost 25%

[EXSlider400]

Before I start, I have owned several Sierras and never an issue. Current truck has no real issues....except.....

GM overstated tow ratings by almost 25% on 2014 1500 NBS half ton Sierra Silverado with 3.08 gears.

GMC is wanting to royally screw me. They sent me a recall for owners manual that lowered my tow rating on 3.08 geared truck by 2,000 pounds (from 8,600 to 6,600). Now my camper is overweight at 7,600, even though when I bought the truck I was 1000 pounds under the trucks limit. My Insurance and Allied have both sent me a letter saying they are not liable for any damages/injuries because my camper is over weight, and GM's solution is to have me trade in my truck for one with lower gears....AND WANTS ME TO PAY THE EXTRA COST!!!! I turned down that ridiculous slap in the face so waiting for what their final offer will be today but pretty sure it will also be insulting. They act like this is my fault and they are helping me out by allowing me to trade in my truck and ultimately pay more money!!

This includes starting over on my payments and everything. This will cost me around 17,000 (low trade in price, higher monthly note on brand new truck over another 6 years)which I don't have the funds for. I even offed a deal so my payments would be an additional $50 per month and I would still start over on my 6 years of payments (currently 9 months in). So we have been camping in the back yard as pulling is it not worth the liability.

So I am talking to Attorney but without saying what he wants to do (probably take his route anyway), I was looking at trading my 2004 Jayco Eagle for a 2011 Forest River Surveyor Sport 293 and force GM to pay the difference.

Are these any good?

[APT]

EXSlider400 wrote:
As an update, I have been in contact with GM and we made a deal to trade in my 3.08 on a 3.42 truck at a discount. I upgraded to a Denali so my note is higher but both sides compromised. I will still post all the info and stickers for future questions and/or concerns. Also I need to know if I will truly be over weight with new truck.....

I highly recommend that scale to understand exactly where your truck currently stands with respect to all its ratings. 3 scales/pads (truck front axle, truck rear axle, trailer axles) and 3 passes (truck alone, truck with trailer tongue on ball, truck with trailer with WD). A Denali 6.2L is a great truck and it will no doubt be more enjoyable to tow. But if you need the capabilities of a 3/4 ton, you may need to accept the compromises. IMHO regardless of the recall, you made a mistake in the first truck and will pay to upgrade for one reason now. What will it cost to do so again should you determine you made another mistake. Do your research before spending more money! FWIW, my GM 3/4 ton 6/0L gets a little over 14mpg is every day mixed driving as main family vehicle. 8-10mpg towing, and 18mpg highway.

The other option is to downgrade/weight the TT. It would certainly be cheaper prospect while allowing you to keep your 20-ish mpg truck.

[goducks10]

Wouldn't a loaded Denali typically have a low payload? Same as a King Ranch/Platinum in the Ford line.

To the OP did you look at the door sticker for payload capacity. I'm not sure you gained anything by this except to make your ins company happy and the lending institution richer. Oh well.

[myredracer]

GM and Ford have apparently been using stripped down versions of their trucks to fudge towing ratings. Basturds... How can they get away with this? I know in our case, our F-250 is hundreds of lbs less than what the door pillar sticker says (after going to a scale), which I guess is due to all the options we have. Maybe the OP's insurance co. is reacting to Ford and GM cheating on ratings? What is the government's position on this?

Isn't the solution to just go and buy a TT that is stickered "1/2 ton towable"? :B

[mikeschu42]

EXSlider400 wrote:
As an update, I have been in contact with GM and we made a deal to trade in my 3.08 on a 3.42 truck at a discount. I upgraded to a Denali so my note is higher but both sides compromised. I will still post all the info and stickers for future questions and/or concerns. Also I need to know if I will truly be over weight with new truck.....

So, after all this worry about your original truck not being able to tow your trailer, you've traded it for another 1500 and are now wondering if the new truck is OK? There have been many posts explaining the important numbers to look at on the door sticker. Did you check the cargo carrying capacity of the new truck?

I'm in the market for a similar sized TT, and after reading and LEARNING from what I've read here, I now know that I will need AT LEAST a 3/4 ton truck to safely tow my future rig.

[TomG2]

EXSlider400 wrote:
the 2500 still has the 6.0 and horrible MPG. Wife drives truck and doesn't want diesel. I have my own Sierra.

What is "horrible" about 15 mpg empty and 10 mpg towing when you factor in that the pickup would have no problem at all towing 7000-8,000 pound trailers.

[TomG2]

Am I the only one who is curious as to how the insurance company got involved in the first place? I have never been asked what I tow with my pickup or what I tow my travel trailer with. I tow a variety of trailers with the same pickup. Do some companies require you to list them all? Glad that mine doesn't.

[98coachman]

I have a 2014 Silverado and have'nt received any recall on this issue from GM. Is this strictly a GMC truck issue or what?
Thanks, Bill

[EXSlider400]

the 2500 still has the 6.0 and horrible MPG. Wife drives truck and doesn't want diesel. I have my own Sierra.

[EXSlider400]

I will do. I work at a scrap yard so easy access to certified scales.
Thanks for all the comments.

[coolbreeze01]

Wouldn't a 2500 eliminate the worry?

[Community Alumni]

I agree with Gdetrailer's last post. It may have been a smidgen over the top, but let's just call it.....passionate lol. That door stick is what's important. The Federal Safety Certification and the Tire and Loading Information stickers show the weights the vehicle was certified at according to Federal standards. Your real towing capacity exists here. There's a chance that you've been over weight all along. When people buy a TV then they need to pay careful attention to the door jamb stickers. I'd even say take a test drive to a CAT scale and verify the payload. Dealer installed accessories can lower that payload number.

[EXSlider400]

As an update, I have been in contact with GM and we made a deal to trade in my 3.08 on a 3.42 truck at a discount. I upgraded to a Denali so my note is higher but both sides compromised. I will still post all the info and stickers for future questions and/or concerns. Also I need to know if I will truly be over weight with new truck.....

[jmtandem]

People ought to be ashamed of themselves for being so quick to jump on the OP. He's upset about a situation he's in that, in some way or another, was misleading to him...just in an expensive way. I guarantee he knows more about his own situation than any of us. Stop getting so worked up about someone you'll never meet, over a problem you can't resolve, regarding an issue that doesn't affect you one way or another.

Posting anything on any forum opens the door for comments. The OP posted his GM woes perhaps as some comfort or reassurance that he was a victim at the hands of GM. I think it is good that so many are honest with their assessments here that you call bashing. Sometimes a little honesty goes a long way in helping people even if it comes across initially as bashing. Each person that has responded is trying to understand and help the OP even if it goes way back to the day he purchased the truck that 8000 pounds is a little much for any 1500. At the end of the day I think every person that is trying to help the OP is genuine. I hope the OP sees it that way, also. I know if I had the same issues I would want 'straight up' comments from posters, not a bunch of sugar coating how bad GM is and woe to me the victim stuff. The OP needs to understand each person here is taking their time to try to understand the situation and provide guidance. If the OP does not want comments representing a broad spectrum of RVers then he probably should not have posted.

[majorgator]

I admire the OP for staying so cool about the comments from some folks here. I also feel sorry for the situation he's in.

^^^^THIS^^^^
People ought to be ashamed of themselves for being so quick to jump on the OP. He's upset about a situation he's in that, in some way or another, was misleading to him...just in an expensive way. I guarantee he knows more about his own situation than any of us. Stop getting so worked up about someone you'll never meet, over a problem you can't resolve, regarding an issue that doesn't affect you one way or another.

And when folks get done bashing the OP for his choice to pull a 7K or 8K trailer with a 1/2 ton truck, you can then redirect your bashing to the weekly thread(s) about people doing the same (or more) with their 1/2 ton ecoboost F150's.

[Gr8life]

Like others have said, towing 8,000 pounds with a 1500 is not a good idea I don't care what axle ratio is used. It would be nice of GM to upgrade the truck or purchase a lighter trailer for the OP. Ford did not do it for me when I discovered that I was overloading my F-150.