weight of trailer and truck size

[gserve]

I just purchased a new 2017 Chevy Silverado 4wd 1500 double cab pickup with the standard bed. It has the 5.3 V8 and towing package with built in brake controller 3.42 axle. The GVWR is 72000. According to the manual it looks like I can tow a 9800lb trailer. I am looking at a trailer with a 8600lb GVWR. Can I safely tow this trailer? Never really understood how to figure what I can tow. Any help or advise appreciated. Thanks

[MitchF150]

gserv.. No one is going to be able to really tell YOU what you can and can't tow... Sure, according to the numbers, you "should" be within your ratings, but you still have not acknowledged the fact that you are aware of the OTHER ratings your truck has...

It's just not about the "tow rating".. The "tow rating" does not specify what kind of trailer you are towing.

A #9000 flat bed trailer with a couple pallets of bricks on it is going to tow and put different weight loads on your truck than a #9000 boat or a #9000 TT..

The TT will put the most weight on your truck and have the most wind resistance you will ever experience compared to towing the flat bed or the boat..

So, it all boils down to what YOU want to do..

Could my truck tow that #9000 GVWR TT?? Sure it could... It'll probably do it all day long, for days at a time..

Question is, do I WANT to do that? For me, no.. I've done that before.. Long before anyone even cared about "tow ratings" and all the other BS that goes on here...

Always found myself backing off the trailer weight or increasing the truck size depending on what I was towing.. Most of this overloaded towing was done back in the mid 80's when I worked for a construction company and hauled utility trailers with 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks from coast to coast, driving by myself..

All sorts of combo trucks and trailers... Found the best combo was when the trailer weighed about the same as the truck, or just a tad less..

Anyway, don't want to preach here.... Get what you want, tow it with what you want and decide from there.. 🙂

Mitch

[Adkhkr625]

I'm towing a '29 Fleetwood with a 4,766 dry weight, 642lb dry tongue weight with a Yukon(not xl). It's got the 5.3 with tow package and 3.73 gearing. I was concerned before I got it out because so many people are towing 5,000lb trailers with f250s and 2500s I thought I may need to upgrade. I took it out for the first time this weekend and it was absolutely fine. I am using a wdh. I pulled it up several long steep grades in PA. Didn't have any issues at all. Stopping with a prodigy brake controller was fine also.

[gserve]

Also I have the 6 speed tranny. Looked at the 2017 chevy trailering and towing guide. It says 7,700 lbs:small camper with the 5.3 9,800 lbs max trailer weight.

[afidel]

roadjunkie wrote:

deltabravo wrote:
Towing with 3.42 gears will be a very miserable experience unless it's all flat land or downhill.

I agree with this. I just purchased an 18' TT that weighs 3215 pounds dry weight and I'm towing it with a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500, regular cab, short bed, 5.3L (300hp), 3.23 gears and it's fine on flat ground or if the wind is not blowing.

I bought it 2 days ago and getting ready to move it to Terlingua, Texas and not looking forward to the trip down at all.

A 2005 4 speed (4L60E) and a 2016+ 8 speed(8L90) aren't at all comparable, other than final drive ratio they share nothing in common. The 3.42 is now the max trailering gear ratio, useful up to ~12,000lbs, it's equivalent to the older 4.10 transmissions. As I said up thread first is really short at 4.56 (4.56*3.42 > 2.48*4.10 in fact).

[roadjunkie]

deltabravo wrote:
Towing with 3.42 gears will be a very miserable experience unless it's all flat land or downhill.

I agree with this. I just purchased an 18' TT that weighs 3215 pounds dry weight and I'm towing it with a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500, regular cab, short bed, 5.3L (300hp), 3.23 gears and it's fine on flat ground or if the wind is not blowing.

I bought it 2 days ago and getting ready to move it to Terlingua, Texas and not looking forward to the trip down at all.

[Atlee]

Please don't go by what the "dealer" said concerning the tow ability of your truck. At this point I don't whether your truck can or can not tow your proposed trailer. But I do know almost all "dealers" have no clue. By the way, when you said dealer did you mean the owner, GM, or salesman? If you meant salesman, take anything he/she says with a large grain of salt. That also goes for salesmen at RV dealers.

I have towed with nothing but 1/2 ton trucks. Previously, I had a regular 1/2 ton, now have a "heavy" 1/2 ton. Experience tells me, you will run out of cargo capacity long before you run out of tow capacity. What you need to do at a minimum is check the yellow sticker on the door jam of your pickup to determine what the cargo capacity of your truck is. Weighing it full of what you plan on carrying in it when on a camping trip is much, much better.

Also, don't go by the tongue weight listed in the brochure. That number is fiction. It's based on the "dry weight" listed in the brochure, and that "dry weight" is almost always fiction. And on top of that, no one goes camping with an empty trailer.

Bottom line, don't assume you can or can not tow that trailer with your current truck, based on all the guesstimated numbers you have so far. You need to get real numbers.

gserve wrote:
Just got back from the Chevy dealer where I bought the truck. He says 9200 lbs max trailer weight. Asks me the dry weight of the trailer I am considering. I tell him 5,592 lbs. Says no problem. Ask him about payload. Says I'll be fine. The trailer I have been towing for the last 2 yrs with a 15 Silverado(same specs)GVWR 6378 lbs and dry weight of 3965 lbs and tounge weight of 378 lbs has towed with no problems at all. Felt like there was nothing back there.

[rbpru]

Keep in mind that the truck dealer only knows what the truck ratings are. The truck dealer does not know if you are a minimalist or have to have two of everything just in case.

Likewise the truck dealer does not know if you intend to scream down the interstate, mosey down back roads, climb mountains or park at a KOA all summer.

What you the consumer knows is the max cargo of your trailer, it's approximate loaded tongue weight, how much stuff your family needs and how far you intend to travel.

It is also up to you as to how hard you wish to push your tow vehicle.

[LAJMINNIEPLUS]

gserve, I have a 2016 Sierra 1500 with the 5.3l and 3.42 rear end with 9200# tow capacity. I just towed home my new Minnie Plus 26RBSS yesterday and it towed just fine with no issues. Very stable and no sway at all. The truck had plenty of power in the hills and had no trouble maintaining the speed limit. The trailer weighs 6280# dry and tops out at 8800#. I had my factory brake controller set at 2.5 and the trailer stopped in sync with the truck. You should have no trouble at all towing a lighter trailer than mine. I also have an Equalizer brand hitch. The hitch is set up so that both the truck and trailer are level. Just make sure that your hitch is set up correctly. I doubt that you would ever be over your gross combined weight.

[gserve]

Just got back from the Chevy dealer where I bought the truck. He says 9200 lbs max trailer weight. Asks me the dry weight of the trailer I am considering. I tell him 5,592 lbs. Says no problem. Ask him about payload. Says I'll be fine. The trailer I have been towing for the last 2 yrs with a 15 Silverado(same specs)GVWR 6378 lbs and dry weight of 3965 lbs and tounge weight of 378 lbs has towed with no problems at all. Felt like there was nothing back there.

[MitchF150]

I wouldn't do it with that truck.. I wouldn't do it with MY truck...

And I've got a "tow rating" of #11,300!

I tow a #5000 GVWR TT with my truck and love it..

I'll go up to around #7500 GVWR TT if I ever get a new one.

I've been towing stuff since I was 16 years old and I'm 53 now.

I've just learned over the years that I don't like to tow at a truck "tow rating".. Sure, you can do it, and nothing wrong with doing it.. I've done it for YEARS in the past..

Just prefer to tow a tad less under now.. But, that's just what works for me now..

I doubt you will be able to stay UNDER any of your other trucks GVW ratings with that size trailer, so you just have to decide what "ratings" you want to go by..

That's the truck GVWR, Axle Ratings, Tire Ratings, Hitch Ratings.. Lot more than that nice "tow rating" you always see out there..

Good luck!

Mitch

[rbpru]

You can tow much more than you can haul. The important question is, what is the max cargo?

The max cargo is vehicle specific and is usually posted with the door jamb information.

My 5000 lb. Dry weight TT has 750 lbs of tongue weight when loaded for the road. That is about half of my TV's cargo capacity.

I could pull a 10,000 lb TT, if I wanted to leave the family and camp gear at home.

I always considered a 5000 lbs dry weight TT, the max load for a half ton. That leaves capacity for family and gear.

[APT]

Under 6k dry should be a good match. Use a proportional brake controller and WDH with integrated sway control. Happy camping!

[SoundGuy]

troubledwaters wrote:
People jumping to conclusions without having the most basic of information, like Payload Rating for starters.

Nonsense - no one is "jumping to conclusions", especially me as I've owned these GM 1/2 ton vehicles for 10 yrs now, just bought another 2012 Silvy, am intimately familiar with what this truck can and can't tow and there's no way the OP should be towing a trailer as heavy as he suggested with this truck. AND that payload sticker is only a guide and should be confirmed by actually weighing the truck with a full tank of gas - that's the only way you truly know what any vehicle can safely tow and within it's various ratings.

To the OP - if you're so convinced this is a viable combination, go ahead, but don't expect sympathy later when you discover your assumptions are just that - assumptions, not an accurate assessment of what your particular truck can actually achieve. Good luck. 🙂

[gserve]

As I previously stated the trailer I'm looking at specs is dry weight of 5,592 hitch weight of 572 and GVWR of 8,600. s owenssailer has stated those truck specs are similar except my trucks CAWR is 3950