Would a Chevy 1500 HD be a good truck to tow with?

[Zepaholic]

I am a newbie on here.
I bought a 28 ft. 2014 Springdale travel camper & the dealer told me I would be able to haul it with my 2004 1500 silverado (5.3 with 3.42 gears). Well on the way home it was a wake up call that going up a hill will be tough. On the way home no hills just over passes & such it was interesting.
So I am looking to buy a used truck. I have my eye on a Chevy 1500 HD. It comes with the oil cooler & the transmission cooler. It also has 6.0 with 3.73 gears in the rear end. I would assume this would be a better choice than what I have now, but would like to hear opinions. Thanks in advance!

[blt2ski]

Jeramiah,

Whst is on the rear? a lot of both trucks and MH's had 5 lugs on the front, and 10 on the rear. The 10 bolt rim would work on the front, but in your case, the 5 bolt rim would not work on the rear.......

Then of course, the poor dude with the gasser, that needs 4000 rpm to make the 200HP to go 60 up a hill with a trailer, likes the diesel better, as it makes 200 at 2000 rpm. The diesel redlines at 3000, the gas at 6000. No difference in how hard the motor is working per say. All relative!

Marty

[jerem0621]

BenK wrote:

blt2ski wrote:
Ben,

I have a 6 lug 26K gvwr twuck......so is this a good or bad thing?!?!?!?!

marty

Hey Marty,

For those who think only 'half ton' trucks come with 6 lugs...GREAT!!!!
Now they can say a 'half ton' can tow anything... :S

Good for those who think only half ton will do...bad for those who under
stand why using metrics out of context is dangerous... :B

Can't wait to get to the torque needed for one of your lug nuts... :R
Betcha someone will say they use 140 ft/lbs on their's and good for
yours too... :E

Hey Marty and Ben, what do you think of this Motorhome with only 5 lug wheels... split rims too btw... LOL .. this one is my father in laws...



Thanks!

Jeremiah

[jevanb]

I ordered a 2004 2500HD 6.0 CC 4x with the only option rear ratio 4.10. it towed really good on the flats but hit any hills and 2nd gear it went. then ordered a 2006 CC 4x 6.6 and hills are not a issue

[blt2ski]

Yeah Ben, IIRC it has 3/4 or 1" bolts to tie the nuts on with too! My RA is heavier than a 3500 duly has ALL the way around, ie around 15K lbs capacity, I can haul 14K lbs in the bed......Only issue with it, is the 175/335 non turbo 7.3L converted gas to diesel engine! Yep, other than that. Been a great truck the last 20 some odd years.

Then there is the dude asking "why a half ton?" I got a truck that can haul the dually 1 tons I have had fully loaded.....so why anything smaller than a class 6 truck?

Right truck, right payload, number of doors, engine type and size for the job/task at hand is the right rig for that particular person.

marty

[BenK]

blt2ski wrote:
Ben,

I have a 6 lug 26K gvwr twuck......so is this a good or bad thing?!?!?!?!

marty

Hey Marty,

For those who think only 'half ton' trucks come with 6 lugs...GREAT!!!!
Now they can say a 'half ton' can tow anything... :S

Good for those who think only half ton will do...bad for those who under
stand why using metrics out of context is dangerous... :B

Can't wait to get to the torque needed for one of your lug nuts... :R
Betcha someone will say they use 140 ft/lbs on their's and good for
yours too... :E

[Cummins12V98]

crcr wrote:
3/4 ton, diesel. That's what I did, towing a 28'3" TT, 7500 GVWR. It tows very stably, and I could upgrade to a bigger heavier TT if I ever want to.

Resale will always be better on the diesel also.

Good call!

[crcr]

3/4 ton, diesel. That's what I did, towing a 28'3" TT, 7500 GVWR. It tows very stably, and I could upgrade to a bigger heavier TT if I ever want to.

Resale will always be better on the diesel also.

[dodge_guy]

I do know that some of the 1500HD`s had the semifloat rear axle, albeit with bigger axle bearings. I don`t know if or when they changed it. If I`m getting a HD anything I want it to be all HD, not some of it!

[blt2ski]

Ben,

I have a 6 lug 26K gvwr twuck......so is this a good or bad thing?!?!?!?!

marty

[BenK]

Remember that anyone talking about a 'half ton', to ask what their GVWR is

There are many fake half ton TV's out there. Generational too, as the 'regular'
half tons of old had GVWR's several thousand pounds less...than today's
regular half tons

Also, do NOT confuse the other marketing nomenclature...'Max Tow', 'HD tow package', etc

They do NOT change the GVWR and normally are still a 'regular half ton'.

Best to use their GVWR's when referencing or discussing...or you could use the
number of wheel lug nuts as a designator (but there are six lug 10,000 GVWR
trucks out there), or the diff ring gear dia, or their tranny size, or their
tire class, or tire's max PSI....ETC :S

[ib516]

LowRyter wrote:
1500 HD = 2500 Each have the same 8600# GVWR and 6084 rear GAWR.

1500 HD < 2500 HD = Right again. The 2500HD had a 9200# GVWR, but the same 6084# rear GAWR. It also had a different frame.

the 1500 HD truck is a 3/4 ton truck adequate to pull most 28 ft travel trailers Exactly

[stickerguy]

I owned an '07 1500HD, 2wd, crew cab with 4.10 - tow rating was 10,300 lbs. I was towing ( and still do ) an '08 Outback 30BHQ, with a dry weight of 6100 lbs. Never, NEVER had any sort of problems with the truck. Drove from VA to FLA a few times, fully loaded with my bride and 3 kids,loaded bed, and never experienced any shortage of grunt, power and get up and go. It is NOT a half ton truck - you will have no problems with your camper - but, as others have said, you won't pass many gas stations!

[APT]

I fully agree with Kalabin. 5.3L/3.42 with the 3.08 first gear compared to 6.0L/3.73 and 2.48 first gear and 750 pounds heavier HD won't feel like much better acceleration. Handling and suspension and stability will be improved.

And reminder, 6.0L/4-spd/3.73 tow ratings are near 8000 pounds, say 7500-8500. A 7000 pound dry bunk house TT will exceed that. IMHO, it isn't worth selling for what you got to "upgrade". You need to significantly increase wheel torque either through gearing or power. 6.0L/4.10/4-spd would be a marginal upgrade IMHO. 8.1L or Duramax both came with the Allison trans wich would be very noticeable. Or, 2007.5 6.0L/6-spd.

[Kalabin]

Either way you slice it for that model year it is essentially their 2500LD, yes it's 1500HD shares the majority of the same things but we are arguing over semantics.

Point is coming from that specific model year between the 5.3 with 3.43 gearing and the 6.0 and 3.73 gearing it wont be a "huge" jump in performance. He is gaining a few HP and some more torque, but the gearing will allow him to get into his RPM range faster and hold gears better.

The significant difference will be the suspension, and drive train but that comes at a cost. The truck's curb weight is a bit more than that of the 1500 which almost negates the HP / TQ "performance" gains he will be getting.

Again, you will notice a big difference in the suspension and drive train, but your not moving mountains performance wise. If you don't agree, go actually test drive the difference in the too. Oh I also owned a 2002 Chevy 1500 with the 5.3 back on 2004, so yes I know the power difference on the 5.3 4-speed and the 6.0 6-speed for the NBS as I have owned and towed with both.

Be realistic on your expectations in understanding you are getting a substantially better drive train for towing, working. Your going to have to rev it just like the 5.3, your gaining about 50tq and 30hp subtract that from the added weight and you get the idea, gearing will help.