RE: 3/4 ton Duramax capacity
I've put over 2 tons of stuff in my old K3500 with essentially the same setup as the new 2500's, ie 9200 gvwr, 6100 ra and 4600 fa vs current 4800. I had close to the 2 tons available on the ra alone when empty. IIRC about 2200-2400 empty wt.
I've put 3 tons in my dually, grosing at 15K a few times.
Reality is, in anything, it comes down to payload before going over some engineers spec from GM. BUT< depending upon the state you drive in, generally speaking, many do not enforce the manufactures ratings. Wa st is really liberal on this. One would get close to 21K gvw and 10K per axel before being considered over wt. Also assuming you have a paid for wt tag of that amount!
Power wise, the truck should do fine. At some point in time, ie about 12K total, a 9200 gvwr gm does get a bit screwy, in that one will be hitting bump stops on the rear when going over some speed bumps, or if you hit a hole at speed, then start going up quickly, ie a river crossing or equal in a valley....
Marty
RE: Guts, Glory and ...
This could cost someone some mney, similar to a navy war ship that went agroun on a philipine reef at a cost of 10Kper day as it sat there, eventually the only way t remove the boat was to literally cut and crane it out on a barge! As the damage to tow the boat out would have been enormous!
Idiots no matter the brand of rig in this case does come to mind taking a rig into an area no vehicles are supposed tobe, with or with out a permit!
marty
RE: I got a chuckle out of this...
I have to have a thick skin. I own a Ford F-250. A Ford with a 6.0 liter Power Stroke diesel. It seems folks like me get a double dose of bull ****.
YOu should have been around a few yrs ago with the Olds 350 diesel, or the issues with the 6.5td........oh, should we name a few moreblown motor issues with the brands......ML320 motor for another.........70K out of that POS!
Marty
RE: Weight Question
I found my 2000 C2500 did pretty good towing my 12K equipment trailer the day my MDT had a motor mount break on it! That is only rated to 13400. My 96 6.5td which has a gcwr of 12500, twoed the 12K equipment trailer better than the 2000, due to a stronger suspension! along with a longer WB.......
My navistar does not even know the 12K equipment trailer is back thater! yeah right, that thing has the lowest power of the three mentioned! yet it has a 35K gcwr!
As skip mentioned, gcwr is NOT a legal number! you can be over, you will go a bit slower than some engineers in detroit felt you should go....more time to semll the roses, see bears on the side of the road etc.
Another fellow on here pulls a trailer with a dodge, maybe even a frod that iputs him over gcwr in FL. His Dodge and frod gas rigs tow as well or better than his Fummins ever did, or on par, depending upon the HP and model yrs of his Fummins motors!
Stay under the axel wt ratings, and enjoy the trailer!
Marty
RE: I got a chuckle out of this...
GMC = great mountain climber
Dodge backwards. Engine gone dead on driver
probably a few more along with the ones mentioned.........
Chebby, Frod, ferd, dogde.........
RE: confusion over weight I can tow
That motor as ALL the IHC V8 diesels Ford used, can be had in rigs as high as 35-40K gcwr! Does one really think/feel that this motor will not be able to handle 20K gcwr?!?!?!? Probably do just fine. Even my IDI7.3 has a gcwr in a class 6 of 35K lbs, yet ford only gave it at best a 16 to 18 gcwr!
Just because the engine and transmission were the same doesn't mean that the chassis, suspension, brakes, and axles of an F250 have the same capabilities as those of an F550. Point is: the issue isn't the limits of the motor, it's the limits of the truck as a whole system of components.
WHy did you not quote my whole post. The paragraph you left off, basically said what you posted! The chassis will be a weak link in many cases! I also did not assume an F550. IHC put the motors I quaoted in 650/750 equals! WAY bigger and stronger than a 550! Not to mention better tranny's behind it too!
Marty
RE: What can an Avalanche pull?
THen the problem with Bens generic what a rig can tow, is if the rig is at gvwr before adding a trailer, you have NO trailer tow capacity. As he has not included as part of the equation, the HW% needed! So if one in many cases, wants to pull the max tow rating, one needs a base model, one 150 lb driver, and ALL the remaining payload to handle the HW! In some cases, if one had a pickup and was going to pull a 5W, you can not get to max tow rating or gcwr as the HW part, ie the 20-25% needed will overload the TV if you go with max tow ratings.
So now that I have typed all that.....an Avalanch can pull out a tree or two or three if driven down a hill with enough velocity. Most avalanches travel at about 70-150+ mph, add in going down hill.......stay out of there way! I know of one avalanch that took out 30 log trucks of trees!
Marty
RE: confusion over weight I can tow
Stay 1000 lbs below GCWR.....Stay below TV front/rear axle WR...weigh TV at CCAT with people/cargo for camping and add 5th wheel hitch weight to that...if one not installed....try and load a 100 lbs where the hitch will be before you weigh to get a better picture of axle weight on each axle...then you can apply the numbers to see what size trailer you can get.....Subtract rear axle weight from rear axle WR to get pin weight...Subtract TV total axle weight + 1000 from GCRW to get max trailer weight.....this is a starting point then apply all the number and make sure your vehicles fall in correct limits.....good luck
It's a diesel, the best Ford ever put in it's trucks, take it right up to the GCVWR!
That motor as ALL the IHC V8 diesels Ford used, can be had in rigs as high as 35-40K gcwr! Does one really think/feel that this motor will not be able to handle 20K gcwr?!?!?!? Probably do just fine. Even my IDI7.3 has a gcwr in a class 6 of 35K lbs, yet ford only gave it at best a 16 to 18 gcwr!
At the end of the day, it will be payload that will kill this truck! as it does for most pickups! of any size or gvwr depending upon what it is you want to tow! Especially 5w/gooseneck style trailers!
Marty
RE: confusion over weight I can tow
First off, power is NOT the issue. What will kill you first, will be payload! If you have say 1000 lbs of free payload, a tag needs 10% or so hitch wt, or around 10Klbs of trailer. A 5w needs 20-25% HW, so if you have 1000 lbs of payload, you can tow a 4-5K lbs trailer!
OR another way, a 10K tag will have 1000-1500 lbs of hw, which needs to be carried by the truck. A 5w will need 2000-2500 lbs of hw! You can not pull as big a 5w with a given size payload truck, as you can a tag! Unlike a lot of people opinions on this.
With diesel crew cab trucks, the issue will be payload, or lack there of! This is ANY brand diesel.
Marty
RE: tow weight opinions for a possible upgrade
Reality is, you will probably do fine. My 25 yr old son has a reg cab with a 4.8, 3.42 gears abd the 4l60 trans, he's pulled upwardsof 7K with it, and has no complaints. Does as well or better than my older 6.5td, then again, he has 120 more HP than that motor had, but less torque.
It will pull fine, alibi probably a bit slower and or more revs. I would fine a gear, rpm that the motor is not pushing itself and go up the hills. For my diesels, that has been 2500 rpm or so. For my vortec 350, about 3500-4000. Your 5.3 will probably turn a few more r's than the 350, so 4000-4500, If you need to shift down a gear, but you can go 5500 or so r's, slow to that 4000-4500, and enjoy the ride to the top.
As long as you are not overloaded in axel capacity, have brakes that work on the trailer, enjoy the trip with your kids. When you get over the actual wt capacities of your current truck, look at a new truck. in the mean time, enjoy the time with the kids, they grow up quick!
Another that will allow smaller motors to work better, find a trailer that is more aerodynamic, ie rounded in the front, and has smooth solid walls. The corrogated aluminum trailer do weigh less, but are actually harder to pull, and use more fuel due to worst aerodynamics. SOmething MANY folks do not take into consideration.
Marty
RE: tow weight opinions for a possible upgrade
HOw long will the four of you be at 400 lbs? Heck my ex and I are 400 lbs....now add in our 4 kids, I think the minimum we were was around 600 or so, now try 1300-1400 when the kids were adult sized teens! I'd have the op's truck at gvwr before adding the hitch wt of a trailer! so my tow capacity would be zilch, nada, nothing! or what happens when those two tots say, can we bring a friend ea? now you are in my wt catagory!
Reality is, at some point in time......if you go to a bigger trailer, you will need a bigger truck, because if nothing else, you may/will run out of payload, before running out of power with todays trucks. At one time, if a half ton had over 200 ponies with a mid 300 CI sb8, you had a power house. Now adays with V8's having 300hp, you will not run out of HP! yeah at 10K elevation in the rocies you will be down some 90hp, or about 200, try going from 200 down to 140 or so! talk about slow!
So you have to decide if you need a bigger truck, and the why! I needed a 25 series truck to tow a tent trailer, just because as noted above, the wt of my family had a typical 5 or 6 lug 15 series truck at gvwr!
Marty
RE: 2014 Chevy High Country
For sale only in Colorado. lol
Don't forget Washington State is 'high country' too....:)
It is?....oh yeah, pass the cannibis please and thnk you!~
I did not type that did I?!?!?!?!?!?
Highest road being 7800 or so in the north cascades, not as high as Colorado in the 5-14K range!
Marty
RE: Dually Tires
If you drive on gravel a lot, look for tires that are commercial off road tires, like the toyo m55, Nonkook or some thing like that, build s a tire for folks in gravel quarries. A lot of these have all steel belts on the tread AND sidewall. Good Year unisteels are not too bad. Best all steel case tires I have owned have been the M55's, follwed by a set of cooper. I am seeing they do nto offer a steel cased LT tire any more. Good year, bridgestone, firestone and michelin all also off a steel cased tire. You will pay a bit more vs a polyester equal sidewall with steel on the tread. They also weigh a bit more, so mpg will be down down due tothe motor turning the extra wt!
Marty
RE: Can my TV handle this 5th Wheel?
That motor has what, 300plu hp, maybe even 350......what do you need, 400 hp! I would do it in a heart beat, 3.73 and all. THe 6sp tranny has a 4.10 first gear vs the old 4 sp with a 2.48. SO gears are NOT an issue.
But as noted, payload WILL be an issue, depending upon how big your family etc is. The truck chassis will handle a trailer that size just fine. If a dmax is rated higher, trust me, the wt part of the equation is NOT an issue!
Marty
RE: How often do you rotate tires?
One is supposed to rotate tires?!?!?!? you must have the same tread front and rear then eh! My single wheel rigs I rotate, BOTH duallies have traction on the rear, and a hwy on the front. Not too good to rotate in that kinda use. ALong with the fronts are a different size width wise than the rears. Same diam, So I suppose I could run the wider ones on the rear with the skinny ones.........
I also heard a rumour I am supposed to balance the rear duals too!?!?!?!????? hmmmmmm, or trailer tires also! hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Marty
RE: New record !
Some of you hae hit some of the headache on the head! A few yrs ago when I first joined the forum, ie about 201, there were maybe at best 6000 reg members....the gm 6.5td was the motor to avoid per say.....then the 6.0 problems started, then 6.4, now the HPFP threads.........
ALso why I have the diesel vs gas sticky, keeps that issue sorta kinda at bay, as it gives me an excuse to say read that, nothing new in the G vs D arena overall since I started it, other than fuel prices. Both have plus and minus's.
Same with the GM vs Ford vs Dodge vs _______, or tire brands or manual vs auto....
SHall I name a few more constant question issues, some are good, some are bad......
Time to go move teh boat from one marina to another, then tomorrow decorate it up like a Hawaian Luau, do a parade saturday for seattles opening boating day celebration........
Maybe I will not have a headache by the end of the day saturday......yeah right! HIC!:B:B
Marty
RE: Need a new tow vehicle....opinions?????
If you can afford it, go with a 6sp GM vs the 4 sp. WAY better towing gearing wise! A 3.73 6 sp has an overall low LOWER than a 4.10 with the 4 sp. THe first gear in the 6 sp is 4.10-1 vs 2.48-1 for the 4 sp auto. So reality is, you could be as high as a 2.6 AR and still be lower overall in first than the 4.10/4sp option.
I would have no issues pulling my 12K equipment trailer with a 6.0 6 sp auto!
By the way, you will probably be closer to 8500-9000 lbs loaded with your trailer depending upon where you got the 7300 dry wt from!
Marty
RE: New record !
Oh my aching head........can one of you please tell me why my head hurts........some Neil diamond tune that someone else is singing today on the radio.......something about red red wine! or some such liquidity type thing........
oris it rick hitting me on the side of the head for his 50% share of nothing?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
RE: Chevy Silverado 1500 Max Tow (NHT)
blind guy,
I would have told the guy to estimate me, then SHOW ME the actual law (RCW in wa st) I was breaking if I was over a manufactures wt limit. If he tried to tell me I was, he would have had an earfull with the REAL RCW saying what my actual state limits were, along with the FEDERAL wt limits! Which the fed and st limits are generally speaking the same. Have been on the books for roads and other paths, etc since the early to mid 1800's. Being as cars were not around at that time, with manufacture limits, the locals went by lbs per inch width of tire or equal that "vehicles" had in those days. The wt laws are enforced the same today as they were before the civil war etc. He would not have gotten very far with me. As the wt laws are there to protect the road bed themselves, NOT us as drivers of vehicles, passengers, etc.
Marty
