my 2 cents
just weighed my 2007 GMC 2500HD classic Dmax/allison 4x4 extended cab. with me 200lbs, full tank of fuel 26 gals, 16k superglide hitch and bed cover.
I was a little shocked, it weighed 7040lbs. front axle 4040lbs rear axle 3000lbs.
popular opinion say i will be hard pressed to stay under my gvwr 9200lbs with a 5er pin weight 1730lbs(owners manual)
2007 GMC 2500HD D'MAX / ALLISON
2007 KEYSTONE OUTBACK SYDNEY 32FRLDS
2004 SKEETER FISH/SKI 19' 150 YAMAHA
WIFE KATHY 3 BOYS KEVIN, JEFF AND JAY
2 GOLDENS KOBE AND YOGI
I believe I have the same/similar truck as you (see sig).
Before I purchased the 5er and hitch, I weighed the truck with me and a full tank of fuel, and the weight was 7,020#. That left 2,180# for hitch, pin weight, DW, and misc stuff in bed of truck. After I got my 5er, I weighed it again, loaded & ready for a trip. The weight of the truck was 9,230# with loaded 5er attached, and firewood & genset in bed of truck. Total combined weight was 16,500#.
The above are real world weights for my combo in sig, at least for that trip. Weights will vary according to how loaded for a trip.
I don't know about state regs where you live, but in Calif the GVWR is the max weight the truck can weigh.
If I leave DW home, I will be under my truck's GVWR
'07 Chevy 2500HD Silverado "Classic" CC D/A 4x4
'07 Komfort Trailblazer T252FS fifth wheel
Reese Signature 18K Slider and other stuff.....some useful.....some not
GM Customer Support specialist responded by e-mail plus on phone. They do not have anything that would show the max pin weight for my truck. Advised to contact local GM dealer. They were even worse. They kept telling me what the weight distribution hitch is rated for and advised I call a truck body specialist who might be able to help. Is it me or are they even dumber?
better do your home work before posting about frame axles and brakes keedeejay, your not off to a good start when it comes to facts. this is what the op needs facts. lotsa good info on here about 3500 vs 2500hd if inclined to read. your combo is not unsafe by any means, but the questions you have are very familiar
'07 Chevy 2500HD ClassicD/Max LBZ 6Spd Ally Westin nerf's,5'' mbrp turbo back
PPE airbox mod,Hijacker 24k,uniden/maxrad,Prodigy,Magellan nav,'06 Cougar 314,265 Bfg Km's,Chrome MB 16x8's,Firestone bags,level command compressor kit My GaragePhotobucket
Well, I went and weighed my truck today.
Full tank of fuel
tool box in bed with normal load
5er hitch
bed mat
normal load in the cab
with me 165lb
without 120lb DW & 15lb dog
Front 4,200
Rear 3,060
Total 7,260
That leaves 1,940 for pin weight. If I add an air lift, I will be
good to go for about 3,000lb pin. I may even add higher rated tires
just for extra safety sake.
The current tires are good for 6,084lbs.
woodrow wrote: better do your home work before posting about frame axles and brakes keedeejay, your not off to a good start when it comes to facts. this is what the op needs facts. lotsa good info on here about 3500 vs 2500hd if inclined to read. your combo is not unsafe by any means, but the questions you have are very familiar
Facts:
2500HD SB frame is unique to the 2500HD ( because there is no 3500 SB)
2500HD rear brakes are slightly larger in diameter than 3500 but are thinner
3500 DRW axle is different due to the offset for the wheels.
2500HD wheels have a lower load rating than the 3500s
Spring packs are different
Did I miss anything?
If you can find inaccuracies in my weight figures I would appreciate you pointing them out. (In case you missed the relevant post, the group I managed was responsible for the ALL the weight labels on the GM trucks, so I do have a little background!)
And as I have posted MANY times, GVWR is the weight at which the Manufacturer certifies your truck will meet ALL Federal Safety Standards, including braking. Load beyond those numbers and you are on your own. Modest overloading won't break your truck, but when I see trucks overloaded by 3000# or more I can't believe that rig is still safe.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors.
That leaves 1,940 for pin weight. If I add an air lift, I will be
good to go for about 3,000lb pin. I may even add higher rated tires
just for extra safety sake.
The current tires are good for 6,084lbs.
Any comments?
Thanks a lot for the help.
Once you add DW, dog & 100# for snacks, maps, campground directories, & misc. that you probably didn't have in the TV when you weighed it, your remaining capacity for pin weight drops to 1700#.
I think that you are really pushing your luck if you are planning on anything near a 3000# pin load. First of all, your rear axle weight will be closer to 3200# with everything mentioned above in the TV. With the tire & rim ratings at 6084#, that would leave about 2900# until you reached their limit.
If you have read any of the tire failure posts all over this forum, you might get some religion about taking tires to their limits. Having a tire failure on the 5ver is not good. Having a tire failure while towing on the TV is very bad!
Hopefully, you have read my earlier post where I tried to steer you in the right direction.
A 3000# pin weight is not prudent.
If you do have a high pin weight, using the LT245/75R16E tires & rims is not prudent.
It would be better to spend money on higher load capacity tires & rims before spending it on suspension air bags. Your tires & rims are your weakest link.
* This post was
edited 02/05/08 10:09am by bobandcat *
Bob and Cathy
2002 Montana 3655FL
2006 Chevy 2500HD Duramax/Allison
PullRite 16k Superglide
Well, I went and weighed my truck today.
Full tank of fuel
tool box in bed with normal load
5er hitch
bed mat
normal load in the cab
with me 165lb
without 120lb DW & 15lb dog
Front 4,200
Rear 3,060
Total 7,260 You are right in line with my 2500HD at 7500 pounds. That included the dog, DW, and me.
That leaves 1,940 for pin weight. If I add an air lift, I will be
good to go for about 3,000lb pin. I may even add higher rated tires
just for extra safety sake. My pin weight was 3000 pounds, and let me state for the record, I added air bags and bigger tires. It does nothing for the way the combination will handle. You will feel like you are being pushed all over the road in turns. It is not a good feeling.
The current tires are good for 6,084lbs. BY adding 3000 pin weight your rear axle weights will be close to 6500 pounds. More than the stock tires can safely handle in hot weather.
Any comments? Yea, PLEASE DON'T DO IT!
Thanks a lot for the help.
* This post was
edited 02/05/08 08:38am by donn0128 *
Its impossible to change someone's mind about weights. Heck people believe the 2500HD and 3500HD DRW are the same???? A lot of bad info is being passed around. You can't change the Spec on a 2500HD just by adding air bags. Look at the door jam and it will tell you the weight you can carry. Common sense will tell you a 2500HD and a 3500HD aren't the same Truck. You will have to take the Truck and 5th wheel to a platform scale such as Flying J (Cat Scale) and it will give you the weight. But for what its worth about 65% (SWAG method) are towing over weight. And its unsafe..... GBY.....
2008 Chevy Silverado LTZ 3500, Silverbirch, DRW, with all options
2008 Chevy Equinox LTZ (all Options)
2009 Landmark (Augusta) by HeartLand
B&W Companion Hitch
Garmin GPS 2720
That leaves 1,940 for pin weight. If I add an air lift, I will be
good to go for about 3,000lb pin. I may even add higher rated tires
just for extra safety sake.
The current tires are good for 6,084lbs.
Any comments?
Thanks a lot for the help.
There are two types of people on this Forum:
Those who respect the Manufacturer's certified weight weight ratings
Those who think they know better than the engineers who designed and certified your truck
It would appear you have elected to be part of the latter category.
The big difference is that you are not legally responsible for the legal compliance of millions of trucks, you are only responsible for yours.
You will be approx 600# over truck GVWR if you load your trailer to its GVWR, less so if you don't. IMHO that is getting to be excessive. At 22% that trailer has a higher than average pin ratio.
If you MUST proceed regardless, at least replace your wheels as well as your tires, the 2007 OEM aluminum rims are not wide enough and are not rated for the capacity of the LT265 tires.
But be aware that there have been reports of dealers refusing warranty work until the tires are restored to the originals.
BTW, my dealer noted the Timbrens I had on my truck when I took it in for an oil change and commented "I hope you're not overloading your truck". I did not pursue it as I got a lighter trailer and took the Timbrens off.
Offline
