Towing in the extreme: My 2014 1500 & 33’ 5th Wheel RV

nards444 · February 10, 2015

should be on the door jam, thats where they are usually. drivers door jam.

JamGear · February 10, 2015

You mentioned running your rig at much higher speeds than I do when towing that kind of weight. If you recall, what were the environmental conditions you were running in and what were your tranny and water temps? Also did you get any hot oil alerts?

I do not travel at higher speeds during inclement weather. As for the engine and trans temps, I have hardly even seen the needles go up much under any condition. Even pulling the rig up my very steep hill on a 90 degree day in the middle of summer and then backing into my driveway, all temps remain normal.

On the highway, the truck goes into 4 cylinder mode quite frequently!

From my standpoint as the driver, this truck tows this 5th wheel without sweating a bullet under all conditions.

therink · February 10, 2015

I hope you don't have to stop quickly. That truck is not designed too haul a fifth wheel that size. You will also limit the life of the transmission. Your choice.

DenaliDually · February 10, 2015

Sticker on lower area, vertical pillar, drivers door jam.

My truck never sweets the needles either, even south Florida with stupid heavy trailers. Quite impressive really.

On the note therink mentioned regarding braking. Definitely keep on top of the trailer brake maintenance and consider cross drilled AND slotted rotors on next brake job. A dramatic upgrade even with over the counter pads. It's all about heat dissipation. I use EBC or Baer. Some will swear you need the entire system, clearly more is better, but a simple rotor swap is a huge improvement imo. I'm still stock on my new truck bc I've only got 12k on her, and gm did a really good job on the exhaust brake.

2015 Denali 3500 DRW, Michelin ltx, 4x4

DenaliDually · February 10, 2015

Also, I'd replace the tranny fluid often. Even if the dealer says it doesn't need it....

2015 Denali 3500 DRW, Michelin ltx, 4x4

amxguy1970 · February 10, 2015

I hope you don't have to stop quickly. That truck is not designed too haul a fifth wheel that size. You will also limit the life of the transmission. Your choice.

So his truck was designed to tow a single axle boat or a couple of jet ski's? He is at the limit of the truck limits set by GM, they don't limit what type of trailer/weight just that it comes at or under the limits set. Which means it can stop, accelerate and turn the weight. Not to mention trucks are usually over engineered for a buffer for those that do exceed. Going over by a few hundred pounds won't make the truck automatically break or handle completely different.

Change the transmission fluid more often and you are fine, they are designed to work at such limits.

Now the law thing yes, if he is over he is braking the law but hey it isn't like he is towing 25k lbs back there.

Tyler

high country · February 10, 2015

IMHO if you need to tow more than 4k you need a 2500 or larger truck. Today's 1/2 ton is in no way a work horse it has been set up to keep the leisure suit Larry truck owners happy with a soft supple ride and excellent road manners which don't go hand in hand with towing the load. I tow a 800Lbs trailer with a single ATV on it, I can get by with my 1/2 ton and have no desire to buy a home on wheels at my age, I can stay in a nice hotel/motel for a lot of nights before it would come close to paying for itself. Now for the biggie in this thread the legal aspect of running overweight, it is a crap shoot as to when or where you might have a problem and IF you are unlucky enough to have one it could be huge, a major life changing ordeal that I have no desire to go through, in the end it is your choice but it may impact other people.

calgator73 · February 10, 2015

I do not travel at higher speeds during inclement weather. As for the engine and trans temps, I have hardly even seen the needles go up much under any condition. Even pulling the rig up my very steep hill on a 90 degree day in the middle of summer and then backing into my driveway, all temps remain normal.

On the highway, the truck goes into 4 cylinder mode quite frequently!

From my standpoint as the driver, this truck tows this 5th wheel without sweating a bullet under all conditions.

Sorry didn't mean to imply that you were running hard in the rain lol. 90 with that load at 70ish with all temps staying normal is impressive. I haven't pulled long grades with mine yet and my trailer weighs every bit as much as yours. I've noticed that my tranny temp will fluctuate between 199 and 215 and my water temp will creep up just a touch on shorter grades max acceleration (on ramps). Best of luck.

JamGear · February 10, 2015

I hope you don't have to stop quickly. That truck is not designed too haul a fifth wheel that size. You will also limit the life of the transmission. Your choice.

Of all the good information and rhetoric I have received on this post, I think the transmission is indeed of the greatest concern in regard to pushing the payload and or towing weight limits. I think the truck can indeed handle all other aspects of being at or slightly over maximum especially with a mindful driver like myself. A neighbor of mine also thought the trans would take an usual beating.

The thing is, I can't help but wonder if the 9.76 axle and the 3.73 axle ratio significantly mitigate the concern for the transmission. Let's keep in mind that the only thing still the same as the prior generation of the Silverado is the frame (its a 2007 design). The Max Trailering axle and added rear options made their first appearance in the 2014 Silverado. So, in the end, perhaps this new 6 speed tranny, with the Max Trailering package can handle a lot more than our fathers' Silverado?

JamGear · February 10, 2015

Sorry didn't mean to imply that you were running hard in the rain lol. 90 with that load at 70ish with all temps staying normal is impressive. I haven't pulled long grades with mine yet and my trailer weighs every bit as much as yours. I've noticed that my tranny temp will fluctuate between 199 and 215 and my water temp will creep up just a touch on shorter grades max acceleration (on ramps). Best of luck.

No worries. Yeah, going 90 with the 5th wheel is not fun in this truck. But I would not go 90 in a 2500 either. In the flats of the southeast, cruising at 75 is quite nice. Overall, even with my 5th wheel in tow, the truck handles beautifully. It truly does not seem to be under strain at any time while I am towing. Then again, aside from going faster on flat straightaways, I am not pushing the rig anyway.

DenaliDually · February 10, 2015

You cannot over protect the transmission. Definitely the weakest link, on all makes. I'm not sure but I would hope the Max Tow has a HD tranny cooler.

2015 Denali 3500 DRW, Michelin ltx, 4x4

JamGear · February 10, 2015

So his truck was designed to tow a single axle boat or a couple of jet ski's? He is at the limit of the truck limits set by GM, they don't limit what type of trailer/weight just that it comes at or under the limits set. Which means it can stop, accelerate and turn the weight. Not to mention trucks are usually over engineered for a buffer for those that do exceed. Going over by a few hundred pounds won't make the truck automatically break or handle completely different.

Change the transmission fluid more often and you are fine, they are designed to work at such limits.

Now the law thing yes, if he is over he is braking the law but hey it isn't like he is towing 25k lbs back there.

Tyler

Ahh, another nice and reasonable member! Thanks for the recommendation on changing the trans fluid more frequently. I will definitely do that. Makes sense and, yes, I think not only is the entire truck over-engineered in favor of leaving more hidden safety headroom, but also redesigned in 2014 to fill a HUGE market gap for drivers like me that need the extra towing capacity but do not wish to get into an HD vehicle just yet. Frankly, I think this new 1500 will become a gateway drug for many drivers, myself included, to jump into a 2500 at some point.

I think your advice and getting tires rated for a heavier load are the best so far. Thanks

JamGear · February 10, 2015

LOL don't forget to subtract the hitch itself, it was added after the factory weighed the truck.

These are the threads that separate the men from the Aholes. hehe Don't take everything so seriously.

I did just that. My hitch weighs 194lbs. The mounts about 25 lbs.

JamGear · February 10, 2015

You cannot over protect the transmission. Definitely the weakest link, on all makes. I'm not sure but I would hope the Max Tow has a HD tranny cooler.

2015 Denali 3500 DRW, Michelin ltx, 4x4

The new 2014 and 2015 Silverado 1500 does have a beefier trans-oil cooler with the 5.3 and 6.2.

Jon A · February 11, 2015

LOL don't forget to subtract the hitch itself, it was added after the factory weighed the truck.

Yes, that's part of the reason for the 400 lb increase in 2015. SAE J2807 requires all hitch related equipment as well as a 150 lb passenger to be included at max trailer weight rating. New rating system required it, so they crossed out the old number and wrote in a new one without touching the truck (other than the door sticker ;) ).

Their not stupid. If they see a 33' behind a 1500 there is chance they will scale him. (Which they do carry in the trunks of their cars) If your over, it is about 1,000+/- bucks, even by 1 lbs depending on the state and when the last time the guy got laid...I know bc I've paid it before I went CDL.

I suppose anything is possible, but I've never seen this happen my entire life, nor has anybody I know of. Where I'm from they could shut down 1/2 the farmers and ranchers in the land in a single afternoon doing such a thing. Good thing they don't I guess.

When this happened to you, were you towing an RV in an obviously personal/recreational vehicle? Or a horse trailer or the like? Or were you a pro hauler who hadn't paid enough taxes at registration to carry that much weight?

And if this is ever did go to court, most plantiffs would try and ruin you, thats just how it works.

Sure, if you added "driving without insurance" the the list of crimes.... Hopefully nobody here does that. I know, the internet rumor is that they won't cover you if you're a whole pound overweight. Luckily like most, it's just that. Your company should allow you to download your entire policy in a PDF from the website. This allows word searches. For those worried, download it and do a word search for "GVW". Chances are it never appears in your policy.

Its still my opinion, why not buy the right tool for job, which in my mind, somebody skimped out on the truck or had big eyes for the trailer.

And in my opinion, a $70K Duramax is not the right tool to tow a relatively light load 7 times a year. Heavier trailer or 7 times a month? Yes. But right now for his application it would be "underutilized" to put it nicely.

I dont think anybody including myself was saying something can and will happen. And maybe it sounded like that. I think the point being is there is that possibiliy,

And my point certainly isn't that this vehicle is the best equiped to handle those loads or that he's not pushing the limits and doesn't need to incorporate an extra level of caution, etc. That should all go without saying when you're at the max.

What I found objectionable was all the attacks on how "unsafe" he was being based upon weight. There simply aren't facts to back that up. If he is in the ballpark of 300 lbs over 2014 ratings (100 lbs under 2015 ratings) or even close to that, the truth is in virtually every measurable way his setup is safer than much smaller and lighter bumper pulls at which nobody would bat an eyelash because it's so far "under all the max ratings." Not that I have anything against bumper pull trailers, it's just undeniable a 5th wheel/gooseneck is a much better and safer way to pull large amounts of weight.

I hope you don't have to stop quickly. That truck is not designed too haul a fifth wheel that size. You will also limit the life of the transmission. Your choice.

Based upon what? What do you know the Engineers at GM and the SAE do not? If you have some technical reasoning with which to support that statement, let's hear it. Otherwise it's baseless fear mongering, nothing more, and it does more harm than good.

IMHO if you need to tow more than 4k you need a 2500 or larger truck.

Good greif. 4K? How about 3K? Anybody go for 2K? You understand the concept of "crying wolf?" If you point out a legit safety issue someday, nobody is going to listen because they've already tuned you out.