Doubted my 1500 for the first time.

BlackHawkZ71 · September 28, 2017

You can tow up to 11,200lbs with a 5.3 and have the Max Trailing Package. So you are well under the limit. It just will work the truck more. Now if you towed that on a regular basis then a Dmax would be beneficial.

ya i dont hve the max tow so I think its either 9 or 10k lbs?

mookdoc6 · September 28, 2017

Like most have mentioned: Cruise control? Huh..... Get you a Heavy duty sway bar for the back and upgrade your springs to the Keepers! Total investment 700.00 max! Pulling that weight here and there is not much of concern with the 5.3 as somebody mentioned the brakes and your driving is going to have to SLOW DOWN! Your getting out of the comfort zone of 5-6K and heading into the white Knuckle this sucks driving experience all you need now is a sweet grade with some killer fog....yeah! good times!

BlackHawkZ71 · September 28, 2017

Like most have mentioned: Cruise control? Huh..... Get you a Heavy duty sway bar for the back and upgrade your springs to the Keepers! Total investment 700.00 max! Pulling that weight here and there is not much of concern with the 5.3 as somebody mentioned the brakes and your driving is going to have to SLOW DOWN! Your getting out of the comfort zone of 5-6K and heading into the white Knuckle this sucks driving experience all you need now is a sweet grade with some killer fog....yeah! good times!

ya it was white knuckle, on some stretches.

FreeAmerican · September 28, 2017

So I had a 15 GMC 1500, 5.3, 3.42. I added Timbren spring helpers, better shocks, you name it. P3 brake controller and equalizer hitch.

Tow rating is 9600 lb.

My camper is 6000 dry, and most of the time 7500 on the road, 31 feet.

I am at 80% of my ratings or better. It starts, stops, does fine on hills here in VA, drinks some gas but that is to be expected.

Under ideal conditions it does fine, but it is not a great driving experience. It reminds me of driving in snow or ice. You have to slow down, go easy on lane changes, curves, etc. Be silky with your maneuvers and look further ahead and plan a little more.

My rig tried to kill us twice. Once a cross wind hit us while we were on a 4 lane overpass.

Second time we were on the interstate doing 60, maybe and a semi blew past us over 80 and cut us off. The bow wave and suction induced sway. I thought we were going over but both times I got the manual brake on the controller and pulled her back in line. Neither times was I speeding, in fact under the limit.

In most conditions the equalizer hitch did its job. But even though it was working, passing rigs, mild cross winds, road conditions, all still push you around some.

That was it, I did not have to even talk the wife into shopping for a bigger truck. I caught a good deal on a HD 2500 Duramax and have not looked back.

The difference is night and day. Probably the nicest thing, when we get to where we are going, I don't feel like I've beaten with a stick. Its just so much more stable, you still have to drive with some sense and slow down.

We also tow almost every other weekend in the summer. someone that does a couple trips, you can do it with the 1500, you just need to use more caution.

Donstar · September 28, 2017

So I had a 15 GMC 1500, 5.3, 3.42. I added Timbren spring helpers, better shocks, you name it. P3 brake controller and equalizer hitch.

Tow rating is 9600 lb.

My camper is 6000 dry, and most of the time 7500 on the road, 31 feet.

I am at 80% of my ratings or better. It starts, stops, does fine on hills here in VA, drinks some gas but that is to be expected.

Under ideal conditions it does fine, but it is not a great driving experience. It reminds me of driving in snow or ice. You have to slow down, go easy on lane changes, curves, etc. Be silky with your maneuvers and look further ahead and plan a little more.

My rig tried to kill us twice. Once a cross wind hit us while we were on a 4 lane overpass.

Second time we were on the interstate doing 60, maybe and a semi blew past us over 80 and cut us off. The bow wave and suction induced sway. I thought we were going over but both times I got the manual brake on the controller and pulled her back in line. Neither times was I speeding, in fact under the limit.

In most conditions the equalizer hitch did its job. But even though it was working, passing rigs, mild cross winds, road conditions, all still push you around some.

That was it, I did not have to even talk the wife into shopping for a bigger truck. I caught a good deal on a HD 2500 Duramax and have not looked back.

The difference is night and day. Probably the nicest thing, when we get to where we are going, I don't feel like I've beaten with a stick. Its just so much more stable, you still have to drive with some sense and slow down.

We also tow almost every other weekend in the summer. someone that does a couple trips, you can do it with the 1500, you just need to use more caution.

Good story. We are in the position where we want a substantial sized trailer but I know the difference between towing close to maximum capacity and towing within comfortable limits. My problem is the limited engine choices in the 2500/3500 series. I use my truck as my DD and seldom carry or pull a load. It is not practical to maintain a diesel or pay fuel costs for the 6.0 Maybe there will be a better option next year!

FreeAmerican · September 29, 2017

Good story. We are in the position where we want a substantial sized trailer but I know the difference between towing close to maximum capacity and towing within comfortable limits. My problem is the limited engine choices in the 2500/3500 series. I use my truck as my DD and seldom carry or pull a load. It is not practical to maintain a diesel or pay fuel costs for the 6.0 Maybe there will be a better option next year!

What does your daily drive look like. 10 miles, 20 or 30, and is it city, highway or mixed.

If you do a lot of short hops, then yeah, I don't think the diesel is your answer. But if your commute is longer, enough to let the engine and DPF heat up,

If so, really a diesel is not that out of bounds. There are 4 of us at my work that drive them. Oil is 10 qt but the 5.3 and 6.2 are 8, oil filters are about the same $. Fuel filter is $20 ish. Around here price of diesel is between 87 and 93.

mookdoc6 · September 29, 2017

So I had a 15 GMC 1500, 5.3, 3.42. I added Timbren spring helpers, better shocks, you name it. P3 brake controller and equalizer hitch.

Tow rating is 9600 lb.

My camper is 6000 dry, and most of the time 7500 on the road, 31 feet.

I am at 80% of my ratings or better. It starts, stops, does fine on hills here in VA, drinks some gas but that is to be expected.

Under ideal conditions it does fine, but it is not a great driving experience. It reminds me of driving in snow or ice. You have to slow down, go easy on lane changes, curves, etc. Be silky with your maneuvers and look further ahead and plan a little more.

My rig tried to kill us twice. Once a cross wind hit us while we were on a 4 lane overpass.

Second time we were on the interstate doing 60, maybe and a semi blew past us over 80 and cut us off. The bow wave and suction induced sway. I thought we were going over but both times I got the manual brake on the controller and pulled her back in line. Neither times was I speeding, in fact under the limit.

In most conditions the equalizer hitch did its job. But even though it was working, passing rigs, mild cross winds, road conditions, all still push you around some.

That was it, I did not have to even talk the wife into shopping for a bigger truck. I caught a good deal on a HD 2500 Duramax and have not looked back.

The difference is night and day. Probably the nicest thing, when we get to where we are going, I don't feel like I've beaten with a stick. Its just so much more stable, you still have to drive with some sense and slow down.

We also tow almost every other weekend in the summer. someone that does a couple trips, you can do it with the 1500, you just need to use more caution.

Pretty much sums it up! Excellent post!

Roscopcoletrain · September 30, 2017

The big question is what's your payload? You're probably close to max with your combo. Thats the downside of the 1500. But it can be done, with a good wdh setup, sway control and trailer brake.

Im towing a similar combo, although older truck, your payload probably isnt much more than mine, maybe 100lbs, give or take.

j-ten-ner · September 30, 2017

So I had a 15 GMC 1500, 5.3, 3.42. I added Timbren spring helpers, better shocks, you name it. P3 brake controller and equalizer hitch.

Tow rating is 9600 lb.

My camper is 6000 dry, and most of the time 7500 on the road, 31 feet.

I am at 80% of my ratings or better. It starts, stops, does fine on hills here in VA, drinks some gas but that is to be expected.

Under ideal conditions it does fine, but it is not a great driving experience. It reminds me of driving in snow or ice. You have to slow down, go easy on lane changes, curves, etc. Be silky with your maneuvers and look further ahead and plan a little more.

My rig tried to kill us twice. Once a cross wind hit us while we were on a 4 lane overpass.

Second time we were on the interstate doing 60, maybe and a semi blew past us over 80 and cut us off. The bow wave and suction induced sway. I thought we were going over but both times I got the manual brake on the controller and pulled her back in line. Neither times was I speeding, in fact under the limit.

In most conditions the equalizer hitch did its job. But even though it was working, passing rigs, mild cross winds, road conditions, all still push you around some.

That was it, I did not have to even talk the wife into shopping for a bigger truck. I caught a good deal on a HD 2500 Duramax and have not looked back.

The difference is night and day. Probably the nicest thing, when we get to where we are going, I don't feel like I've beaten with a stick. Its just so much more stable, you still have to drive with some sense and slow down.

We also tow almost every other weekend in the summer. someone that does a couple trips, you can do it with the 1500, you just need to use more caution.

It's not the weight of the trailer what caused the problems.

It's the size of the trailer and wind resistance.

Regardless, the bigger truck is the better choice.

so long

j-ten-ner

KARNUT · September 30, 2017

I grew up in a 1500 sq ft house with 3 sibs one bathroom. People used to pull small campers with their cars. Now we live in three thousand square ft houses and pull 1500 square foot campers with semis. When they get to where their going they look at their phones all day. Something's messed up.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FreeAmerican · October 1, 2017

It's not the weight of the trailer what caused the problems.

It's the size of the trailer and wind resistance.

Regardless, the bigger truck is the better choice.

so long

j-ten-ner

I have to disagree to a point. Its both. Yes the wind will catch a longer trailer, but once that happens to say a 9000 lb trailer attached to a 5000 lb truck, the momentum of the trailer wins, every time.

HiggySTL · October 5, 2017

What does your daily drive look like. 10 miles, 20 or 30, and is it city, highway or mixed.

If you do a lot of short hops, then yeah, I don't think the diesel is your answer. But if your commute is longer, enough to let the engine and DPF heat up,

If so, really a diesel is not that out of bounds. There are 4 of us at my work that drive them. Oil is 10 qt but the 5.3 and 6.2 are 8, oil filters are about the same $. Fuel filter is $20 ish. Around here price of diesel is between 87 and 93.

I totally agree! There are several of us where I work who use our diesel trucks as our daily driver as well. I have about a 27 mile commute (one-way) to work everyday and I am doing better with mpg's in my duramax than I was in my 5.3. The oil changes cost a little more, but the interval that I need to get them has lessened so it became kind of a wash.

I think you would be just fine with a diesel as your daily driver, there are quite a few of us out there that prove it.

HiggySTL · October 5, 2017

The big question is what's your payload? You're probably close to max with your combo. Thats the downside of the 1500. But it can be done, with a good wdh setup, sway control and trailer brake.

Im towing a similar combo, although older truck, your payload probably isnt much more than mine, maybe 100lbs, give or take.

That is spot on. Usually the biggest gotcha towing a larger trailer with a 1500 is the max payload is exceeded. By the time you take into consideration a full tank of gas, all your passengers and any gear in the truck, you are left with very little for your tongue weight. When GM touts their payload, it is calculated with a 150 lb driver with no passengers, no gear in the truck and a 1/4 tank of gas. As we all know, that is not realistic. Let say you weigh 200lbs, your wife weighs 130, your kid weighs 80, your dog weighs 50. If you have 25 gallons of gas at 6lbs per gallon that would be 150lbs in gas. then if you have a cooler and other gear it probably totals 200-300lbs easily. Your total would be around 810-910lbs. That only leaves about 90-190lbs remaining for your total trailer tongue weight. Even with a good weight distro (WD) hitch, you are well exceeding your max payload. The WD doesn't take the weight and move it "all" to the trailer, it distributes some to the trailer and then some to the front of the truck so the front tires are grounded for better control.

There are lots of people who tow fine with a 1500, but it usually leaves very little room for error and can make for a quite unpleasant towing experience. AS others have said, a cross-wind, passing semi, undulations in the road, etc... can send you out of control quickly if your not extremely cautious. I've seen too many trucks pulling too big of a trailer that gets into a tail wagging the dog situation and ends up flipped over in it's side. not pretty!

I apologize for being preachy, just some food for thought. Just be safe and have fun!

cire0309 · October 5, 2017

That is spot on. Usually the biggest gotcha towing a larger trailer with a 1500 is the max payload is exceeded. By the time you take into consideration a full tank of gas, all your passengers and any gear in the truck, you are left with very little for your tongue weight. When GM touts their payload, it is calculated with a 150 lb driver with no passengers, no gear in the truck and a 1/4 tank of gas. As we all know, that is not realistic. Let say you weigh 200lbs, your wife weighs 130, your kid weighs 80, your dog weighs 50. If you have 25 gallons of gas at 6lbs per gallon that would be 150lbs in gas. then if you have a cooler and other gear it probably totals 200-300lbs easily. Your total would be around 810-910lbs. That only leaves about 90-190lbs remaining for your total trailer tongue weight. Even with a good weight distro (WD) hitch, you are well exceeding your max payload. The WD doesn't take the weight and move it "all" to the trailer, it distributes some to the trailer and then some to the front of the truck so the front tires are grounded for better control.

There are lots of people who tow fine with a 1500, but it usually leaves very little room for error and can make for a quite unpleasant towing experience. AS others have said, a cross-wind, passing semi, undulations in the road, etc... can send you out of control quickly if your not extremely cautious. I've seen too many trucks pulling too big of a trailer that gets into a tail wagging the dog situation and ends up flipped over in it's side. not pretty!

I apologize for being preachy, just some food for thought. Just be safe and have fun!

How do you figure he only has 90-190 lbs available for tongue weight? On paper a 2016 1500 5.3 w/ 3.42 has a payload of 1730 and max tow weight of 9100 lbs.

If he's got about 900 lbs in the truck, it'd still leave approximately 830 lbs for tongue weight.

HiggySTL · October 5, 2017

Here is information from GM for a 2017 GMC Sierra CC 4x4 with 3.42 :

Trailering Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. : lbs 5000 Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. : lbs 500 Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. : lbs 6100 Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. : lbs 610 Maximum Trailering Capacity : lbs 11700

I am going to Quote a post from a little while back from Toro1966, he gave a pretty good break down that explains it better than I did.

"Basically it depends on what you have in the truck. Very confusing I know, but if I have it correct, I think of it this way:

1 - You have a max of 9100lbs that you can tow behind you. But unfortunately there are other things that could potentially reduce that amount.

2 - The GVW is the truck curb weight (5302) plus ANYTHING else in or on the truck. So if your truck empty, plus you, your dog, your spouse, and all of your luggage and camping stuff in the bed weigh 6500lbs, then that is your GVW.

The GVW cannot exceed the GVWR - which is 7200lbs.

3 - Since you can also NOT exceed the total 15000 GCWR, you must first figure out how much your truck is loaded up with stuff and people (your GVWR) - in the above example it is 6500, and subtract that from 15000 to get the total weight of vehicle you can tow. In this example it would mean you could not tow a camper of more than 8500lbs.

A couple of other considerations. Many people want a little "fluff" in their numbers so they add 10-20% depending on the individual. That means that if you take 20% of 8500 (which is 1700) and subtract it from the 8500, the max weight of the trailer you could tow is 6800lbs. (again - given our example where your loaded truck weighs 6500lbs).

Trailer weight is always listed as empty. They are NEVER empty. You have water, sewage, vittles, clothes, pots, pans...you get the picture. So make sure you take that into account. Hope that helps."

The bottom line is, it unfortunately takes some crazy math and number crunching to figure out what you can actually safely tow. A lot more number come into play than just the basic towing numbers on paper. Some people blow it off and do what they want. Some get away with it, ...some don't. It's playing with fire.