Doubted my 1500 for the first time.

Imcrazy · October 6, 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 spot on here... I've gone over 10k with my 1500, it's not fun to tow much more than 5-6k# TT or Car Hauler with a 1500 but, a few times a year sure why not...

barry G · October 6, 2017

Completely agree with that statement. Used to see it all of the time when I was selling Chevy trucks, long, heavy trailer and a short wheelbase truck. You can get it moving without an issue, biggest thing people forget is stopping. 1/2 ton brakes going downhill with a max load behind it are going to heat up and fade fast, and that is when bad things happen. 3/4 ton crew with the 8 foot bed is something I would be looking into if I were going to be towing this trailer a lot (maybe even a single wheel 3500).

believe it or not.. that is when i like the big old drums.

they always hit a point someone else calls fade, and never loses.

I agree about 1/2 ton sizing.. it is easy to tow. Stopping is another beast.

my old half ton still keeps up with today. I am sure its a proportionate standard for gm.

The new automatic has me almost ready to give up my manual...

almost.

BlackHawkZ71 · October 6, 2017

believe it or not.. that is when i like the big old drums.

they always hit a point someone else calls fade, and never loses.

I agree about 1/2 ton sizing.. it is easy to tow. Stopping is another beast.

my old half ton still keeps up with today. I am sure its a proportionate standard for gm.

The new automatic has me almost ready to give up my manual...

almost.

Off topic but the transmissions are decent, I prefer the ford manual mode automatic (f150) vs my chevy manual mode automatic.

BlackHawkZ71 · October 6, 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, i used cruise out of thinking it was better i was wrong. But i was doing 55 max.

BlackHawkZ71 · October 6, 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!

Thank you I didnt know that gm did there payload test that way in that case i was over, I wonder how toyota does theres? (My cuz has one and he pulls a small fifth wheel (its either 24 or28) and weights about the same as mine

i dont like getting my horse before the cart, but i am enjoying both the camper is more of a full time living, unless I decide to move before i get another truck.

COHauler · October 7, 2017

Thank you I didnt know that gm did there payload test that way in that case i was over, I wonder how toyota does theres? (My cuz has one and he pulls a small fifth wheel (its either 24 or28) and weights about the same as mine

i dont like getting my horse before the cart, but i am enjoying both the camper is more of a full time living, unless I decide to move before i get another truck.

I'm not riding you on this thread, so please don't take it like that.

This is a damn shame that people are not informed a little better about tow ratings, tongue weights, Gross Vehicle Weight ratings...etc from the vehicle dealership to the RV dealership. I would like to say these dealers know how much these weigh, but then again most likely not. I know the vehicle owners manual is pretty good about explaining this and can be researched online very easily, but other than some YouTube videos, how is a person to know?

Your Cuz is overweight, period. I was really pushing the limits on my Tundra with a 28' Keystone. The killer was when towing my Jeep. 9K behind a 1/2 ton gasser just killed it. Now I only tow in the mountains for the most part (why would I go camp or Jeep on the open plains right?)

Now that I am back in a diesel and a 1 ton, I just can't ever see myself going back. I have been on both sides of the fence, and it is greener in this case, in every way.

Since you full time RV, you're probably not moving around a whole lot. You should be ok.

BlackHawkZ71 · October 8, 2017

Its all good, i need to get back in a diesel but i gotta get this one paid off... probably jump in to a 1 ton dully long bed. (Will cross that bridge when it comes time) i miss it though i had a 96 ram cummins, 2wd automatic. Extended cab long bed had a couple of small mods done around 300ish on motor. Truck was nice but i love my chevy a lot more.. at least its quiet vs that truck that had 5 straight pipe.. i miss the torque though.

FreeAmerican · October 9, 2017

Just this weekend I dropped by a new RV dealership that opened up. We have been thinking of moving up to a 5th wheel.

My 3/4 diesel is rated 13500 for 5th / goose neck IIRC. So right off the bat the guy shows me a 15,000 lb trailer. I say to the guy, "I think this is too heavy". Naw he says, you can pull it.

You need to educate yourself before you even walk in the door.

HiggySTL · October 9, 2017

Just this weekend I dropped by a new RV dealership that opened up. We have been thinking of moving up to a 5th wheel.

My 3/4 diesel is rated 13500 for 5th / goose neck IIRC. So right off the bat the guy shows me a 15,000 lb trailer. I say to the guy, "I think this is too heavy". Naw he says, you can pull it.

You need to educate yourself before you even walk in the door.

That's a fact!! I would suggest ANYONE looking to buy a travel trailer of any kind to go to the RV or their respective forum for the TT they are looking to get (or have) and read up on information there. Lots of people will say the same thing, pretty much every RV dealership will try to tell you "you can tow this just fine".

When we were shopping for ours, we had one dealership try to tell me my previous 1500 could handle a 34' 8200lb travel trailer just fine with room to spare. Trying to convince me that was totally fine and safe with my wife and kids with me. Needless to say we bought our TT elsewhere.....

Bottom line, like FreeAmerican said, educate yourself and know your towing numbers before you ever step foot into an RV dealership.