Maximum trailer weight ratings

Tweedy

Active Member
We have recently purchased a Big Country 3250TS. The dry weight of this trailer as shown in the brochure is 10,590 lbs. The owners manual for our 2004 Chev Duramax 6.6L turbo diesel shows 12,000 lbs as a maximum trailer weight. On the trailer Life magazine website, our vehile is rated at 14,800. Maybe the mfg low balls the limit or maybe 5th wheels trailers can be heavier than conventional trailers. In any case, with the addition of slide toppers, full propane and all our camping gear I'm sure we may be at or over the 12k max. Can anyone offer advice / info for me? How critical is the 12k max on our Duramax??

Chuck Tweedy
Alberta Can.
 

funntheson

Well-known member
You need to do an internet search for "towing capacity chart for ???" or something like that with your truck info. The towing capacity for 5th wheels is always higher than travel trailers. Just make sure you find the right info, and stay within your limits.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Chuck, is your Chevy an 04 or 04 1/2?? Think that even an 04 2500 D/A is rated at 22K GCVWR and a can pull a 14K 5er. Look at the chart in the owners manual for 5th wheel not pull trailers.
 

Tweedy

Active Member
Hi Bob....our truck is an 04 1/2. A little more torque than the earlier 04's. The owners manual shows GCVWR at 22k, but no specific category for pulling 5'ers, so I suspect the 12000 lbs rating defaults to regular trailers. Up until now we pulled a 31 ft. Cardinal with 2 slides that weighed just under 10k dry. The truck pulled it for the past 5 yrs. with amazing ease and we really load up when we take off. Our travel routes routinely take us into some serious mountain terrain in southern B .C. and again...no problems at all. My gut instinct tells me that 2k more shouldn't make much difference. It's just the 12k limit in the manual that bothers me a bit and then there's also the legal aspect of this. As I mentioned, one website rates our trauck at 14,800...so what to believe!

Thanks for you input...greatly appreciated. Chuck
 

Tweedy

Active Member
Thanks for your advice....As I mentioned, the one website gave our truck a 14,800lb rating. I suspect the 12k in the owners manual is for conventional trailering and not 5th wheels but it doesn't specify. Guess I'll know more in the spring when I get the thing on the road. I also replied to another responder that our experience with this truck has been really good pulling a Cardinal 5'er about 1000lb lighter. My instinct is that there shouldn't be any problem mechanically, but I wonder about the legality issue.

Regards,...Chuck
 

Tweedy

Active Member
Thanks for that Ray....the website you led me to is the same one I found by browsing. This at least gives me some peace of mind and pretty much confirms what I suspected. Our 2004 (1/2) 2500HD, Duramax Crew Cab, 4x4, SB is rated at 14,800. We should be well under that limit.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Chuck, we had an 05 2500 D/A CC SB, which is the same truck you have. It pulled our Horn just fine. We weighed it on a Cat scale fully loaded and came in just under the 22K. I must say that the 07 (classic) 2500 we have now with the 6 speed trans and paddle shift is great.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Almost any HD 3/4 ton Diesel pickup will tow almost any HL product currently made. Stopping the load should be your concern. Brake controller and brakes on the TV and Coach are where you need to focus. The engine and drive trains are very very similar on the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks out there.
 

Tweedy

Active Member
Thanks for feedback Bob. From your comment it sounds like the additional transmission speeds made a difference...not sure what you mean by paddle shift though.
 
Different model truck but i went throug much of the same battle in finding out spec's.
We bought 3250TS with a 3/4 ton SB Dodge with Cummins. i was right at tow limit because of 342 rear gear. But never the less my hitch weight was 2750 with no food in trlr or firewood in truck. It pulled great but i did not like being right # limit. Look at your tires. That is where my consern came in. I had right at 6,000# available on the tires. I had 5,800 pin # weight. I drove semi's for years and i never like being at limit on the tires. That is weakest link. So i opted for a change and went to dually. Same engine but 373 rear end. Pulls the same but the stability is like comparing the sun and moon. It is a personal choice when it is right at the load limit but i always error on safety. Find someone with dually, hook up and pull 10 miles and make your own decision.
 
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Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Chuck, the 06 and newer Chevy/GMC trucks have a 6 speed trans. The shift lever has a button on it besides the tow/haul. If you put the shift lever to the "M" position, you can manually control what gear you want the trans in. You can also lock out overdrive with it. Where before you had to lock out overdrive by holding the tow/haul button.

I like the feature because you can lock in a gear when pulling hills. You can also downshift when stopping. It seems to engage the gears quicker when you downshift manually than waiting for the tow/haul to do it. Also the 06 and newer trucks have a higher RPM range to deal with.

On our Montana trip from California, we averaged 11.7 MPG pulling the BH. Let me tell you that its all up hill to Montana from here.
 
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