Anyone towing with a Chevy 2500HD 6.0?

I'm close to pulling the trigger on a Torque 301. Specs on Heartlands site shows GVWR at 14000 (10945 dry).

Truck is a 2012 Chevy 2500HD 6.0 with 4.10 gears (6.5' bed). 5th wheel tow capacity is 13900. I can't imagine that we'd have #3000+ of stuff in the rv and I'm not interested in exceeding my TV towing ratings.

Anyone towing the same/similar setup? Am I pushing my luck with the truck's limits? I'm looking at a Fifth Airborne sidewinder style hitch (vs a slide hitch) to give proper clearance to the cab.

Thoughts? TIA!

Hi PJZocc,

The empty weight spec doesn't include options. Even if you travel light, by the time you add a bit of water and fuel, and your clothing, pots and pans, and other gear, you'll probably be closer to the GVWR than to the empty spec weight.

On a 2500, the issue you'll have is vertical load. The payload on your truck is probably somewhere around 2500 lbs. You should assume that the pin weight of your trailer will be around 20% of the actual weight. If your actual is 13,000 lbs, the pin weight will be around 2,600 sitting on the hitch/rear axle. The payload capacity of the truck also includes passengers, pets, tools, bed liner, bed cover, weight of the hitch, and anything else you carry in the truck. So you'll probably be ok pulling, but will be overloaded on the rear axle/payload capacity.

That said, a lot of people pull heavier trailers with 2500s. Some have installed airbags or helper springs.

You can find more info on Fifth Wheel Safe Towing, a website developed by another Heartland owner.

"Pushing your luck".....well maybe. Your fuel mileage will most likely suck, your 6.0 will be working hard all the time. I dont know if your truck has an Allison trans or not. You would be far better off if you had the Duramax/Allison combo with the exhaust brake. JMHO

Dane - that link is not working, but I'll see if I can find it. The payload on the truck is #3000 unless I'm mistaken.

Bob - it does have the Allison tranny. And my mpg sucks already with the 4.10s! But even so, I traded in an F250 PSD on the Chevy, and my fuel bill for similar trips is less on the gasser. I do miss the torque of the diesel though!

I don't want to exceed the capabilities of the truck, as I want to be safe on the road. I'm not overly keen on modding the truck to accept the rv. I appreciate the feedback folks. I'm still researching but this may not work out for me. (Still open to opinions though!)

Visit fifthwheelst.com, that should lead you to the article Dan was referring to.


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^ Thanks!