2008 BH 3670 with 2500 - enough truck?

yippi

NFL Fans
hello; i'm new to Heartland ; we just purchased 2008.. 3670 bighorn have a 2500 silverado deisel is my truck to small? do i need a special brakes
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
Do you have more info. on the truck and the 5er? There is a chance you will be overloaded with payload for sure.
 

jmaguire

Well-known member
I have a 2007 Silverado 2500HD with a duramax 6.6 turbo. I am pulling a 2010 Eagle ridge 35DSRL. Any suggestions for me? I have towed it several times and it seems fine. I have adjusted the brakes and it seems to stop fine.
 

yippi

NFL Fans
The truck is a Silverado 2500HD Duramax 6.6 turbo we put in an extra leaf, the trailer is a Bighorn 3670RL
 

mrcomer

Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)
yippi,
Your truck will pull the 3670 just fine but stopping will be the issue. You will find that you will be a bit over on your weights especially if you elected to get the generator and/or the stack washer and dryer. As always bigger is better and having a 1 ton dually is really a better match for your 3670. As you will see from my signature that I do not practice what I preach because I cannot afford to upgrade my truck at this time so instead I am very careful. I will say that I have travelled from Ohio to Branson MO. and everything was great. Just wish I could afford to upgrade my truck. I would really like to get a Kodiak 4500 with airride suspension and seats. Oh well.

Good luck,
Mark
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
The truck is a Silverado 2500HD Duramax 6.6 turbo we put in an extra leaf, the trailer is a Bighorn 3670RL

Infomation like.......What is hitch weight of your Bighorn? What is the Payload of your truck? Is your truck a 4x4?, Crew cab? If all you are concern with is stopping find the weight of your truck and trailer then visit the GM truck site.
 

bsummit

Arkansas Chapter Leader-Retired
I did pull my 3670 with a 2500 dodge but went to a 3500 dually and it is so much more stable. Brakes will be a big thing with the 2500. I did have trouble stopping, just had to start braking sooner. If you have an exhaust brake that will help. If you have the 3670 loaded pretty heavy, I would recommend the 3500.
Bill
 

yippi

NFL Fans
We do not have the washer and dryer or the generator, the extra leaf added 900lb cap. for the box. Guess I better get my brakes checked more often.
Thanks for the info.

Any information we can get would be great.

Yippi....
We're on the road again...
 

yippi

NFL Fans
More information....
Hitch weight of the big horn, 1990lbs, Trailer weight 12000 dry,
truck is a 4x4 crew cab short box 2500HD durmax 6.6 turbo desiel.
Helper leaf added 900lbs to payload.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
More information....
Hitch weight of the big horn, 1990lbs, Trailer weight 12000 dry,
truck is a 4x4 crew cab short box 2500HD durmax 6.6 turbo desiel.
Helper leaf added 900lbs to payload.

Hmmm. My 3670 has a literature pin weight of 2065 lbs. With the combo W/D, add another 150 lbs. The vehicle weight shown on the registration is 12115 lbs.

Looking at the GMC website (the Chevy site is devoid of real info), the max. weight of trailer that your truck can pull is 13,600 lbs. Puts you awful close to being overloaded when you put your goods inside. Adding springs does not increase the pulling limits. Moving up to a 3500HD CC LB DRW 4WD give you 15,900 lbs. (16,200 for 2WD).

But, there are plenty of folks pulling big rigs with 2500's. You pay your money and you take your chance. We bought our TV after buying the 3670...and a lot of research, scouring this forum, and head scratching. The pucker factor won.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
hello; i'm new to Heartland ; we just purchased 2008.. 3670 bighorn have a 2500 silverado deisel is my truck to small? do i need a special brakes
Your brakes are about the exact same thing as the 3500 and you have enough power. The BIG difference is weight capacity. You won't have enough. You will be over your trucks GVRW. That being said, there are many owners of 3600 series Bighorns and Landmarks being pulled by 2500 trucks. We have a 3400RL and were overweight. We went to the 3500 dually.
 

azbound

Senior Member
I pulled my BH 3400 to Az. last winter with my 05 Chevy 2500 Duramax/ Allison 4X4 and was disappointed in how it pulled up the Tehachapi's. This winter I pulled the same Mt's with my 08 Chevy 3500 Duramax/Allison 4X4 and was very pleased. If you plan on staying on the flats you will pull OK, stopping is another matter. If you are going to drive in the Mountains I don't think you will ever be happy with your 2500.

Just my opinion.
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
I just wish some of the folks would post some testing showing why they say a 3500 will stop better than 2500. I truly would enjoy reading those articles and the same goes with for having more power......Kenny
 

driver311

Well-known member
don't see any reason why a 3500 would stop any better than a 2500. all parts are interchangeable except the rear springs.
so now is the time to explain it to all of us.

driver311NoneNone
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
azbound, it could be that pulling up the mountain with your 2500 vs a 3500 has nothing to do with being a 2500 or 3500. The 05 chevy has 310 hp and 605 ft-lb of torque. The 08 has 365 hp and 660 ft-lb torque coupled with the Allison 6 speed tranny. Just my thoughts.
Peace
Dave
 

RVerFulltime

Fulltiming Since 2004
We had a 2004 2500 LB7 Duramax. Plenty of power in the mountains but the transmission cooling system was too small. Overheating problems.

The 2006 2500 LBZ Duramax has a larger cooling system for the engine and transmission. Now, we do not have the overheating problems we had before. Pulling in the mountains does require a person to use common sense. We try NOT to pull during the hottest part of the day because it is hard on the engine, transmission, and tires.

Being at or slightly over weight capacity can be debated until the end of time. But we never hear anyone ask 'when did you last adjust the trailer brakes?' We adjust our trailer brakes every 5,000 miles.

In our opinion, a person needs to use common sense when driving down the road pulling several tons of weight.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
This might clear things up a little. I work at a Chevy dealer and have been a Chevy tech for many years. Too many years. With all the information I have gathered, here's my take on this. The ONLY difference between a 2500 and a 3500 is the bed and frame length. 2 more wheels and tires, and 1 extra spring leaf. The engine,trans, and diff all the same. The frame is the same, only 1 is a little longer. The brakes are the same. My 2500 has a GVWR of 22K. A 3500 has a GVWR of 23500K. That is because of the 2 wheels and tires and the extra leaf spring. IMO, the 3500 might be a little more stable because the rear tire width is is wider. Any opposing opinions are welcome. My 2cts. Bob:D
 

jwb187

Active Member
Yippi, you will more than likely be overweight depending on the pin weight of your trailer. With your particular truck the weight of the truck alone with full gas and two passengers not counting any other add ons will be around 7500lbs. That truck has a GVWR of 9200lbs. Any trailer with a pin over 1700lbs would put you in the red zone. However, that is a very popular truck for pulling heavy 5'vers due to the duramax engine. Just make sure that you practice a panic stop and that your brake controller is working up to par. Maintain an additional distance between you and the vehicle in front of you for a cushion. I'm in the same boat, got the truck first without really checking towing capacites then found out I couldn't haul much of a load without being over weight. jwb.
 

yippi

NFL Fans
Ok this sounds like the great debate about which way the toilet paper should come off of the roll.....top or bottom...lol
Thanks for all the great feedback.

Ron and Marilou (Yippi) Scali
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
Ok this sounds like the great debate about which way the toilet paper should come off of the roll.....top or bottom...lol
Thanks for all the great feedback.

Ron and Marilou (Yippi) Scali

Surely everyone knows toilet paper comes off the top of the roll.:)...Kenny
 
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