1/2 Ton towing

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
Illegal for what??? Who enforces it? Ever get a ticket for being overweight in your pick-em-up truck? Know anyone that did?
Obnoxious?
I called the Florida department of transportation and spoke with the commissioner it was from that conversation that I understood that I was illegal and if I had an accident I could lose everything. If you want to continue running loose and illegal that is your choice. I'm just speaking about the legal ramifications that you run the risk of when you have a truck that is overloaded. No matter what modifications you do to the suspension or engine Drive Tran it doesn't have any effect on the Sticker that the manufacturer put on the truck. Feel free to continue running overweight. But just because I opted to go legal doesn't justify your persnickety statement.

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carl.swoyer

Well-known member
You said exactly what I was thinking! Plus, I didn’t say anything about ‘overloading.’ I just said I got air bags to help with weight in the bed while towing. Suddenly I was a criminal. Lol


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No one said your a criminal?


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avvidclif

Well-known member
Oh I just noticed that you are a VFW " AUXILIARY" SOMETHING ! LOL

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Look closer. That would be my wife, not me. Last year she was the VFW Auxiliary President for the Dept of Texas. I'm just a retired LEO.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
There are several 1/2-ton towable 5'vers out there on the market...

Unfortunately, most of the 1/2-tons I see towing 5'vers aren't towing them.

They are towing 5'vers that are meant for 3/4 or 1-ton trucks!

I see that every single day here in the RV mecca of Yuma, AZ.

There are at least 10 RV dealerships within two miles of my house...

:eek:
 

MountainDon

Active Member
The Truth is your TV can actually pull more than it is rated to pull. That is NOT the point. If you are in an accident or incident and you are overweight and it is discovered,

you are screwed

Do what you feel comfortable doing, gamble what you want to gamble, your money, your choices.

I don't like the risk of being out of spec. If you do, it is no skin off my nose unless you are risking the safety of other folks.
 

jleavitt11

retired Utah Chapter Leaders
I am not advocating towing heavier than the rated vehicle but I have been in the insurance business for over 30 years and handled tens of thousands of auto insurance claims. In all that time I have never seen an insurance company deny a claim because a truck was over weight. I have never even seen them even check. FYI
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
The Truth is your TV can actually pull more than it is rated to pull. That is NOT the point. If you are in an accident or incident and you are overweight and it is discovered,

you are screwed

Do what you feel comfortable doing, gamble what you want to gamble, your money, your choices.

I don't like the risk of being out of spec. If you do, it is no skin off my nose unless you are risking the safety of other folks.
Exactly my point!
Thank you.

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ram22

Well-known member
LEO?
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER?
THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

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carl, do you weigh your truck and trailer separately and combined before every single trip? Asking for a friend.


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avvidclif

Well-known member
LEO?
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER?
THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

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Know better than what, nobody gave a rats patootie about weight. Those are not criminal violations. Highway Patrol handled commercial weight violations along with a special unit of the Sheriff's Dept. See the comment from the insurance man.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
The discussion seems to have gone sideways. If there's any more information that might help the OP, go ahead and post. Otherwise...
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Do you weigh your truck and trailer separately and combined before every single trip?

Asking for a friend.

Unless you are constantly changing what you are carrying in your RV, there is no need to weigh before each and every tow.

Once you know the max weight of your trailer loaded (ie.- water tanks full and all of the stuff you will ever take with you), you'll know where you stand.

When I had my previous Heartland Trail Runner TT, I was towing it with a 1/2-ton truck and the TT was barely within the tow ratings.

Which is what many of the so-called 1/2-ton towable 5'vers are when empty...not loaded.

All it took for me was that one time when I had that white knuckle almost didn't stop...and that was the last time my old Dodge ever towed that trailer.

The next time that Trail Runner hit the road was behind my brand new (and current) 3/4-ton Chevy...and I immediately realized the difference between towing right on the edge (and taking our lives in my own hands) and towing with a vehicle that was properly equipped to handle the load.

And when I upgraded to my current Heartland Prowler 5'ver a few months later, I chose that trailer not by being 10 pounds under the tow rating, but more like 3000 pounds under the tow rating (and this is when it is loaded, not dry weight)!

I had originally found a Heartland Elkridge 5'ver and a Heartland Sundance 5'ver, both with the exact same floor plan as my Prowler, but the dry weight of the Elkridge was over the tow rating of my truck and the Sundance was right on the max tow rating.

And this is where it seems that most people will talk themselves into believing that they will be ok with an under-sized tow vehicle!

What most don't get is the fact that the tow rating of a vehicle doesn't mean that this vehicle is rated to handle an RV as long as it weighs one pound or less below that number, not to mention that their tow vehicle will run out of payload long before they reach that magic max tow weight rating!

The Prowler doesn't have all of that fancy ornate woodwork, no 6-point auto leveling system, it isn't insulated for living in the North Pole... and has only one AC instead of two or three like the others.

But it has a huge towing cushion on my truck that takes all of the intensity out of rolling down the highway.

Tell your friend not to make this mistake and don't listen to the RV salesperson when they say that their 1/2-ton will tow this or that.

Come here with the real numbers (ie.- number on the sticker inside the drivers door of the tow vehicle and NOT the dry weight of the trailer) and you will get the real truth about the tow ratings and what they can tow with it.
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
Unless you are constantly changing what you are carrying in your RV, there is no need to weigh before each and every tow.

Once you know the max weight of your trailer loaded (ie.- water tanks full and all of the stuff you will ever take with you), you'll know where you stand.

When I had my previous Heartland Trail Runner TT, I was towing it with a 1/2-ton truck and the TT was barely within the tow ratings.

Which is what many of the so-called 1/2-ton towable 5'vers are when empty...not loaded.

All it took for me was that one time when I had that white knuckle almost didn't stop...and that was the last time my old Dodge ever towed that trailer.

The next time that Trail Runner hit the road was behind my brand new (and current) 3/4-ton Chevy...and I immediately realized the difference between towing right on the edge (and taking our lives in my own hands) and towing with a vehicle that was properly equipped to handle the load.

And when I upgraded to my current Heartland Prowler 5'ver a few months later, I chose that trailer not by being 10 pounds under the tow rating, but more like 3000 pounds under the tow rating (and this is when it is loaded, not dry weight)!

I had originally found a Heartland Elkridge 5'ver and a Heartland Sundance 5'ver, both with the exact same floor plan as my Prowler, but the dry weight of the Elkridge was over the tow rating of my truck and the Sundance was right on the max tow rating.

And this is where it seems that most people will talk themselves into believing that they will be ok with an under-sized tow vehicle!

What most don't get is the fact that the tow rating of a vehicle doesn't mean that this vehicle is rated to handle an RV as long as it weighs one pound or less below that number, not to mention that their tow vehicle will run out of payload long before they reach that magic max tow weight rating!

The Prowler doesn't have all of that fancy ornate woodwork, no 6-point auto leveling system, it isn't insulated for living in the North Pole... and has only one AC instead of two or three like the others.

But it has a huge towing cushion on my truck that takes all of the intensity out of rolling down the highway.

Tell your friend not to make this mistake and don't listen to the RV salesperson when they say that their 1/2-ton will tow this or that.

Come here with the real numbers (ie.- number on the sticker inside the drivers door of the tow vehicle and NOT the dry weight of the trailer) and you will get the real truth about the tow ratings and what they can tow with it.
Thanks you JohnD
I'm no longer 4000 lbs over, I am extremely under weight. Going from the 2005 Chevy Silverado Duramax SRW to the 2015 Silverado Duramax dually is such a huge difference. That being said the trailer weight is pretty consistent so I'm traveling safe and no worries about being able to stop.

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dkbruhun

Member
I tow a north trail 21FBS ( GVW 6900 lbs ) with a GMC 1500 truck. it is rated at 9500 lbs towing and has the 6.2l engine. It tows the trailer like a dream ( I got around 11 -12 MPG on the last trip )

My previous truck was a 2004 5.3l chevy and it was miserable to tow the same trailer. It was rated at 7500 lbs, but clearly must have lost some ponies along the way - it got around 7-8 MPG

Hi,
Had a question about your towing experience with GMC 1500 pickup.
Did you happen to feel the need to up grade tires?
Wife and I purchased new Silverado 1500 this spring. It happened to come with 275/60/R20 Bridgestone A/T SLs and more importantly Max towing package 6.2 also.
Being comfortable with towing are NT22FBS with recently traded 07 2500HD in the past......
I was considering 4 wheel tire change to maybe XL rated tire or E range.
Have weight distribution hitch currently but thinking of adding sway control also.
Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.
Thanks Dave and Kim
 

MountainDon

Active Member
Hi,
Had a question about your towing experience with GMC 1500 pickup.
Did you happen to feel the need to up grade tires?
Wife and I purchased new Silverado 1500 this spring. It happened to come with 275/60/R20 Bridgestone A/T SLs and more importantly Max towing package 6.2 also.
Being comfortable with towing are NT22FBS with recently traded 07 2500HD in the past......
I was considering 4 wheel tire change to maybe XL rated tire or E range.
Have weight distribution hitch currently but thinking of adding sway control also.
Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.
Thanks Dave and Kim

Hello Dave and Kim,

A 22 fbs should not need heavier tires, just look at your weights to know for sure
I will say however that I generally change out the tires to tires of my choosing and one of the thins I have learned is that A/T tires can often cost you as much as 2-3 mpg on the highway. If you don’t need them put highway tires on. My preference is Michelin defenders as I live in Colorado and they are excellent A/S tires and last a long time. I also run 275/50/20’s

Enjoy
Don

just my choice ymmv
 

dkbruhun

Member
Hello Dave and Kim,

A 22 fbs should not need heavier tires, just look at your weights to know for sure
I will say however that I generally change out the tires to tires of my choosing and one of the thins I have learned is that A/T tires can often cost you as much as 2-3 mpg on the highway. If you don’t need them put highway tires on. My preference is Michelin defenders as I live in Colorado and they are excellent A/S tires and last a long time. I also run 275/50/20’s

Enjoy
Don

just my choice ymmv

Thanks Don for many good points.
will look into Michelin all season as we ran them on 2500HD for many years.
A/T style current truck tire probably sell better on new vehicles but i prefer to keep it on the road and between the lines.
Trailer tires fine as they are.
Was hoping for best stability from Tow vehicle.
Prayers to all.
 

MCJ

Member
Hi,
Had a question about your towing experience with GMC 1500 pickup.
Did you happen to feel the need to up grade tires?
Wife and I purchased new Silverado 1500 this spring. It happened to come with 275/60/R20 Bridgestone A/T SLs and more importantly Max towing package 6.2 also.
Being comfortable with towing are NT22FBS with recently traded 07 2500HD in the past......
I was considering 4 wheel tire change to maybe XL rated tire or E range.
Have weight distribution hitch currently but thinking of adding sway control also.
Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.
Thanks Dave and Kim


Hi dkbruhun

Hopefully this is still a relevant reply for you
I have used E load rated AT tires on my tow vehicles since 2005. I have the need for an AT tire so not that worried about the MPG hit. I like that they have a stiffer sidewall which inherently helps to keep the tow vehicle planted, although it is a bit of a harsher ride day to day. The Ford in my signature came from Detroit (actually, Kansas) with E tires on it.
 

Mjl6800a

Member
Hello everyone, I’m new to the camping world and hoping for a little guidance. My wife and I just purchased a 2020 Mallard M32. I have a 2017 Chevy Silverado with a 5.3L V8 and 3.08 gears. The online guides I have found say that my truck will only tow 6100 lbs. But my truck with 3.42 gears will tow 9100. So I decided to purchase the gears and have a mechanic friend helping me swap out the gears and reprogram my truck. I realize this will kill my gas mileage but I am really trying to avoid having to buy a new truck right now. I have 4 kids and a wife so I have to have a 6 seater tow vehicle and trying to find that with out buying a “work truck” version is next to impossible. Any advice or experience out there on this matter would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
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