Hello all, we are looking at purchasing a BH 3010RE and have a 2007 GMC 2500 Crew cab duramax diesel. Are we overreaching our trucks towing capacity? We are safety conscious and have seen some rigs being pulled that just did not look safe. Thanks. We love the heartland product and their fit and finish.
Bighorn 3010re
- Thread starter DBECHEN
- Start date
jimtoo
Moderator
Hi DBECHEN,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.
You will be close and maybe over your max rated capacity. Lots of folks tow with 3/4 both GM and Ford and Dodge. You will get lots of opinions from out other members I am sure. Main thing is will you be safe while towing.
Enjoy the forum and join us at a rally in your Bighorn.
Jim M
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.
You will be close and maybe over your max rated capacity. Lots of folks tow with 3/4 both GM and Ford and Dodge. You will get lots of opinions from out other members I am sure. Main thing is will you be safe while towing.
Enjoy the forum and join us at a rally in your Bighorn.
Jim M
Garypowell
Well-known member
DBECHEN,
We have a 2008 Duramax SRW 2500HD extended cab and it pulls our 3010RE just fine. I certainly know it is back there but get excellent acceleration when merging, etc.
about 10,000 miles ago I put on air bags that helped the ride but even before that no real complaints.
Our pin weight is about 3,300 pounds so we are overweight for our year truck and you will probably be too. In my opinion the 3010 is a little nose heavy but we also have washer dryer up in nose. And to make things worse I just added a 32 gal aux fuel tank. But the 500 or so overweight does not bother me. You have to decide that for yourself.
But we love the rig and think you will too.
I used to get 10 - 12 MPG when pulling but now get 12 - 14 as I am now adding a cetain booster to the fuel.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions
Good luck.
We have a 2008 Duramax SRW 2500HD extended cab and it pulls our 3010RE just fine. I certainly know it is back there but get excellent acceleration when merging, etc.
about 10,000 miles ago I put on air bags that helped the ride but even before that no real complaints.
Our pin weight is about 3,300 pounds so we are overweight for our year truck and you will probably be too. In my opinion the 3010 is a little nose heavy but we also have washer dryer up in nose. And to make things worse I just added a 32 gal aux fuel tank. But the 500 or so overweight does not bother me. You have to decide that for yourself.
But we love the rig and think you will too.
I used to get 10 - 12 MPG when pulling but now get 12 - 14 as I am now adding a cetain booster to the fuel.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions
Good luck.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Check out fifthwheelst.com for great info and calculators that can help you determine if your truck is suited for it.
Our 2004 gmc 3500 struggled some with getting too hot this summer in the mountains with our ElkRidge, and we think it was probably because the pin weight plus the 100 gal extra fuel tank was too much in the grades.
It's better to have too much truck than not enough!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Our 2004 gmc 3500 struggled some with getting too hot this summer in the mountains with our ElkRidge, and we think it was probably because the pin weight plus the 100 gal extra fuel tank was too much in the grades.
It's better to have too much truck than not enough!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
pegmikef
Well-known member
I don't really know about GM trucks, but when I did the numbers for my F250 they didn't work to my satisfaction so I went with an F350 dually because I wanted the max payload possible because besides the fiver, I wanted to add an auxillary fifty gallon fuel tank that eats up some of the capacity.
That being said, I know of and see many people pulling fivers the size of and larger than the 3010RE with three quarter tons (F250, 2500) and have apparently been doing so for years without incident. I just like the stability of the dually and capacity of the one ton and it gives me some peace of mind.
That being said, I know of and see many people pulling fivers the size of and larger than the 3010RE with three quarter tons (F250, 2500) and have apparently been doing so for years without incident. I just like the stability of the dually and capacity of the one ton and it gives me some peace of mind.
Bob&Patty
Founders of SoCal Chapter
My last truck was a '07 Chevy 2500HD D/A C/C LB 4WD. It had a GCVWR of 22K. Our Horn weighs in at just under 14K loaded and ready to go. I weighed both at a CAT scale for grins and giggles. It had a gross weight of 21800#.....200# under "legal" weight. It pulled and stopped great, no issues with power and being stable in crosswinds. I'm sure the pin weight was close to 3K but it did not squat beyond level when hooked up to the Horn. Loved that truck. What is the GVW of a 3010?
SeattleLion
Well-known member
We have the 3160EL. It is a bit less nose heavy than the one you are considering (our loaded pin weight is about 2,600 lbs). We are just short of maxing out the GWLR of our 2014 F350. Some people do two with a 3/4 ton truck, but they are over their rated limit. I don't like the idea of pulling a load that the manufacturer considers too heavy. Ultimately it can be a safety issue and it might also affect the truck's useful life. I just don't want to take that risk. There are good reasons why truck manufacturers set their ratings.
pegmikef
Well-known member
The specs say 14.000 pounds.
caissiel
Senior Member
My experience is that 14k is just right for a 2500 or 250.
Many of us pull them with great performance. I am against adding air bags because the shocks will end being the next problem. I have the habit of adding a leaf to hold the extra pin weight. I sometimes leave our 15k 5th wheel on the truck for weeks with hardly needing to put the front legs down.
As far as brakes and power towing there is no disadvantage using the 2500. I prefer the larger front tires for safety while towing and Duellies are out for me due to the small front tires holding the front weight and much less area when braking if the trailer brakes do fail.
Believe me it happened more then once.
Many of us pull them with great performance. I am against adding air bags because the shocks will end being the next problem. I have the habit of adding a leaf to hold the extra pin weight. I sometimes leave our 15k 5th wheel on the truck for weeks with hardly needing to put the front legs down.
As far as brakes and power towing there is no disadvantage using the 2500. I prefer the larger front tires for safety while towing and Duellies are out for me due to the small front tires holding the front weight and much less area when braking if the trailer brakes do fail.
Believe me it happened more then once.
brianlajoie
Well-known member
I have a 2012 F350 SRW and pull the 3010RE. Without any changes to the truck, we are under our max weight for the rear axel by 400 pounds. I know my axel and suspension is upgraded from the stock F250, but I don't know if this would translate to the GM trucks though. It's not the pulling or stopping so much as the highways are not exactly bump free. I cringe when we have to go over some of the bridge expansion joints sometimes.
SeattleLion
Well-known member
Have you weighed the truck with the trailer attached? We have a 2014 F350 SRW. The rear axle carrying ability is not the critical number. It's your payload. Our rig has 2,300 lbs on the rear axle and a total load added to the truck of 2,600 lbs. If you do what we did and weigh with you and your family, dog, fuel etc. You will get an idea of how close to your GRWL.In our case, we are abou 150 lbs under.
brianlajoie
Well-known member
Yes we weighed each axel with the trailer attached. The rear axel weighs a little over 6500 fully loaded with trailer - so we are under GAWR by about 400 pounds. I mentioned this relation to the F250 because the 3010RE tends to be nose heavy and the F250 stock suspension may not support the weight.
A question I have always had is if you are overweight(anyplace) and are in an accident will your insurance still cover you if it is discovered you are overweight.
I have always found that towing isn't the problem, stopping safely is of bigger concern. You do want a truck big enough that the trailer does not push you around.
I have always found that towing isn't the problem, stopping safely is of bigger concern. You do want a truck big enough that the trailer does not push you around.
brianlajoie
Well-known member
Yes your insurance will most likely cover you, but after that may be another question. The bigger question is how much insurance will you have to cover your unlimited negligence and liability??? The answer will be - not enough.
Harry1
Active Member
We are towing a 2015 BH3010RE that we purchased last March with a 2005 Chev 3/4 ton Duramax. Purchased the BH at the Tampa RV show in Florida and travelled down to the keys, up through the Carolina's and back to northern Michigan. No handling or braking problems whatsoever. We travel 7 months of the year moving around quite a bit. I did put Firestone air bags on the truck before taking delivery of the 3010RE. You will get alot of feedback from many who tow with dullies etc. etc. which can tow most anything but to your question you'll not have a problem towing this unit however; that being said, you'll be at the max you should tow with that truck. If you plan on adding an additional fuel tank in the bed of the truck or add washer/dryer options you will be even more overweigh on the pin and should consider moving up to the 3500 1 tons to be safe. While the airbags will not increase your trucks capacity, they will improve your ride and level the unit out. I run mine at about 30/40psi. Hope this helps with your question?
We bought a Bighorn 3010 (2016) that we will pick up next week. I want to install my BW Companion hitch prior to getting to the dealer and need help to know the distance from the ground to the OEM pin box so that I can get the hitch height close to where it needs to be. Btw, we have a 2013 RAM 3500 SRW. Again, thank in advance for all replies.
