TV may not tow tt

[Liberty-GTR-5]

Hi Im new at towing .I have a 2009 1500 silverado crew cab. GVW rating is 6800. My north country 26SRL dry wt is 6756lbs GVWR is 10400 LBS . My question is will my tv be able to tow my TT. waiting nervously for the answer. Thank you in advance .

 

[BIG_ZD]

I have a 31QBS. I towed it a few times with 2005 Silverado 1500 5.3 V8 3.73 and it does ok but sucks the gas up. If you looking at doing any towing the mountions I would go for the diesel.

 

[kakampers]

You are potentionally overweight by 3,000lbs...you can probably tow it, but stopping will be VERY iffy...I wouldn't try it!!! Not to mention the damage you will probably do to your truck, i.e., transmission, suspension, etc.

 

[2010augusta]

What engine do you have? Do you have the tow max package? What gears? We need more info. here is GMC 1500 towing spec page check it out and see what you think.

 

[caissiel]

I was camping last summer and there was a Ford F150 that came in with a 10500 TT and he did pull it very well. There is lots of power, and he explained that the truck was rated to haul 11000 LBS. I explained that my 7500Lbs F250 was only rated to pull a 10000 Lbs TT and a 16000 Lbs 5th wheel. There is a big difference on the weight on the axles when the TT has 10% on the tongue. So with 10000 Lbs on the GM 1500 axles added to the weight of the truck that is about 4600 Lbs then the TV is 5600lbs and the TT has 9000 Lbs on the wheels. That alone makes me nervous. I had a 1/4 Ton Ranger once and was driving down the road with a heavy trailer and I puLLed to the side of the road to check the load, just then the trailer was so heavy that the curb side wheels running in soft shoulder just pushed the rear of the Ranger toward the ditch. In order not to jackknife the unit, I had to steer the truck and trailer in the ditch. Talk about getting scared.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

King of long, but funny

Not trying to "one best" or out do anyone, but....

The year is the year of "desert storm". I had just bought a 1976, 36' sailboat (14,000 lbs) on a 4 axle trailer (3600 lbs empty) and a 1976 1- ton, single rear wheel GMC pickup truck. I was going to restore the boat and I had towed it home 45 miles to work on it. Well the first gulf war broke out, I was an E-8 in the USAR and had been activated for the first gulf war.

I had to find a place fast to put the boat and trailer in so I started to scout out the neighbor hood (I live in farm country) for a suitable barn.

Well I found one (barn). The driveway was off a two lane black top road with a sharp curve and a slight incline (decline) down as you went from the road into the drive.

There was also a decent curve and a large pond about two feet from the drive as I pulled from the road and onto the drive. Did I mention that the truck had a beefed up bumper hitch (2 5/16" ball) and a beefed up coupler on the trailer? And did I mention that once I changed a tire on the truck by using the tongue support jack on the trailer to raise the back of the truck off the ground?

Well here is the rest of the story: As the truck went down the incline from the road and I started to make my turn to miss going into the pond the boat and trailer was still up on the road. Because the boat was so heavy and the trailer was on four axles when I made that turn and dropped the truck off the road the rear tires came up off the drive way (held there by the boat and trailer) and the boat and trailer just kept going straight, for the pond. By the grace of God and a little luck the wheels of the truck touched as the boat left the road and I was able to continue on the way to the barn without any further incident.

Moral of the story: The truck may pull it and stop it just fine, but when stuff starts rolling down hill and you have no control hang on to your a** and be ready to clean your shorts cause things may begin to get crappy!

 

[caissiel]

Well said R & D, Thats what scares me with a light TV to Trailer combination. My Neighbour was pulling a TT with his 1500 Dodge and got scared, and now he has a F350 for his TT. I can add that with the light TV and heavy trailer combination I used it to carry my firewood, loaded the truck with 1/2 cord in the TV and 1 1/2 cord in the trailer and it seam to work better. Truly it pulled it but don't get in my way I was way heavier then any brakes would handle , I was only in the back roads with that.

 

[rumaco]

old saying

There is an old saying in aviation! It goes "never put yourself into a positon you can't get out of!" Of all the opinions on this site that bring more responses (other than K&N filters) the tow vehicle brings it on. Not to sure if it is justification of what someone bought or simply just an opinion. Common sense makes for a great travel companion......never lets you down or beats you up. Use your head, look at the specs, know your systems, don't let the trip get ahead of you and take opinions for what they are. Someone that likes GMC loves to tell you how much YOU need this to pull with OR you will never make it....so goes FORD....so goes Dodge. Read the literature and look at the design engineering of the vehicle you tow with, a Ford F350 will not stop any quicker than the F250 no matter what someone tells you. A truck is a truck and until you get into the bigger tow vehicles it is apples and oranges. Don't sit and attempt to sift through the miles of differant thoughts and opinions, who is right and who is wrong....take it with a grain of salt and find information that is current with YOUR truck and the specs it is designed to perform under. Don't get me wrong, much information on this site is great, but I do believe it is a little "mine is better than yours" driven. Just a thought!

 

[Liberty-GTR-5]

HI The engine Is a Vortex 4.8L V8 REAR AXLE 3.23 ratio and I have a tow pacage. I realy dont want to get ride of the truck . I Hope you pros out there have suggestions on how and if Ican upgraed this tv. I also have what they GM call a Z85 handling/ trailering suspention? When I bought the tt the dealer told me my tv will be ok. I should have done my home work shame on me. Thank ALL of you for your response. Maybe I can trade my tt for another NK thats lighter ? Its a 2010

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

For what it is worth: My previous trailer was a 2008 Wildcat. I pulled this with a 2006 Dodge 1500 Megacab with the HEMI engine in it. I drove within my own abilities, the abilities of the truck and also with the abilities of idiots on the road around me.

The frame of the truck and the running gear was that of a 3/4 and 1 ton, or so I am told. I may have been light with things but I towed to Texas and back to Michigan with zero problems. Fuel economy was horrible but I had lots of power.

<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(215, 237, 213);"><td class="fourborders" width="300">Dry Hitch Weight</td><td class="fourborders">950 lb. (431 kg )</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="fourborders" width="300">Unloaded Vehicle Weight</td><td class="fourborders">7,529 lb. (3,415 kg )</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(215, 237, 213);"> <td class="fourborders" width="300">Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)</td><td class="fourborders">11,240 lb. (5,098 kg )</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="fourborders" width="300">Cargo Carrying Capacity</td><td class="fourborders">2,792 lb. (1,266 kg )</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(215, 237, 213);"> <td class="fourborders" width="300">Exterior Length</td><td class="fourborders">29 ft. 8 in. (9.0 m)</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="fourborders" width="300">Exterior Height</td><td class="fourborders">11 ft. 11 in. (3.6 m)</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color: rgb(215, 237, 213);"> <td class="fourborders" width="300">Exterior Width</td><td class="fourborders">96 in. (2.4 m)</td></tr></tbody></table>

This is the stat's from the wildcat.

 

[2010augusta]

HI The engine Is a Vortex 4.8L V8 REAR AXLE 3.23 ratio and I have a tow pacage. I realy dont want to get ride of the truck . I Hope you pros out there have suggestions on how and if Ican upgraed this tv. I also have what they GM call a Z85 handling/ trailering suspention? When I bought the tt the dealer told me my tv will be ok. I should have done my home work shame on me. Thank ALL of you for your response. Maybe I can trade my tt for another NK thats lighter ? Its a 2010

WHAT??? according to GM a 2009 1500 with a crew cab, 4.8L and 3.23 gears has a MAX tow rating of only 4,600 lbs. now if you had a 6.0L you could get the TV to pull okay, but that little 4.8L is not enough engine to tow a big trailer. the 3.23 gears give you good mileage and a good top speed but provide VERY little torque to get a heavy load moving and to get up a hill. You have the worst gear ratio possible for towing. Sorry but you will need a better truck or a MUCH smaller trailer.

The dealer would tell you that your ranger or s-10 can pull a 40' toy hauler if it gets them a sell and more money in their pocket.

 

[thomasinnv]

sorry, but you are WAY WAY overloaded with that tv/tt combo. that is an accident waiting to happen. i hope you don't travel with a family in that thing.

 

[lwmcguir]

Sure have to agree here. The suspension, brakes, bearings, shocks, sure aren't designed for heavy loads or towing. Some of these dealers need to be listening to hear what their sales people are telling customers. I have to say the three dealers we are familiar with wont even discuss selling any of the larger HL units unless you own a Diesel TV.

 

[Liberty-GTR-5]

Thank all of you for your views. Both my tv and tt are new . The tt has been in the shop since oct the 12 for a new rubber roof that was not put on right from the factory. HL has approved to have the roof repaired thank you HL. I have a new truck and tt and cant go any where. kick myself in the head. At least when I get It back and my wife gets mad at me like she is now I have a place to sleep instead of the couch lol. Safe traveling to all of you .

 

[lwmcguir]

Feel for you liberty-GTR-5. Why is it taking so long to get a new rubber roof replaced? Almost three months doesn't seem right. Hope you can get on the road soon.

 

[Liberty-GTR-5]

Thank you LWMCGUIR, I DIDNT DO MY HOME WORK .They the dealer told me they where booked and could not start working on the tt untill the other peoples tt where finished .And there laying people off go figure. HL can only approve the work to be done but cant tell them when to fix the problem. So ill just wait. Im not going to tow the tt because I dont want to cause an accident. Thank you for your concern. Bless all of you