How much can my new rig tow?

naturalbornmudder · October 17, 2006

I am a newbie, but I did a search before posting.

2 days ago I bought an 06 GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4wd witht he 5.3L and 3.42 gears. The stealership told me 8100 pounds, a pamphlet I was reading said 8,000, and a tow chart I read on an independant web site said 7400.

So does anyone know the right answer?

wages999 · October 17, 2006

My 04 Chevy 1500 Crew 4x4 with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears is rated to tow 7,700 pounds. After 04 Chevy reduced the towing capacity to 7,400 pounds for both the 3.42 and the 3.73 rear-ends. You can look-up the 2007 Silverado Classic towing capacities on chevy's website, which are the same as 06's. The 4.10 ratio lets you tow 8,400 pounds.

It's been my experince that salesmen don't know the technical information on the vehicles they are selling and will tell you anything to sell a vehicle.

cmoore74 · October 17, 2006

I have the same truck, it's 7400 lbs.

What are you planning on towing with it?

I only tow a 4000 lb boat around with ease, but I tow it quite often so I like the extra margin.

naturalbornmudder · October 17, 2006

I will be towing my 4000# jeep from Alaska to Pennsylvania and around to different Jeep events. I also will be hauling steel on a trailer, possibly a car hauler on occasion, and some times just my ATV

C & A s Dad · October 18, 2006

Nate, search this forum for info on aux trans coolers. Even if you truck has a OE aux trans cooler it is not very big. It is a well deigned cooler (the best IMO) but it it too small for any serious towing.

If a slsmn told you that you could safely tug 8100lbs with this truck he did not know what he was talking about.

I am pulling 6400 lbs with a Yukon XL with 4.10 gears and it does very well, but I would not want to attempt this with 3.42s.

svensk · October 18, 2006

I wouldn't pull anywhere near 8100 at all. At most only short distances a couple times a year. That is really 2500+ territory.

naturalbornmudder · October 18, 2006

I wouldn't pull anywhere near 8100 at all. At most only short distances a couple times a year. That is really 2500+ territory.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I plan on tow-bar towing my Jeep from Alaska to Pennsylvania within the next 10 months. The jeep weighs 4K. Consider I will have 4500 pounds total. Does 4500 sound like a safe amount for the tow rig?

ZZebes · October 18, 2006

4500lb should be fine. Hell i have towed near 7500lbs with mine for relatively short distances with my 06' and it has 3.23's I just took it slow and didn't try to win any races and she pulled like a champ. You could definitley tow 4500lbs but, Get a new trans cooler. Stacked place design

FSTDL · October 18, 2006

With your truck I would tow up to 6,500-7,000 max.But your problem will be stopping it. 4,000 with a tow bar will be hard to stop.You should have some sort of trailer brakes because that weight will push your rear end around like nothing if you had to stop when making a turn.

Dans Denali · October 18, 2006

With your truck I would tow up to 6,500-7,000 max.But your problem will be stopping it. 4,000 with a tow bar will be hard to stop.You should have some sort of trailer brakes because that weight will push your rear end around like nothing if you had to stop when making a turn.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

#4500 without brakes is scarry and illegal, #2000 max without brakes in most states and if you get in a wreck your insurance is void. RVs have some nice brake setups available for 4 wheel towed vehicles, check with your local motorhome dealers.

Dan

c4cruiser · October 18, 2006

Towing a vehicle "on the ground" with a tow bar is much different than towing a trailer. You will not have any brakes on the Jeep and that weight will have to be handled by the truck brakes.

With the short wheelbase of the Jep, you could use a 15 to 16 foot trailer to haul it around. In any event, the trailer should have two axles with each axle rated at 3500 lbs capacity. You want brakes on both axles. A 16' steel trailer should weigh around 1600 to 1800 lbs.

The Jeep and a steel trailer will total 5600 to 5800 lbs and the truck should be able to handle that load.

In my searching for trailering information (I have searched this forum using "trailer" "trailer towing" and "towing capacity" as search terms) I have found lots of good info here. I'm setting my truck up to tow my 87 Vette (3400 lbs) on a 2000 lb steel trailer.

I have found these tips:

Replace the factory tranny cooler with a larger one. Carquest 77423 is a good one. Stay with a "stacked plate" design.

A Car trailer should have radial tires (cuts down on sway and less rolling resistance) They should be a Load Range C at a minimum.

The factory Class III hitch is OK but marginal for weights over 5000 lbs (for your towing, go to a Class IV)

The Tekonsha "Prodigy" p/n 901856 brake controller is the most popuar and very easy to install. You can get a specific wire harness for your truck so you only need to "plug and play".

Whe towing, always use the "Tow/Haul" switch and stay in "3" and don't use OD. Using the OD can kill the tranny in short order.

Also, don't forget to add the cargo in the truck when determining the vehicle gross weight. If you are taking tires, tools, the mother-in-law, the kids and luggage, all of that has to be figured in along with the tongue weight or even the towed weight if you plan on using a tow-bar.

Given the distances from Alaska to the East Coast, I would not attempt this without a weight distributing hitch AND a sway controller if you are going with a trailer. Your going to be driving 4000+ miles and on the freeways in the lower 48, you will get lots of truck traffic and some windy conditions. That can make for a white-knuckle ride.

Looking at the gross weights the truck can see, I would also dump the OEM brake pads and look at some good semi-metallic pads (especially with towing the Jeep with a bar). You are going to see places with 6% downhill grades that go for miles! The Cascades and the Rockies have some pretty steep sections of Interstate freeways.

redvett · October 18, 2006

I am a newbie, but I did a search before posting.

2 days ago I bought an 06 GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4wd witht he 5.3L and 3.42 gears. The stealership told me 8100 pounds, a pamphlet I was reading said 8,000, and a tow chart I read on an independant web site said 7400.

So does anyone know the right answer?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>