malibu43

Thanks! It is a 4x4, so I was looking at 2 axel to be regeared. New one is 3.23 axel ratio, but its an 8 speed. 9400 tow rating and I think 1800 payload. The diesel's numbers were actually a little lower due to extra engine weight. Towing would have been nice with it though...

Hey everyone, I just bought a 2021 Silverado Z71 RST. My Samsung S10 connects via Bluetooth just fine, and I can use Android Auto with a USB cable. But Android Auto is greyed out if I'm not plugged in, and if I select it it says to plug in a compatible device via USB cable. Does that mean my truck's unit doesn't support wire Android Auto?

The 3.0L turbo was bought by someone else 30 minutes before got there. 2 other trucks we were looking at (one another 3.0L) sold this morning just hours after we inquired about going to look after work. It's crazy right now... Finally got someone to hold onto a 2021 5.3L Z71 RST for us long enough to get down there and make a purchase. Taking it Mammoth to tent camp in a week, and then will pick up the trailer a week after that and put it to work. Thanks again for all the help!

Dealer also has a brand new 1500 z71 with the 3.0L diesel. Thoughts? A tad more money, but affordable. We'll just be eating Ramen for a while...

3/4 ton just isn't an option for us right now due to budget.

With inventory being as tight as it is, finding a 4WD truck with a V8, low mileage, with tow package (hitch and brake controller), with the tow capability I want, and at a price we can afford does not seem possible. Out of all those things I listed, installing a hitch receiver and a brake controller are the easiest things to fix. Unless I'm missing something...?

Hey everyone. Thanks for all the info and help. I was leaning heavily toward re-gearing then talked so some other trailer owners and did some research on how re-gearing will (or won't) affect the legal tow rating for the vehicle, and have decided it's better to upgrade to a new truck. I really liked my truck and was looking forward to having it paid off soon, but I think this will be a better choice. Inventory is pretty low right now, but we found a very low mileage used 2020 1500 LT with the 5.3L V8 and 8 speed transmission that we are going to look at later. Had them send a picture of the door stamp and confirmed it has a Max Payload of 2071 lbs and max tow rating of 9600 lbs. Almost everything else about the truck is equivalent to or better than what I had before. I'm getting another 5 years of drivetrain warranty out of it, which is a plus. It does need a hitch receiver (which is easy) and a brake controller (which I was going to have to add to my old truck anyway). I may be back here shortly to ask for recommendations for those. Thanks again for all the help.

Found some info that includes a reference to a 5.3L Max Tow Option, but it also indicates that's the one with the 3.73 axel ratio... https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/brochures/chevrolet/2015-silverado1500.pdf

Interesting. This is from my owners manual. Lists the same options as the spec sheet, but makes no indication of which trucks have Max Trailering package.

Thanks for clarifying.

Thanks, but the row I'm comparing to in the table isn't the Max Trailering Option. Both options I'm comparing are in the EcoTech3 5.3L V8 section, not in the row for the EcoTech3 5.3L V8 Max Trailering option. Or are you saying the trucks that fall into the green boxes I placed actually have a Max Tow package that isn't referenced there?

Lots of good discussion here folks. Thanks for all the replies. So we went ahead and bought the trailer yesterday. Again, we talked it over quite a bit and agreed that no matter what, a trailer of this size is part of the plan for our family. So the towing vehicle thing is going to have to sort itself out, whether it's do nothing, re-gear, or trade in for a vehicle with the right towing capacity. Not all those options are created equally in terms of financial feasibility, but we'll worry about that later... I called two local places yesterday and they both quoted $1400 per axel to re-gear. So, my next question is: Is there anything besides the differential gear that differentiates my truck (in the orange box) from a truck that falls into the green box? This table is from the 2015 Silverado Trailering Guide I found somewhere here on this forum. The same table is in my truck's owners manual.

San Diego area. So it can get hot, and going over the grapevine to get into the sierras will happen once or twice a year. Will do some shorter test trips first and see how it goes before tackling that. But, yes, I think we are going option #2. My wife and I agreed we can find a way to pay for re-gearing or trade in and upgrade depending on how it goes. Thanks!

1716lbs

Thanks for replies everyone. Really wish I would have uncovered this earlier in the process. I know 1/2 tons typically run into gross weight issues before towing issues, but it would seem that's more relevant for the trucks with the higher axel ratio and the ~9000lbs max tow capacity. With a 6200lb max towing capacity, It seems like I may max that out first. The sticker on my door says 1700lb capacity for passengers, gear, etc... Also, just to clarify, I am absolutely getting a brake controller and WDH. Based on the shopping we've done, a smaller trailer isn't really a possibility for our family. So it seems like my choices would be: 1. Don't buy a trailer right now. Wait until we get a bigger truck (or an appropriately geared truck) and then buy a trailer. 2. Buy the trailer and see how it goes on the first few trips. If I struggle on climbs, then make a decision to re-gear or trade in for something that can pull what we have. Trading in isn't really something we've budgeted for right now, so not sure when that could happen. Also, I'm not sure how to know whether I'd want a 1500 with higher towing capacity or a 2500 without having seen how my current truck handles the trailer. It's a big decision to make without knowing if it's the right one or not. With all that in mind, does option 2 make more sense, given that I already have the truck I have? I've read some other posts where that was ultimately the recommendation for people in situations similar to mine (see how it goes then decide if you need something else to tow with...)... Thanks!

So we have been travel trailer shopping the last few weeks and were ready to pull the trigger on one tomorrow morning. It's a 22ft Keystone Passport with a shipped weight of 4660lbs and a carrying capacity of 1770lbs. Shame on me for relying on a quick google search last weekend to think my truck can easily tow this. I just dug into and now realize this trailer might be right at the limit of what I can pull. I have a 2015 Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab with the 5.8L V8, and it looks like an axel ratio of 3.08 according to the sticker in my glove box. According to my manual I have max towing capacity of 6100lbs and max gross combined weight of 12000lbs. So if we loaded that trailer to its max capacity, I'm exceeding my max towing capacity by 5%. What's the real world impact of this? Since the same truck with different axel ratios can pull more, would it just be a performance issue or could this damage the drive train? I'm not 100% what the curb weight of my truck is, but if it's somewhere around 5400lbs (high end according to google) and we had the trailer loaded to the max weight, that doesn't really leave much room for my family (4 of us). Of course, I'm not sure how likely it is that we'd have 1700lbs of stuff in the trailer... that seems like a lot. Bottom line, it seems like if we get this trailer we could be just under, right at, or in some cases maybe a tad over what my truck is rated for towing wise. Is it a bad idea to cut it this close? Thanks.

Sorry for the delayed reply. Still trying to decide what to go with. Any pics?

Another question has come up regarding the Motofab upper control arms. I just saw this morning they added an option when you purchase to upgrade to Moog ball joints for an additional $25 (without the upgrade it lists "Standard HD Utility Ball Joints"). Anyone have any input on whether or not this upgrade is a good idea? $45 is not a big deal if does anything to lower chances of ball joint failure...

Thank you both. I wasn't concerned about one being better than the other, but needed to know since there are two different types of replacements depending whether you originals are forged or stamped.

I thought I had forged controll arms on my 2015 Silverado, but looked again yesterday and think now they are stamped. Would anyone mind confirming for me before I order new ones for my 3" level? Thanks! PS - sorry the pic is posting upside down.

Thanks Mike! Anyone else have any thoughts or experience to share? Looks like the Motofab UCA's are on sale right now. I may pull the trigger soon...

I was planning on going from a 2" level to a 3" level before upgrading wheels and tires on my 2015 Silverado. My plan was a Motofab 3"/1" level kit and either Rough Country or Motofab UCA's, which would put me at about $500 after alignment. I've read some pretty mixed things about those two brands of UCAs, though. Unfortunately, the other brands that tend to have better feedback on the forums wind up being at least $250 more than Motofab or Rough Country (in some cases over $500 more), and that starts putting the total cost of the 3" level up to at least $750 or more. At that price I'm not sure I want the extra inch that bad... I wanted to get some feedback from folks here on the Motofab or Rough Country UCAs - are they really that bad, or is it just a case of those with bad experiences posting and those with positive experiences driving their trucks instead of posting on the internet? I'm almost all street driving, with occasional trips down some dirt roads when camping a few times year.

*edit* - sorry, if there's a better thread for fitment questions, please let me know or an admin can move the post.... Hello all. I currently have a 2015 Silverado with a 2" Level with stock 17" wheels and 275/70/17 tires. Later in the summer I'm going to go with a 3" Front / 1" Rear level. After that I plan on upgrading wheels and tires. My first choice for wheels is the XD Hoss II (Gloss Black) 18", with either a 0mm or +18mm offset (part numbers XD82989068918 and XD82989068318). From the research I've done a 285/65/18 (32.6") tire should fit OK. Ideally, I'd like to fit a 285/70/18 (33.7"). Can anyone tell me from experience if the 285/70/18 will fit without any rubbing? Would the 0 or +18 offset be better for clearance? (I guess it's a matter of balancing UCA rub vs wheel well liner rub...?) Thanks!

Hello everyone. I have a 2015 with the 2" Motofab lower strut spacer that I installed early in 2020. I'm getting ready for a wheel and tire upgrade, but want to go with a 3" level first. I'm planning on adding Rough Country UCA's and doing the Motofab 3"/1" F/R level. Anyone see any potential issues or things to watch out for going with this setup? https://motofablifts.com/i-30558235-3-front-and-1-rear-leveling-lift-kit-for-2007-2019-chevy-silverado-sierra-gmc.html?ref=category:1390599 https://www.roughcountry.com/gm-forged-upper-control-arms-19401a.html?find=2015-chevy-silverado-1500-4wd-738185 edit - also could go with the Motofab UCA's. Any thoughts on Rough Country vs Motofab? https://motofablifts.com/i-30558322-14-16-chevy-gmc-silverado-sierra-1500-upper-control-arms-with-forged-steel-upper-control-arms.html?ref=category:1390599

Hey folks. Can anyone tell me if these stock 2015 Silverado 17's have the pocket for spacers? I know I could take them off and check but I figured someone would probably know.