Tow Accord 900 Miles?

[zedbear]

I need to tow a 2010 Honda Accord about 900 miles, from upstate NY to South Carolina. The tow vehicle in question is a 2000 Sierra Z71 extended cab with the factory towing package, 5.3, 3.73's. The Accord weighs in around 3300 lbs. Depending on what I choose, car dolly is 750 lbs and a car carrier (full trailer) is 2200 lbs empty. Can I do it or am I asking too much of it? I'd prefer to use the full trailer but it weighs quite a bit more and costs quite a bit more. What is the towing capacity of this vehicle? Thanks!

[Stevens03]

If I had to guess... I'd say your towing capacity is about 8000lbs. My old 2003 5.3L with 4.10 gears was rated around 8600 lbs. Towing that car, you'll hardly know it's there. You do need some sort of trailer surge brakes since your above 3000 lbs I'd guess. I'd vote for the full trailer since It would be a safe bet it has brakes.

[Nick The Great]

I pulled a 1992 Grand Am nearly 175 miles last fall (actually about a year ago). I rented the tow dolly from U-Haul. My truck is a GMT900 5.3 CCSB 4x4 w/ 3/73 gears. But it pulled wonderfully. The dolly pulled straight and the truck had plenty of power.

 

I started out going slow (personal comfort level) but was going highway speeds by the end. I wouldn't have hesitated to go twice that far Maybe not interstate travel, but that's probably just me being uber-paranoid.

[Stevens03]

The truck will tow it just fine. It's the stopping thats the issue. Traveling that far... I'd really consider the trailer if the dolly doesn't have brakes

[randas]

Are you kidding me? You wont even feel that car behind you.

[Stevens03]

Well I towed a friends camaro on a tow dolly and didn't hardly know it was there either... but if it's above 3000 lbs.. he really should have something with trailer brakes. And towing that far.. it's better to error on the safe side

[randas]

Seriously before I had my truck I towed a 3600lb jeep with my damm ford festiva no problem. you gotta be kidding me if you think you will have a problem with your v8 truck

[zedbear]

I think my hitch is only a class III. Total weight with the car and the full car hauler will be about 5500 lbs. Isn't that too much for a class III?

[zedbear]

Hmm, just decoded all my RPO codes and among them was "VR4", which is "Trailer hitch weight distributing platform."

 

On the hitch itself is a sticker that says "5000lbs weight carrying" and "12500 lbs weight distributing." So it looks like I'm good there?

[c0boy]

We will be towing our Honda Insight with our 2011 CC 5.3 using a dolly from Philly to Colorado in about week. I'm a little nervous but after reading multiple threads we should be fine.

[5829BMG]

You have plenty of truck to pull it. For me I wouldn't pull something like that without trailer brakes for any long distances.

[APT]

Consider this:

 

U-haul dolly does not have brakes. So, your truck brakes will be stopping 6000 pounds, plus 750 pounds, plus 3300 pounds. U-Haul trailer does, so your truck only needs to stop 6000 pounds.

 

 

I recommend the trailer. That said, I towed a 2500 pound car on a dolly about the same distance. I replaced the truck brake pads with ceramic and rotors prior to the trip. It was great, easy to tow in overdrive with my similar spec'd truck at 80mph if I chose to.

[zedbear]

I'm leaning towards the full trailer but am still concerned about the 5000 lb rating for the factory class III. I must be missing something because it seems stupid for the factory towing package to include a hitch that is rated for only 5000 lbs when the tow rating is upwards of 8000 lbs.......

[wages999]

The hitch should hold it without a problem. The 5,000 lb rating on the hitch is for GM to reduce their liability if you overload your truck. If you were towing an enclosed car hauler or a camper you would really need the weight distribution hitch. I tow my '59 Edsel on my open car hauler all the time. The combination is around 6,000 lbs and I haven't had a problem. My trailer has electric brakes on both axles, which help a lot in stopping. Most of the car trailers you rent have surge brakes which don't do as good as electric brakes. Take your time and you should be fine.

[zedbear]

Three other questions:

 

Obviously I will have the tow/haul mode on but do I stay out of O/D the whole time?

 

Dumb question but do I need to pull into weigh stations? The signs usually say ALL trucks/trailers so just want to make sure, lol.

 

Also, do I need that insurance coverage for the trailer Uhaul tries to sell you? Just gonna call my insurance carrier tomorrow and ask if rental trailers are covered but wondering what people usually do for that.

 

Thanks.