Can I tow a 6000lbs travel trailer (2009 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab)

Morgan1986 · April 12, 2012

Your truck is stuck what ever the sticker says it can tow. Does not matter what you put on it after . It does not make it legal.

music · April 12, 2012

There's no "legality" associated with tow/haul ratings provided by manufacturers. Actually, there's not a tow rating anywhere on a vehicle... only GVWR and "payload", which are provided for equipment selection and use. We can't change the sticker rating, but we can change performance ability (a lot). If the sticker ratings were law, then we could lower a 3500HD and put on 1" sidewall tires without affecting it's hauling ability... or pull the big Dmax out and drop in a 1.2L 4-cylinder. There's limits to what we can assume, but it's generally accepted that using OEM equipment (or equivalent) produces the same specs as if it came stock. Changing gears from 3.73 to 4.10 on my truck, for example, would have a GM tow rating 1000 lbs higher... per GM's own specs for that year/motor/etc. Does that mean that my truck can't tow the extra 1000 lbs as is? Nope... it just means that I'll slow down more, run hotter, or something else that may not meet the GM test spec used when making those decisions.

Just as a FYI... I have never seen a US state law that references manufacturer specs in their legal tow requirements, and the US-DOT only regulates commercial vehicles.

Morgan1986 · April 12, 2012

There's no "legality" associated with tow/haul ratings provided by manufacturers. Actually, there's not a tow rating anywhere on a vehicle... only GVWR and "payload", which are provided for equipment selection and use. We can't change the sticker rating, but we can change performance ability (a lot). If the sticker ratings were law, then we could lower a 3500HD and put on 1" sidewall tires without affecting it's hauling ability... or pull the big Dmax out and drop in a 1.2L 4-cylinder. There's limits to what we can assume, but it's generally accepted that using OEM equipment (or equivalent) produces the same specs as if it came stock. Changing gears from 3.73 to 4.10 on my truck, for example, would have a GM tow rating 1000 lbs higher... per GM's own specs for that year/motor/etc. Does that mean that my truck can't tow the extra 1000 lbs as is? Nope... it just means that I'll slow down more, run hotter, or something else that may not meet the GM test spec used when making those decisions.

Just as a FYI... I have never seen a US state law that references manufacturer specs in their legal tow requirements, and the US-DOT only regulates commercial vehicles.

Thankyou for the information . So when the cops or who ever pulls you over for trailers and things like that to see if your legal . What do they check ? just the GVWR or the combine GVWR?

music · April 13, 2012

Thankyou for the information . So when the cops or who ever pulls you over for trailers and things like that to see if your legal . What do they check ? just the GVWR or the combine GVWR?

I've only heard of people being pulled over / checked for being grossly and obviously overloaded, but I don't personally know anyone that has even had to deal with that much attention. An example that may do the trick would be putting a 12k lb goose neck onto a truck that squats to the bump stops, swerves down the road, or obviously can't stop. Each state has it's own towing laws, but I don't recall ever seeing rules about the GVWR or GCWR of the tow vehicle. All have "max trailer weight without supplemental brakes", and all have length requirements. Here's one table I found just now: http://www.towingwor.../TowingLaws.htm . Notice that it shows a GVW "limit" for the trailer itself, but not the tow vehicle. One rule that I'm pretty sure could get a person in trouble, if the LEO was looking for a reason to hold them or felt that they were endangering others, would be exceeding max tire loads. Personally, I pay attention to the axle ratings (which is a fair bit less than the tires). With our current camper, I'm a few hundred pounds under on each axle, and I've never seen the truck hubs get hot... even when towing hundreds of miles a day. I also perform full inspections each year, and before long trips (brakes, bearings, tires, lights, wiring, trailer brake lockup system, etc.).

ChevyTech77 · April 13, 2012

I'm sure, that if a weigh master leo showed up on the scene, was being a dick that day and really wanted to bust your chops, he could in fact weigh you on the spot and site you for being over your GVWR. That is all they would have to go by, just like on a tractor trailer.

Morgan1986 · April 13, 2012

I'm sure, that if a weigh master leo showed up on the scene, was being a dick that day and really wanted to bust your chops, he could in fact weigh you on the spot and site you for being over your GVWR. That is all they would have to go by, just like on a tractor trailer.

it would have to be the GCWR with a trailer.

JohnnyBro1976 · April 13, 2012

My mind is made up,,,i'm keeping the truck and gonna put the transmission cooler and haul it to see how the truck handles. If i'm not satisfied then I'll put an air kit on and if that doesn't work well I'll trade it in for something bigger...

As for warranty, I'm not to worried the dealer is installing the cooler and told me it wouldn't affect warranty...and here in my part of the Country I'm not worried about being pulled over as I went through road blocks from local police force and DOT (department of transporation) with my Avalanche and TT attached and I had no issues...

music · April 13, 2012

Just to clarify... DOT regulations and enforcement only apply to commercial transport. A RV tower can never by cited per DOT regulations, only by state laws (which are very limited in scope, by comparison).

redjewel2ss · April 13, 2012

My mind is made up,,,i'm keeping the truck and gonna put the transmission cooler and haul it to see how the truck handles. If i'm not satisfied then I'll put an air kit on and if that doesn't work well I'll trade it in for something bigger...

As for warranty, I'm not to worried the dealer is installing the cooler and told me it wouldn't affect warranty...and here in my part of the Country I'm not worried about being pulled over as I went through road blocks from local police force and DOT (department of transporation) with my Avalanche and TT attached and I had no issues...

sounds good, but your gunna want the air springs ;) the rear will sag, and there isn't a rear sway bar like the avalanche had, so the rear may float around a bit because of the load on the springs. i wouldn't worry about it if you towed the TT once a month, but every weekend is a different story.

music · April 13, 2012

sounds good, but your gunna want the air springs ;) the rear will sag, and there isn't a rear sway bar like the avalanche had, so the rear may float around a bit because of the load on the springs. i wouldn't worry about it if you towed the TT once a month, but every weekend is a different story.

A properly sized WD hitch system shouldn't sag much. With a WD system, it's best to let it settle into the overloads, so there should be a little drop in the rear (mine's ~0.5 inch lower in the rear than the front). I personally use 1200 lb bars on a Reese Dual Cam hitch system, and am very pleased with the handling/stability. I don't use airbags, since it's too easy to unload the WD hitch and put the weight on the rear axle... but I'd guess they can be dialed in to work together. Note: the Reese DC has integrated sway control, and requires full force on the WD bars, so "unloading" them w/ air bags would also reduce sway control.

ChevyTech77 · April 14, 2012

How are you "unloading" the bars by using airbags?

music · April 14, 2012

How are you "unloading" the bars by using airbags?

When you select and configure a WD hitch system, you first select the bar size to match the load. For me, that's 1200 lb bars (i.e., I expect my tongue weight to be in the range of 1000 to 1200 lbs). When you configure the hitch, you set the tilt of the hitch head per the instructions, with everything setting level, and then connect/engage the WD bars with the full weight of the trailer on the ball. This gets adjusted so that both the front and rear of the truck "drop" to about the same point. What's happening, is that the "lever like" action of the WD hitch is distributing the load to the front axle, *and* to the trailer axles (i.e., *off of the truck*), rather than putting it all on the rear axle. Once configured for that trailer/truck combo, it doesn't need to be adjusted again. If a person were to add air to a set of air bags after configuring, it will unload the WD spring bars and put more load onto the truck, especially the rear axle. In my case, doing so would also remove friction from the WD bars, and lessen the sway control function (since it uses the bar tension for friction).

That said, if the system isn't quite where it needs to be without supplemental springs, a person could beef up the axle springs a little to help, but that should be done before installing the WD system, and it should be exactly the same every time. That's harder to do with air than it is with a fixed spring set, imho.

Unless I'm mistaken, an air system replaces the overload spring (?). When configuring a heavy load w/ a WD system on these trucks, the ideal point (by my experience) is adjusting it to settle into the overloads just enough to gain the stability they provide.

nht mike · April 14, 2012

Thank you! Finally someone else that has read the book and knows how to set a hitch! I bet I have told that same story 50 times!

It all starts the same. Someone walks up to the camp site and asks how out trailer tows. When I say great they start in with needing over loads, air bags, or air shocks.

The way I start is to weight the tongue then adjust the hitch so about 5% or more of that weight is on the steer (front) axle. At that point the rear end isn't sagging! My trailer tongue is about 650 so I like about 125 on the steers. To really dial it in I use front end alignment shims under the rivit that sets my hitch head tilt.

If you see someone hook up their trailer and just snap the bars up with no strain there is a good chance they arn't adjusted correctly.

wurgs · April 15, 2012

you made the right choice! your going to get better mileage with the 1/2 ton. just get the GM transmission cooler and HD hitch thats in the Z82 package! like i mentioned before, the firestone airbags will also help a ton with ride control!

I just got back from the dealer and GM does not have a transmission coolant that is compatible the 6 speeds transmission for the 2009 is what they are telling so I'm getting an after market installed and this should bring the towing capacity up 3000lbs.. the gear ratio is bigger than what I had on my Avalanche also...

I called a transmission specialist locally and they said that a transmission coolant with bring the towing capacity to 9000lbs..it's already equipped with the hitch so i'm gonna go with this for now...

I still 2 years warranty on Powertrain so....

I would seriously find another dealer, they don't seem to know alot about the vehicles they sell. My 09 GMC came with a factory tranny cooler with my 6.0L 6spd.