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Towing a Travel Trailer (coach, not fifth wheel)


estaban1776

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Greetings,

Okay, I'm confused, maybe someone will be able to enlighten me. I've got a 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab with standard box, 3.42 rear axle, 5.3L V8, 4L60E transmission, and the transmission cooling package. My problem is the specs don't show up in the owners manual so I can't nail down the maximum trailer wieght and gross combination wieight rating.

 

I spoke to the parts guys at the dealership, he pulled the specs from the VIN and said I had a deluxe towing package option, including chasis upgrade. This was one of the reasons I bought the truck way back when, along with a locking rear differental. Looking at the extended cab with short box, I can find 9,600 lbs with 15,000 GCVR. Would anyone be able to clarify this for me?

 

I'm sure I'll be okay, we're looking at buying a travel trailer and I'm figuring around 6,000 lbs max or so. When I bought the truck I was thinking boat, not travel trailer.

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What's the sticker on the door frame say?

 

This is from a 2011 manual for 4wd ext cab std box:

5.3LV8 K5L HD Cooling Pkg 3.42 4 354 kg (9,600 lbs) 6 804 kg (15,000 lbs)

 

(same ratings as you found) 2wd is slightly higher for the max trailer number

 

The headings indicate that the max trailer weight is 9600 lbs,and max weight of trailer plus truck plus load (GCVR) is 15,000lbs. You are supposed to satisfy BOTH requirements. Weigh the combined rig, loaded and ready to go, and it should be 15000 or less. Unhook the truck and just weight trailer (and its load) and it should be 9600 or less.

 

The heavier the truck (and its load) the less you can (should?) carry on the trailer. Also the heavier the empty weight of the trailer, the less you can carry on it. The weight rating of the trailer should also not be exceeded.

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This is no such thing as a heavier chassis unless you have an HD. You need to look at the yellow and white sticker inside your driver's door jam. Above the tire sizes it will say something as follows-The passengers and cargo for this vehicle shall not exceed XXXX. This is your PAYLOAD. A trailers tongue weight is 15% (roughly) of the trailer weight. You will never be able to tow 9,600 pounds (if this is your real max) because once you load your truck and trailer in all likelihood you will exceed payload. This is assuming you are taking passengers and all the stuff you take camping-bikes, ice chests, firewood,easy ups, etc.,etc.

 

For example -7,000 pound trailer = 1,000 pounds tongue weight. I am assuming your payload is somewhere around 1,500 pounds. And we haven't figured in your passengers yet. Payload is more important than the trailer's maximum weight.

 

 

When looking at a trailer I would look at "Ultra Lights" and be aware there is no RV standard that constitutes what an "Ultra Light" is. I would suggest no more than 7,000 pounds READY TO CAMP so your thinking is correct. Remember, slides are your enemy in the sense that they weigh about three hundred pounds a piece.

 

You become THE EXPERT. There are too many guys who listened to the RV salesperson and came away with way too heavy of a trailer. It wasn't a safe combo for their family.

Good luck!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Greetings,

Okay, I'm confused, maybe someone will be able to enlighten me. I've got a 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab with standard box, 3.42 rear axle, 5.3L V8, 4L60E transmission, and the transmission cooling package. My problem is the specs don't show up in the owners manual so I can't nail down the maximum trailer wieght and gross combination wieight rating.

 

I spoke to the parts guys at the dealership, he pulled the specs from the VIN and said I had a deluxe towing package option, including chasis upgrade. This was one of the reasons I bought the truck way back when, along with a locking rear differental. Looking at the extended cab with short box, I can find 9,600 lbs with 15,000 GCVR. Would anyone be able to clarify this for me?

 

I'm sure I'll be okay, we're looking at buying a travel trailer and I'm figuring around 6,000 lbs max or so. When I bought the truck I was thinking boat, not travel trailer.

Okay, here goes. I’m new to towing big stuff behind my truck, just bought a 29 ft. travel trailer this year. I learned a lot from a friend who has been towing travel trailers an fifth wheels for years. He explained everything to me with some pretty good detail. I will try to relate it to you is best as I can. First there are several pieces of info about your equipment that you need to gather.

·

  • Gross Combined Weight rating (GCWR)- This is the maximum that you entire setup can weigh including Truck, Trailer, Gear, People, Fuel, Water etc. I can’t say for certain that these apply to your truck, but according to my manual for a 2008 Sierra, the GCWR for a 5.3 with a 3.42 is 12,000 lbs.
  • Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)- This is the maximum weight that your fully loaded truck can weigh. Again we are talking Truck, Gear,People, Fuel, and very important is tongue weight of the trailer. The GVWR can be found on the driver’s door stick
  • Towing capacity and max tongue weight for the hitch that you are using. This should be on the label on your hitch. I’ve heard that the stock hitches on GM 1500 trucks are rated 6000/600 but I don’t for sure.
  • Your truck weight. I would estimate that your truck by itself should be somewhere around 5200 lbs, but you should be able tfind this on the internet.

 

I will show you what I have figured for mine. I have a 2008 Sierra 2500HD, with the 6.0L and 4.10 gears. My GCWR is 18,500 Lbs. My GVWR is 9,200Lbs. The curb weight of my truck is approximately 6,000 lbs. My Trailers empty weight is 6,250 Lbs.

 

Trailer weight- I would estimate my trailer weight at 7,400 lbs fully loaded without fresh water, grey water or black water.

 

 

First let’s look at GVWR.I would estimate my truck at approximately 7500lbs fully loaded with me, the wife, kids, fuel and gear. When

you add in the estimated tongue weight of the trailer (10% to 15% of the trailer weight) it comes out to 7,500 + (7,400*.15)=8,600 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) with a GVWR of 9,200 lbs I am good there.

 

Next we will look at the GCWR. The fully loaded truck is an estimated 7,500 lbs + the 7,400 lbs. for the trailer= 14,900 lbs. With a GCWR

of 18,500 lbs. I am good there to.

 

The other items that need to be looked at are the towing and tongue weight capacities of the hitch. I have a Class V hitch which has ratings

of 16,000/2,400. With a trailer weight of 7,400 lbs, and a tongue weight of 1,100 lbs, I am good there.

 

I have read that there are also laws in many states that require the use of a weight distributing hitch if the loaded trailer weighs

more than the loaded truck. Personally, I wouldn’t tow a travel trailer without a WDH and sway control anyway.

 

To simplify things a little bit, your max trailer weight is is your GCWR minus the fully loaded weight of your truck. But you still need to pay attention to trailer tongue weight and and the GVWR of the truck.

 

It looks like you are probably going to be pretty close on your weights, so I would not use estimates, but I would actually load

everything up and get it weighed.

 

One other thing. A friend of mine has an 07 Sierra 1500 5.3 and I believe he has 3.42’s but I don’t know for sure. He use a WDH with sway

control, often complains that he doesn’t like the way his truck pulls his 24 ft trailer. Not sure of his weights, but he doesn’t like the setup very much. He says his 97 1500 was a much better tow vehicle.

 

I hope this helps

 

Sean

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