Towing

azsheepdog · January 23, 2017

Alright everyone, I am a bit perplexed. I'm trying to figure out my tow weights. As I read it my 16 2500 hd lt z71 crew cab standard box can tow 13000 trailer and 14000 5th wheel. However the tongue weight is still just 500 for a TT? Is that right? I went looking today and found a trailer, #333fe, that I really like. The trailer is below my max tow but the tongue is over double what the spec says.

Is the stuff i have read right? I know i can get load dis hitch and probably will....

Any thoughts?

jhplak325 · January 23, 2017

What does the owners manual say?

My 2015 2500HD is 1,500 lbs per that owners manual and that is with or without a weight distribution system.

SouthpawHD · January 23, 2017

Not sure where you got the 500 pounds from, but the max tongue weight according to the 2016 owner's manual is 1500 pounds with a weight distribution hitch.

But that trailer has a rather heavy published hitch weight. Keep in mind that they publish the DRY weight, so that's before propane, batteries, and gear. So I think your overall hitch weight could be well north of 1300-1400 pounds.

Edit: using the same 13% they apply to the dry hitch weight, you would be around 1350 fully loaded. So with a quality WDH, looks like it would work.

Rvduck · January 23, 2017

Your hitch weight , TT or 5th wheel is part of your payload. On a TT you should try to put about 10% of your trailer's weight on the ball, a Fifth wheel you can put up to 25% of your unit's weight on the pin. It can be easy to overload a 2500 with the pin weight of a Fifth wheel , but usually most TTs are in the payload limits. Remember, everything you put in a truck is payload. If you have a big Uncle that weighs 300 pounds, when he is in your truck, your payload is reduced by 300 pounds. That is why I towed my 33 foot fiver with my 08 Dually. That trailer weighed 12000 pounds, because I had my tools and a washer dryer unit right at the front of the unit I had 25% of the weight or a full 3000 pounds on the pin, add myself and my wife, the kids, dog and other stuff and I needed the extra payload a Dually gives. This info is all over the web.

sdeeter19555 · January 23, 2017

I was under the impression that 1500# was not WDH, but weight carrying...for a 2500 anyway. It's a class V hitch, not a class III.

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Cowpie · January 23, 2017

Your impression is correct....The 1500# tongue weight for conventional trailer is indeed with or without a WD hitch per the manual. That still leaves a lot of payload left to reach 9500 lb gross on the pickup itself. But obviously, if the pickup was at 9500 lb gross, there is no way one could pull a full 13000 lb trailer without being over on the gross combination rating. This all is quite different than the 1500 towing issues. Most times with the 1500's, you get near the max trailer rating and tongue weights and there is little left for payload with just the driver on board. With my 2500, with two people on board, and 1500 lb on the tongue, I still have 1000 lb of payload available. At least if the scale in town was correct. Weighed mine with full fuel, two people, and about 200 lb of tools and such in the back and it came to 7200 lb. Subtract the tools, that is roughly 7000 lb. Add 1500 lb of tongue weight, now it is at 8500 lb. that leaves 1000 lb of payload available. But if loaded up to 9500 gross on the pickup, that only leaves a trailer max weight of 11,000 lb to reach 20,500 gross combination rating. All of this works out real well with the 12,000 lb dump trailer I have used.

DBTravelers · January 23, 2017

Alright everyone, I am a bit perplexed. I'm trying to figure out my tow weights. As I read it my 16 2500 hd lt z71 crew cab standard box can tow 13000 trailer and 14000 5th wheel. However the tongue weight is still just 500 for a TT? Is that right? I went looking today and found a trailer, #333fe, that I really like. The trailer is below my max tow but the tongue is over double what the spec says.

Is the stuff i have read right? I know i can get load dis hitch and probably will....

Any thoughts?

Azsheepdog, that is a question debated on many forums, with varying degrees of truth and lots of personal experience. When we bought our first travel trailer it was supposed to have a tongue weight of 880#; I stopped at the CAT scales on the way home with the new trailer and I actually had a tongue weight of 1070#. The dealership sold me a #1000 weight distribution hitch; so before I loaded a single item in the trailer, 1/2 my carrying capacity for my 1/2 ton GMC was used up. Here is a link to getting your truck and trailer weighed so you know exactly what you have as far as weight goes. http://learntorv.com/getting-weighed-an-adventure-at-the-cat-scales/ . Also, go to Trailer Life magazine and download the towing guide that will tell you truthfully what your truck can handle. Some people (myself included) are pretty anal about knowing my weights and being on the safe side as I am in the truck with the wife, and I don't want to cause a wreck by being overloaded. BTW - Trailer Life is an excellent resource for all things RV.

Happy Camping!

We traded the 1/2 ton GMC for a 3500HD, Crew, Dually, with Duramax and now have a Big Country FW. Want to buy a nice trailer?

azsheepdog · January 24, 2017

OK, found the 1500 tongue wt. The TT I'm looking at sits 10200 dry with a 1080 tongue. So I should be good right?

i82much · January 24, 2017

So is there any reason at all to use a weight distributing hitch on a 2500?

wandern · January 24, 2017

So is there any reason at all to use a weight distributing hitch on a 2500?

Sure, if you have a heavy enough trailer with significant tongue weight. My 3500 rides better without using WD bars than my 1500 did with WD. If I was, for example, pulling a heavy dump trailer with 1500 lbs of tongue weight, I'd probably use WD bars since I'd be close to the WC limit of the hitch. You just need to make sure you keep your GCWR and WC (weight carrying) hitch weights within specification.

i82much · January 24, 2017

Sure, if you have a heavy enough trailer with significant tongue weight. My 3500 rides better without using WD bars than my 1500 did with WD. If I was, for example, pulling a heavy dump trailer with 1500 lbs of tongue weight, I'd probably use WD bars since I'd be close to the WC limit of the hitch. You just need to make sure you keep your GCWR and WC (weight carrying) hitch weights within specification.

Ok, thanks. I've never towed anything heavy, but just picked up a 2500 and looking at travel trailers From reading the owner's manual, it sounds like the 2500 doesn't need it, but it sounds like it helps even if it isn't required by the owner's manual.

SouthpawHD · January 24, 2017

OK, found the 1500 tongue wt. The TT I'm looking at sits 10200 dry with a 1080 tongue. So I should be good right?

Yes, sounds like you will be good to go. Refer to my previous post that your TW will increase.

Keep in mind that if you get a WDH, make sure the bars will support that. As another poster said, some bars are rated for only 1,000 pounds. My Husky Centerline is rated for 1,200 pounds.

So is there any reason at all to use a weight distributing hitch on a 2500?

I use one because it has built in sway control. I believe that even HD trucks need some sort of sway control system.

azsheepdog · January 24, 2017

I currently tow a 26 foot utility trailer for my sons marching band and we have a 5000# WDH thing weight a ton and its over kill

Cowpie · January 25, 2017

If I was traveling further distances with a trailer that put down some serious tongue weight, I would probably consider a WDH for that situation. I will sometimes pull a trailer, that if fully loaded to gross would be about 12K and have 1400-1500 on the tongue. But those instances, I am using it within a 15 or 20 mile radius of the house, and on rural roads and highways with 55 mph or lower speed limits. And given the weight changes with each load in a dump trailer, setting up a WDH for that application would be a PITA. One would have to be adjusting the thing with every dump and load. Just not practical. Using a WDH is very application specific.

ewbldavis · January 25, 2017

If you're new to the travel trailer market, congrats. We've been doing it for years and love it.

A WD hitch helps with stability, even if you don't "need" it. I use an Equalizer (similar to the Husky Centerline). I can say without a doubt the built-in sway control makes the drive so much better. When you decide on a trailer, spend the money on a good WD hitch with sway control.