Got a towing question for yall.

1kwik72 · February 16, 2017

I will put my 2 cents in. As an auto repair shop owner and ASE certified Master Mechanic for over 25 years I would say I am qualified to give an opinion on what these trucks are capable of. That said I do about the same amount of towing with my truck as the OP is planning on. My trailer is a 28' enclosed race trailer hauling my 3000lb drag car and associated gear. It comes in at just under 10K. I specifically ordered my 14 CC 6.2 NHT to be able to pull my trailer (usually pull it with my Kodiak based Motorhome) comfortably under what it is rated for although I am getting close. Can you pull something as heavy as the OP is asking about with one of these trucks, sure but as has been mentioned you are putting a lot of strain on many different components. When the manufacturers rate their vehicles for towing and GVW they do so with a certain amount of contingency built in. Certainly people overload their vehicles and get into this area where the vehicle will still generally operate as designed but they are pushing the limits and depending on the situation may possibly have a failure if all the negative conditions align. This is where the possibility of a lawsuit comes into play, the manufacturers state what the vehicle is capable of if you decide to use it in a manner in which it is not intended you could be liable depending on local, state or federal for any issues arising from using it as such.

That said the deal about the brakes is sort of a moot point if the trailer is set up correctly and not overloaded its self. The trailer brakes should be capable of stopping the trailer fully loaded (not overloaded as is quite common) independent of the truck. This is one of the reasons my trailer was built with tandem 6000lb axles it has brakes bigger than most trailers this size and stops even fully loaded not much different than the truck by itself. I guess my opinion is can you do it yes in my opinion would I do it NO. FYI my trailer is also pretty balanced as the car sits more at the rear of the trailer tongue weight is only about 800# I also have 1200# load leveling bars on it along with a dual cam sway control. The truck handles the trailer pretty well. If I was towing more frequently I would definitely have a 3/4 ton with a duramax as the 1/2 ton even with the NHT suspension is a little on the soft side. I attached a pic of the truck and trailer hooked up. It actually didn't have the car in it in this shot so it squatted the truck a bit more than usual because the trailer was more nose heavy. Also a shot of what I usually tow it with

dmax_highcountry · February 16, 2017

No, no, no. I was in a similar situation. Bought a TT that is roughly 8k lbs. Towed it with my previous truck (2014 5.3 CC Z71) a couple of times. Absolutely horrible. Not only are you fighting the weight of the thing, but also the huge profile which catches every gust of wind.

Highly recommend a lighter trailer if you cannot get into a 2500. The difference is night and day.

BlackHawkZ71 · February 17, 2017

thanks for the advice guys, i decided to hold off on this travel trailer deal and focus on enjoying the truck and having fun. i will still keep an eye out for one, but it probably wont happen this year. gonna focus on mods for the truck.

love my new 16 had i would have known about ever wanting to haul a travel trailer around either a cummins or a duramax will do. (hey i am not brand loyal) i was wanting to do it in the past but i saw this 16 and loved it. and plus i hate short beds because i always had a tool box. really wasnt using my head fully but oh well.