Trailer Capacity

KMT15 · February 3, 2007

Just bought a 3500 dually w/Duramax to pull our 38' Formula boat. Dealer said it will pull 16,500lbs on the ball hitch, and 22,000lbs with the 5th wheel. Website says only 12,000 with the hitch and 16,700 5th wheel. Boat wieghs 10,500lbs + ~2,000 trailer + 200gal fuel + gear = well more than 12,000lbs. How will the truck pull/handle? Going to be pissed off if we dont have enough of a truck

cerbomark · February 4, 2007

that s alot of boat but I d be supprised if that truck could n t handle it fine. Let us know.

Trouttrooper · February 4, 2007

When I was moving hay last summer I tipped the scales at almost 19,000 lbs (truck/trailer total) with my non-dually 3500 and using a ball hitch. You'll have enough truck.

For a Dmax Dually 4x4 my 2005 book shows ball hitch rating of 12,000 pounds and 5th wheel of 16,300 for ex cab and 16,100 for crew cab.

Don't confuse max trailer weight with gross combination weight rating. I bet the dealer did.

95Sierra2500 · February 4, 2007

If you're worried about the weight on the tongue, get a weight distributing hitch setup (like $300 from camping world). Should take care of all your worries.

wht2500hd... · February 4, 2007

Find a gooseneck trailer. This is not as difficult as you may think.

repoman · February 5, 2007

i have the same truck,the 22,000 is if you are towing a 5th wheel or a goosneck and its 22,500. but that is gross combined vehicle weight rating. that means including the weight of your loaded truck. the max 5th trailer weight is 16,500 and i think the max trailer on a ball hitch is 10,000 or 12,000. it should be listed on there website. i think even with te weight distribution hitch its goint to make your front end way to light.like you will hit the brakes and the front wheels wil just lock up. im maxing my truck out by towing a 17,500 5th wheel trailer and itcan be a little hairy driving. your dealer quoted the rates wrong and told you the max trailer weight was one thing and your max combined weight was another. i find iknow more than most of the salesman i have dealt with in the last few months

KMT15 · February 5, 2007

Well we will have to see how this setup works for now. Dont want to get a new trailer, Just ordered an $18,000 Myco about amonth ago and its almost done so I really hope it will do the job. Will let everyone know how it goes when we pick the boat up in about a month. Thanks for the replies!

KMT15 · February 5, 2007

Also worried about insurance now. God forbid we get in an accident with the boat on the trailer and everything is totaled, will they cover it?

95Sierra2500 · February 5, 2007

Your insurance should cover it if you have full coverage. If they don't, your insurance company is worthless. Oh, and hopefully you bought 'gap insurance' when you financed it, as the vehicle devalues faster than you are paying it off. 'Gap insurance' makes up the difference of what your insurance company doesn't pay.

whitesnake01 · February 5, 2007

Also worried about insurance now. God forbid we get in an accident with the boat on the trailer and everything is totaled, will they cover it?

Start by making sure your combination does not exceed mfg specs. If your trailer weight exceeds 12K then you'd be well advised to explore other trailering options, such as 5th and goose. It is not that the truck cannot "handle" it but that you'd be exceeding mfg specified limits. It is not for us to argue the reasons why GM has set whatever limits they have. They are what they are.

If I had an accident with someone who exceeded the loading specs on their truck/combo I would feel no pitty if my lawyer went after them for negligence.

Good luck!

Ponyhntr · February 7, 2007

Just bought a 3500 dually w/Duramax to pull our 38' Formula boat. Dealer said it will pull 16,500lbs on the ball hitch, and 22,000lbs with the 5th wheel. Website says only 12,000 with the hitch and 16,700 5th wheel. Boat wieghs 10,500lbs + ~2,000 trailer + 200gal fuel + gear = well more than 12,000lbs. How will the truck pull/handle? Going to be pissed off if we dont have enough of a truck

You should be fine. My company has a 2004 Dodge Dually, and we pull a 1997 42' Fountain all over the country with no troubles at all. The boat and trailer weigh close to 15,000 pounds. This is all on a ball hitch.

I see others towing big boats like that all the time also.