Towing Question

[trawickjj]

I'm looking to buy a travel trailer camper soon. I've got a 2003, Sierra, Auto, Extended Cab, Z71, 5.3 with 3.73. According to the manual maximum towing capacity is 7800 lbs. Wondering how much you would feel comfortable towing with the truck. All the way to 7800? Anybody tow full capacity on these trucks? Wouldn't be taking an cross country trips or anything, mostly trips around GA/FL/SC/NC.

 

Thanks,

JT

[SweatyAppleSauce]

Just make sure everything is squared away first. Yeah, towing to capacity is fine, s**t, I've even towed beyond capacity for extremely short trips.

[Bobslob]

You'll be fine at the max capacity because it is most likely under rated anyway. We pulled 12,000 lbs. of seed behind a 91' halfton for about 7 miles and... well that was pushing it!!!

[SilveradoLAX7]

I think that short trips would be fine "pushing the limits", longer trips, I'd give myself a little buffer.

 

check out these other threads that deal with basically your exact question.

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...towing+capacity'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...towing+capacity'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...towing+capacity'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...towing+capacity

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...towing+capacity

 

If I had to hazard a guess, half your replies will tell you that you're nuts to approach that 'limit', and the other half will tell you that you can meet and exceed those 'limits'...as they have done many times over long distances.

 

-J

[Gozer]

I'm looking to buy a travel trailer camper soon. I've got a 2003, Sierra, Auto, Extended Cab, Z71, 5.3 with 3.73. According to the manual maximum towing capacity is 7800 lbs. Wondering how much you would feel comfortable towing with the truck. All the way to 7800? Anybody tow full capacity on these trucks? Wouldn't be taking an cross country trips or anything, mostly trips around GA/FL/SC/NC.

 

Thanks,

JT

 

I'd stay at ~80% of max tow capacity for any regular or long distance towing. Alot of it has to do with terrain you'll be towing in. For example, my 2007 NBS Sierra with 6.0L and 4.10 gears is rated to tow 10,500 lbs. I tow a 6500~7000 lb 27ft travel trailer, and she screams (~5000 rpm) pulling some of the hills/mountains of eastern PA at 65~70mph. The other thing with travel trailers is they're like pulling a brick through the air as opposed to lower profile trailers.

[asilverblazer]

Keep your speed below 65 and you will be fine pulling at the max.

[dreisenauer]

Manufacturers build some safety factor into their ratings 'cause they know someone's going to push the limits. I've seen half ton pickups pulling 20' stock trailers loaded with cattle . As long as you're not pulling big hills at high speeds or trying to stop fast without trailer brakes, you'll be fine. Put good tires on, at least 6-ply.

[Costas1966]

I've towed for many years, and my experience is to stay at or below 75% of the rated weight......my concerns are not limited to towing....I want to know that I have a chance of stopping safely if the electric brakes fail on the trailer. I'm currently towing a 25' trailer @4500 lbs dry weight......it feels about right, and I wouldn't go higher. If you love your truck and don't want to risk excessive wear or damage, then stay at the 3/4 max range.

 

Just my .02

[C & A s Dad]

I will agree with Gozer and Costas. I am pulling my 6500 lb (when loaded) camper with a Yukon XL 5.3 with 4.10 grears and it does very well. It is rated at 8700lbs due to the gears but I can tell you that I would not want to go near that # with any half ton. At 6500 lbs I am at 75% of my max and again, I am comfortable with this. I can promise you that if you max your tow weight and get on any type of incline with a camper (spelled BRICK) and 3.73 gears, your 5.3 will be screaming. As you have already heard from others, stopping this load is much more important than pulling it. Also, if you have your family in the vehicle with you, you do not want to put them and others at risk. You need to also reserch a good Weight Distribution hitch. I use an Equal I Zer brand and have been very happy with it.

 

I would stay at 75% to 80% loaded weight and tow in Drive instead of OD and keep your speeds below 65 and you will be "a happy camper".

 

You will also want to serch "transmission coolers" on this forum and read up on this. Send me a PM if you like. I would strongly recommend you replace the small OE cooler with a 11" x 11" x 3/4" stacked plate cooler. For the areas you said you would be towing, this cooler will keep your towing temps below 200 degrees and will not overcool your fluid in the winter months. You should also consider using Syn fluid in place of the Dino fluid.

 

Again, towing at max for 20 miles is not a big deal, make it 200, 300 or more and this is an entirely different story.

[Bowler807]

GM makes their trucks to use. They are also warranted. If there was a problem towing at the maximum weight, GM would change their warranty, and /or reduce the max weight limit. If the truck is properly equipped for towing the maximum limit is fine.

 

As others have said, stopping is the problem. Make sure the trailer braking system is adaquate for it's weight. Also install the best brake controller you can find.

 

I have towed large campers for over 30 years. All were at, or very near the maximum towing limits. Only once did I have a problem. I overheated an 86 full size Jimmy when the clutch fan failed to engage on an 8 mile hill. The dealer replaced the fan under warranty and all was fine.

[C & A s Dad]

Mike, in no way am I being disrespectful to you. However, there is one piece you left out when you said GM builds their trucks to use. They actually build them to sell as well as all other mfgs. In doing so, they all become competetive in all of their ratings and this has much to do with where the tow ratings get set. Not to say they would over rate something to the point of causing a liability issue for them, but they will certainly stretch it as far as possible.

 

I think JT is asking what he could "comfortably tow" with his truck. I can almost guarantee that if he buys a 7800 lb camper and pulls it with the truck he has listed, one of two things will happen shortly thereafter. He will be selling the camper or upgrading the truck.

 

Again, you have had good luck towing at max ratings, but I cannot recommend this for moderate to long trips.

[solarjustin]

Stopping the load is what I would be worried about. I have had trailer breaks fail on me more than once while towing car haulers around, and had it not be for the big breaks on the F-350 I would never stopped (and breaks on the F-350 just got me stopped)! Keeping in mind the trucke was rated for 19,000 lbs and I was only at 10,000lbs. I would maybe want to consider some bigger rear breaks to help you stop with the big trailer behind you. Just my $0.02.

[THREEPHASE76]

It is all about acceptable loss. Yes GM builds trucks to Use, and they build them to sell. However they most likely build them by the numbers. In any given run you will have so many transmissions fail at a given mileage. This is how they set there warranty period. They figure at maximum towing capacity a trans will last a given mileage. In fact they sometimes last even longer. My 04 GMC lasted 51,430 miles. I have towed boats, campers, machines, and other vehicles. They all were at or slightly above the max weight. Luckily I have an extended warranty so I did not have to pay for my mistake. I would follow the advice of the others and stay at 75% of max, and keep the speed down.

[2500HD 8.1]

Other than trailer stability, to me, the biggest concern with towing is stopping. I towed my 6,500lb boat with a 2000 Yukon 5.3L, and I was not comfortable with quick stops. GM has improved the brakes a little bit, but I had to go with a 2500 Suburban. It had better brakes and was much more comfortable when stopping. Its up to you. Try it on a short trip. But if you are not ready to get a bigger truck, you might want to buy the next size smaller/lighter trailer.

[asilverblazer]

Mike, in no way am I being disrespectful to you. However, there is one piece you left out when you said GM builds their trucks to use. They actually build them to sell as well as all other mfgs. In doing so, they all become competetive in all of their ratings and this has much to do with where the tow ratings get set. Not to say they would over rate something to the point of causing a liability issue for them, but they will certainly stretch it as far as possible.

 

I think JT is asking what he could "comfortably tow" with his truck. I can almost guarantee that if he buys a 7800 lb camper and pulls it with the truck he has listed, one of two things will happen shortly thereafter. He will be selling the camper or upgrading the truck.

 

Again, you have had good luck towing at max ratings, but I cannot recommend this for moderate to long trips.

 

That is a pretty big liability to stretch.

 

I figure the max is the max, tow up to that amount under normal conditions (with normal drivers, I feel the majority of users here exibit a slightly higher degree of common sense than a "normal" driver) and it is doing what its was designed for.

 

The way I see it is the truck was designed to tow up to the said max weight. This is factoring retarded drivers who will tow that weight at 70mph on the highway up 8 percent grades with the accelerator on the floor to maintain that speed in 100 degree weather. The truck would still be warrantied in such case if the transmission fails, motor blows... Because GM can't void a warranty based on stupidity. Neglect or abuse, but not stupid. Now we all know this is a bad thing to do, and given those weight amounts certain other concessions have to be made, speed, throttle input, etc. to avoid too much stress on the vehicle. That's why I think towing the max weight at reasonable speeds according to conditions, will not adversly affect the truck. (Because somebody, somewhere is hauling the same weight in a vastly different manner.)