How much can I tow?????

[Pismo4]

Has anyone ever heard and or dealt with the good folks at changingears.com? When I input the requested data which I obtained from gmfleet.com I get the following numbers

Max. trailer weight: 9200#
Max. trailer weight with 20% margin:7360#
Max. tongue weight: 1104#
Max. tongue weight with safety margin: 883#

[sbarlag]

While I do not have alot of exerience with that website, I do believe they are "legit." It is my preference to use TrailerLife, and have done so for many years.

[vcbice]

Actual trailer weight is the issue. The trailers come with a yellow sticker that shows actual trailer weight and GVWR which gives you the cargo capacity as delivered (without water). You can calculate hitch weight from that (10-15% of the trailer weight, as stated earlier).

Truck capacity is on the door sticker. It shows GAWR and GVWR along with the truck weight and overall capacity).

Just match those figures up to see what you can tow.

Everything else is just a guess as each vehicle and trailer is different. Different options means different weights. Yes, even someone with same model year truck may have different weights. Same with trailers.

Last, 'can you pull it' vs 'are you within the weight limits' vs 'are you comfortable towing it' are sometimes three different answers.

An example is my setup. I am over my GVWR for the truck but I am under the front and rear GAWRs (yes, it gets complicated ). To make it comfortable for me to tow my trailer I added overload springs. I am under my GCWR. And, yes, my trailer is near the GVWR for the trailer but I am under the GAWRs by a fair bit (I put a bit more weight on the pin than the minimum).

[RogerR]

I agree with VCBICE above. Are you comfortable with pulling the max load?

But ----- the max load is what the manufacturer recommends on the day the tow vehicle was made. If your truck or car is not new are your tires, shocks, transmission, engine, BRAKES, steering gear, etc. at 100%?

As everything in the your TV ages (you too) things weaken.

For that reason I would never get beyond 75% of max just to allow a safety margin.

It will also prevent overstressing transmissions and engines.

[ALJO]

My RAM 1500 is always to the max or a couple hundred pounds over. Engine power is never the problem (head wind or mountains). It is the surging side winds (40 mi and up) on the TT which like to play. So the max. or extra weight in the truck is fine. Also I'm equipped with double sway control and just tighten things up a bit. Sometimes it can feel in-comfortable but the balance of the combo is good. The truck is around 7000 lbs. and so is the TT. Many who haven't experience with towing might feel very un-comfortable at the beginning, but you'll get used to that.
I'm at 850 lbs. TW and close to 7000 lbs. with the TT.

[NCMFFD]

Originally Posted by RogerR

I agree with VCBICE above. Are you comfortable with pulling the max load?

But ----- the max load is what the manufacturer recommends on the day the tow vehicle was made. If your truck or car is not new are your tires, shocks, transmission, engine, BRAKES, steering gear, etc. at 100%?

As everything in the your TV ages (you too) things weaken.

For that reason I would never get beyond 75% of max just to allow a safety margin.

It will also prevent overstressing transmissions and engines.

^ More excellent advice! While our 10 year old Nissan Titan pulled a Jay Feather 23BHM there were times where it felt its age. Even though it was only pulling 2/3's of its towing capacity, grades and wind made it work hard. The 5.6L engine is a champ but the Achilles Heel for this truck was the transmission and it tapped out on the I-40W just outside Needles, Ca.

Too long of a grade, high morning temp of 105* and a heavy foot caused the transmission cooler hose to burst.
Even after it was repaired, the mechanic told me there was a bypass around the I-40 grade. He mentioned that with the age of the truck and a fresh repair we should probably take it easy. But you have a 2017 TV so there's a BIG difference right off the bat.

Eventually we made it home and even did another 1250 mile trip up to Oregon and Washington from NorCal but on the trip back the TV did get pushed around by crosswinds more than any other trip.

Again we ended up with a new TV and couldn't be happier

[vcbice]

To add to my answer above. One reason I am comfortable towing near max limits with my 3/4T truck is because of how the mfgs make trucks. The difference between a 3/4T and 1T SRW truck is basically the spring packs. Engine, transmission and rear axle are the same. So I am comfortable staying within the GAWR and GCWR for the truck even if I am near or over the GVWR.

[Duke4857]

The older Chevy and GMC pickups used a different front axle on the 3/4 and 1 ton pickups. They used a dana 44 or corporate 10 bolt on 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton. They used a dana 60 on the one ton pickups. This was the days of the solid front axles. I would make sure of the facts on the other brands of pickups as well. The rear drive line was also huge on my one ton pickup compared to other people's 3/4 ton pickups. My point is just make sure you do your research. Buy what you GVW needs are. There are sue happy people out there. You may be found liable if you are pulling over the GVW.

[sbarlag]

For you Pismo and anyone reading this, make sure you know your Rear Axle Ratio,,,very important information. You can search for the charts by entering RPO CODES. GMC puts the data sticker in the glove box, it will most likely be a G code. Ford has it on the door jam sticker under the AXLE code. Hope this helps.

RPO Codes.com- GM option codes,GM rpo codes,General Motors options