1/2 Ton Towing

[cndrbrown]

Hey, I'm sure this has been done to death, I have a 2009 gm 1/2 ton Z71.
any of you on here tow with the same truck, and what are you comfortable pulling? looking into getting a travel trailer/ or fifth wheel around the 6000-7000 lb mark?
thanks in advance

[addictedfisherman]

Make sure the trailer has trailer brakes and get a set of airbags for the truck.
Dont forget to check the GVwR CGVWR of your truck. should be on the plaque either on your drivers door or on the door pillar. you Shouldnt exceed these #'s but that doesnt mean you cant.
Good luck. Oh dont forget even if you have 10 ply Light truck tires your rims are probably only rated to 45psi.

[Jerry D]

A buddy a kz lite 32' and his 2010 ford could pull it but it was at the top end.

Going up hills and in wind was work...

Empty it was about 6500lbs.

He bought a new truck with ecoboost and it pulls it much better.

You obviously would need the sway bars and proper hookup.

With a 1/2ton I'd be looking to go about 25' max... There is a lot of additional weight when you add dishing and standard camping gear that remains in the trailer.

[nick0danger]

And just because you can does not mean you should!

[7mm08]

I pulled my 24 foot Westwind trailer for 4 years with my GMC Sierra 1500. I used an equalizer hitch and got used to losing speed climbing really steep hills. Other than that, no issues. My trailer is 2741 kg dry weight. Add a full tank of water and the usual camping fodder.

[sparky660]

To cover your own rear don't exceed the GCWR of your truck. The main reason is that you are exceeding the safe towing capacity of the truck and secondly if you are in an accident the insurance company will walk away from you if you are in a wreck.

[jim summit]

Originally Posted by cndrbrown

Hey, I'm sure this has been done to death, I have a 2009 gm 1/2 ton Z71.
any of you on here tow with the same truck, and what are you comfortable pulling? looking into getting a travel trailer/ or fifth wheel around the 6000-7000 lb mark?
thanks in advance

I think the truck is good for 8000 lb if you have the right gearing. And the gm rims are rated for 85 psi so no problem there. Make the radiator is clean as the engine works hard. My tows 6000lb trailer and a boat tandem, just under the magic legal mark. One lake i go to is off the beaten path, and requires 4low to pull the hill. On the flat it works well.

[orionab1]

Check your tire rating. This is the first thing the dot will look at.
Check that the brakes are all and I mean all are working.
Check the break away hitch. More tickets have been given for this then anything else.
A half ton usually has a gross combined weight in around 14000 lbs so you should be fine with 6000lbs. I have never owned a chev. But my old ford F150 with an i6 hauled hay at about 6500lbs for many moons. Granted I didn't run at 130km per hour climbing mountains. But... I got there. Safe and alive.

[Dr. Phil A]

External tranny cooler the bigger the better.

Air bags

Equilizer hitch

Good brake controller and good dual brakes on the trailer.

If you can step up to a 3/4 ton instead. Pretty much the same truck but built a bit heavier for towing.

What engine are you running?

[cndrbrown]

running the 5.3l vortec. Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it.
I couldn't ever see myself pushing the limits of weight and overall capabilities. But i think that there are a lot of people out there that do!
3/4 ton is in the not to distant future, just want to make sure the little ones are on board for camping, then we'll go from there!

[glen1971]

We were having a cold beverage the other night and discussing almost this very topic...
The Z71s, IMO, are a nice truck for towing trailers, as they come with the larger tranny cooler, and are geared properly in the rear end.. We picked up a 22' Wanderer last summer and it tows it with no problems. I think loaded (water, clothes, food, etc) the trailer is around the 6,700 lbs mark.. This year we picked up an equalizer hitch, as we are taking it to the Grand Canyon. 3/4 ton would be better, but personally I couldn't justify the cost..

Don't expect to do any land speed records uphills and into the winds, but I know I have been towing at 60 mph to Calgary and back (up highway 22 and back on highway 2)...Of course it kicks down and the speed drops a little on the longer hills, but it isn't like it grinds to a halt..

[pophouseman]

but should I get a diesel or a gas????

[McLeod]

Don't get anything over 5500 dry...lots of ultralites available now.
I use my F150 to pull a 31.5 ft tracer.

[dadof5]

Especially in BC. The DOT will weigh you in, and if you are over weight, the trailer will be sitting while you look for a bigger truck to pull it. Guys showing up to the rodeo have this problem from time to time out there. There is a reason that vehicles have GVWR's.

I have a Yukon XL to haul my many children and I will not purchase more than about 4000 lbs in trailer because the gear, kids, fuel and everything else my wife wants to take 'camping' would have me pushing limits very quickly. I also consider the work the vehicle is doing and the exta wear and tear of being overloaded. Not worth it in my view.

[Spidey]

The other thing to consider is that you would be able to pull a heavier/larger 5th Wheel compared to a travel trailer, given hitch set up for each.

[cndrbrown]

Yeh, a new 3/4 ton is gonna run you 55000+ with any bells and/or whistles.
I was looking at fifth wheels, around the 6000lb mark dry, now would you say pulling a fifth with that kind of weight is a lot easier than a pull behind?

[cndrbrown]

similar question, a friend has a tundra 5.7 i force. how do those compare? i know its the age old debate, i know they have lots of HP, but not so much on the bottom end for torque etc?

[RoguePiper]

I had a 2007 GMC 1500 with the 5.3 and now have a Tundra 5.7. Pulling the same trailer the Tundra pulls a little better, but thats to be expected with the extra hp that is there. Its not a night/day difference. My trailer has a dry weight of 5600 lbs, it pushes the trucks into lower gears on the hills going on the QE2, and any significant head wind hurts.

Look closely at the weights, when I was looking at trailers there were very few 5th wheel trailers that could be pulled with a 1/2 ton, most of them put too much tongue weight on the truck and over loaded the payload of the truck. There are a lot of weights to look at, make sure you understand them all.

[propliner]

I pulled my 7000lb 28-foot trailer to rocky yesterday with my 2000 GMC Sierra half-ton. It's slightly modded though, with a bored and stroked 5.3 (now a 6.3) topped with a Magnusen blower, 4l80e swap, airbags and trailer brake. Another plus is running a low 12-second quarter mile and embarrassing many new mustangs and camaros. 500 rwhp is fun and useful. Just don't look at the fuel gauge and all is great.

[cndrbrown]

excellent thanks.
i found a 24' 5th wheel that was 7200lb pin weight? not sure what that means but i figured thats pushing the limits of 9600lb rating, when loaded

[30lbpike]

Towing with a 1/2 ton is like screwing your cousin. It gets things done short term, but the long term effects are messed up.

[Fisherpeak]

I pull my 18 footer with a `99 Z71 5.7 with sway bars and the truck has the tow package.Never had a problem.

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by 30lbpike

Towing with a 1/2 ton is like screwing your cousin. It gets things done short term, but the long term effects are messed up.

LOL, you are stealing my quotes which I stole from a different forum.

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by cndrbrown

Hey, I'm sure this has been done to death, I have a 2009 gm 1/2 ton Z71.
any of you on here tow with the same truck, and what are you comfortable pulling? looking into getting a travel trailer/ or fifth wheel around the 6000-7000 lb mark?
thanks in advance

i have one of those trucks. when i was a grease monkey, i did a couple of modifications to make 1/2 tons carry a little more. i ALWAYS recommend adding leafs over airbags. i still cant believe that GM puts two weight springs in a pickup.....

anyway, if you go through all your numbers and decide you need a trailer just a bit bigger, you dont neccessarily need a new truck. more than once people brought me forms from the registry office to sign after i had upgraded suspension and brakes. dont forget the brakes....most do. they then issued new gvw and gcvw numbers. that will work in alberta, but i dont know if SK and BC accept it or not.

the advanatge there is that you dont have buy a heavy 3/4 ton costing more and burning a bunch of extra fuel to go camping half a dozen times a year. just another option.

i didnt recertify my truck as i didnt need to....my weights are good.... but i did add 2 more leafs and remove the spacer block. throw in a spacer under the strut up front and my truck now sits where a truck should. damn GM builds them things like cars with the low ride and no springs.

[rhuntley12]

Originally Posted by cndrbrown

Yeh, a new 3/4 ton is gonna run you 55000+ with any bells and/or whistles.
I was looking at fifth wheels, around the 6000lb mark dry, now would you say pulling a fifth with that kind of weight is a lot easier than a pull behind?

Got a 1 ton Dodge diesel dually, 2012 laramie for 59k recently. Used to pull 3 horse with 1/2 ton and it's like night and day. Ended up buying a 4 horse trailer with LQ, it's heavy and can hardly tell it's there.

Best feature finding is the exhaust brake is so nice.

Going 50km up a hill in a half ton isn't doing anyone any favours...

[Mohr74]

We have a Dodge 1/2 ton with a Palomino 31 foot ultralite. 5250 dry and 400 lb on the hitch dry. loaded up the truck pulls it no sweat. Sway bars are a must. To me it makes more sence to buy a trailer to suit your pickup rather than buying a bigger truck just to pull a camper a few times a year. Just my opinion.

[dantonsen]

on the prairies have at'er when it comes to towing with a half tonne..... If you plan on going in BC with a big trailer have fun, a half hour slope seems like eternity when your smoking the breaks just to keep under 120kmhr,lol, I've smelled many albertans coming over the passes with half tonnes... smell the brakes then 9 times out of ten you check the plate and it's wildroses or a sask plate. Police actually set up road blocks there since the problem of flatlanders towing trailers to big with trucks too small ended up in alot of bad wrecks

[WCTHEMI]

Originally Posted by dantonsen

on the prairies have at'er when it comes to towing with a half tonne..... If you plan on going in BC with a big trailer have fun, a half hour slope seems like eternity when your smoking the breaks just to keep under 120kmhr,lol, I've smelled many albertans coming over the passes with half tonnes... smell the brakes then 9 times out of ten you check the plate and it's wildroses or a sask plate. Police actually set up road blocks there since the problem of flatlanders towing trailers to big with trucks too small ended up in alot of bad wrecks

Seems they aren''t smart enough to gear down on the big hills.

[JB_AOL]

anyway, if you go through all your numbers and decide you need a trailer just a bit bigger, you dont neccessarily need a new truck. more than once people brought me forms from the registry office to sign after i had upgraded suspension and brakes. dont forget the brakes....most do. they then issued new gvw and gcvw numbers. that will work in alberta, but i dont know if SK and BC accept it or not.

I take it you work for a shop? I've heard of this in the states, but not here (learn something everyday). Out of curiousity, how do you determine your new GVWR?
In some states they allow you to choose the GVWR/GCVWR that you want to be licenced for (ie lower =cheaper), but as far as I understand it, you are still limited by the maximum GCVR of the factory vehicle. EX. changing gears on my truck from 3.73 to 4.10 would gain me an extra 2300# (7900 to 10200 towing as that is what my truck would've been good for if I had ordered it with the 3.73 from the factory. But if I go to the next gear 4.xx (I have no idea what it is), I wouldn't gain anything because my truck didn't have that gear from the factory.

I could understand this in the cases of the f250 & f350, as the only difference (unless you went to dually) was a couple extra springs in the back.

(It's not that I don't believe you, but I'm curious what the limiting factor becomes).

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

This is my set up. I slow down a bit on the huge hills like the Coq, or the highwood pass, but no problem maintaining 100-110 on the highway. Properly tuned electric brakes and controller and no problems going down either. Sure I'd love to have a big Cummins and scream 130 up the hill...but, meh...this is an awesome ride.

27' conventional behind an '04 Navigator. 6,000 lbs including cargo.