Where do I find the towing capacity?

[Greg L.]

I'm looking into buying a truck and I'm trying to figure out where to find the towing capacity of any given truck. I'm looking at roughly 98-02 1500 pick-ups and most show a GVWR of 6,400 lbs but I have yet to figure out what their actual rated towing capacity is. A friend of mine has a 04 1500 4x4 and his owners manual shows a towing capacity of 8,600 lbs for his truck so that at least gives me an idea of what it is rated to tow.

Anyways is there someplace that I can find this info on various trucks rather than just the owners manuals? I've searched the net and been on a few truck forums but so far no luck. The guys on the truck forums say to just get a 2500 or 3500 to be safe rather than help me find a answer. Heck I could just use my uncles Peterbilt and that would be safe too but with todays gas I don't want to be using more than I need so I figured that if I can find a list of towing capacities for various Chevy or GMC trucks then I will be able to pick the most efficient one for what I need and still be legal if the worst were to happen. I know that the bigger trucks with the 6.0 will tow nicer or faster but I'm more concerned with economy than speed.

For what it's worth my trailer and car shouldn't weigh more that about 6,900# so I'm shooting for 7,500# just to be safe. I'm looking at the early 1500 series trucks with the 5.3. I know they will pull it okay but I just would like to know if the combination is legal and where to get the info to show this.

[Gary C.]

Re: Where do I find the towing capacity?

Greg, not sure where to the GVW ratings other than go to a dealer and look at the sticker on the door post. Personnally, most 1/2 tons have to light of a frame to tow with. Don't know about the heavy duty 1/2 tons. If you're set on a 1/2 ton would try to get one with as heavy a suspension set up as possible. Another thing to think about with a regular 1/2 ton is that they generally do not have as much braking power as a 3/4 ton does. Having lost a trailer with a 1/2 ton it's not a pleasant experience. Main thing is make sure you have a good equalizer hitch setup and anti sway bar. Good luck, Gary....

[Norm B.]

Re: Where do I find the towing capacity?

Hi Greg,

You finally finish your project and ready to take it out somewhere?

Not sure how to reply on the towing capacities as they are a function of both weight and frontal area of the towed vehicle. I know that the big 3 auto makers used to have towing guides available either on their websites or printed stuff at the dealership.

The 1/2 ton may be false economy. I towed a 26' travel trailer with a 5 litre F-150 back and forth from Hamilton to Carlisle several times. I am now towing a 28' travel trailer with a 5.4 litre F-250. This trailer weighs about 800 lb. more than the 26 footer and the truck weighs more as well. On the same trip to Carlisle and consistently on other trips I get about 8% better mileage towing with the 5.4 litre F-250. Surpirsed the heck out of me at first but subsequent trips are proved this out. I think the difference is that with the current setup I am in overdrive most of the time on the highway where with the F-150 I had to turn the overdrive off as it was hunting all the time. I am now just shy of 2,000 RPM at highway speeds rather than the 2,400 to 2,600 RPM with the F-150.

I also just recently towed my son-in laws newly aquired 78 Corvette from Petawawa to Hamilton, albeit on an open trailer, and it towed beautifully. Didn't even know it was there unless I looked in the mirror.

Whether you stay with the 1/2 ton or go up to a 3/4 ton just make sure you have a good Class IV hitch, equalizer bars, a decent brake controller, and an auxillary transmission cooler if you get an automatic. Look for something with the factory towing package and you should be ok.

Finally, as for stability, I will never go back to a 1/2 ton for towing.

[Wayne P.]

Re: Where do I find the towing capacity?

Can't help much here, but I can say that U-haul will not allow you to rent a car hauler trailer with a 1/2 ton truck unless it is the heavier 4-wheel drive.

[Arnold P.]

Re: Where do I find the towing capacity?

hi,greg, i had a f 250 with the 5.4 engine. under powered,even with an open trailer. the transmission constantly "hunts" because it was under powered. i bought a ford f-250 with the 6.0 turbo. now with an enclosed trailer it has plenty of power to spare. it also came with the towing package with the factory installed brake control. i now feel more comfortable pulling the trailer with "precious cargo". pappy.

[Greg L.]

Re: Where do I find the towing capacity?

Thanks guys. My buddy let me study his 04 Chevy 1500 owners manual and I see that the actual towing capacity is sort of a moving target depending on what drivetrain and body combination any given truck has. I talked to two different GM dealerships today and they couldn't help me either other than to go to the owners manual or give them a VIN.

I didn't realize that finding the towing capacity would be so difficult but I think I should be okay if I use the info from my buddy's manual for the 99-06 body style. It shows a 04 Chevy 4x4 with a 5.3 and 4:10 gears as having a 8,600 lbs tow capacity...7,800 lbs if I go with 3:73 gears. I think that with with the proper hitch, tranny cooler and brake controller that a truck like this should work just fine for what I want.

I know that a 1500 may not be optimum for towing but for the once in a blue moon that I will be towing this amount I honestly can't justify everyday driving with a 2500 with the 6.0 with todays gas prices. The salesman that I talked to today made that very clear. He said that the 6.0 will use about 4-5 mpg more than the 5.3 and he didn't even have any 5.3s on the lot...only 6.0s!

Oh and Norm....no I ain't done yet. I'm just heading out for work now so I don't have much time but I'll send you a few pics of where I'm at a day or so.

[Cecil L.]

Re: Where do I find the towing capacity?

Greg,
The sales brochures and owners manuals for the particular year had that info in them. I have a 2003 1500 2WD extended cab with 5.3 and AOD and 3.73 gears. I tow an open car trailer that weighs about 1600lbs empty and get between 12-13 mpg at 65mph loaded with a full size 58 chevy on it and 15-16 mpg empty. My truck gets 19+mpg @ 65mph without trailer. Trailer brakes are a given to meet the manufacturers advertised capacity.
For example my truck with Z82 Trailering Package, 3.73 limited slip rear and HD suspension is rated at 8100lbs trailering load and 13,000 CGVWR. There are limitations on tongue weight etc., but like I said my truck pulls just fine as long as I watch the tongue weight. A load distributing hitch would probably help but I don't have one. Hope this helps.