Quick 2500HD cap. question

[Mud Slayer 2.0]

Lookin at new truck here soon. it will be a Duramax.. going with a 2500HD crew cab Long box.. i wana be able to put a slide in camper win the truck wondeirng if the truck can handle this while towing a built up wrangler and a quad or two...
it will be my DD and would like o stick with the 2500 for a LITTLE ride quality if possible.. I could alwaysw add air bags. but will the drivetrain/suspension hold up to this combo ?? im looking at Lance Ultra Serris campers too

[gilraine]

IMO get the 3500.. I believe with the camper and the trailer,you will be over weight by a good bit.. the truck will pull, but thats the easy part.. stopping and controlling it is where it gets difficult..

[Black Dog]

Not even close. You need a dually for that.

[chartdog]

Black Dog is right.

[Mud Slayer 2.0]

I would like to avoid a dually at all possible, this will be my DD ive driven dually's before.. i was thinking some load range E tires and air bags would work..

[6.2Blazer]

I would like to avoid a dually at all possible, this will be my DD ive driven dually's before.. i was thinking some load range E tires and air bags would work..

They come with load range E tires stock, but your limitation will probably be the fact you only have 2 tires on the back supporting all of the weight (versus a dually).

Drivetrain with a Duramax will probably be the same between the 2500HD and 3500HD trucks.

[YellowSub1962]

yup, need the dually unless the camper weighs less than 3100#
here's the numbers, the dually has almost 1800# more capacity if I read it right and not too fast ;)

http://www.chevrolet.com/silverado/specifications/


:usa:

[am4x4]

not sure how heavy your camper will be but I have a 1500lb camper and tow a 2500lb sami on a steel deck 18ft trailer with a 2500hd on 35"BFG's and I hardly feel it at all. I will instal airbags but I have been ok so far.

[dumb]

We just took an '06 2500HD crew short box down to the dunes in Oregon (1000Miles round trip) with an 8.5' 1800lb (dry -- which it wasn't) camper towing my sand-rail and a dirt bike on a flat deck. The thing barely squatted without air-bags and you didn't even notice all of that was there. It barely came out of 6th! The new trucks are pretty amazing in comparison to the older generations. If you are doing the occasional tow and you have airbags you'll likely be fine. If you are doing a lot of long distance regularly buck up and by the dually. I'm personally looking at a dually but I lik the extra margin and EVERYTHING is a long distance from here!

[Black Dog]

The math is easy. That truck has a GVWR of 9200 lb.

The truck itself weighs at least 7000 lb with a tank of fuel (probably more).
Allow for 5 passengers at 150 lb each - 750 lb.

Forgetting about any other gear you may carry, and the effects of what you plan to tow, that leaves 1450 lb payload to stay under the GVWR.

My regular cab 2500HD dmax is factory rated for a maximum camper weight of 2401 lb as listed on the sticker in the glove box (not just 2400, but 2401!). GM uses basically the same math as I have used above. The only way you could get a higher payload in a 2500HD chassis than my truck would be if it was 2WD or a manual trans. The truck you are talking about is the heaviest model in the 2500HD series, and all that extra weight takes away from your payload.

I don't know a lot about campers, but I think that even 2400 lb is not much of a camper.

[1967K10]

I wouldn't be concerned about the weight.I don't give it a second thought to throw 4000lbs on my 2500HD D-Max and it already weighs 8300lbs. My dad hauls 4000lbs on his short box 2500HD D-Max and doesn't have any problems. I do highly recomend air bags. I wanted a SWR 1ton myself but since it wasn't avaliable with a Manuel tranny it wasn't an option. I have never popped a tire on a truck from hauling so I wouldn't worry about that. I will probably get a dually next time but only because I plan to get a 38' flatbed to haul toys and hay. And you can get 33000lbs of hay on it easily.

[gilraine]

I wouldn't be concerned about the weight.I don't give it a second thought to throw 4000lbs on my 2500HD D-Max and it already weighs 8300lbs. My dad hauls 4000lbs on his short box 2500HD D-Max and doesn't have any problems. I do highly recomend air bags. I wanted a SWR 1ton myself but since it wasn't avaliable with a Manuel tranny it wasn't an option. I have never popped a tire on a truck from hauling so I wouldn't worry about that. I will probably get a dually next time but only because I plan to get a 38' flatbed to haul toys and hay. And you can get 33000lbs of hay on it easily.
the truck may bea able to to do it, but not legally...

[4x4not]

One, it wouldn't be legal so if you get caught, you pay. Two, you would probably be over your tire's weight rating. Yeah, you could run 100,000 miles and never have a problem, but if you do have a blowout or an accident, your insurance isn't going to cover a damn thing. You make the choice.

You MIGHT be able to retag it and get yourself some 19.5" wheels and G rated tires, but that is $$$$.

[Mud Slayer 2.0]

Well im looking at an 06 Sierra 2500HD crew cab loaded up with D-max and either 8' box or the 7' box... But after reading this i might be looking at some 3500's and dually's
Thanks guys

[Jrod-13]

the truck may bea able to to do it, but not legally...
bullshit, legal means what your plates say, and what your tires are rated for.
Door stickers, and what GM recomends is meaningless as far getting a ticket goes. The only possible thing would be risk of a lawsuit, in the unlikely event you had an accident.
Look at the people who hotshot for a living, they go through scales all the time or even people who tow large 5th wheel campers.

have you ever looked at the door tag on a semi? Kinda funny how if you buy a truck in WI, it's going say 80,000lbs on the door sticker, but yet when you get into MI, you can legaly license them at 164,000lbs... Amazing how the law realy works

As for carring the camper, I would first look into what the camper really weighs, and go from there... hell, when I was a kid, every slide in camper was hauled in a 1/2 ton truck.. Not all campers are THAT heavy..

[Haole]

not sure how heavy your camper will be but I have a 1500lb camper and tow a 2500lb sami on a steel deck 18ft trailer with a 2500hd on 35"BFG's and I hardly feel it at all. I will instal airbags but I have been ok so far.


1500# camper? That's a bare popup camper. Full on slideins get upwards to 4000# easy.

[Mud Slayer 2.0]

Looking at lance MAX series campers http://www.lancecamper.com/2006/981.html est. dry weight 3610 lbs

[Black Dog]

There is no question that these trucks can "handle" a lot more weight than what the factory ratings allow. I think one big factor in the factory rating is the ability to safely stop the weight (say on a wet road) with only four tires worth of friction on the road. Yes, you can (and will have to) be more careful, but this does not help in a panic situation (especially with inexperienced drivers).

Bottom line is that I just like my equipment to be overkill for the task at hand. Life is much easier that way.

[1967K10]

the truck may bea able to to do it, but not legally...

I'm currently licensed/tagged for 32,000lbs leagally. I can go higher if need be,just have to ask for the weight I want. The GVW doesn't mean jack **** here,only your tags. You can get G rated 16" tires because my buddy runs them on his GMC 3500 dually. The breaks can be questionable on these trucks but with good trailer breakes it's not a problem. FYI I tow a trailer a lot.

[am4x4]

1500# camper? That's a bare popup camper. Full on slideins get upwards to 4000# easy.

It is a hardside camper but it is a 7.5' that was really built for a toyota, I was actually over estimating, the tag on the back says 1200lbs with water.

[jasonmt]

I'm currently licensed/tagged for 32,000lbs leagally. I can go higher if need be,just have to ask for the weight I want. The GVW doesn't mean jack **** here,only your tags. You can get G rated 16" tires because my buddy runs them on his GMC 3500 dually. The breaks can be questionable on these trucks but with good trailer breakes it's not a problem. FYI I tow a trailer a lot.


There seems to be some misconceptions because when your local licensing agency refers to licensed Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) they are generally referring to what the manufacturer calls the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) which is the weight of the combination of truck and trailer. The manufacturers GCWR rating has no legal standing except for warranty coverage and it is quite easy to pay for whatever licensed GVW you want.

However if you think that exceeding the manufacturers GVWR or GAWR on either truck or trailer even while under your licensed GVW is safe notwithstanding legal you are in for a large surprise if you happen to get stopped and weighed. Not to mention other weight related issues which present themselves such as tire weight ratings, maximum axle group weight ratings etc.

[Norm]

If you stick to a 8' ultra light camper you should be fine(under 2000LBS). My 10' camper weighs in at ~3500 loaded. I hauled it on a F250 with airbags, but it still sucked. I would even think of pulling a jeep trailer behind it. It was scary enough with my 2500LB boat behind it.

With a 4000 LBS camper on a SRW you will be switching lanes every time a semi passes you. It's like riding a fat chick down the rapids :flipoff2: . If you tow enough, you will get tired of it and either get a dually or a smaller camper.

[1967K10]

There seems to be some misconceptions because when your local licensing agency refers to licensed Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) they are generally referring to what the manufacturer calls the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) which is the weight of the combination of truck and trailer. The manufacturers GCWR rating has no legal standing except for warranty coverage and it is quite easy to pay for whatever licensed GVW you want.

However if you think that exceeding the manufacturers GVWR or GAWR on either truck or trailer even while under your licensed GVW is safe notwithstanding legal you are in for a large surprise if you happen to get stopped and weighed. Not to mention other weight related issues which present themselves such as tire weight ratings, maximum axle group weight ratings etc.

I know very well that it's GCWR. I know a guy that regularly TOWS over way over the GCWR with his Dodge 3500 CTD. He was pulled over and weighed @ just under 40,000lbs. They told him he needed higher tags and sent him on his way,no fines of anything. What most people don't understand is we farmer and rancher have farm plates and farm exemptions :cool2: that allow us to do what we have to.

[SolidAxleDurango]

...but if you do have a blowout or an accident, your insurance isn't going to cover a damn thing....

You made that up. That is not true.

[hpi_jeep]

I know very well that it's GCWR. I know a guy that regularly TOWS over way over the GCWR with his Dodge 3500 CTD. He was pulled over and weighed @ just under 40,000lbs. They told him he needed higher tags and sent him on his way,no fines of anything. What most people don't understand is we farmer and rancher have farm plates and farm exemptions :cool2: that allow us to do what we have to.

thats pretty heavy for a truck with a weight rating around 5ton

[diesel72]

thats pretty heavy for a truck with a weight rating around 5ton

And pretty lucky that he didn't get fined (Farmer or not, a dot bear having a bad day could start writing all sorts of tickets if he wanted to) GVW doesn't play favorites. (Why would the cop bother to scale him if he wasn't going to give him a ticket for being over?)

[Mud Slayer 2.0]

(Why would the cop bother to scale him if he wasn't going to give him a ticket for being over?)
Same reason my Uncle drive 65 in his Cruiser JUST TO SEE WHO WILL PASS HIM (70 mph zones) he likes to fuck with people:laughing:

but thanks for all the input guys. I think i may just step it up to a 1 ton. So muchy for ANY ride quality :laughing: