Alot of hot air being thrown around about tow ratings. It seems that the new 2011 GM HD's can tow 13,000 SRW and 16,000 DRW on the hitch w/o a weight distributing hitch. New 2011 SD f-350's can only tow 8,000 unless you have a weight distributing hitch and the PITA that goes with it.

 

And where do you find info stating that a WD hitch isn't necessary?

 

Do you have a source for this? I can not find it in the press releases on the GM. They say the max weights, but I do not see where they say w/o a WDH. If that's true they must have some incredible springs given the amount of weight hanging on the hitch!

Steve

 

Note the little ** properly equipped part.......thats going to say with weight distributing hitch...

 

Part of the reason I called BS on this one is because even if it had no springs at all and the axles were welded to the frame, you're still going to be levering weight off the front axle. Which is going to cause funky handling.

The only way to avoid this is to mount the trailer hitch directly over the axle, which is the whole point of a 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch. The heavier the trailer, the more tongue weight, the more pronounced weight redistribution from the front to the rear. There is no way around this!

 

See ProPickupMag.com spring 2010 p.55-56. Also has a preview of the new GM HD pickups. Sorry I don't know how to post a link. Says the new Chevy and GMC do not need a weight distributing hitch.

 

This is not all tongue weight!! A properly set up and balanced trailer w/brakes etc. can pull like a dream even if heavy.(and therefore not legal)

 

Tongue weight would normally be 10-15% of trailer weight. Still a heck of a load on the tongue.

Steve

 

1000-2000 lb. tongue weight shouldn't be much of a problem for your dually Steve.

 

I would raise the BS flag if no WD is required..and by the way the new 6.7 has 14K at the reciever.

GM Increases Towing and Hauling Figures for 2011 Heavy Duty Trucks
Posted by Mike Levine | May 17, 2010


The battle royale among the titans of trucks continues. As expected, General Motors is upping the previously announced capability ratings of its new 2011 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Heavy Duty pickups to reclaim several best-in-class towing and hauling figures from Ford's 2011 F-Series Super Duty lineup.

The two giants have been playing a fierce game of one-upmanship as each has slowly revealed the awesome capabilities of their 2011 HD pickups.

In a matchup of series versus series, GM says it now leads all HD segments in maximum conventional towing, with the one-ton Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra 3500 able to pull up to 17,000 pounds (up from 16,000 pounds) compared with the identical 16,000-pound max conventional towing rating for the one-ton Ford F-350 and one-and-a-half-ton Ford F-450. The Ram 3500HD is rated at 12,000 pounds.

GM's HD twins also claim series-best payload ratings across all segments. It's now able to haul up to 6,635 pounds (up from 6,335 pounds) compared with a maximum 6,520 pounds for the F-350 and 4,920 pounds for the F-450. The Ram 3500HD can carry up to 5,130 pounds.

Ford still holds onto the best overall fifth-wheel towing figure. The F-450 is rated to tow up to 24,400 pounds compared with a new maximum 21,700 pounds (up from 20,000 pounds) for the Silverado and Sierra 3500. Comparing apples-to-apples, the F-350 is only rated to tow up to 21,600 pounds.

Ford also retains the largest gross combined weight rating, at 33,000 pounds for the F-450. GM's one-ton 3500 trucks, however, are now rated at 29,200 pounds max GCWR vs. 29,100 for the F-350 and 25,400 for the Ram 3500 HD.



How has GM upped its work ratings after announcing lower numbers during the Silverado's reveal earlier this year at the Chicago Auto Show? It's all about improved confidence in the 2011 HD pickups, according to Rick Spina, GM's full-size truck vehicle line executive.

“Our focus has consistently been on delivering customers the most capable heavy-duty trucks in the market," Spina said. "The first set of capability tests confirmed that the team had exceeded the payload and towing targets by a significant margin. Ongoing testing demonstrated a clear opportunity to increase the true capabilities of these trucks. Even pulling a combined weight of nearly 15 tons seems easy behind the wheel of a 2011 Silverado HD 3500 with the proven Duramax Diesel."

But it's not just extra testing and (ahem) magic spring dust that's giving GM its confidence boost. GM is also making further hardware changes underneath, in addition to the previously announced all-new fully boxed frame, updated suspension and bigger brakes. Stronger steel is being used in the cargo box cross sills that run transversely beneath the bed to handle greater payloads.

GM also continues to hold onto best-in-class power figures for its 6.6-liter Duramax V-8 diesel engine, which is rated at 397 horsepower and 765 pounds-feet of torque.



Production of the new 2011 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD pickups is expected to start May 25 at GM's plant in Flint, Mich, where regular and crew cab models are assembled.

Carl Hillenbrand, Chevrolet Silverado product manager, says it won't be too long afterward that the first trucks should arrive at dealers.

"We'll hold the first [2011] trucks for a three day inspection period after they come off the line," Hillenbrand told PickupTrucks.com. "If there's no issue, it's possible that nearby dealers may have trucks for sale by the end of May. That's the tentative plan right now."

We'll find out how the latest crop of HD pickups performs in the near future during our 2010 Heavy Duty Shootout in Michigan. And we'll wonder what Ford might be planning to do between now and then.

 

So why do you think that Ford would manufacture a pickup truck with a payload of up to 6,000 lbs and frown on more than 800 lbs on the tongue?

Seriously? Do you really think it's because of rear end squat?

I can put 1,000 lbs on the hitch of my F250 and it doesn't squat much at all...this is NOT the only reason for WD hitches!

 

Are these getting to the point where a normal class D license isn't enough to drive these things? I thought the break point was 26,000 GVW for a class D and you would need a class C over that.

How does that play into all of this?

 

For commercial loads you're absolutely correct, but most RVs are exempt. Look at a class A motorhome for example, they can be weigh WAY over 26,000 lbs but do not require a CDL to drive.

Most states also have agricultural exemptions for farmers and the like, so they might not need one either.

 

Sounds like a GM troll but on the same note why is it always so hard to find if a dually is being talked/bragged about or a srw. You have to take a magnifying glass to the bottom of the page and this is true of all manufacturers. A side note - my new 2011 F-350 SRW will haul 7000 on the hitch and 12,500 with a WDH. cheers

Bill

 

cause its marketing material, and they will always claim the highest everything
(so it will always be the biggest, baddest they are talking about)..

now, to yours.. 12,500 sounds low.. So, is it a 6.2L vs the 6.7 diesel?

Sam