Silverado 1500 with Max Towing option and hitch weight

[dexters]

The Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L engine and Max Towing option can tow 11,200lbs.

My question is about the hitch. Can that truck tow a 7,000lb - max weight - safely without a weight distribution hitch?

The travel trailers Dry Hitch Weight (approx. Lbs.) 540. So I'm guessing the max loaded hitch weight is in the area of 770 LBs.

The max trailering package includes a 9.76-inch rear axle, heavy-duty rear springs, revised shock tuning for increased control, enhanced cooling, and an integrated trailer brake controller. Also included is an automatic locking rear differential, trailer hitch, and bumper--mounted 4- and 7-pin connectors.

This says:
TRAILER TONGUE WEIGHT NOTES Trailer tongue weight should be 10% to 15% of total loaded trailer weight up to 1,200 lbs. The addition of trailer tongue weight must not cause vehicle to exceed Rear Gross Axle Weight Rating (RGAWR) or Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR

https://www.chevrolet.com/content/da...ring-Guide.pdf

[Superslif]

You will not see many people towing without a WD hitch. WD hitches can only help in handling. I tow about 5500 lb (wet) with a 1/2 ton, would never leave town without a WD hitch.

[1bigmess]

Many WD hitches also have sway control. Safety feature. Some trailers never need it. If you do and you don't have it, well, by then it may be too late.

WD also moves some of the tongue weight off of the rear axle, and that might make it safer to tow and within the capacity limits of the tow vehicle.

Seriously, look into it.

[SouthpawHD]

Can't the truck tow without a WD hitch? Yes. Should you? No.

It's a great truck and will tow heavier weights. But you really should have a WD hitch. I've towed with and without, and it's MUCH easier with!!

[dexters]

Originally Posted by SouthpawHD

Can't the truck tow without a WD hitch? Yes. Should you? No.

It's a great truck and will tow heavier weights. But you really should have a WD hitch. I've towed with and without, and it's MUCH easier with!!

I'm leaning that way.

Having towed a Casita ... I've never needed any hitch help. It is easy to forget the Casita is back there.

[Sparechange]

was just rooting around in the manual to my truck (trying to figure out how to/why chevy never hooked up the aux power wire to the trailer connector) and it said when towing over 5000 to have a wd hitch

[tuffr2]

You could tow a tear drop T@B trailer or a pop-up or a A-Liner type trailer without a WD and Sway control but holy cow, not a 7,000lb trailer with just a 1/2 ton truck.

If you how on the highway you will want all the WD and Sway control you can get.

That is if you do not buy a bigger truck 1st.

[Crasher]

I will always use a load leveling hitch if available. I tow a 12,000# enclosed trailer with our 41,000# motor home. The hitch and coach are rated for 15,000# towing and 1500# tongue weight. I can't feel any effect of the trailer either way, but I know when I hit a dip in the road that 1500# tongue weight gets multiplied by three. The LL hitch transfers that excessive load through the frame away from just the ball. Any vehicle will be more stable when towing with a LL hitch.

[dexters]

I'm sold, I'm getting one.

Also, I'm not sold on the Silverado yet ... I'm also looking at the Ram with the 5.7L.

[1bigmess]

Look into the 2500 trucks before you make a purchase. No one ever complained about having too much truck.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

Look into the 2500 trucks before you make a purchase. No one ever complained about having too much truck.

The trailer I'm getting has a max weight of 7,000 pounds and the trucks I'm looking at have a max towing weight of between 10 - 11,000 lbs. I think I'm OK.

I'm going full time and making the preparations now.

[1bigmess]

Ask how they came up with the max towing figures. It's about tongue weight, cargo capacity, and axle ratings, not max towing capacity. All these things add up.

I can already tell you are trying to save some money by you asking if a WD hitch is even necessary. How much money is safety worth? 2500 has bigger brakes than the max tow package 1500. Isn't that something to consider while towing?

7,000 * 0.15 = 1,050 possible high end tongue weight. Make sure this will work after you load you, your dog, a full tank of fuel, and everything else you'll be hauling in the truck with you.

Many have made a mistake and bought a smaller (payload) truck thinking they would be fine, only to find out that once they loaded it down for camping and stuck all their people in it, they were over the payload capacity of the truck.

Don't make the same mistakes others have made just because you are fixated on max towing figures. Axle weight capacities and total payload capacities are eaten up by everything you put in the truck.

Or dance blissfully into the sunset and let your insurance worry about it. It's up to you.

Good luck with your purchase.

[cwsqbm]

Originally Posted by dexters

The trailer I'm getting has a max weight of 7,000 pounds and the trucks I'm looking at have a max towing weight of between 10 - 11,000 lbs. I think I'm OK.

I'm going full time and making the preparations now.

For full time, you might want a 3/4 ton diesel. Towing 7000 lbs with a 1/2 ton on occasion is fine, but there will be times you wished you had more truck, like in the mountains or dealing with a headwind at higher elevations.

I tow a 5000 lb trailer with a Silverado 1500. Suspension-wise I'm fine, but there have been more than a few occasions having a diesel would be nice. For the price of a new 1/2 ton, a used diesel can be found.

As for tongue weight, the rating on the hitch without a WD is 5000 lbs with a 500 lb tongue weight, so 7000 lbs its too heavy without WD. I could tow my 5000 lb trailer without WD, but I use it anyway. Tightening it up has a definite effect on reducing the pogoing from a wavy road.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

I can already tell you are trying to save some money by you asking if a WD hitch is even necessary. How much money is safety worth? 2500 has bigger brakes than the max tow package 1500. Isn't that something to consider while towing?

7,000 * 0.15 = 1,050 possible high end tongue weight. Make sure this will work after you load you, your dog, a full tank of fuel, and everything else you'll be hauling in the truck with you.

It's not about saving money. I've had a Casita for 10 years and never felt the need for a WD. That's why I was asking.

The Silverado's tongue weight limit is 1,000lbs with the towing package - from what I can find.

I found this when searching.
, "Sierra 1500 models towing trailers with tongue weights greater than 700-800 pounds should move from a weight-carrying hitch to a weight-distributing hitch."