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Old 10-22-2016, 06:50 PM   #1
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Will it tow it? (legally)?

Here's what I have:

2015 Evergreen Bayhill 379FL
Hitch Weight- #2390
Gross Weight- #16070
Dry Weight- #12734

Here's the vehicle i'm thinking of towing it with:

2016 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500HD HIGH COUNTRY 4X4 11,500 GVWR DURAMAX DIESEL CREW CAB SHORT BED SRW
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Old 10-22-2016, 08:22 PM   #2
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Legally you can only be cited for being over tire rating and registration if your state goes by weight for registration, otherwise the other numbers have no legal basis.
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Old 10-22-2016, 08:31 PM   #3
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As stated those numbers really mean nothing legally, in regards to police/state laws

However if your insurance co finds out after a accident of any type that your towing more then the truck is rated for, highly unlikely they would give you a penny.

Get a bigger proper truck or Sell the trailer...

Your 20-50% over vehicle rating
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Old 10-22-2016, 08:48 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by powermaker View Post
Here's what I have:

2015 Evergreen Bayhill 379FL
Gross Weight- #16070
Assuming wet and loaded trailer weight of 15,000 pounds, pin weight at 19% will be about 2,850. (Dry pin weight is about 19% of dry trailer weight, so you can expect that percent to continue as you load the trailer.)


You can probably tow that much trailer with your SRW pickup, but the compromises you'll have to make to not overload the pickup are irritating.

Quote:
Here's the vehicle i'm thinking of towing it with:

2016 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500HD HIGH COUNTRY 4X4 11,500 GVWR DURAMAX DIESEL CREW CAB SHORT BED SRW
11,500 GVWR is your gotcha! If your wet and loaded SRW 4x4 with 5er hitch weighs 8,000 pounds, that leaves available unused payload of only 3,500 pounds. Subtract pin weight of 2,850 and that leaves only 650 pounds for people and everything else you might need to haul in the truck. (My similar SRW diesel 4x2 pickup way back when weighed 8,000 before tying onto the trailer, so I would expect your Chevy 4x4 to be at about 8,000.

So before you decide, you need to weigh your wet and loaded Chevy. Include all the people, pets, tools, jacks, campfire wood, toys, 5er install kit and hitch, and anything else that might be in the truck when towing. Drive to a truck stop that has a CAT scale, fill up with fuel, then weigh the wet and loaded tow vehicle.

Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded truck from the GVWR of the truck. Then subtract another 2,850 pounds from the remainder.

If you're not overloaded by that point, then you'll know how much wiggle room you have for adding more weight to the truck or trailer while towing. Or you may need to leave a few tools and jacks at home, or wait until you're parked at the RV park before you buy campfire wood. And don't even think about bringing more than a few gallons of fresh water from home. Before you depart the RV park, be sure to dump the fresh, grey, and blackwater tanks. Tell Darling Wife she'll have to make do with light-weight pots, pans and dishes. As I mentioned earlier, trying to tow with not enough truck but without exceeding the GVWR of your pickup is irritating.

Another irritant is trying to tow that much trailer with a short-bed pickup without an automatic slider hitch. I wouldn't do it. I'd insist on a SuperGlide hitch for towing that trailer with that truck.
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Old 10-22-2016, 09:10 PM   #5
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Thanks for all the replies. I never tow with any water in the tanks and nothing but the fifth wheel hitch in the back of the bed. The wife and I do pack our clothes in the rv and but our groceries and campfire wood when we get to the campground and get set up. I have a drw ram 3500 right now, but i'm just exploring my options as we only camp 4 to 5 times a year and within a 2 hour drive from home. I know the drw will be alot more stable but as my only daily driver, not sure i will keep the dodge. The wife refuses to drive it because she says its too wide.
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Old 10-22-2016, 09:30 PM   #6
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All the above replies are good, but lacking in a very important point, stopping. Pulling and supporting more weight than gross, can be done, but think of your pucker factor when you are going down a somewhat steep hill on a rainy night and have to suddenly stop at the bottom. An over-gross load will likely push the tow vehicle well into the scare zone, to say nothing of maybe affecting your steering. A proper tow truck will have not only the weight to handle the load but also the proper stopping power. That is true even with trailer brakes working.
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Old 10-23-2016, 06:06 AM   #7
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PA ( and I am sure some other states) would require either a GVWR or GCWR high enough to cover the entire loaded weight of the combination since the trailer is over 10,000 lbs. The GVWR is obviously not high enough so the GCWR ( determined by Chevy) would be the legal option.

This does not include your axle weight and that could be an issue on the rear axle if the truck.
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Old 10-23-2016, 06:57 AM   #8
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We were in Tennessee camping last week and I was amazed at how many 3500 srw trucks were towing fifth wheels as big or bigger than mine, some with big toy haulers. It was at least 3/4 of the rv resort. I asked a few people how they towed and didn't get one negative reply. That's what got me looking into other trucks.
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:38 AM   #9
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I asked a few people how they towed and didn't get one negative reply.
That's probably because most folks towing big 5ers with SRW pickups have enough GCWR (pulling power) to tow the heavy trailer, but not enough suspension (GVWR) to haul the pin weight without being overloaded, and not enough braking power (also part of GVWR) to safely stop the overloaded pickup during an emergency stop. They don't even realize they're overloaded because they've never weighed the wet and loaded rig in the middle of an RV trip, and so far they've not had to stop in a panic.

Then you have those numbskulls that think the GVWR is just a conspiracy designed to prevent then from towing their desired heavy trailer with their desired grocery-getter vehicle. They don't consider exceeding the GVWR of the tow vehicle as being overloaded or unsafe. And of course they think they are a lot smarter than you or I.
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:58 AM   #10
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I must really be off the mark some place. I have a 2016 Chevy 2500HD. GVRW of 10000#, but my tow weight is 13,900#. As long as the truck doesn't see more than 10k on the truck I'm good. The OP's truck should be good as long as the truck isn't overloaded with other stuff in the bed/passenger compartment. Am I thinking wrong???
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Old 10-23-2016, 02:56 PM   #11
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I disagree with greg2 and SmokeyWren on the issue of stopping. First, brakes are identical between SRW and DRW trucks for same brand and model year. So while a DRW has a higher GVWR, it is no more capable than it's equivalent SRW at stopping a load. And carrying the same pin weight, the DRW will have less weight per square inch of footprint, so less traction and ABS will kick in sooner.

Then given the total weight, diesel is the clear choice and today's trucks are so capable with exhaust brakes, tow/haul and manual mode transmissions, controlling speed on a downgrade is so ez.

Also, using the truck brakes to stop too much trailer weight is asking for control problems. All trailer axles have brakes rated to stop their axle weight. But if someone feels the need for more stopping power, rather than stronger truck brakes, just put disc brakes on the trailer.

Finally, bigger brakes on heavier trucks just offsets the extra truck weight. Just look at the published 60-0 stopping distances for 1/2 ton vs HD units. So if empty stopping distance is no better, then loaded won't be either.
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Old 10-23-2016, 03:29 PM   #12
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Legally you can only be cited for being over tire rating and registration if your state goes by weight for registration, otherwise the other numbers have no legal basis.
I agree.
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Old 10-23-2016, 03:42 PM   #13
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However if your insurance co finds out after a accident of any type that your towing more then the truck is rated for, highly unlikely they would give you a penny.
Got proof? Drunk drivers cause accidents all the time, their ins still pays both to victims and the insured (maybe cancelled later). Anyway people do stupid and illegal things all the time (not saying it is ok) and ins. still works.
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Old 10-23-2016, 06:28 PM   #14
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Got proof? Drunk drivers cause accidents all the time, their ins still pays both to victims and the insured (maybe cancelled later). Anyway people do stupid and illegal things all the time (not saying it is ok) and ins. still works.

Well said. If insurance companies didn't have to pay for stupid things people do, they would have a whole lot of money left over.😁 You also nailed it on your other post above.
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