anyone towing a 5th wheel toyhauler with a 6.0 gas

[bmallak]

I have a 2015 GMC sierra 3500 with a 6.0 gas and max trailer of 13900lbs. I am looking at the nitro 305 which is about 11,000 emtpy. we would be putting 2 atvs in the back so that combined with water and other stuff I will be maxed out on the trailer capacity. We only will be doing this 3-4 times a year in and the rest of the time will be just regular camping for a total of about 10 times a year. I am in MN so most roads are fairly flat and all trips will be 250 miles or less. I have a 36' travel trailer (9000lbs) now and we wanna upgrade and the 305 is about the lightest 5th wheel toy hauler I have found. Am I being unrealistic. I know a diesel would be better and I will someday But thats not an option now. So lets avoid all the instant comments from the die hard diesel owners. I am hoping some gas owners will chime in. thanks

[TURBS]

Towed my 35.6 foot 14k gross sabre 5th wheel trailer with my 2005 2500hd with 6.0

No issues other then fuel milage.

TURBS
2008 duramax
2015 columbus 320RS
2015 camping "31 nights"

[ferguson65]

Have you looked into the Palomino Puma Unleashed line of toyhaulers? My 351THSS 37' comes in around 9500 dry and GVWR is 13465. Most of the others in the line also come in under 14k GVWR.

[Faulk222]

I have a 365SAQ #12600 dry #14065 loaded currently my TV is a diesel F350 but first year I had it I used a F250 V10 6.8 gas in fairly flat roads I had no issues other then 7MPG fuel economy.

when it came to hills it would go up but I had to make sure the transmission was down shifted before the bottom or it really struggled. I don't think you are being unrealistic with a gas engine towing that weight just need to take your time and enjoy the ride.

biggest reason I went to the diesel was because I needed to go to a 1 ton as the 3/4 ton was just not enough truck for the trailer so got a diesel while I was at it

[bluewoo]

My friend tows this with a 6.0 gas 1 ton

[bmallak]

I have looked at the puma line and I am not a fan. actually my brother in law has the only reason he bought it is because its cheap. I personally hate the color scheme. I am not concerned with the mpg. If we traveled farther or in different terrain it would be different. My wife fell in love the the 305 layout and it has everthing we want at a price we can afford. I would have liked to stay couple feet shorter but overall length wont be much different than what I have now with the travel trailer.

[rabreen]

I towed a 12,500 fifth wheel with a 2013 GMC 3/4 ton gas 6.0L. X2 for everyone on the gas mileage. Personally, I would not tow the trailer on much of a hill and certainly not through the mountains. The transmission would sometimes kick all the way down to 3rd on Hills readily found in Illinois and Wisconsin. 3rd and anything above 45 and that 6.0 was screaming.

Usually got between 7 and 8.5 mpg. Occasionally got 9.5 if the wind was helping.

Best of luck to you!

[Ke5rbd]

I did tow a Puma 351 THSS with 12 2500 Ram with 5.7 Hemi. It does fine on flat land and if in hills I found it better to lock in 4th gear as it is direct drive. Picked up mile per gallon doing this. Mile per gallon doesn't sound like much, but whe getting 7 and upping to 8 for 1600 miles makes lot of difference. It virtually eliminated the up and down shifting on hills. It has 6 speed and both 5 an 6 are overdrive. We went to Yellowstone from Louisiana in 14 and had two 900 lb. Harley's in toy hauler. Only major issue was some long climbs in Wyoming. Could maintain descent MPH of 55, but was taching pretty high. Now am pulling with 15 Ford 2500 Diesel. It seldom ever even kicks out of 6th gear and will cruise at 70 all day long.

[doc73]

A friend towed his 9500lb trailer with a 2015 gmc 2500 6.0. He melted his rear bumper above the exhaust from all the heat towing to SC.. LOL. That worried me a bit.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[Faulk222]

Originally Posted by doc73

A friend towed his 9500lb trailer with a 2015 gmc 2500 6.0. He melted his rear bumper above the exhaust from all the heat towing to SC.. LOL. That worried me a bit.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

that is one of the issues with the exhaust outlet design of the chevy/GMC the outlet is straight to the rear not to the side DO NOT use a sweeper with these trucks as they can also catch fire (diesel will do the same)

[doc73]

Oh, well that would suck. LOL

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[Springerdad]

Even empty you are relatively close to max, and then adding ATV's you are almost there. Now put your gear in it and you will probably be over. I'm not a believer in towing at max capacity. I have a 6,000lb TT and with the 2011 Silverado Crewcab and 6.0 I got tired of hearing the engine howling through the gears as we went over every overpass. Loved the truck, but traded it in for a Duramax. I know you didn't want to hear that. Rabreen has the same story to tell as I do about hauling with a 6.0.

[j free]

My old 5er was a 40 foot toy that maxed out the trucks tow limits and it was towed with a 2007 2500hd with the 6.0. I had true twin exaust put on it and a super chip with a cold air intake. It pulled the 5er with no problems even up hilly areas like the grape vine were the mud slides were in California. Gas milage is another story it sucked. Also I was on a few trips down hills or in city traffic worried about the brakes not being good enough.

[jackandjoanne]

I tow a Silverback 29 ik , 11,600 dry with a GMC 2500 HD 6.0. I live in the pocono mountains , towed through Tennessee and North Carolina mountains with no issues, ditto on gas mileage . 8 to 9 is as good as it gets

[northstar1960]

don't know why people think that a gas engine that's running 4200 rpm is at max torque then is screaming . it's not a diesel and is designed to down shift and run at higher rpms as load increases . running it at 4200 to 4500 rpm will not hurt the engine as it is just then creating max torque. 98% of the driving is running in top gear at 2200 rpm . i live in Colorado and run the mtn passes all the time and very little time is spent getting up those passes compared to a diesel . so they may get a mile or 2 further down the road big deal . i regularly 8.5 to 9.5 towing my 29xlr at 9000 lbs some times less like 7.5 at 75 mph . but slow down to 65 70 and mpg isn't bad
right now gas is arounfd30 to 45 cents cheaper then diesel also

[OldCoot]

Don't have a 6.0, but a 5.3 and limit it to 3500rpm. Folks have 3 options following me: Follow, Pass or Stop. I am not in a hurry and don't have to pass anyone to be first over the hill/mountain.

[bmallak]

I to am always surprised when people are afraid to let a gas engine rev. Everyone knows a diesel will do it better but you cannot compare the two. They are 2 different animals. And make power at different ends of the rpm band. It's harder on it to lug it then to let it rev when needed.

[Faulk222]

Got to agree 100% on the reving as I said in my reply pick the gear before the hill that's to get the revs up because once you log on a hill it is harder to recover and you lose momentum fast

[drittal]

You have to let the truck rev to make power when it's naturally aspirated.

Old coot, you are not getting full potential of your truck limiting it to 3500. Hell, the power and torque curves don't cross until 5252rpm.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by drittal

You have to let the truck rev to make power when it's naturally aspirated.

Old coot, you are not getting full potential of your truck limiting it to 3500. Hell, the power and torque curves don't cross until 5252rpm.

Guess what? It's my truck!