Yes, another newbie towing question😳

[canbyfam99]

Hello everyone,

Please bear with me as I am in panic mode...my husband and I are having an issue with differing opinions on what we can actually tow. ( I have been reading a lot and am just overwhelmed). My question is the usual(can ourbTV handle this).. We have a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 crew cab 4x4 short bed with 5.3L V8 eco tech, with max towing package, a tow capacity of 12,000lbs and payload of 1,200... We are planning on getting the Salem 32BHDS with a dry weight of 7,955 (GVWR 11,019). Our TV will range from 600-800lbs with passengers and dogs. Seems to me we will be overloaded, am I not seeing it right???

[MMattox]

Welcome to the forum, you will get alot of opinions here and your best bet is to research all the weights. looking at the 2014 tow ratings it looks like 12,000 is off a bit, should be 11,200 pounds tow capacity. Google 2014 chevy tow ratings. you have to look at the equipment that your truck has to see the exact towing capacity. you will be close but i think that you will be under. You will absolutely need to have a weight distribution hitch. you can assume that you will have around 1,000 pounds of stuff loaded in the trailer. plates food clothes ect the weight really adds up fast. The dry weight of the trailer does not usually include propane and a battery, and water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon all of which you will need to account for. Good Luck.....

[canbyfam99]

@MMattox

Thanks for your reply. Our truck actually does have 12,000 listed on the vehicle, and the payload I had listed so I am at least certain about that part...😊. We will have the weight distribution, sway bars etc. it's all the calculating I just can't figure out.. Thanks again!

[Kenny kustom]

Yes, you will be over.

What is the gvwr as shown on the door sticker?


2008 F350 CCSB V10
2016 Sabre 36QBOK

[canbyfam99]

Excuse my "newness", I assume you are talking about on the Silverado? We actually don't have a sticker on our door but it is by the hitch under the truck. Listing 12,000 with a 1,200 payload.

[hbillsmith]

That trailer has a published hitch weight of 859#. Subtract that from the 1200 payload and you have 341# left for the weight of the WDH. That 859 goes up when you add propane and battery. You might need to change to an Ultra light trailer with the lightest tongue weight you can find. You might need to go a foot or two shorter. Consider an Andersen WDH they work well and will save you weight on the hitch. If you do mostly warm weather camping, pull out one of the propane tanks. Lastly, you can load some of your gear inside at the back of the trailer to cause the tongue to lighten. First time you load it up, go to a truck stop CAT scale and check your weights. You tonge weight should always be at the very least 10% of the trailers total weight.

[canbyfam99]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

That trailer has a published hitch weight of 859#. Subtract that from the 1200 payload and you have 341# left for passengers, truck bed stuff you throw in, and lastly the weight of the WDH. You said you need 600 to 800. That says overload. Change to an Ultra light trailer with the lightest tongue weight you can find. You might need to go a foot or two shorter. Consider an Andersen WDH they work well and will save you weight on the hitch. If you do mostly warm weather camping, pull out one of the propane tanks. Lastly, you can load some of your gear inside at the back of the trailer to cause the tongue to lighten. First time you load it up, go to a truck stop CAT scale and check your weights. You tonge weight should always be at the very least 10% of the trailers total weight.

Thank you for that information... That was my concern... The tongue weight/ TV payload... I foresee another uncomfortable discussion with my better half😉

[hbillsmith]

Just saw your last reply. That sticker refers to your hitch capability not yor truck. The hitch can tow 12000# and can carry upto 1200# tongue weight. MMatox has your published tow cap correct. The Salem falls within the capacities of your hitch and you should be ok. If the truck rear sags too much, think about airbags. Go back and look at the driverside door frame. There will be a sticker that indicates the trucks cargo capacity. Thats the number you subtract the 600-800 from. The remainder is available for trailer tongue weight. All trucks have that sticker. Sometimes there are two.

[canbyfam99]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

Just saw your last reply. That sticker refers to your hitch capability not yor truck. The hitch can tow 12000# and can carry upto 1200# tongue weight. MMatox has your published tow cap correct. The Salem falls within the capacities of your hitch and you should be ok. If the truck rear sags too much, think about airbags. Go back and look at the driverside door frame. There will be a sticker that indicates the trucks cargo capacity. Thats the number you subtract the 600-800 from. The remainder is available for trailer tongue weight. All trucks have that sticker. Sometimes there are two.

Thanks again!!! I will have to go look again cause I actually looked on every stinkin door frame and all around it today... And didn't see a thing😁.
I know my husband has done extensive research in this but I have a habit of overthinking. Oh and the airbags are a possibility we have discussed.

[sail2liv]

GCWR! You should be 1000 lbs under that to start with.......fully loaded......I doubt if you will find anyone that has a TV that is too big.....most always have too small....can you stop what you are towing? Good luck....a trailer that is to big for your truck always causes grief....

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by canbyfam99

Excuse my "newness", I assume you are talking about on the Silverado? We actually don't have a sticker on our door but it is by the hitch under the truck. Listing 12,000 with a 1,200 payload.

tow ratings are NEVER on the truck. What you are seeing is the rating of the hitch itself, not the truck. You are likely a few thousand pounds less than what you think, making this trailer not possible. You may have the 11,200 rating, but that is only with 3.73 gears. No crew cab 4x4 configuration has a 12,000 lb rating.

[canbyfam99]

I am guessing everyone is right... And we do have the 3.73... I apologize for leaving that out. Like I had said earlier... I can not find another sticker on the truck but will keep looking. We are very new to this and this will be our first TT.
All

Greatly appreciate all the advice!!!

[TURBS]

Look at the yellow "tire loading" sticker on the driver's door jamb.
You'll run out of payload waaaaaay before you run out of max tow.

[TURBS]

This

[canbyfam99]

Originally Posted by TURBS

This

Okay thanks... Got it!!!

So it looks like 1646lbs in the TV

[canbyfam99]

Okay so to clarify we have a 2014 Silverado 5.3L V8. (3.73 rear axle)
With max trailering package
We will assume the 11,200 tow rating and it appears from the sticker we have a TV payload of 1646lbs.

With max passenger and some stuff we would be looking at 800lbs in the TV.

Thanks everyone for your patience!!!

[canbyfam99]

Lastly, my husband just read that our GVWR is 7200lbs and with everything else he has equipped on his vehicle we will be able to handle this...

With everyone's help we were able to get further information so thank you all😊

[Brewhedd]

Before you buy airbags try the WDH, I use the Equalizer and it works fine. I installed airbags on my Silverado 1500 to tow a 2702ss Rockwood (about 6000 lbs). I found them pretty much usless after the Equalizer install. If you decide you need them they will affect how the WDH is setup.

[canbyfam99]

Originally Posted by Brewhedd

Before you buy airbags try the WDH, I use the Equalizer and it works fine. I installed airbags on my Silverado 1500 to tow a 2702ss Rockwood (about 6000 lbs). I found them pretty much usless after the Equalizer install. If you decide you need them they will affect how the WDH is setup.

That is helpful, thank you! We had definitely planned on the WDH and Chevy actually recommends it too!

[TURBS]

Remember the wdh "weight" is also considered "cargo"
If air bags are added they to are considered "cargo" as well.

Wdh and air bag system must be deducted from ccc number.


TURBS
08 duramax tuned n modded
2015 columbus 320RS
2015 camping "30 nights"