Chevy 2500HD

[jlb27537]

quote:Originally posted by TLightning

Agree, good advice.

These tow vehicle threads are just about worthless, and many do more harm than good. Normally the questions are asked by relatively new members looking for factually information that will help them make an informed and smart decision regarding a tow vehicle. Sure, they get some good information, but they are also bombarded with information that is incorrect and totally misleading. If somebody is using a 3/4 ton truck as a tow vehicle for a 16k 5th wheel, he/she is over weight....period. Yes, it will "pull" it, but the pin weight will be way over the capacity of the truck. Some of the justification used is absurd. If you don't want a dually, because it's your "daily driver," then get a smaller 5th wheel. I don't like my dually as a daily driver, but I got one because it was required to tow the Montana I have...which is lighter than 16k...and remain within limits.

My advice to members asking tow vehicle questions is to learn the numbers, then use them....GVWR, GCWR and find the cargo capacity for the truck on the Tire and Information Loading sticker on the driver side door post. A 16k Montana's pin weight alone will exceed the cargo capacity of any 4 x 4 250/2500 series diesel truck by about 1,000#.

I'm done with this thread.

What Tom said.

[vipermanden]

I guess I'm just a chicken, and wanted to make sure that everything was as beefy as I could get, before pulling around a 16-17,000 pound trailer. Especially, now that we have been on two 2,500 mile trips, and you get on some of these freeways, and swear your real teeth will fall out. Especially some of the highways in Arizona. So I want the most support and overkill I can get with my 2016 RAM 3500 long bed Dually with air bags and 25,000 pound B&W hitch. I still swear sometimes, that something is going to give when you hit these crumbling highways?

[speedster100]

No difference in brakes between the gmc or chevy 2500 vs 3500hd's. the only difference is two extra springs which IMHO don't work as well as airbags do. There are pro's and con's to both, i like the ride of the airbags better as my best buddy bought the 3500hd and the ride is not as solid with the trailer attached on his and he has a little sag in the rear. With my airbags at 18 - 20psi no sag and it rides and tows nice. As too the dually question that is very specifically a personal choice as well. If you have the room in your garage for a dually, have the cash to replace 4 tires at a time and don't drive it in the snow go for it. I drive mine year round, we have lots of snow and my garage is already tight with the srw so the dually was not an option for me. I tow the 3790 all over the place and no issues..........

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by speedster100

No difference in brakes between the gmc or chevy 2500 vs 3500hd's. the only difference is two extra springs which IMHO don't work as well as airbags do. There are pro's and con's to both, i like the ride of the airbags better as my best buddy bought the 3500hd and the ride is not as solid with the trailer attached on his and he has a little sag in the rear. With my airbags at 18 - 20psi no sag and it rides and tows nice. As too the dually question that is very specifically a personal choice as well. If you have the room in your garage for a dually, have the cash to replace 4 tires at a time and don't drive it in the snow go for it. I drive mine year round, we have lots of snow and my garage is already tight with the srw so the dually was not an option for me. I tow the 3790 all over the place and no issues..........

I rest my case.

[richfaa]

And if maybe you need the dually for the pin weight.

[Dam Worker]

I would at least go with a one ton SRW or dually. By the way my unit includes the freshwater in the weight rating but not the grey or black water. The weight of my generator also seemed to be subtracted from my 3160's net carrying weight. My feeling is the more legal you are the safer you are. You can also see that I have just the SRW TV. I will be upgrading my TV in the next year or so. I also only use my unit for short duration trips and don't usually have much if any water in the tanks.

Tom Marty

[Billorn]

Didn't take me long to know that my 2500 wasn't the right truck for my 3100, pulling a 3790 around, you need a bigger truck

[speedster100]

Nope I don't need a bigger truck, tows just fine. Handles well. stops well and rides well. Everything but 2 helper springs identical to a 3500hd which the airbags more than make up for...

Perhaps if I never drove anything bigger than a car or pickup in my life I might actually be in a different camp however fact is I grew up on a farm, have operated and drove big rigs and tandem axle trucks for many years including tankers, cargo box and gravel and towed rv trailers for well over 30yrs so MY experience tells me the set up is just fine and just as safe as the 3500hd and likely more considering who is behind the wheel.

So to those that insist on telling everyone what they must have in regard to a tow vehicle I say different strokes for different folks and ALL factors must be taken into consideration. Just because you drive a big 3500 or greater truck to tow doesn't mean it is going to be safer.....nuff said

[mlh]

If the rear springs are the only difference between a 3/4 ton SRW truck and a one ton SRW truck, and it is, I see no difference in the two trucks if you upgrade the springs.
Lynwood

[richfaa]

We have a F-350 LB,CC Dually in fact we have had two of them to pull our two Montana's. There is a long list of things we do no like about the dually all of them listed in this thread. The primary purpose of the trucks was to pull heavy Montana's safely and within all specs. The specs said we needed a dually so we have one. The primary spec was the pin weight .If your numbers are good get the truck of your choice. If "It pulls it fine" or you just don't care ignore the spec's and get the truck of your choice

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by speedster100

Nope I don't need a bigger truck, tows just fine. Handles well. stops well and rides well. Everything but 2 helper springs identical to a 3500hd which the airbags more than make up for...

Perhaps if I never drove anything bigger than a car or pickup in my life I might actually be in a different camp however fact is I grew up on a farm, have operated and drove big rigs and tandem axle trucks for many years including tankers, cargo box and gravel and towed rv trailers for well over 30yrs so MY experience tells me the set up is just fine and just as safe as the 3500hd and likely more considering who is behind the wheel.

So to those that insist on telling everyone what they must have in regard to a tow vehicle I say different strokes for different folks and ALL factors must be taken into consideration. Just because you drive a big 3500 or greater truck to tow doesn't mean it is going to be safer.....nuff said

I rest my case, again.

Rich is right on the money as usual.

[Billorn]

You can drive nails with a crescent wrench, but that doesn't make it the right tool for the job #128736;

[vipermanden]

There are cowboys, and there are urban cowboys, so some of the supposed real cowboys will pull their Montana's with a Datsun B210 pickup, and say that is fine for them, but for newbies, that only have driven Lincoln Navigators like me, and they want to be as safe as possible, then it makes sense to drive the most safe setup possible, and that is a long bed Dually with air bags and lots of torque. I'm not going to say which mfg. it has to be, but it is definitely related to how much of a risk taker you want to be. There is no right answer, just how much of a risk taker you are. I would even go to the next level up, but then they require it to be a commercial tow vehicle in California, so I settled for the RAM 3500 long bed dually with air bags and the 900 ft. pounds of torque with the combination of the Cummins Diesel and Aisin 6 speed auto transmission, which is rated to pull 31,500 pounds!

[richfaa]

Good Call vipermanden.

[kenneth e holman]

Springs are not the only thing difference between the 2500 and 3500. The 3500 also has higher rated tire capacity on account of the tires are larger. You would have to change out the tires and wheels to be equal. I have 3480 pound hitch weight on my dually. This does not include the hensley air-bag hitch and picture frame hitch or my 60 gal. fuel tank. You always need to weigh your truck and rv to really know your real weight. My truck is 800 pounds below gcwr with my wife and i in the truck plus full of fuel My weight is 26,200 pounds and my gcwr is 27,000 pounds . An 2500 can no way safely handle a Montana. Also what if you have a wreck and injure or kill someone.A good attorney can find out what the real weights are suppose to be and you could be held liable on account of being over-loaded.This is no different than an 18 wheeler being overloaded on the freeway. Public safety should always come first. Good-Luck.

[mlh]

The new 2500 Chevy Work truck and the LT have 245 75 17 tires while the LTZs like most or all of the 3500 SRW have 265 70 18 tires. The High Countrys have 265 60 20. All are E rated tires.
Lynwood

[speedster100]

My LTZ came with LT265X20 inch E rated.... Same as the 3500 Denali SRW