VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Towing capacity

Today I received a brochure from Chevrolet regarding the 2016 models. Included was information regarding the 1500 series towing capacity. The Silverado 1500 4-door double cab std. box or crew cab short box ltz 2wd with available 6.2L V8 and available Max Trailering package was 12,000 lbs, and with the 1500 double cab std. box or crew cab short box 2wd and 5.3L V8 and available max trailering pkg it was 11,100 lbs.

Either towing capacity would suit my needs, just fine.

Now, if I could just rob a bank to pay for the $$$$$$$$ Silverado.

Bob
I think there is a lot of us in the same boat with the $$$$ or should I say lack of. 12,000lb is a serious towing capacity but that would nearly be in the 5th wheel hitch category I would suspect.
Tony

It has a 28 gallon tank and towing anything close to that weight, expect because you will get maybe 6-7 mpg. I had a 6.2 in a 2500 Sierra, I hated the fuel situation so much I traded it in after a year and lost about $25,000, and bought the diesel. It might be great for a 100 mile run, anything further then that, you are loosing way too much time. My opinion it was a waste of both money and time, you would be much better off buying a used diesel 2500 for half of the cost of the "new and improved" 1500 series.
I was towing the same box with the same car(s) inside and with the gas 2500 truck I always knew I had the trailer behind me between RPM's and ride, with the diesel I don't even know the trailer is even there, and I need to stop before I need to have fuel up

With the 5.3 in my 2009 and my 32 on an open trailer I get 13mpg. Usually only one long trip per year and maybe a couple short (100 or less) ones. The rest of the time I get a steady 18mpg average. I agree 100% that the diesel is the way to go for trailering, but only if it gets used mostly for that purpose. How's the fuel mileage both towing and daily use?

I never pulled an open trailer, with that truck. I presumed with the higher capacity on the 1500's mentioned it was going to be used for more then an open rig.
I get 10-12 MPG with the diesel empty or full,I do have a heavy foot, around town w/o trailer about 12-15 mpg, Hwy 21 mpg w/o. Daily use where I live on Long Island it is not practical, no where to park it, seldom is used unless I am towing or going out of town

I have no idea what the 2016 V8 gas would get towing and I doubt Chevrolet would advertise it. The manufacturers (all of them) only advertise the highlights such as their pick up gets the highest MPG in their class and has the highest towing capacity. Truth be know the high mpg is a V6 standard shift two wheel drive and the one that has the highest towing is the lowest mpg. I can understand why you have the diesel if you use it mostly for long distance towing. If the salesman that sold you your prior vehicle was aware of you vehicle use he certainly did not do you any favors. While the diesel cost more up front it probably is saving you $$$ in the long run and you have a much more enjoyable ride.

Steve,
The salesman was up front with me, he did tell me I would not be happy with it, but it was close to $10K more for the diesel,so I just could not pull the trigger on it. The only thing he did sell me which I would not have gotten is the 4WD, I only used it once to get up my driveway. Lately I have not been around here in the winter, and even when I was, if it was snowing I don't go out till it is cleared
If all I were pulling was an open trailer I would still have a 1500 series truck, there would be no need for the diesel or the 2500. Because it really is not the best riding vehicle without a trailer, you know you are in a truck.

Well at least you know who to blame. $10,000 more was a bargain as I just checked my local dealers price on a 2500 diesel and it list for over $65,000. My Silverado rides as good or better than my Honda Accord. It is a nice driving vehicle so if I can keep the rust mites out it should last another 10 years as it only has 52,000 miles.

I don't tow a car trailer very often and when I do I use a U-Haul trailer. They are very heavy but tow great. I tow with my 2011 Dodge Ram 1500. It has a 32 gallon tank gets fantastic gas mileage with the 4.7 V8, very very comfortable ride. I looked at Chevy and GMC and didn't like either. Ed Bittman #47508,TA#99 Dade City,Fl

Just thinking here ..... a $25,000 hit on a trade is a very large amount of cash.

If the concern was fuel alone (I don't know that to be true or not), I think $25,000 would buy a lot of gas, over the years.

You can't buy time! Stopping every 2 hours, for a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes added up real fast. There is a HUGE difference between pulling an enclosed trailer and an open trailer. I could only go about 100 miles before I had to really start thinking about the next fuel stop, and at 130 miles it became a major concern.

Just to clarify it was not a problem pulling it, and it was not about the cost of fuel, or mpg. It was the restriction of a 28 gallon tank and getting 7 mpg when towing. If I could have installed a 60 gallon fuel tank and still maintained the factory warranty I would still own it. The reason I mentioned the financial hit on the trade was to emphasize that the problem bothered me that much that I would take the hit. I knew that the answer to the problem was the purchase of the diesel 2500. As I mentioned in an earlier post if I elected to tow my open trailer, and only that, I would still have a 1500, and nothing smaller.

OK, I now see the total picture.

Too bad a larger tank could not be installed, but, overall, you are better off today.

I just don't want to see anyone here make the same costly mistake. Stopping for gasoline with a trailer is different then stopping for a car, at many stations I came upon you can't fit in the islands or have enough room to swing out. Many of the toll road plaza's have a designated pump (1 pump) for vehicles requiring gasoline pulling a trailer, so you just wait on line. Just forget trying to get fuel in the inner cities with a trailer!
Just idling it sucked down fuel! I was returning from the AACA Grand National in New Bern North Carolina. Left New Bern at 5AM made great time arrived at the Delaware Memorial Bridge at around 12:30, stopped for lunch and fuel, only had about 150 miles to go. At exit 5 on the NJ Turnpike around 2PM the traffic came to a crawl. It took me three hours to get near the GW bridge, and I needed gasoline again, but being it was the last stop in NJ before The Bronx and NYC combined with gasoline is 50 cents a gallon cheaper I waited on line for about another hour. That was the longest 150 miles I ever drove! We arrived home at 9PM, and there was no real reason.
The gas truck has no low end torque, so it requires a ton of throttle just to get things moving, plus it was about 97 degrees and humid so the A/C was blasting.
The plan was that I was going to trade it in after Flint, which I never made, my Father passed away and my wife had to under go an extensive emergency operation the very next day. So with everything going on I sort of forgot about it, until that fall at Hershey, same BS on a 200 mile trip minus the traffic. That next day I went to my friend at the GMC dealer and heard " I told you so" and took my lumps.
The gas truck was a good truck, but better for short hauls not long distance. I knew I was going to get wholesale for it, but I also knew nobody was going to be knocking on my door with a bag full of cash, and I needed the sale of the truck to offset the cost of the diesel. I rather see someone purchase a used diesel then buy a new gas truck for this type of use. While the gas trucks can tow, I was told they make better plow trucks then diesels