I’m looking to buy a travel trailer but before I pull the trigger I need to know what my truck can tow. It’s a 2011 5.3L V8 and according to my VIN the gear ratio is 3.42. I’ve been searching trying to find what I’m lookin for with not much luck. Can anyone help?

 

http://assets.cobaltnitra.com/teams/...146edef087.pdf

 

2500 pounds

 

That's a really good question. There are more numbers to look at besides towing capacity. Do you have the original window sticker or have you obtained a build sheet for your vin from Chevrolet? Does your truck have the Z71 or HD cooling system? You'll want to look on the sticker in the driver door for payload or cargo capacity. That will be your limiting factor along with the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). Is it a Crew Cab or Extended Cab? Crew Cab (full four doors) will have lower cargo capacity. For example, my 2012 Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab LT Z71 has a cargo capacity of 1534 lbs. That includes passengers, cargo in the bed, hitch weight, and trailer tongue weight. It's very easy to exceed cargo capacity on a 1/2 ton truck. As a general rule of thumb, you should not tow a travel trailer with a gross weight rating of more than 6,000 lbs and 25 ft long. Remember that a travel trailer will have 10 to 15% tongue weight on the hitch. So a 6,000 lb trailer can have 600 - 900 lbs on the tongue which transfers to the back of the truck and is subtracted from cargo capacity. A family of 5 can be 700 lbs or more. The max towing capacity in the sales brochure would be for a flat trailer with only a 150 lb driver in the cab and no other cargo or passengers. Travel trailers have a high profile and are susceptible to the effects of wind and drag which can cause the truck to lose control if not properly set up with a weight distributing hitch like an Equalizer hitch. For reference, I have a Coachmen Apex Nano 208BHS travel trailer that I have owned since new in 2018. When I weighed it at the CAT scales, I have exceeded my rear GAWR, truck GVWR, and payload capacity. The trailer weighed in at just over 5,000 lbs. I hope this helps. I'm happy to go more into detail if you like.

 

Unfortunately the only public scale we have in town is at a feed lot, so I could only get GCWR (12480) Trailer weight (6910) and Truck weight (5500). I also had everything I will be taking on my long trip along with a WDH connected to add that weight already to the numbers.

Just to recap, my truck has a GVWR of 6800, payload 1426.

I also measured out the box of the trailer, which is 30 ft, as opposed to the 34, as 4 is just hitch. (I know the length is pushing it a bit)

I compared these numbers to the numbers that came back from my VIN through the manufacturer;
GVWR 6800
GCWR 15000
Max trailer w/ WDH 9600
Max tongue w/ WDH 1440
Max trailer capacity 10600
Engine cooler
Suspension package
Handling/trailering package

what do you think about pulling this with my 2010 Silverado LT