fred ferketic

help

I have a 2001 2500 hd 8100 with Allisson trans & 4.10 rear end. Ext. cab long bed with approx. 50k miles. (2wd)

My questionis:

Can this truck pull a 16k. 40ft. 5th wheel trailer? Most people I have talked to say the diesel can but are skeptical of the gas motor. My owners manual says that 8100v8
4.10 as max trailer weight of 15400lbs, but the 6600 diesel max. trailer weight is 14900lbs.
It seems that both are equivalent. What gives?

Fred


[/align]

MalibuMaxxSS

I dont know about the 8100, only sold a couple and they dont make them anymore, that being said I wold opt fo the diesel anyhow, the 8100 is a torquey big block, but up hills the Diesel will win out, plus your gas milage pulling that witha 8.1 will be well [][:'(]to say the least, they are not good without a house behind them,

Man that is a huge *** 5th wheel, I woud go dually as well, that ups your pulling to 15900 with an E/C, or crew, respectivly, and wont let the 'tail wag the dog' so to speak......

melat70

I have a 2002 silverado with the 8.1 and the Allison tranny,( it's not a dualie)and I tow 32' Alpenlite( 3 slides)which is 15000 empty, so by the time I am loaded It weighs out at 16500, not counting a full thnk of gas. I have towed average about 8K miles per year,. have been to Alaska twice. It does a fine job of handling that load . There are some pretty steep , long hills in Utah. I get about 9 - 10 MPG.I Have neverhave had any problems what so ever. I don't keep my foot in to it going up hills like I see some showoffs doing. I drive sensibly and it all depends on how you drive and where your right foot is. The Allison tranny does a beautiful job and never heats up, and not the engine either. I always use the tow/haul mode which is a must. I now have 88K miles on the truck, and have never had it back to the dealer for any thing I do all my own maint religeously. This is the 4 th GM truck I have had over the years, and this oneis the best for towing. My first GM truck was a 72 GMC with the 350 engine and I put 247K miles on before I traded it for a new 91 with a 454. So I think my driving style and maint record speaks for it self. I think the 40ft 5th wheel will be too heavy when you get it loaded and will be way over your trucks weight limit. I think I am towing the max weight for my truck, and probably a little over.
Mel

traveltunes

You are about 4,000 lbs over that trucks capacity. All you have to do is look on your driver door sticker on Tire and Load information and it will tell you what your GVWR and GAWR are for front and rear. Also you need to figure out what your cargo carrying capacity will be for the truck. I have been researching this a long time and even my new 2007.5 3500HD Duramax LMM isn't even big enough to pull my 2007 39ft 16,200 pound fifth wheel, but it is safer than my 2006 2500HD LBZ Duramax. Yes, both of these trucks will pull them fine but if someting breaks on it, it could be real costly to you, time wise and money. Double check your manual on the Max Trailer Weight and don't confuse it with the Combined Vehicle Weight. The Max Trailer weight on my old 06 and on my new 07 is only 12,000 pounds. My 07.5 has a combined weight of 23,500 but out of that you have to minus the truck's weight and the cargo weight for the the truck which is: passengers, gear, weight of hitch, dog, kids etc. What I did was fully load the truck with everthing in it, including full tank of fuel, and then I took it to a Certified Cat Scales and weighed it. Then you can calculate what will be right for you. I really hope this helps and good luck with what you decide.

melat70

Hi Fred
What did you decide, a lighter trailer, or a bigger truck?
Mel