Towing with a chevy 1/2 ton

[daveandlo]

I have a 2009 1/2 ton Chevy 4x4 crew cab with the 6.2 engine. It has the 3.73 gears, 6 speed auto trans, and factory brake control. Also has the max trl pkg which consists of a 9.5 rear axle. Would I be hurting towing 10500#?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Are you sure it has 3.73 gears? My book shows only 3.42 gears with the 6.2 and the 6 speed auto. I am assuming your truck is 4x4 but it shows a max tow rating of 9,300# for the Crew Cab Short Bed 4x4 with the 6.2L and 3.42's. If its 2 wheel drive the same truck is 9,600# so there is a little gain.

I would say no but do as you want. You are over by quite a bit here.

The big issue I hear with the 6 speed GM tranny and towing is it hunts for gears. Its really not a 6 speed but a 4 speed with 2 over drives. Guys I know with them like the the 4 speed behind the 6.0 better for towing but say the 6 speed is a better non towing tranny.


Chris

 

[firefighter jim]

I have a 2009 1/2 ton Chevy 4x4 crew cab with the 6.2 engine. It has the 3.73 gears, 6 speed auto trans, and factory brake control. Also has the max trl pkg which consists of a 9.5 rear axle. Would I be hurting towing 10500#?

Do you mean a 6.0 engine? Is the 9.5 in reference to the ring gear? What does your manual say in regards to towing capacity?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well wait. I do now see a listing for a 2 wheel drive Crew Cab Short Bed 6.2L with 3.73 gears. It looks like the 3.73 gears are only available on 2 wheel drive trucks, not 4 wheel drive trucks according to my book. So if you have this the max tow rating is 10,600# so if that is what you have I would say yes, tow it.

Chris

 

[daveandlo]

I ordered the truck with 6.2 engine and the 3.73 gears.

 

[firefighter jim]

I thought 6.0 was the largest engine for a 1/2 ton. Guess not.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would check the build sheet but my book could be wrong. I am a trailer dealer and it list all trucks 2009 to 1989.

If you do have a 4x4 with 3.73 gears I would guess the tow rating would be 10,200# since its listed 10,600# for a 2 wheel drive and they show a 400# penalty for 4x4 trucks with other gear ratios. Not too far off of your 10,500# trailer. I would go for it.

The 6.0 is on the way out to answer Fire Fighters question and now they use a 6.2.

Chris

 

[jcmseven]

I have not been able to find in any of my literature the 6.2L being spec'd with the 3.73. This must be a new or running change, as the 6.2L was not the selectable engine with the max trailer pack; it was the 6.0

John M

 

[firefighter jim]

Thanks Chris.............

 

[Diamondpilot]

I really think he may have ordered the 3.73 but he has a 3.42 gear. I went to Chevy's site but it sucks. I could not find a listing for a 3.73 gear with the 6.2 in a 1500.

I could be wrong though. The site is horrible compared to all the other manufactures.

Chris

 

[downslope]

I really think he may have ordered the 3.73 but he has a 3.42 gear. I went to Chevy's site but it sucks. I could not find a listing for a 3.73 gear with the 6.2 in a 1500.

I could be wrong though. The site is horrible compared to all the other manufactures.

Chris

From the website.

 

[Diamondpilot]

From the website.

Like I said I could be wrong and I was. The GM sites suck compared to the Dodge, Ford, Nissan, and Toyota sites. All GM wants to tell you is the highlights and its tough to find most the other info.

Either way I do not have a listing in my book for a 4x4 with that engine gear combo but do have it for 2 wheel drive as I posted in the numbers. My book is just a guide published by a boating magazine so its not the bible but usually right on or very close to the manufactures numbers.

Chris

 

[daveandlo]

The website is not very good at building a truck online, I agree. But the truck that I ordered has on the window sticker as the 6.2 , 3.73 gears and the max pkg for towing. It also has the Z-85 suspension. Is there any way to check for myself to find out what gears I have? It was a long process to finally get this truck ordered with these specs.

 

[RickB]

I have a 2009 1/2 ton Chevy 4x4 crew cab with the 6.2 engine. It has the 3.73 gears, 6 speed auto trans, and factory brake control. Also has the max trl pkg which consists of a 9.5 rear axle. Would I be hurting towing 10500#?

Your truck's manual details the towing limitations as defined by the manufacturer. That is the best info you will get. It really doesn't matter what a bunch of us think you should or should not do with YOUR truck. None of us will be around if things go south (I hope).

 

[MikePA]

But the truck that I ordered has on the window sticker as the 6.2 , 3.73 gears and the max pkg for towing. It also has the Z-85 suspension. Is there any way to check for myself to find out what gears I have? It was a long process to finally get this truck ordered with these specs.

If it says it on the window sticker that it has 3.73 gears, you can double check the option list on the sticker in the glove box with this description of RPO codes, Click Here.

No offense, but you know what you ordered, you can see it on the window sticker. Don't let well meaning people on the Internet, with reference books they admit are not from GM, cause you doubt.

The authoritative source regarding what you can tow safely is on the sticker on the door and your owner's manual, not posts on the Internet.

To answer your question, yes, there's a way you can check for yourself. It involves comparing how many times the drive shaft turns versus the rear wheels.

 

[flusher]

The website is not very good at building a truck online, I agree. But the truck that I ordered has on the window sticker as the 6.2 , 3.73 gears and the max pkg for towing. It also has the Z-85 suspension. Is there any way to check for myself to find out what gears I have? It was a long process to finally get this truck ordered with these specs.

There should be a metal tag on the differential cover that gives the gear ratio. The tag is usually attached to one of the bolts.

 

[MikePA]

There should be a metal tag on the differential cover that gives the gear ratio. The tag is usually attached to one of the bolts.

True, but just like the order form and the window sticker, it could be wrong!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Dave

Rick, Mike, and Flusher are 100% correct. My book is just a guide. Look in your manual and your build sheet along with your window sticker. If you need help just take it into the dealer.

My guess is since I did find a 10,600# for that combo on 2 wheel drive trucks a 4x4 truck would be in the 10,200# neighborhood.

Either way I think with that combo and your load if you can keep the tongue weigh in check you should be ok. With a 1/2 ton chassis about 10% of your load is going to be the max it will handle. I have towed 10,000# loads with my F-150's in the past and a customers Nissan Titan and both pulled the load ok but the issue was the tongue weight. Its a balancing act.

Chris

 

[Ed1C]

Would I be hurting towing 10500#?

Daveandlo, Hurting? Certainly your MPG

I take my tractor in for service occasionally and am right at the max load for my 1/2 ton Chevy Z-71. But I'm only going a short distance (about 15 miles), have brakes on both axles, adjust my controller for the load on gravel before taking to the streets, and have no big hills to deal with. I certainly know I've got something back there, but do feel in control. I practiced some emergency stops and turns the first time I used this set up. I would not want to pull this load for long distances or through steep hills though. Hope this helps you make your decision. Be safe! Ed

 

[wkpoor]

I read this forum a couple times a week and nearly every week someones writes a post about what can I tow with my whatever. And then we haggle around around over a couple hundred pounds either way of what we know to be about what the mfg suggests as the towing limit. IMO 25-35% of published towing limits is marketing. I've seen the figures move from year to year without a single change to the truck. Why, because the other guy made a commercial about how much xyz truck can tow. Then zyx goes back and says, heck we can do that so they up their numbers a tweek little bit and so on. Its all crap! Ever since I first saw Toyota with there 10K towing claim (while pulling a boat ya right of course its always a light tongue weight boat) and quickly there after the big three jumped in with their claims to do the same but not just 10K but 10.2K hehehehe we got to nudge it a little so we ( who ever we is) can make the heaviest tow claim. Its all crap!