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I have a 2500 Chevy Duramax with a Allison tranny. It is a extra cab short bed with two wheel drive. I am pulling a 2003 Arctic Fox 33-5v. It is a 34ft 5th wheel weighing 11,500 lbs.. I had the truck and trailer weighted together.at 18,200lbs. The truck weight 6700 lbs. The pin weight of the trailer is 2,100 lbs according to the Northwood that makes the trailer. I have added a 30 gallon fuel tank tool box combition since it was weighted. Since November when we got the trailer I have gone over 5,000 miles with no problem. They really go good together. I have been from Florida to Michigan, not just on flat land. I just wonder if I am over my 15,700 weight limit for the truck. I am not sure how this is figured. Does the weight of the truck count toward the tow limit?


Tom</TD></TR>
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From www.rv.net (http://www.rv.net)


Check the door sticker and the owner's manual for these weights.



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<TD>Gross axle weight rating (gawr)</TD></TR>
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<TD>Maximum to which the axle can be loaded, according to the manufacturer; includes all weight placed on all tires on a given axle.</TD></TR>
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<TD>Gross combination weight rating (gcwr)</TD></TR>
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<TD>Maximum allowable combined weight of the tow vehicle and the trailer, according to the vehicle manufacturer; includes the weight of both vehicles plus all fuel, water, supplies and passengers.</TD></TR>
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<TD>Gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr)</TD></TR>
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<TD>Maximum to which a vehicle can be loaded, according to the manufacturer; includes dry weight of the vehicle plus all fuel, water, supplies and passengers.</TD></TR>
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Your gross weight is fine. That was a common gross for me to tow when I had the Duramax. All that weight in the bed interests me. Add the fuel and box and it is probably 2,500 lbs or more in the bed. Now you are getting into the axle capacity and the tire capacity limits.


Kartattack breaks it down well. Loaded, how much is on the rear axle/tires?

Your gross weight is fine. That was a common gross for me to tow when I had the Duramax. All that weight in the bed interests me. Add the fuel and box and it is probably 2,500 lbs or more in the bed. Now you are getting into the axle capacity and the tire capacity limits.


Kartattack breaks it down well. Loaded, how much is on the rear axle/tires?

Not a problem with axle as it is plenty strong but you want to have 10 ply tires at close to maxe pressure when towing that thing though.

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<TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNABLE="off"> I just checked it and the truck can carry 3,000 lbs and I have the E rated tires that came on the truck. I am going to change tires around 40,000 miles and go up to 265 tires.. I just finished changing real axle oil ,,I used Amsoil 85-140 weight. This is the second changing in 25,000 miles. I did have Valvoline 75W-90 in it before.</TD></TR>
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Make sure they are "E"'s too. Also, the bigger tire will cut towing power by about 5% as you will have a higher effcetive gear ratio with them and you might not want to give that up with a heavy trailer like yours. Edited by: snoman

When towing my 5er I'm 21,720 lbs gross. 265 series are fine for towing this amount, can't really tell a difference from the 245's. DO NOT GO ANY LARGER if you plan to keep towing. I have a perfectly good set of 285 BFG's AT KO's in the garage that absolutly brings the Dmax to it's knees with a heavy load. Don't know what the 285's and the Six-Gun would do, but I'm not going to try it.





on edit: found the scale slip and revised the weight.Edited by: neverenuf

When towing my 5er I'm 22,500 lbs gross. 265 series are fine for towing this amount, can't really tell a difference from the 245's. DO NOT GO ANY LARGER if you plan to keep towing. I have a perfectly good set of 285 BFG's AT KO's in the garage that absolutly brings the Dmax to it's knees with a heavy load. Don't know what the 285's and the Six-Gun would do, but I'm not going to try it.

Glad it worked out for you but do the math and you will be turning about 100 rpm less or so at cruising speed and you have to make up the torque somewhere for the load so engine and tranny has to work a bit harder. I have never been a fan of larger diameter tires on stock heavy tow vehicals. High ply rating yes, but not diameter.

Just telling you real world facts about how the Dmax/Allison tows. It does fine with 265's (actually about 1mpg better than 245's) but it does not do well at all with 285's. I even have a letter from GM stating the 265's will not affect my warranty. Take it or leave it.

Just telling you real world facts about how the Dmax/Allison tows. It does fine with 265's (actually about 1mpg better than 245's) but it does not do well at all with 285's. I even have a letter from GM stating the 265's will not affect my warranty. Take it or leave it.

Do not get defensive, I am just saying that it does in fact effect overall drive ratio and sometimes it does not play well at all. I do question the 1 mpg increase though, especailly towing.

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The warrenty will be long gone except for the engine when I put new tires on the truck. The 265 is the largest tire that I will get. The truck is too high off the ground as it is.


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Just telling you real world facts about how the Dmax/Allison tows. It does fine with 265's (actually about 1mpg better than 245's) but it does not do well at all with 285's. I even have a letter from GM stating the 265's will not affect my warranty. Take it or leave it.

Do not get defensive, I am just saying that it does in fact effect overall drive ratio and sometimes it does not play well at all. I do question the 1 mpg increase though, especailly towing.





Snoman,


You are correct, it does affect the final drive ratio, sometimes that is for the better. IMO the 245's look rediculously small, expecially on a 4x4. Didn't mean to sound like a dick.





on edit: I spelled your screen name wrong.Edited by: neverenuf

I do not call tires that are almost 31" tall, rediculously small. Also, it reduces brake effectiveness too as more pad friction is required to maintain same decelleration rate which can really be a factor on some light trucks. .

I also notice no difference with my 265's.


I guess by the math you are going to a tire that is larger by less than 4%, I and others say it you wont notice a difference, math says it will be like going from a 373 to a appox 360 gear ratio. I'm sure someone will bring up the added rolling resistance of a larger tire.....


Sorry guys http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif Self edited for bringing no value to the topic posted. Check your pm's snomanEdited by: ratlover

I do not call tires that are almost 31" tall, rediculously small. Also, it reduces brake effectiveness too as more pad friction is required to maintain same decelleration rate which can really be a factor on some light trucks. .





http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif We must not be talking about the same truck.

I do not call tires that are almost 31" tall, rediculously small. Also, it reduces brake effectiveness too as more pad friction is required to maintain same decelleration rate which can really be a factor on some light trucks. .





http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif We must not be talking about the same truck.
Not for the brakes anyway but I still say 31" is not small. I can remeber when that was a big tire.

Since Generous Mother decided LT265/75R16 Load Range E Tires are good on 3500 SRWs with the same engine, brakes and gearing and Grose Combination Weight Rating as 2500HD I decided they'd be OK on my truck too.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big%20Smile.gif

Had a few 1/2 tons with wimpy 10 bolts smaller IFS and much smaller brakes with drums in the back. Came stock that way.....


also remember when saying 300HP diesel made you some kinda oilburner good, now they come with more than that from the factory. Hell there used to be a time when wheels didnt have rubber, just wooden spokes and metal skins, duno bout you but I aint going backwards.


Every one is intitled to thier oppinion though. Edited by: ratlover

Since Generous Mother decided LT265/75R16 Load Range E Tires are good on 3500 SRWs with the same engine, brakes and gearing and Grose Combination Weight Rating as 2500HD I decided they'd be OK on my truck too.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big%20Smile.gif

I use tires chains on my truck sometimes during winter when plowing in very bad places and if I used 265's I would beat my fenders to death with them because the barely clear in front with 245's.

Snoman; are you the same snoman from over at the gm-trucks.com ?


I would hope not!

Snoman; are you the same snoman from over at the gm-trucks.com ?


I would hope not!

Same what???

you people are so anal about tire size....shutup and pull it

you wanna talk about loaded......i seen a dodge come by work today pulling a load of something (45ft trailer) that had all 4 tires in the back smushed and the rear of that ole 1 ton screaming help.... most i ever seen on a ton....

you wanna talk about loaded......i seen a dodge come by work today pulling a load of something (45ft trailer) that had all 4 tires in the back smushed and the rear of that ole 1 ton screaming help.... most i ever seen on a ton....

I feel sorry for the poor soul that gets that truck used.

You might be close. The GVW of your truck with all vertical loads placed on it is 9,200lbs. You indicated that the truck weighed 6,700lbs before installing the 30gal tank. Did that include the weight of your 5th wheel hitch? The tank is going to weigh something plus the 230+lbs of fuel. Add all that up, plus the pin weight of the trailer, your passengers and assorted other odds and ends that we carry and that total will indicate whether you are over or under your GVW. The GCVW (gross combined vehicle weight) really isn't relevant to this calculation. Theoretically you can have a GCVW of 22,000lbs, but that's only if you don't exceed your GVW first, which is highly unlikely. Anyway, you are going to be very close or actually over on the numbers, but not by much and as long as you are within your tire and axle limits probably nothing to worry about.

TC

Just remember that GVW is not set in stone. If it is rated 9200 and you come up 9265 or 9340 you are not going to "break" anything. Tires capacity is primary concern and if they are "E" rated you are fine there.

Tom,


I went to 265's for the sole purpose of raising my tire rating from 3042 lbs to 3415lbs per tire. The Michelin 265's are higher rated than the 245's if both are E rated.


I was afraid that I would notice a difference in towing, however that has not been the case. I really can't tell any difference. There is maybe a difference of 1 1/2 to 2 MPH in speed at 2000 RPM. Most speedometers could vary that much. Fuel mileage also seems to be about the same.


Regards,


Bill

As a side note you could have gotten some "F" load range (100PSI) tires in 245 too. They are hard to come by though.

I've looked for tires with F or G load range for 16" wheels but haven't found any. I seem to recall that my great uncle ran LR G tires on 16" rims, but I was pretty young and may be remembering wrong.


Who is still making LR F tires for 16" rims?

I old friend of mine just bought some "G" tires a few months back. Next time I run into him I will have to ask him what brand they were.

Thanks, snoman, I'll be interested to know.

I did a quick search and I found Goodyear Unistell G614 RST tires that are rated at 3750 single and 3415 dual

Click here for more info (http://www.goodyear.com/cfmx/web/truck/line.cfm?prodhiercode=pickup&prodline=007209&prodline_name=G614%20RST)Edited by: snoman