I am the proud owner of a '05 2500 cc 4x4 Duramax. Only had it three days but already love it. One of the things that pursuaded me to go with the Chevy was the positive tone (mostly) of this forum. Now for a question. My truck is rated, according to the specs. at a little over 14,000 lbs. for a 5th wheel. The 04's are rated a little over 15000 lbs. This despsite the fact that the horsepower and torque have been upgraded for the 05's. My salesperson believed this has something to do with Gen. Motors worring about liablility with people pulling too heavy of a load. Any comments? (3.73 rearend by the way)

How much are you planning to tow? 15,000lbs is a lot for a srw truck IMO.

Will not be towing anything near that amount. I was just curious as to why the rating went down when the horsepower and torque went up. By the way, the pulling capacity for a pull trailer stayed the same at 12,000.

It is probably due to them releasing a 3500 SRW. Just a guess.

i continously haul over 25000lbs with my 2005 dually with almost no problems except with really big mountains

Sideswipe....... you mean total weight or what the trailer weighs without the truck?

just the trailer,i pull big boats from coast to coast.the boat im pulling right now going to oregon total weight with the trailer is 32020lbs

just the trailer,i pull big boats from coast to coast.the boat im pulling right now going to oregon total weight with the trailer is 32020lbs
:drop_mout

OK, no one seems to know the answer to my original question. Considering the 14,200 lbs. towing capacity for a 5th wheel, what is a good poundage to shoot for that would be very comfortable for my truck? I don't want to get too close and have to worry about it. I'm assuming anything under 10,000 would be a breeze, right? Thanks in advance, and again one of the things that sold me on the Duramax was this forum. Keep up the good work.

Actually, according to my 2004 brochure, the 3/4 ton d'max ext cab long bed is rated to tow 13,700 fifth wheel with an Allison. Less with a manual Where did you get the 15k number? Really curoious.
NOw, towing ratings have as much to do with brakes/suspension/ axles as it does with the engine/transmission. Personally, I am looking at a 14,000 pound fifth for my next trailer. Thats why I got what I have

First things first...... Do not pull anything over 7k without trailer brakes. You "might" be able to stop it, it's just 'how fast' can you stop it?
People that "don't think" cost just as much as people that do. Ask your Insurance companies which one cost more... the dead kid or dead Lawyer in the street? :rolleyes:

Anything under 12k off the hitch is fine.

Anything under 16k off the Goose/fith is fine.

This goes for any HD/Allison truck. However, if you have a dulley...... you can step it up a notch, a big notch.;)


Burner----------------------------->:D

sideswiper; where does the temp run when you are that much over cgvw ? how the mileage?I have a 14640 lb 5th wheel and thought I was pushing the limit on my new 05 dually ext cab 4x4 thanks for the reply

Donn, the '04 brochure I have lists the ex. cab at 15,700. Maybe they revised the brochure??

I haul over 15,000 lbs behind my truck locally on a regular basis without any problems or concerns.

my egts run 900 to 1200 depending on the terrain.i have the juice with attuide monitor and i have hit 1350 a couple of times.but i back out of it fast when it gets that high,but it only does that in the mountains.i have to run the juice in the stock setting in the mountains because the fan clutch doesent come on quick enough in the 1 and 2 settings too keep it from setting off the temp alarm.in the stock setting it is no sweat maxed out at 36000 pulling the biggest mountain.i would take a picture of my truck and send it to chevrolet doing this,but im afraid they would cancel my warrenty

Congrats on the new truck...Officer. In all of that PIA fine print in the brochure, GM states you can pull that 15k 5er as long as you...don't exceed the 9,200#GVWR, the 6,084#RAWR(tires), or the 22K GCWR. English...if your 15-25% pin wt exceeds 2K#, you have exceeded the GVWR (2500 4x4 Crew). For me that is our loaded 5er at 10K#.

Thanks CSMARTINDALE. That was in plain english that I understood. Still haven't decided if we want to go with a 5th wh. or a pull trlr. Hate to lose most of my truck bed with the 5th but they seem so much safer.

They definitely tow better! As for bed space, our Reese 16K slider is not that big. I mounted an electric hoist in the garage (Northern Tool 800# capacity $80) and remove it very easily when not needed. PM me if you would like any pics or info.

You can take a B&W apart and out of the truck ........... anywhere.

What's a B&W?

http://tandrtrailer.com......... lots to see and read.