Does anyone know what the new 4.5 crew cab 1/2 ton towing capacity will be? I find it hard to believe that a 1/2 ton will be rated to tow much morre than 10,500 lbs like the current vortecmax.

Does anyone know what the new 4.5 crew cab 1/2 ton towing capacity will be? I find it hard to believe that a 1/2 ton will be rated to tow much morre than 10,500 lbs like the current vortecmax.

exactly these 1/2 ton's claim they can tow 10,000 pounds but ive maybe seen a 1/2 towing that much once or twice in my life it just doesn't look good for a truck like that. And to answer your question, my guess is if the 2009 Vortecmax can tow 10,700 the 4.5 will be in the range of 11,500 to 12,000 pounds.

I'd also be interested to see what trans and rear end they have backing it up. 10K lbs is a lot of weight but, if you look at a truck today compaired to say the early 90s trucks are a lot heavier, stronger and have, for the most part beefier running gear (brakes esp). I'd think 11K would be ok with the 143" wheelbase. In my opinion I look at wheelbase, empty weight and width for towing. If you have a 8K lb truck that has a 75" track and a 172" wheelbase it'll tow a lot better then even a truck with the same weight and width but 156" wheelbase. I'd also be interested to see what the real world towing fuel economy is going to be, per a GM engineer in diesel power we should see a 40 to 70% bump in towing fuel economy with the diesel.

I wouldn't be suprised to see it up to 11-12k but i doubt it would go over that...that means they would have to beef up the 2500hd tow capacity because there would be no point for the two trucks to have tow capacities within 3k of eachother.

A tow rating is not just based on the engine, it has to do with other things. I doubt they will make it much higher just because of the diesel engine. They will want people to people to buy the 2500HD.

A tow rating is not just based on the engine, it has to do with other things. I doubt they will make it much higher just because of the diesel engine. They will want people to people to buy the 2500HD.



right...what i was trying to say...just in a round about way.

But do you think towing 11k lbs with a half ton would actually be safe and comfortable? I read on FSC that you really need a 2500 to tow over 7 or 8k lbs. It can be done with a 1500 but not ideal.

Time will tell, but I bet 2500's will become much less common in the future, the 4.5L will essentially replace the 6.6L for the average consumer. Commercial apps will still be able to get the 6.6L. Crazy enough but the new F150 is rated to tow 11,300lb which is close to the 2001 Dmax's 12,000lb tow rating. :eek:

Most truck buyers, especially half-ton trucks, use them as sedans anyway. That's what caused the huge increase in truck sales over the last 10 years.
That's why crew cabs are so popular now. Thirty years ago, crew cabs were the exception. Now they comprise over half the market.

Most of these rarely, if ever, use that towing capacity.

But do you think towing 11k lbs with a half ton would actually be safe and comfortable? I read on FSC that you really need a 2500 to tow over 7 or 8k lbs. It can be done with a 1500 but not ideal.
i pulled about 8000 with my 5.3 last week... just over 300 miles

With consumers blinking at high fuel prices, they won't be buying as many low mpg vehicles. Build quantities will dramatically drop, costs will jump, and OEMs will look for cost cutting essentially neutering the 2500 segment. I bet 1500HD-like pickups will replace the 2500 segment.