crawlinss Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 im just a tad confused here, and i shouldnt be, i work on trucks/trailers for a living.... well in a way. im looking for a bigger trailer to carry my bike to/from the track. im planning on an air leveling kit in the rear regardless, but i have questions about how much i can tow, how much i can haul, payload, etc. 1- the sticker inside my door says gvwr 6400 lbs. what is that number? it also says GAWR (Front) 3650 and GAWR RR 3600. what are those numbers? 2-define payload...its confusing me. what should an 03 ss weigh stock? with upgraded air supension and trailer brakes and/or weight distributing hitch (if i need that w/ air ride, or would it be redundant?) how much can i safely haul/carry. maximum im thinking about would be an 8x20 enclosed, with 3-4 crotch rockets, gear for 4 guys, chairs, small grill, small tent, small generator, stuff like that. is it too much for old girl? any help appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desrtrat Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 im just a tad confused here, and i shouldnt be, i work on trucks/trailers for a living.... well in a way. im looking for a bigger trailer to carry my bike to/from the track. im planning on an air leveling kit in the rear regardless, but i have questions about how much i can tow, how much i can haul, payload, etc. 1- the sticker inside my door says gvwr 6400 lbs. what is that number? it also says GAWR (Front) 3650 and GAWR RR 3600. what are those numbers? 2-define payload...its confusing me. what should an 03 ss weigh stock? with upgraded air supension and trailer brakes and/or weight distributing hitch (if i need that w/ air ride, or would it be redundant?) how much can i safely haul/carry. maximum im thinking about would be an 8x20 enclosed, with 3-4 crotch rockets, gear for 4 guys, chairs, small grill, small tent, small generator, stuff like that. is it too much for old girl? any help appreciated. the GVWR of 6400 lb is the max weight that the truck can handle..thats the curb weight of the truck cargo and passengers..say your truck weight is 5000 lb. you can only carry 1400 lbs. of cargo(people) before your considered over weight. GAWR (Front) 3650 is the max weight your front suspension can handle, weight over the front tires. GAWR RR 3600. is weight on the rear suspension and tires tires. these weights can be changed some by installing tires with a higher max pay load rating.. if your running stock tires, with what your listing, you should have on problem towing. just keep an eye on the trans temp.. hope this helps good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crawlinss Posted April 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 the GVWR of 6400 lb is the max weight that the truck can handle..thats the curb weight of the truck cargo and passengers..say your truck weight is 5000 lb. you can only carry 1400 lbs. of cargo(people) before your considered over weight. GAWR (Front) 3650 is the max weight your front suspension can handle, weight over the front tires. GAWR RR 3600. is weight on the rear suspension and tires tires. these weights can be changed some by installing tires with a higher max pay load rating.. if your running stock tires, with what your listing, you should have on problem towing. just keep an eye on the trans temp.. hope this helps good luck very helpful for sure, thank you!! does the trailer affect gvwr of the tow vehicle? lets say my truck weighs 5000lbs, and the gvwr is 6400, in the truck are two people @200lbs each and 100lbs of gear, does that mean i can only carry 900lbs in the bed, or does that mean i can only carry/pull 900lbs of cargo? its the trailer part thats getting me, i dont mind making the silvy work hard, but i dont want to abuse it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desrtrat Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 very helpful for sure, thank you!! does the trailer affect gvwr of the tow vehicle? lets say my truck weighs 5000lbs, and the gvwr is 6400, in the truck are two people @200lbs each and 100lbs of gear, does that mean i can only carry 900lbs in the bed, or does that mean i can only carry/pull 900lbs of cargo? its the trailer part thats getting me, i dont mind making the silvy work hard, but i dont want to abuse it. when you tow, the tong weight should be counted into the GVWR.. now the combined gross vehicle weight CGVW is the total weight of the truck, cargo, passengers, and trailer. if i remember the stock SS tow rating is 7500 lbs. so the total max going down the road should be under 13,900lbs.. so what you plan to do, with ALL safety equipment, height distribution hitch, good break controller, trailer breaks in good order, keeping about 55-60 mph, you should have a good time.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdimedude Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 (edited) You should be fine with the info you stated. Just get a weight distribution hitch and a good brake controller and you should be good to go. Btw I have a Tekonsha p3 brake controller with a plug and play harness that I don't need anymore if you are interested. Edited April 24, 2010 by sdimedude (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crawlinss Posted April 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2010 You should be fine with the info you stated. Just get a weight distribution hitch and a good brake controller and you should be good to go. Btw I have a Tekonsha p3 brake controller with a plug and play harness that I don't need anymore if you are interested. definitely interested. more info? how old, whered you get it, etc? thankx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stg313 Posted April 25, 2010 Report Share Posted April 25, 2010 I would never have really considered any of this............ How would my 2/2 drop and 24 inch rims affect all these numbers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desrtrat Posted April 26, 2010 Report Share Posted April 26, 2010 I would never have really considered any of this............ How would my 2/2 drop and 24 inch rims affect all these numbers? i would say about 30-40% loss in your payload capacity.. .not so much with the 2" drop, depending on your bump stop clearance. your biggest loss is going to be the 24s..the low profile side wall will not hold up to a lot of weight, and the biggest killer of tires when towing, or carrying a lot of weight is heat. the shorter the side wall the less it can dispense heat. check the weight rating on the tire side wall, will say it"s 1120 lbs @ 40 psi cold, it may not be enough to support the curb weight of the truck, let alone cargo..as for the rims, if they meet or exceed the load capacity of the stock OEM rims then they will be OK. even some vehicle manufactures will change the GVWR of two identical vehicles based on weather one comes with steel rime or aluminum rims.. hope this can help.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stg313 Posted April 26, 2010 Report Share Posted April 26, 2010 i would say about 30-40% loss in your payload capacity.. .not so much with the 2" drop, depending on your bump stop clearance. your biggest loss is going to be the 24s..the low profile side wall will not hold up to a lot of weight, and the biggest killer of tires when towing, or carrying a lot of weight is heat. the shorter the side wall the less it can dispense heat. check the weight rating on the tire side wall, will say it"s 1120 lbs @ 40 psi cold, it may not be enough to support the curb weight of the truck, let alone cargo..as for the rims, if they meet or exceed the load capacity of the stock OEM rims then they will be OK. even some vehicle manufactures will change the GVWR of two identical vehicles based on weather one comes with steel rime or aluminum rims.. hope this can help.. Wow, really not the answer I expected.......... Luckily i hardly ever tow anything and the most weight that really ever gets put back there is like a sportbike. I am towing a uhaul trailer home in about 2 weeks though, is it worth putting the stock rims back on just for the 6 hour drive? I have towed with the 24s on before and didnt notice any issues. Is it really that unsafe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desrtrat Posted April 26, 2010 Report Share Posted April 26, 2010 a small U Haul should not be an issue. just put the rears at max psi cold, and you should be good. i don't mean to scare you or any one else, but 4 yrs on the interstates I-15 I-40 up here, i have seen to many people killed due to tire failure from over loading, old worn out, and under rated for the load capacity of the vehicle.. most is just common sense. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stg313 Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Sweet, thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphaone Posted September 8, 2021 Report Share Posted September 8, 2021 Question on this, I have a 2012 Sierra V6 4.3L. Looking in getting a 16ft enclosed trailer to deliver furniture and I do plan on getting a bigger truck in the next few months. My question here is would this truck hold up in the mean time? GVWR is 6400lbs and the GVWR of the trailer is 2640lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted September 9, 2021 Report Share Posted September 9, 2021 You will get more meaningful answers from a general Chevy/GM truck forum, as this one is specific to the SS. But, that sounds like a pretty light trailer. My travel trailer is about 4,500lbs. It is the tongue weight of your trailer that adds to the weight of your truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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