Towing with a 1500?

strange1

strange1

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Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Location
Elkin
what do you think? I have a 2wd, 5.4L, F250 now; but am considering letting it go and getting a 4wd 1500 chevy. Without getting into a brand name debate, should I do it? Or is a 1500 not enough to tow a rig with?
 
Depends greatly on the year, imho.

The newer ones have bigger and better brakes.
And better suspension.

I wouldnt hesitate to tow a single rig and trailer with a late model F-150,GM1500, or Tundra. Im sure the dodge can do it as well, I just have no input there because of transmission issues.
 
How much are you towing?

If your answer is "less than 9k pounds", you aren't really towing, and anything this side of a Tacoma will do the job.
 
Same here, I used my 00 Chevy Silverado to pull my trailer, toyota crawler, tools, and what not. Its not going to be a fast trip but it will get it there. Only issues I had when pulling the mountain between NC and Tennessee was keeping it in the right gear. But with the tow/haul option, it helped out.
 
Thanks guys. I'm looking at a 2000 chevy 1500 4wd. Regular cab, short bed; the guy isn't sure if it's the 4.8 or 5.3L. If it's the 5.3 and in fairly good shape, I may try to make it happen.

And should be under that 9k limit with a mild-built toyota and trailer.
 
The first place to start would be with the owner's manual in the glove box. Depending on the axle gears it will not be rated to tow even 9000 lbs regardless of the engine. You need to get the gross combined weight rating (GCWR) then subtract the weight of the truck, occupants, and any payload in the vehicle to get the capacity left for towing.

Axle codes for ratio:

GQ1 -- AXLE REAR, STD RATIO
GT4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 -- AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO
GU4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.08 RATIO
GU5 -- AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
GU6 -- AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
G80 -- AXLE REAR, HD locking

And remember that you need weight distribution and possibly sway control, that will be pointed out in the manual as well.

I got a 2014 1500 earlier this year with the 5.3 and 3.42s. The GCWR is 15000#, but the engine and drivetrain is a whole world different than that 2000. Pulling my 6000# rig on a 2700# trailer put me really close to max for that truck. I scaled down from a 2010 Chevy 2500HD and previous to that I had a 2006 Dodge 2500HD. This truck is competent but not as stable a platform as either of those trucks, plus the brakes and all the other hardware are obviously lighter duty.

Get your stuff scaled so you really know what you are towing. Most people do not take the 10 minutes and $10 dollars to stop by a truck scale and get that done.
 
I pulled a 18 ft tag along with a bobcat on it for a while. My truck was a ext cab 1500 chevy with a 5.7 and auto. With a brake controller it would have been a lot better. You had to plan your stops or you would be sitting in the intersection. Suspension wise the truck needed some help. It was a tail dragger and way to soft for that much weight. Yes I could move the bobcat around and take weight off the tong but then the trailer was scary to pull. Everyone has there opinion but anything other than an occasional tow I would go 3/4 ton truck. I like not knowing the trailer is back there vs having to plan my driving around towing something.
 
IMHO.
Trailer brakes and a good controller are the key to towing well.
The rest is debatable. How fast you pull is one thing.
Stopping the load is most important for you and others.
 
redneckcj5guy said:
Stopping the load is most important for you and others.
Click to expand...
This, and its also controlling the load, not just stopping it. It really doesn't matter how much power the truck has, you need to be able to stop when that idiot pulls out in front of you or a crosswind tries to take your trailer. And a 6500lb tow rig with a beefy frame, suspension, and axles, and large brakes will control the load better than a lighter truck with smaller brakes. I had a 99 Silverado 6.0 2500 (non-HD, but with towing package) and it did ok with my jeep or skidsteer on the trailer (both about 4500lbs), but I wouldn't want to pull any more than that. Now I've got a 2003 2500HD and it pulls either one great, and does fine with my dozer behind it (10k pounds). There was a huge difference between the two. A few weeks ago, I borrowed @redneckcj5guy's 2008ish Silverado 3500HD DRW and was rolling with about 13k pounds behind it, and it handled that better than my older SRW 2500HD would handle 8k pounds.

With all that said, I agree with @Ron than any of the newer 1/2 ton trucks would be fine, but I think going from a 3/4ton Ford to a 2000 model 1/2 ton Chevy would be a pretty big downgrade as far as towing ability (and I'm partial to Chevy :D).
 
How often will you be towing? If just a couple times a year, the 1/2 ton truck will work. Upgrade the brakes, add a trans cooler, and maybe a WD hitch and you should be fine. If you tow once a month, I wouldnt make the switch. What will the 1500 do that your 250 wont other than 4x4?
 
You will definitely want the 5.3 Chevy motor. Awesome motor that will tow your average rig just fine. I towed my TJ to Harlan with a Ram 1500 Hemi. Done great but I really should have had a way to monitor tranny temp and probably would upgrade the cooler if towing were regular of that truck.

Later model half tons are just as capable of towing the same thing 1 ton trucks were 15 years ago.
+1 trailer brakes. Stopping appropriately is far more important than moving. Taking a little longer than a diesel to get moving or up a hill is fine but you need to be able to stop something as soon as possible with as much control as possible.
 
redneckcj5guy said:
IMHO.
Trailer brakes and a good controller are the key to towing well.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%

jeepinmatt said:
With all that said, I agree with @Ron than any of the newer 1/2 ton trucks would be fine, but I think going from a 3/4ton Ford to a 2000 model 1/2 ton Chevy would be a pretty big downgrade as far as towing ability (and I'm partial to Chevy :D).
Click to expand...

Even though my 250 has the 5.4L in it, it does well with what little I have asked it do so far. As long as you can keep the plugs in the head and a couple of spare coil-packs handy.

sgtbriangreen said:
How often will you be towing? If just a couple times a year, the 1/2 ton truck will work. Upgrade the brakes, add a trans cooler, and maybe a WD hitch and you should be fine. If you tow once a month, I wouldnt make the switch. What will the 1500 do that your 250 wont other than 4x4?
Click to expand...

I probably won't tow nearly as much as I think I may, but it sucks waiting for the grass to dry before I can drive a 2wd F250 across the yard.
 
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