Hi I am Shaun new to the forums. I just bought a 2003 sonic 31ss. Has any towed these safely with a chevy or gmc 2500 pickup with a 6.0 litre. I really dont want to go to a diesel but if I have to I will. I don't tow far and if I do it will only once a year.

Thanks

I had a 31 Formula and towed it every weekend with a 3/4 6.0Suburban. It did just fine. When we bought the 382 that was a different story......ended up buying a F350 dually. Try it but I think your going to be fine with that truck.

Shawn, get the real weight on your boat and trailer and make sure your vehicles towing capacity exceeds it. A lot of vehicles will pull the weight, stopping and controlling the weight is a different story. Also remember your insurance will not cover you for anything if you exceed the towing capacity on your vehicle. Doesn't matter how far or how ofter. That includes the hitch. Do a search on this forum and you'll find all kinds of bad towing stories. Be like the rest of us...buy a bigger truck and a bigger boat will not be far behind it.

Ditto on towing capacity. Take the boat to a scale and get weight- total and tongue. Too much tongue weight may be worse than exceeding overall weight. Then, get a good hitch. If the one that's on there is OEM, it's rated at 5K. Not enough. Make sure the ball & receiver are up to the task. A 5K ball on a 10K hitch gives you 5K towing capacity. Virtually all safety chains are decorations. They'll do OK in a perfect straight-line unhook situation but if you have to wrestle your rig to a stop, they may not make it- especially if you give them some big jolts. Get at least Gr. 60 chain and proper fasteners.

At a minimum, I'd put top-end gas shocks on the truck and airbags on the rear axles. I'd also suggest a B&M transmission cooler and a temp gauge. Change your fluid at the beginning and end of each season. Use synthetic.

Buy an OSO membership. You can't see alot of the good stuff on here without one.

P.S.
Since you're a newbie, you get a pass on this. Dig thru this forum and you'll see why

Shaun,

That truck will do OK towing that load, but not forever. The 6.0L is not the strongest engine. The 4L85E transmission in that truck is actually stronger than the motor.

You DEFINITELY need to replace the stock Class-III hitch with a Class-V hitch from Reese or Putnam. www.putnamhitch.com
The factory hitch is only rated to tow 7500lbs. as weight carrying, and the Putnam fixes that. Do a search in the Truck and Trailers forum, and you will gain of TON of info.