2500 HD 6.0 gas
 

Hi, great forum, I am hoping to find someone with some experience in this regard. I will be pulling a load up to 14,000 lbs on a tri axle trailer with electric over hydralic disc brakes on all wheels. My tow vehicle is a 2002 GMC 2500HD crew 4x4, 6.0 gas with 4.10 gears. (Has worked fine for the smaller boats over the years!) I think I will replace the factory hitch with a stronger one, and possibly add air bags. I realize the truck is a little weak for the job, but it needs to work for at least next summer. We could rent a slip if this is not going to work. Most trips to the ramp will be 45 miles each way. Will not take delivery until May, so trying to figure this out in advance. Can anyone share their experiences who have similar set up? Thanks!

I think I speak for most on this, once you ve had a diesel pickup, you will never own another gasoline burning pickup again!

I have a 3/4 burb with the 6.0 and 3.73 gears. Towed my 382 for 2 months before the 30-35 mile trip was just too much for my health.....I'd arrive at the ramp a sweaty mess from that tow. Bought a F350 dually with the 6.0 diesel......WOW what a difference. Just so you know, you've got your work cut out for you in that truck.

There is no possible configuration for a tag-along hitch on a 2500 GMC to be legal to tow that load.

I have quite a bit of towing experience and it would be a very good move to find a dock instead of towing it with a 6.0. Just my two cents

14k with a 3/4 isnt a good idea....id look at a slip.

I agree. That is a lot of weight for that truck and hauling it that far of a drive each way. If it was 5 miles....that's a different story. Do yourself a favor if you really want to tow....get a decent used diesel dually. You won't regret it and their are quite a few for sale. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I am looking at slips, have some great options. We will indead be looking to pull this boat some significant distances when we get the right tow vehicle. For example, 390 miles each way to Door County - one of our favorite areas. I saw somebody said a duallie, but I hope we don't really need to go that far. Will need to see if the dealers will let me test drive their trucks pulling the boat!

The Problem w/ a Even a single rear wheel Diesel is going to be swaying. The 3/4 ton single rear wheel will tow it just fine for short distances w/ the extra two wheels is going to be much more stable.Fact Take it for what its worth I own a 2500hd 6.0, 14000# is a Load! Imho

Mike

I towed a 35 Fountain twin step on an aluminum Myco with my 2001 2500HD 6.0 4.10:1 extended cab 4X4 for a short distance (7 miles from storage to the ramp) on a flat road for only a short period of time ... I would not ever let my family ride with me in the truck. I didn't want to risk killing my whole family in one mishap, whether I caused it, or some other driver did something that I had to react to, but would not be able to (ie, someone cuts in front of you and hits their brakes, etc). That combo weighed in at 11,800 lb full of fuel and gear. It was night and day difference pulling that weight behind my friends F350 4 door dually diesel. It strained my truck both getting it moving, and the fear of not stopping in a controlled straight line if I really needed to. You didn't even notice the boat behind you in his truck. Since I didn't have weight distributing bars installed, legally, I was outside GM's rating for my truck, too. Never again!

I too had a 2500 then bought a dually......incredible difference in side to side sway with the extra set of tires back there.(I haul a 382 fastech 30-50 miles each way every weekend)

2002 gmc 2500 hd crew cab 4x4 with 70,000.00 miles
 

Hello Double Trouble,I have pulled 2-36 Outlaws,1-35 Outlaw,1-33 Outlaw 1-33 donzi zx ,1-388 Hustler slingshot,1-38 top gun,1-38 Donzi zr all with steel trailers from points as far as Miami,Fl....Houston,Tx......Bay City,Mi...... to where I live in Ky and my truck does a good job for what it is.I would like to have a Duramax also but can't afford one so I keep my truck serviced regulary and it does great.I f you pay attention and don't drive like a mad man I think you will be okay..Hank36

Thanks for all the replies everyone. 2500 HD owners: What modifications, if any, did you make to your 2500 HD? I think I will get the slip but still have a little towing to do. The local dealer says the factory hitch probably won't break, but reading the numbers stamped on it, it doesn't look that strong, esp for 14K trailer.

2500 hd
 

K&N filter system and that's it.Take care,Mike.

Just remember that if you are over the manufactures weight limit, and God forbid something does happen, your insurance company could reject claims... and I don't want to even think about what some enterprising attorney may do if someone were to get hurt.

According to this towing guide, your truck is only rated to tow 9,800 lbs. If you had an accident, you could have trouble with the insurance claim.

That said, if you do use this truck, you need to upgrade to a Class V hitch. I would also recommend a custom PCM tune. I went with a Wester's Garage towing tune and it made a big difference on my Suburban 2500 6.0L.

If you over load by that much on a regular basis it's dangerous and hard on your equipment . When I tow heavy I go REAL SLOW !!! It would be a long ride to make every weekend .

The 6.0 will move it, but it will struggle on hills and at highway speed. The real concern is stopping if the trailer brakes fail. I have had that happen on both my 31 and 38. You need a dually.

Getting a slip and why might brakes fail?
 

Nice to hear from you all. I am now renting a slip at Port Superior Marina just south of Bayfield (Lake Superior). They've got some great deals right now. If my truck does not handle it well, we'll leave her there and forego the usual trips to Door County, etc., until we find a better tow vehicle. It sounds like I'll be fine for an occasional short trip, as long as I'm not racing anyone. I agree with the poster who said a class V hitch would be a good thing. The tuner is interesting, we'll wait and see. I like to spend my time and money tinkering with the boat, not the truck. But safety is always important. I am covered on the insurance side of things.

I will have eletric over hydralic disc brakes on all six wheels. This is a steel trailer being custom built by Loadmaster in Ohio. What do I watch for to make sure there is not a catatophic trailer failure, such as failing brakes?!? A few things I can think of is clean the plug connections well and check the hydralic fluid before towing.

we've got a 2004 gmc crew cab 2500hd with the 8.1 gas motor, 4.10 gears, and it hauls our BT pretty well. We have electric over hydraulic disc brakes, which helped alot!

heat is what kills brakes...dont ride them

Lift is bad I assume
 

I have a possible line on 2002 F350 Crew, 7.3 turbo diesel, 4x4, 80,000 miles, but it has a lift and big tires. I am told it has not been beat on, but I have not traveled to look at it. I am thinking the lift is a bad thing, probably enough so to rule out the truck? I will be towing a Formula 310 Sun Sport, which I estimate to be a 14,000 lb load with trailer and fuel.

You do not want to tow that kind of weight unless you have a stock suspension dually.

That said, I don't think any F350 is rated to tow that kind of weight. Check out the first thread in this truck and trailer section to look up weight ratings.

Take your boat to a truck weight, I think you will be surprized. If the weight comes in below 12K your options are far greater than if not.

tow weight formula 310 ss
 

That is a good idea to get it weighed. This is a surprisingly heavy boat, I have to think its not under engineered, which is all good when you go out on Lake Superior with your family. It all adds up to more than I first imagined.

My estimate of up to 14,000 is as follows:

Formula spec on boat weight: 9,750 lbs approx
(Not sure if having twin 6.2's adds to this.)
130 gallons of fuel at 6.2 lbs/gallon: 800 lbs
30 gallons of water at 8 lbs/gallon: 240 lbs
36 gallons holding tank at 8 lbs/gallon: 288 lbs
Gear (extra anchors, inflatable dinghy, blender, etc): 500 lbs
Tri axle steel trailer weight: 2500-3000 lbs

Total: 14,000 - 14,500 lbs

Works fine but may need new shocks?
 

I pulled the boat 330 miles on Monday with the 2500HD Crew w/ 6.0 gas. I upgraded to class V hitch equipment, but no weight distribution. The trailer is a brand new Loadmaster (the Loadmaster from Ohio) with 3 axles. The trip went quite well. The trailer felt stable and I was able to maintain speeds around the speed limit most of the time. There were no issues with anything overheating and I did not seem to be running high rpm's, unless it was the occasional uphill, in which I slowed down a bit to ease the strain on the engine. The only issue I had was certain stretches of interstate seemed to induce a very short and choppy rocking motion from front to back. Do I need new shocks?

dt at some point you're going to need a diesel. Do your due diligence and drive all three. But actually I think that 2001 Powerstroke would be a great truck for you. Number one you can get a great deal on it and two you can take that ridiculous lift suspension and huge tires off and return the suspension to stock. The 7.3 is a very good motor and will last a long time with proper maintenance and TLC.

Buy it now and tow the rig with it. If it doesn't feel right take the lift off and buy a set of 17" stock tires. I think that truck came with 16" tires. The 17" will be better for your application and the load you'll be towing.

towing
 

Hi there a 2500 hd will handle the load and i have lots of friends that tow their trailers gas and diesel if u set the truck up right and give your self plenty of stopping distance, but if u can get a slip at the marina where u go boating the that will be a better choice if not then that truck will do the job.

[QUOTE=lanediesel;3098093]Hi there a 2500 hd will handle the load and i have lots of friends that tow their trailers gas and diesel if u set the truck up right and give your self plenty of stopping distance, but if u can get a slip at the marina where u go boating the that will be a better choice if not then that truck will do the job. If u can get a diesel then do so u wont go wrong a F250 will do the job with no problem, the only difference between a F250 and a F350 is the the springs. Get a 250 and up grade the suspension and that will do for towing, get an programer for the engine and u got a great truck.