Towing with 2014 1500 Silverado
 

wanted some input on towing big boats with a 1500. My 2014 Silverado is rated for 9,600# of conventional towing. I have the 5.3L V8 with 3.42 gears. The biggest boat I'm looking at possibly getting is a 29' dual engine like a baja outlaw. I ran the numbers on that and to be within my limit, it would have to have an aluminum trailer. 6,900 for boat. 1,000 for fuel. Aluminum tandem axle trailer is 1,000. Steel trailer is 2,500. So I'd be towing between 8,900 # and 10,400 # (which I will not tow more than 9,600). I live in Tampa and want to trailer it down 1x yr to the keys or south FL for vacation. And I have friends that live in Sarasota, so I might trailer it down there 1-2/yr. The point is how bad with the aluminum trailer would it be? 60-70mph highway would be ideal. 65 target. In FL, both axles must have brakes, per law on any trailer that is over 3k #'s. My truck has the 7 pin harness for trailer brakes, but did not come with the actual trailer brake module. So I can easily add one plug and plug aftermarket right there in the driver dash area.

You are going to be so safer/better off with a 250/2500 whatever brand----29' boat usually has triple axles !!!!! You might be able to pull it---but never stop it----most guys in Florida have brakes only on 1 axle--that is enough headaches in the salt water................

I wouldn't pull that big a boat with a 1500

^ yeah... agreed. And I mis-calculated the axles. It should have 3 axles. Out of the question for a 1500. I'm thinking the biggest would be like a 27' boat like the Donzi 26 ZX. I need to stick to my plan. 25' outlaw with 502 single engine. 2 axle trailer. Even if the trailer is steel I'll be within safe limits for towing. Life is funny. I used to own a '07 F250 6.0 Diesel 4x4. Was right out of college and broke. Stupidest thing I did in a while. In my defense I put down 50% on the truck. Now that I have progressed in life and have more sense, I drive a 1500. So I own the diesel truck and can't afford to tow anything. now I have the 1500 and could use the 2500 (maybe). Back to the 25'-27' single engine boat hunt.

There is nothing worse than towing a boat with out enough truck.....ask me how I know.:rolleyes:

I had a 29 Outlaw on a triple axle steel trailer and towed it with a 2500 8.1 4x4 then a 2500 crew cab long bed Duramax 4x4. Tows like a dream with the diesel.

I towed it once with a 1500 crew cab 5.3 for about five miles on a straight surface street just to try it out. It was white knuckles all they way at 45 MPH. No friggin' way would I want to tow any distance with it!

I don't care for the Chevy half tons when they went back to drums on the rear. Even towing "only" a 25 Outlaw I'd add air bags and electric over hydraulic brakes on the trailer.

I wouldn't.

Too much weight and size for a 1500 to me

I would buy the bigger boat and borrow friends trucks if you try hauling it and it feels like its too much weight, then look for a bigger truck. Get a weight distribution hitch and it would probably tow just fine. Make sure the trailer brakes work.

Pretty good rule:

Single engine BBC: 1/2 ton truck
Twin engine BBC: 3/4 ton truck minimum, even if the boat is less than 30 feet.

WD hitch isn't necessarily the best answer for a boat & trailer. Yes, I have used them. Yes, they improve stability. But it doesn't make up for not enough truck. A boat's weight isn't evenly distributed across the trailer. You have a LOT (majority) of weight after the axles which translates literally into tail wagging the dog. If you get out of shape, you usually do not recover.

There have literally been thousands of discussions on this topic here on OSO over the years.

FL335- You only use the trailer brake module on electric brakes. If the trailer has surge brakes no module is needed.

I would not do it, that is to much for that 1/2 ton.

Look for a Velocity 280 Or 290. Your 1500 will pull it just fine.

Padraig

Kind of off topic but I saw a very nice 38 TG being pulled by a Silverado 1500 last week while on vacation in South Carolina. Poor truck....

I'm towing 7200# with a 1/2 ton Avalanche 5.3 342. She does ok from storage to the ramp (one mile). less than comfortable out on the road. I too borrow the Dirtymax when we head to Gulf Shores from Dallas. Way mo bedda.

Just because the mfg rates a vehicle to tow x,xxx does not mean it can pull every x,xxx load safely. (or any if its overrated ford, but that's a separate slam)

Much depends on what the load is, how the trailer is set up and aerodynamic profile.
A boat trailer will likely have surge brakes. These are not great for maxing out a tow vehicle. Changing the actuator to Electric over hydraulic and adding a nice electric controller like the Tekonsha P3 will give the 1500 a fighting chance to control a load.

Regardless of the boat you choose, different boat/trailer combos will set differently. You have the truck so you can see how the load sets, then make changes as needed.
Just keep $1-2k of your boat budget in reserve for truck tow mods.

I pull my 33 eliminator quite a bit, including several trips for KC to Loto. slow going but feel pretty comfortable most of the time, you just can't get in any hurry. My trailer has surge brakes and good tires.

I would not have a problem approaching the max tow rating on any modern 1/2 ton, if done occasionally. These are not the dinky mid 90s models. All the big brand 1/2 tons on the market today are larger and more capable with respect to power, braking, handling, suspension, you name it, than anything in the class prior. That manufacturer's tow rating is a massive safety liability, and you can be sure that the number is underrated compared to what the truck can theoretically do. Seems like these discussions are full of people that get turned off right at "1/2 ton" and don't bother to consider that the meaning of that term has changed.

For a 1x/yr tow? Buy a boat with a total weight a little under your max tow rating, get a good WD hitch, and do your thing. Don't spend lots of extra $ for an excessive tool. If you were doing this every weekend, I'd say go ahead and get a larger truck.

Slide- I kind of agree with you. the new '14+ GM 1/2 tons do not have drums on the rear axle anymore. It's now disc all the way around. And the '14+ has a larger 9.75" axles. I never would of bought the old platform truck. pencil axle 10 bolt and drums. What kind of crap was that. Plus the direct injection 5.3 is very impressive. I did not care for the factory cat-back exhaust though. Choked down the piping and it had a flapper that squeaked all the time. So I did a cat-back AFE system. world of difference. I opted for the 3.42 gears which were the highest numerical gear I could get when shopping for a new '14. the 3.73 axle was not out yet and I needed a truck. Switched jobs and went from a company truck to my truck (that I was buying). And the newer 1/2 tons feel bigger to me also vs a few years ago. I'm in heavy civil construction and have driven a lot of trucks. 3500 dualies, lots and lots of GM 1/2 tons in a lot of configurations. my old F250 6.0. My hands down fav is the '14+ GM 1/2 ton. I've pulled about 7k #'s with it so far and as long as you have the tow haul mode on you're fine. And come to think of it, the trailer was a old beat up iron dual axle 20' flatbed construction trailer. Thing probably weighed 1,500-2k unloaded. no brakes (anymore). and I hauled rebar, ORV's etc and it was more than fine. But my last truck was a 2wd version with 3.08 gears (prevoius work truck company provided) and the 3.08 gear was a dog. I wish my truck had 3.73's though sometime... that would be icing on the cake. But for what I do.. it's fine. And gets unreal MPG's. even with the trimmed chin spoiler which is a joke in my business. I still can't believe the '14+ Ram 1500 with the 5.7 is rated for over 10K in similar configuration though. I read numerous comparo's the ram's braking was not as good as the GM's. GM's out braked the pack 70-0. no trailer. Must be ram's larger 5.7 engine and the 3.92 axle. Regardless, my '14 is rated for 9,600 as is. same setup in '15 is rated for 9,200 now that GM is using the ASE tow standards. And I'm stuck on a 25' Baja outlaw with a 502, double axle trailer with brakes.

You will be fine towing a 25 outlaw with that truck. I have towed my 26 Donzi for years with a 08 1500 Sierra 5.3. It did ok with the 4 speed and 3:73 but needed 4:10, but like you said it was a daily driver. I pulled my boat with a 15' 5.3 while mine was at the dealer under ext warranty repairs and it did fine. I just bought a 15 Serria 1500 crew 4wd 6.2 8 speed with 3:23 (tried to get 3:42 when I order but weren't available yet). This truck is a beast for what it is. Just put a couple hundred miles since getting last week, and I will say the 8 speed needs some refinement but the motor is stout. Hope to tow the boat this weekend.

I towed a 29 Outlaw twin 454, triple axle steel trailer with a 2009 chrysler aspen. Towed just fine.

Towed a Baja 302 with twins and a 29 fountain single with a 2000 expedition. Towed like ****.

I did not have tow often or far. Recommend electric trailer brakes.

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Pulled the boat this weekend for the first time with the new gm 6.2 and 8 speed, just thought I would share the results. It's a great improvement over my previous 08 1500 with 5.3 and 4 speed 3:73 configuration. It's definitely not a D max but pulls strong on hills and the 8 speed keeps it in the torque sweet spot. Overall I'm impressed with it pulling 7500 lbs, as I dreaded it with the old truck. Just thought I would share if anyone is considering a new 1500 and I tried a new 5.3 as a loaner and hands down the 6.2 is way better.

The 6.2 has a lot of torque, as much as the 8.1 albeit at a higher rpm.