I tow my 2008 Classic with a 2500 Silverado (Duramax). We would like to get a Polaris RZR ATV which weighs 945 pounds and carry it in the back of my truck. Has anybody done this or is it a bad idea.
We tow a 32 ft with a one ton dually and some say that is to much much and if you listen to some that it will pop rivets because of being to stiff & all that may be true except that we piggy back a 1700 lb dune buggy. Ive seen many 2500 with two jet skis, dual quads. I say go for it and have fun.
We tow a 32 ft with a one ton dually and some say that is to much much and if you listen to some that it will pop rivets because of being to stiff & all that may be true except that we piggy back a 1700 lb dune buggy. Ive seen many 2500 with two jet skis, dual quads. I say go for it and have fun.
I have piggy backed my willys jeep with my dually while towing as well..
I tow my 2008 Classic with a 2500 Silverado (Duramax). We would like to get a Polaris RZR ATV which weighs 945 pounds and carry it in the back of my truck. Has anybody done this or is it a bad idea.
Since you haven't had a response yet, I'll make one up.
My first take would be to calculate out how much weight the ATV would add to each the front and rear axle of the truck. Then I would weigh the truck axles while hooked to the loaded trailer. Add the calculated ATV weights to the Axle weights and see if you are under the limits stated on the truck's placard. My wild uneducated guess is that it will be too heavy.
Good luck,
Ken
I'll agree with Ken. I think you are putting too much weight on a 2500. Again there are many posts on the forum about A/S liking a comfortable ride and that a 3500 dually would be too hard of ride for it. It would depend upon the type of towing you are doing and type of roads you are on.
We spent the weekend at a rally and one of the attendees had a F350 dually and towed a 31' A/S. In his bed he had a BMW motorcycle that probably weighed 750 lbs. along with a Kayak overhead. He didn't seem to have too much problem with this setup.
I just got home from a trip to Chama NM, I had my Polaris RZR in the back of my 06’ F350 crew cab power stroke while towing my 04 30 classic S/O…. I have installed air bags to help level the truck, and although I have a equalizer hitch I prefer not to use it. Seems to ride and handle better without it. The truck did great with the extra weight. In fact I hardly noticed it. And the rivets are fine ) too!
The 2006 F350 crew is a big truck and the 30 S/O is a big heavy trailer. Lots of discussions here about airbags and hitch setups. I only say its possible because I have done it but it was local and only one time. I would suggest that you start by getting some correct weigh in numbers and see where your at with the setup you just described. The numbers might be surprising to you and interesting for the rest of us. The rest of it is math and geometry with overall safety and comfort once the correct weights are achieved. Hopefully you never find yourself in braking/swerving situation but it would be nice to know that your setup is working for you and not against you when your knuckles go white..
In the 1980s I put a lot of miles on my old Chevy Heavy-half ton 6.2L diesel towing my 31' International with a 750 Honda in the back (not quite as much weight as your unit, but close). I experienced no handling problems. The old diesel was really wimpy but that would not be an issue for you.
I have a similar setup, just a little older. I have a 78 Soviergn 31' and I put my Honda Forman in the bed of my Chevy 2500 all the time. It seems to ride fine. My Forman is lighter than your ATV at about 650 lbs. My 78' is also lighter, but this combination rides great when going down the highway.
here, as others have mentioned: the specs on the current truck include a 3,924 pound cargo capacity (but that includes cargo, passengers, optional accessories, fuel in additionto bed load) and nearly a 16,000 lb. tow capacity, so the real issue probably is weight distribution and whether you are exceeding - or better have a realistic safety margin - on your axles and gross combination vehicle weight. This also will move your center of gravity and mass up and back, so handling, yaw and roll moments, etc., will change!
I've got an '08 2500 Duramax, and I'm sure I've had at least as much bed load in it as your ATV, for many thousands of miles or towing, though my loads were made up more of, um, "stuff"!!! Though my trailer's a lot lighter than yours, it was hard to notice any difference. On the other hand, no emergency maneuvers were called for, either. YMMV. Good luck!
There should be a placard in the glove compartment that gives you the load capacity of the truck bed. I believe my dually capacity was +/- 3,600 lbs before I modified the rear springs. That means, in theory, I could have carted another 2650 lbs around in the bed with a hitch weight of 950 lbs. I've often toyed with the idea of ramping an "I-car" or similar small car up over the bed to take with us on trips.
One option to the cake or eat it too delema of load capacity vs. stiff ride in TVs is an Air Ride or Air Safe hitch which isolates the road shock of the TV from the trailer. I have a class 5 Airsafe with a Husky WD attached. It does what is claimed and also makes a significant impovement in overall towability.
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