Towing question.

[Cleavith]

Thoughts on towing a 25' Gt with a 5.3 3.42 gear ratio rated for 6800 lbs. Reg cab reg box. GCWR 14,000 lbs. GVWR 6800 lbs. The trailer weighs 6074 lbs. with 7300 lbs max. I know it is close but I love my truck and do not want to upgrade. I also like the reg cab reg box to keep the set up shorter. Thanks.

[ZOZ]

Anything 25" or larger needs a 2500 tow vehicle.

zoz

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by ZOZ

Anything 25" or larger needs a 2500 tow vehicle.

zoz

No.

I tow a 28' AS with an F150 with 3.5 ecoboost and it does just fine. As have many others on this forum. 1/2 tons work quite well. My 1/2 ton is rated to have a 1250lb hitch weight and tows 12,500lbs. Remember the 1/2 ton of today is the 3/4 ton of 10 years ago.

As to the OP.
1) You're on the edge, and you will not necessarily like the towing experience. I have a friend that had a lessor truck and when he bought the F150 Ecoboost with higher towing specs he couldn't believe the difference. Being on the edge is no fun.
2) One of the reasons your tow weight is where it is at is the hitch weight is limited to 10% of your towing capacity. I can tell you right now that a 25' AS will have a hitch weight over 700lbs and closer to 800lbs when loaded (maybe more). Many say 1000lbs. When mine is loaded I have a hitch weight of around 1000lbs. Some of it depends upon whether you have a front bedroom or rear bedroom. Most of the storage is under the bed and that's why hitch weights go up significantly for front bedrooms.
3) Your hitch weight is determined by how stable you truck will be while towing.

[Oreg52]

I have a similar set up with my 2006 1/2 ton Silverado CrewCab with the max tow package. I bought the truck new and see no reason to trade up for a new one.
I also tow a 25' FC with a tongue weight of 970 lbs. Its weight ratings are similar to yours.
And since the truck has close to 200,000 miles I have upgraded the 4L60 trans for towing and rebuilt the brakes with Napa Fleet/Towing parts and all new front suspension.
I regeared the rear axle from 3:23 to 3:73. The engine still pulls strong for all its 290 HP and I expect for it to go a few more years before I have it rebuilt.

So far I have towed 7500 miles over the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains encountering grades up to 9%. I learned early on to watch my speed on the downgrades and use the transmission and engine for braking maintaining around 4000-4500 RPM going both uphill and down. Second gear is used quite often in the mountains and the 'Tow/Haul' mode all the time.
In California gasoline is cheaper than Diesel and I'm averaging 11.5 MPG.

So yes, your truck can tow your 25 footer. If it has some miles on it, upgrade its components as required for peace of mind.
I do recommend having the rear axle inspected. The shop where I had mine rebuilt discovered a cracked Posi case. The owner told me it's common on high mileage GM 1/2 ton axles.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by Cleavith

Thoughts on towing a 25' Gt with a 5.3 3.42 gear ratio rated for 6800 lbs. Reg cab reg box. GCWR 14,000 lbs. GVWR 6800 lbs. The trailer weighs 6074 lbs. with 7300 lbs max. I know it is close but I love my truck and do not want to upgrade. I also like the reg cab reg box to keep the set up shorter. Thanks.

Flat land..fine..