Toy hauler towing experience with a 1500

Name calling will get you no where. Keep on perfecting you’re google skills.

Flint, MI is the build location. Says so on the inside of drivers door.

 

Man, I wonder, how many of you guys towed anything in the 1980's or early 90's.

Because back then there were only 4spds to the transmission, a 350 Chevy only made 210hp, and yet thousands of people across the country pulled trailers of all sizes with them, from campers to race cars. Hell we had customers who pulled their race car trailers with their RV's that had a 454 the only put out 235hp. And that was a 16,000lb motorhome to start with.

Hell, I had a 1989 S10 ext cab with the 4.3L v6 and pulled a couple of different race cars with it.

Will a new 1/2 ton pull an 8000lb trailer? I sure as hell hope so.

 

Fuel filter every other oil change.
Water out of the fuel separator to purge.
DEF fluid
DPF Filters

Oil is a big one 6 quarts with a filter on the 5.3 my 6.7 Cummins was 12...

 

No doubt.

We have a old F350 we still use to pull the race car trailer with. Said trailer is a open ramp over trailer with a 6’x8’ box and 8 rows of tire racks. It is all that old 7.3 wants. Have only pulled it with my 1/2 to truck once but it did as good a job pulling it. Much better power to get over the mountains and just a tick less stable than the dually but actually stops better.

Honestly the latest 1500’s will do as much work as the 3500’s of years ago would.

 

Yeah but its torque curve was broader then a fat girls hips. They ran 165cc intake ports back then, now they are running 260cc ports. A lot more HP for a lot less torque so they can advertise as being the bestest everer. Same goes for that 454. Peanut port heads made great power, until like 3000rpm. Above that they just couldn't get it done.

 

Agree.
My 17 Silverado (extracab, 5.3, 4x4, 6spd) has a payload of something like 1700lbs. Fuqing awesome.
I remember when 1/2 ton trucks were called 1/2 tons for a reason.
And we ignored that shit then too.
Add on a couple helper springs or 3/4 ton rear end and fill that box over full of green oak firewood. Damn trucks had more sag than a P Diddy concert...lol

 

Your.

You do know that more than one assembly plant builds these trucks, write? (sic)

I'm truly happy you're happy with your truck, but to say that the GMC is better than the Chevy, when they are built on the same assembly line one after another just shows how ignorant you are.

So yes, if you are being willfully ignorant, you deserve to be called names.

P.S. Google has nothing to do with any of my answers. I'm a genius! I guess my real world work experience and Prominent University Degree (TM) are worthless.

 

We have a old 80 model Chevrolet work truck we use to haul scrap off, old tires and the like. I’ve had as much as 2700lbs on it. It is bottomed the whole way to the scrap yard and never complains much.

 

My Chevy Silverado bares the same decal on the inside of the door as the GMC Sierra does. Flint, MI! To your point, same assembly line.

 

How real men got shit done!

 

So a fuel filter every 13k mi

No idea where that water/fuel separator even is on my GMC

Def fluid every 7k mi depending on use

DPF filters clean themselves until the system takes a shit.

Oil capacity is twice as much and drain intervals are twice as long compared to a gasser.

Pretty sure this sums it up

 

Yep! My diesel isn't appreciably more from a maintenance perspective than my gasser was.

Here's my only issue from a $$$ perspective, and it's more of a California thing: our state raised diesel prices and registration a few months after I bought my truck in 2017. I'm routinely paying a higher price per gallon than premium, and I just paid $802 in registration (plus $45 for a smog check) on a 2-year old vehicle. Sucks. When I bought the truck, the average diesel rate was ~$0.20 less than 87; it's taken a massive swing in the other direction.

 

Oil changes are cheaper on my cummins than when I had a 1500 Hemi.

Hemi OCI 3-6K @ 7 quarts... Castrol edge synthetic with mobile 1 filter &37

Cummins OCI 15k @ 12 quarts...Rotella T-6 with fleetguard stratpore filter $75

 

Why changing so often on the Hemi? Chrysler recommends 8000mi. And what about the fuel filter change for the diesel?

 

Saw a Predator 3500 inverter in action today...it was very respectable in the noise department. I would not be afraid to buy one but, as LossPrev said, there's a better warranty than the HF. It really did seem to be a good generator.

 

2003 Hemi recommended 3,000 OCI for towing, which is what I upgraded from and all I do with my truck. I ran synthetic and would do it at 5- 6k mile intervals. Plus the Hemi would burn a quart or two of oil in-between oil changes. I also quoted the wrong price for the oil change. It's $37 for my Honda. The Hemi used more oil so I had to buy two 5 quart containers and use the left over for what it would burn. Total cost was closer to $60.

For both fuel filters (Fleetguard) $100 or so. They are recommended at the same time as the oil, about every 15k.

 

Didn't read all the comments so I probably missed it, but which toy hauler?? Not all toy haulers are the same obviously. Bottom line is many haulers can't or should not be towed with a 1500, but there are some that can. All depends on size and weight, so what are you looking for? In Europe, people are towing small RV trailers with 4-cyl or V6 station wagons, so a 1500 would be more than adequate. If you stick with something less than 20' long and total weight of under 6000lb, a 1500 can do it. Going up the mountains might be a bit of a struggle. I'm towing a regular dual-axle 8.5x16' trailer with my Ram 1500 (18' if you include the V), but it has extra height, so it's like 8" or a bit more, plus a big AC unit on the top. Total weight I estimate in the low 5000-lb range. I've taken it to quite a few tracks around the east coast. It only struggles a bit going to Summit Point and VIR in a few sections where it's a fairly steep uphill climb. I don't force it too much though, so I just slow down to about 50-55 mph in those sections and then carry on. Be prepared for shitty gas mileage though if you go that route. I get around 8-8.5 mpg lol

 

I went with the wolf pup 18rjb. I know it’s in the low end of the toy haulers. But, I think it’s a good starter one. The GVWR for the toy hauler is 5000lbs. That’s 4500lbs under what my truck can handle. Payload as well, unless I go crazy. I got it ready for this weekend. I’m going to go to a weigh scale to see what it’s at with most of my stuff all loaded.

 

I hope you can get a refund on that degree you hold.

 

You missed a lot especially the part that’s been left out, 70+ mph on cruise with 10k lbs + behind you like it was nothing. Truck isn’t struggling, wobbling all over the damn road, AC is blowing cold, big leather seats feel good especially when the ventilation is blowing on them. Wife’s on her iPad interneting in her happy place, stereo sounds good and all you gotta do is point it down the road ahead.

Yea, modern diesel truck life buddy is way better than 1/2 ton truck life or yesterday trucks that were good but not this good.

But hell ya’ll know everything here already so continue on I’m entertained in the un-truths and drama.