2007 Chevy Siverado

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starof4

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Aug 30, 2007
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Hello, my wife and I are looking to buy our first TT and I want to make sure that I get the towing weight correct with the help of experts.
I have a 2007 Chevy silverado LT c1500 extended cab short bed with HD trailering equipment.I have also modified the intake and exhaust for better performance. The book says towing capacity is 7800, truck and trailer combined is 13000,GVWR is 6400 leaving 6600 minus 10%, so the max I should be pulling with loaded trailer is about 6000 lbs. Is this correct.
We are looking at trailers with dry axle weights between 4400-5300
Thanks for any help
Robert

my truck has the 5.3 V8 with 3.73 gear ratio
 
First of all, which engine is that 1500:  the 4.3, 4.8, 5.3, or the 6.0?  And what is the rear end ratio?

Secondly, do not base trailer purchase on dry weights.  What you want is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) which is the trailer base weight plus its maximum payload.  That is a hard number, one required by the DOT.  "Dry weights" are merely estimates.

Even then we like to allow a 10% safety factor in tow ratings to allow for varying conditions and truck loads.  Make that 20% if you tow in the mountain or Pacific west to allow for altitudes and long grades and are running a gas engine.
 
Like Carl mentioned don't even consider dry weights since they don't mean a thing and are usually in error anyway.  Salesman like to use dry weights to make their customers think everything is just peachy but then they are not exposing themselves to danger from towing over loaded.  Use the GVWR.
 
my 2007 Chevy silverado extended cab short bed has a 5.3 V8 with 3.73 gear ratio
 
7800 lbs is the towing capacity for the really short bed (5.8 ft) on your 1500 w/ 5.3L and 3.73 gears. With the 6.5 ft bed (a standard short bed) it is 7700 lbs and 7600 with a long bed. The GCWR is 13,000 on all of them, as you stated.  However, the 2007 Chevy specs show a GVWR of  6600 for the ultra short box extended cab and 7000 for the standard short (6.5 ft) bed and extended cab, so you will have to decrease your figures by 200-300 lbs unless you have data specific to your truck that shows a 6400 lb GVWR (the 2007 Chevy Silverado Specs says 6400 lbs is for a  regular cab version).

So with the caveat about GVWR and two different bed sizes, your calculation is essentially correct.  And you are assuming your truck will weigh its full GVWR, so I would not be real worried about the 10% deduction either. You have pretty well covered the 10% fudge factor by using the truck GVWR instead of its curb weight.

Now, as Carl says, forget the dry weight of the trailer. It's a fiction to begin with and not really relevant anyway. I know this is very conservative, but use the trailer's GVWR as its estimated weight. That way you will know you can handle it no matter how much you load into or on it.
 
Thanks for the help, this is a great place for info and advise especially for newbbies

thanks again
Robert
 
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