When it comes to the pickup truck segment, specs like towing capacity are often used as bragging rights among owners. As they say, more is better, but the question is this – is more even really necessary? Well, according to Chevy, not always, as the vast majority of light-duty pickup truck owners tow less than 10,000 pounds.
Chevy’s statement was made via press release with the announcement of the 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 and the reveal of the Bow Tie brand’s new Multi-Flex tailgate, a feature that mirrors the GMC Sierra’s MultiPro tailgate in offering a variety of positions and functions. The announcement also included details on the 2021 Silverado’s new engine options and tow ratings, with the latest turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B adding thousands of pounds of trailering capacity, including an extra 2,500 pounds to the max capacity for Regular Cab Long Box models, up to 9,600 pounds. The announcement also noted that the 3.0L I6 LM2 turbodiesel Duramax adds 1,900 pounds in nearly every configuration, up to 9,500 pounds for 2WD models.
“Chevrolet is confident these engines meet or exceed most trailering needs, as 96 percent of light-duty pickup owners tow less than 10,000 pounds, according to data from MaritzCX an InMoment Company,” the automaker states.
In an email to GM Authority, General Motors specified that “The claim is based on the last four quarters of available data from Martiz’ New Vehicle Customer Study. Maritz surveyed light-duty pickup owners three months after purchase and 96 percent responded they tow less than 10,000 pounds with their vehicle.”
Obviously, General Motors’ goal here is defend itself from the fact that some of its competitor’s diesel engines can tow more. For reference, we’ve listed the towing capacity for some of these competitors in below:
Which begs the question – are tow ratings under 10,000 pounds the right move for the Chevy Silverado 1500? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll, and don’t forget to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Silverado news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
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Many are used as alternatives to small cars that most people are not crazy about.
My father had a number of Chevelles. A mid sized car but it was his family car and truck. It hauled 6 people had a trunk that could haul a bike, Also the roof had enough steel to haul plywood with a blanket, rob and not do any damage. My Malibu will haul very little today and one sheet of plywood on the roof would cave it in.
Also if you want affordable RWD what else are you going to buy.
Much like many SUV models. Trucks have more in common with past sedans than any cars built today.
I would like to point out however, that todays modern "half ton" in terms of size and curb weight is a much larger and burly vehicle than older "HD's" my neighbor has a 01 Silverado 6.0 2500, and my 09 Silverado towers over his and as a 4x4 extended cab weighs just slightly more as well. the newer Silverados with their large girths and axlebases make the ol' ford Highboys look like a midsize truck. By default i would exspect the newer "half tons" to out tow and be more capable than the older "heavy Duties"
Unfortunately the tow ratings of pickups are grossly overstated. Ask anyone who tows a camper and they will tell you, a half ton truck is NOT capable of towing an rv above about 5000 pounds. They constantly downshift, struggle to maintain speed, obviously overworking the truck.
I work with a bunch of guys that drive 1/2 tons. Out of the seven guys, only one tows a small tent trailer with his.
By the time you subtract your hitch weight (usually 10-12 % of your trailer weight) most 1/2 tons are bu.ping or over there max payload and they don't have anything in the bed yet !!
C8.R
That's why I have a 2wd truck. (RCSB) Can't get rwd wagon of decent size anymore. We used to tow with Caprice wagons.
Exactly.
This is why so many are leaving cars behind. Few RWD options and useless trunks.
I had a 1963 Galaxie years ago and I could lay a ten speed pike in the trunks with room to spare. My Malibu with a decent size truck but you can’t fit much through the opening. We bought a large TV and I told my wife it was a good thing we had a suv or it was not coming home that night.
Truck sales took off in the 80’s when cars went fwd and no V8 engines. They went to extended cabs and now crews as they have replaced the family car.
Resale also on trucks is off the chart. As for sedans. Just not much money there.
The SUV also as they improved in luxury has supplanted even luxury cars.
These buyers are not pretenders as they are defectors from cars because they still want utility and things you can’t get in a car anymore.
C8R if i may add to your point on the leaving behind of the sedan. Another big reason is step in and ride height. 95% of the people that ride in my sedan make kind of a straining grunt sound getting in and out of it, and then say wow this is low.
C8.R,
Except truck buyers aren't buying RCSB 2wd pickups (I WISH that market still existed).
They're buying the biggest 4wd crew cab with the biggest engine and the highest ride height.
And then you see these guys on the road; nothing being towed behind it, nothing in the bed, and no passengers in it.
The fact is, people buy them as status symbols.
Studies have been done over the years about buyers' preferences and these studies show that buyers often but vehicles that project the image the buyers wish to project to the world. The vehicles are an extension of the owners' personalities.
Guys buying these bro-dozers want to look like tough guys, because they THINK they're tough guys. And they FEEL the need to LOOK like tough guys because they know they actually aren't tough.
There may be another factor in there that we won't go into other than to say that these guys are compensating.
Ok what do they do? Do they design their pickups for the 96 percent while the competition design their pickups to include the other 4 percent? With all other things being equal and for example you advertise a tow ratting of say 10,500 and your competition advertise a ratting of 12’,000 who will grab the potential customers attention? If they .build the trucks to out tow out haul out hustle and out muscle the competition then they could use the old Dodge advertising line. We overbuilt this truck because we knew you wouldn’t under use it.
I would agree with most here !
C8.R has this one 100%.
The 1500 or for the boomer 1/2 ton, is the sedan of today.
I would like to add to this, GM does NOT even offer the most wanted vehicle by the customer, and that is a midsized RWD !
To GM's defense, they seem to be just trying to push those customers into the full-sized SUV, and that is what is happening with the GM customer ! However I believe that if you are not a die hard GM customer, those midsized RWD customers have moved on !
I also believe that this is why people are paying more for the trucks of today. It is a one size fits all vehicle. With the crew cab, you can haul your family and get supplies. Go hunting, fishing, camping, etc.
But lets not fool ourselves, the 1500 truck in no way, would tow 10,000 lbs. day in and day out ! First off, even the best of pickup drivers would be frazzled at the end of a 8 hour day, and by day 3 would get a HD truck. The 1500 of today, by having the X tow rating, is just a sales number !
Take my 2015 Canyon, it has a 7000 lb. tow rating. That is as big of a joke as a 1500 with a 10,000 lb. tow rating. Sure you can tow 7000 lbs. but it is not recommended by me, and not very often !
So my answer to this GMs lack of offering in the RWD midsized, was the Canyon. It and the Colorado are GMs ONLT mid-sized RWD offering ! The Canyon is quick and easy to get into, I installed AMP steps for those elderly people who I take around, it has plenty of power for a grocery getter.
However I also drive a 2020 HD Duramax Denali, for most towing !! and its a bit much for our 19.5' Lund, yet when Im towing my S300 Bobcat, or my JLG boom lift, that both way around 10,000 lbs. with gear and trailer etc. there is just NO WAY I would do it with a 1500, even if GM rates it as such !
One more point, My 2020 HD Duramax, will get 22 mpg at 75 mph, towing the boat, and my Canyon will get 10 mpg and has a hard time doing 75 mph if you have any wind. Just constantly shifting, like my 1982 6.2 with the 700R4 overdrive ! Remember, that boat is no where close to 7000 lbs.
One more point, this is why the interior was/is more important in the new trucks. The truck is mostly the family car, NOT A WORK TRUCK ! Still just pisses me off, GM says over 7000 people said this 2020 Denali interior was " Good Enough " for an $80,000.00 truck !!
I call bull$hit again on that one !
Most trucks will exceed payload long before the 10,000 mark. Pretty much the only way you can tow 10,000 on a hay trailer with front wheels taking the tongue weight. See it all the time at campgrounds. 8500 lb trailer, family and dogs in cab, and bikes and coolers piled in the bed. The ass on the truck is squatted down. I wouldn't want to white knuckle that rig for long. I've towed my 5000 trailer with my RWD extended cab 1500 Silverado through the Appalachian mountains. It pulled fine, but I wouldn't want to do more than that.
I tow 10,000 lb fifth wheel, though i would not use any manufacturers 1/2 ton truck. I had an 06 2500HD diesel and just replace it with a 2020 2500HD gasser. more than powerful enough and I like the bigger brakes, rear and suspension to handle the load.