Here’s Why Rental Chevy Silverado Pickups Exist
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Rental vehicles usually lead a pretty hard life, but some are more abused than others, as evidenced by this viral photo showing a Chevy Silverado rental truck towing an absolutely massive boat.
Recently hitting the web via the Bad Idea Boating on Instagram (@badideaboating, original photo credit Deborah Kurczyk), not many details are provided, but frankly, the photo pretty much speaks for itself.
As we can see, this poor little Chevy Silverado 1500 rental truck is hitched up to what could very well be the second Titanic, which is sitting on top of a large three-axle, six-wheel trailer. The Chevy Silverado appears to be headed down the highway, while the pickup’s rear suspension is pressed down into the pavement under the enormous weight of the boat and trailer.
Now, the Chevy Silverado is typically a great choice for those folks looking to tow something, but this is seemingly beyond the limits of what GM recommends. It’s likely this U-Haul rental (Regular Cab / Long Bed, WT trim level) is equipped with the optional naturally aspirated 5.3L V8 L84 gasoline engine, which is rated at 355 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 383 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm, connecting to either the GM 8-speed automatic transmission or the GM 10-speed automatic, depending on the truck’s model year.
Put it all together, and this Chevy Silverado should be rated at a max trailer weight of 9,900 pounds with rear-wheel drive (or 9,600 pounds with four-wheel drive), which is pretty substantial. But what about the boat and trailer?
It’s hard to tell, but the boat looks to be of rather substantial girth, and could be a Cabin Cruiser weighing 10,000 pounds or more (emphasis on more). Add in the weight of the trailer, and well, this pickup is definitely working overtime.
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It should go without saying that this sort of thing is probably pretty unsafe.
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It looks like a Chevrolet video trying to promote the 4 cylinder!
actually the 2.7 L HO Turbo puts out 430 lb/ft of torque as opposed to 383 lb/ft of the 5.3 L and hits that peak at nearly half the RPM of the V8. It is torque that is most important when it comes to pulling a heavy load, and at what RPM hit hits that peak.
Just goes to prove YOU CANNOT FIX STUPID!
Amen to that Bob.
Sure, it’ll get it moving up to highway speeds, but I’d love to see what happens during a panic stop!
I’ve never rented one, but what are the odds that a rental-spec truck even comes equipped with the built-in brake controller? U-haul’s website lists a tow rating of 6000 lbs. and “Gentle-Ride suspension”…doesn’t sound equipped to tow more than a U-haul rental trailer…lol.
Boat trailers have hydraulic surge brakes, a brake controller isn’t required. Its straight line stopping will be just as good as a 3500 Silverado, having to take evasive action would be my concern, especially with the rear suspension likely bottomed out as you alluded to.
I have 3500 diesel. Pulling my 14k boat with no issues. But I will never use anything smaller to pull with.
Oh you can get the whole thing moving…. want to STOP? want to control it in a turn? All bets are off.
I don’t think U-Haul rentals had a trailer hitch?
They absolutely do. They’ll gladly rent you truck and trailer.
I pulled a 27′ center council fron Miami to Sarasota with a U-Haul 1500. I bought a 2-3/16″ ball and a plug with 15 minutes of work we were in business. I remember going accross Allagator Alley into a headwind every 3 minutes it would downshift till you got up to 65 and shift back up. Going North up 75 it sat on 70 mph. Pulling with something like that you have to be very alart and plan ahead. Of course I was younger and dumber.
Him pulling that shows he or she wasn’t alert!
I saw someone towing an RV with a Delta 88. If U-haul offered a sedan I suspect someone would try it.
Looks like the sh*t my son did with his first car a 1998 Toyota 4runner(when they where built in Japan). He is a mechanic now. It took a long time but finally a gear in the tran/or diff cracked which he fixed. I am sold on Toyota after seeing what he did and my other son’s Tundra has 250K miles no issues.
Still buying American all day. I can’t support Chyna
Do me a favor and find out what the parts count in your American made pickup or car is. After that let me know where the steel or Aluminum rolls come from to stamp most of the other parts?
I’m pretty sure Toyotas aren’t made in China. Toyotas are made in Japan and the USA (Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, and Texas).
Toyota has several joint ventures in China for the production of the Avalon, Land Cruiser, and RAV4, to name a few. It’s also already been well noted that American made vehicles include components from other countries. However these manufacturers use some of that Capital to invest back into the American economy. So given the dynamic of what’s happening on the world stage I would suspect that Toyota or some of the other foreign manufacturers would be doing the same. So I will continue to invest as much as I can in American manufacturing. Don’t forget about the million mile Silverado which GM tried to buy back from the customer. With minor maintenance and oil changes the truck had 1 million miles on it. Not to mention some of these foreign-made vehicles have taxes on the parts they import. So an alternator cost you double what an alternator for say a Chevrolet car would cost. Obviously those aren’t the only reasons. Quality is also one factor we could dive into. One study found that people who purchased vehicles like Toyotas thought they were actually getting a better car because they paid more for it, when it turns out the quality was only marginal. So I mean we could go on but I’ll take what’s left of American manufacturing any day.
I thought 4runners were still built in japan.
Toyota has several joint ventures in China for the production of the Avalon, Land Cruiser, and RAV4, to name a few.
Mike: Seriously? Slow day on your Toyota love fest site so you came here to push your Toyota’s?
Feel’s odd now but I am old and have three cars. A 2010 Explorer (V-8) most versatile vehicle I have ever owned and love it though old school with 15mpg. Wish they still sold something like this but I can tell it won’t last to 250K miles like my son’s Tundra. A sports car, 2016 Chevy SS which is like heaven but no parts support from GM and a 2012 Toyota Camry, daily driver I inherited from my late mom which will never stop running.
I have a 2005 Explorer with the v8. The 05 is a 3rd gen and the 10 is a 4th but they have the same body and are still trucks unlike the 2011 and up car body crossover junk which I don’t care for at all. Believe it or not you have the better transmission. Mine has 223,000 miles original drivetrain and runs like a clock. 02-10 V8 Explorers are truly amazing trucks.
Thats a small boat maybe 20 ft. Pretty simple to haul. The truck doesnt look bottomed out at all but the the trailer does. I have excellent eyesight. Probably moving the boat from the dealer to a dock or salesyard. Just have to drive at at a careful speed. Saw lots of this when our friends had a cottage on Lake Champlain.
Guess again, a standard cab, long box Chevy pick up is about 19 feet long. That boat looks like it’s almost twice as long as the truck.
They don’t put boats on 3-axle trailers if they don’t need the wight capacity of more than 2 axles.
That’s an 18,000# capacity trailer. Based on the fender-to-tires relationship, I’d speculate that it’s overloaded. The boat has a pair of inboard engines – based on the size of the boat, I’d speculate they’re diesels. Plenty of speculation on my part, but I’d guess the truck is dragging at least 20,000# – if the fuel tank is empty. Maybe a lot more. Not a huge deal if you’re taking it to the neighborhood ramp. Downright stupid on an interstate highway. Not only are you trashing the truck’s drive train, you’re risking a potential catastrophic accident when you consider how a trailer like that could push around a basic half-ton truck. That trailer is more than what one-ton trucks were rated for 20 years ago.
A trailer that large doesn’t have surge brakes. They are electric over hydraulic disc brakes. That boat isn’t 20 ft, 20 ft boats don’t need a triple axle trailer. I would guess more like 35 to 40 ft. No matter what size your motor is that truck doesn’t have the brakes or suspension for the job. Plus he is putting it illegally because of the width. Should have a wide load sign.
Enterprise will not let you trailer anything with a half ton. Through their commercial side you can rent 3/4 tons and dually trucks.
On top of everything else that gas powered 1/2 ton couldn’t go 100 mi on a tank.
I agree. Also the side view mirrors are inadequate and most likely in violation.
This article doesn’t say why Chevy Silverado rentals exist ??
“It’s likely this U-Haul rental (Regular Cab / Long Bed, WT trim level) is equipped with the optional naturally aspirated 5.3L V8 L84 gasoline engine”
If you say so… All the ones that I’ve seen, plus the Lowes and Menard’s trucks were 4.3s. the new ones are 2.7’s
Needs the obligatory “For $19.95 you can rent this motherf…..!!!!” comment.
My 27′ big block powered Sundancer, on a steel 3 axle trailer(not the lightweight aluminum one in the picture) runs a bit over 7k lbs with a full tank of fuel. It would definitely feel it, but I doubt the truck was pulling more than it’s towing capacity. Chevy’s ride soft anyways, so a set of bags would be needed if you put ANYTHING in the back. At 9’6″ wide, my trailer was almost at max width without the need for an oversized permit. I get that the picture looks funny, and is a good set up for laughs, but not exactly unsafe, especially with the right driver.