2013 6.2 silverado 1500 crew cab towing

[Sparky450]

2 hours ago, wedge88 said:

I had a 2006 F250 with the notorious 6.0L.  I put over $8k into that truck to bulletproof it and then had the turbo go.  That was the last straw.  Looking back, someone got a great truck that will probably run forever but I couldn't deal with it.  At the time it was my daily driver.  I would love another diesel, if money weren't a concern, but in all honesty, my 6.2L gas has done everything I have asked and I have only done general maintenance on it.  Sure it revs high and tends to be thirsty but it's so easy to drive with a 11k  camper behind it and my 1/2 ton wasn't.  The ecoboost engine had no issues but the lighter truck was pulled around.

I had an 04 Ford that I put 75k on  Ford put 2 turbos in it. I traded it in for an 06 at 7500 miles. It got traded in at 58K because the computer puked and the turbo was acting up. At my wifes recommendation. I bought an 08 Dodge before the 06 was out of the shop. That truck went 253k. Warranty did a transmission at 92k. At about 150K I had to do the AC, and the DPF at 187k. I deleted that truck til about 220k when I had to smog it. I pressure washed the DPF, reinstalled it and drove it til 253k. I will never own another new Ford. I do have an 02 Ford 7.3 in the fleet with 200k on it. I bought it cheap with 130k on it and all I have done to that truck is the front end. But again it is a 7.3 the only Ford engine I will own. The newer diesels are much better. I have Ford, Chevy, and Dodge trucks. The Dodge are far more resilient to the younger guys driving.

[carguy79ta]

Yep love my ram diesel. 200hp tune. I get 9.8 towing 11k thru hills and windy roads. Hand calcd. The lie o meter says 12.5.(??)..mine is a 13 tho.

[mackie12]

I have both, a 6.2 Yukon and the Dmax. Our boat is a response, so lighter then most of you guys. the Dmax I get 19-21 Mpg and the Yukon I get 11-13 Mpg. If I didn't have anything heavier then our boat I would buy a new Silverado 6.2 and dump the diesel.....I love the 6.2!

[hawaiianstyln]

This is good to know because im not sure whetherto get the 6.2 or duramax

[carguy79ta]

Dont know if OP @onewake09 I still following this thread or not, but if he is, the 2014 motors with direct injection are more fuel efficient and have more power than the port injection motors.

[RyanB]

By far, the cheapest and most effective way to increase your MPG is to slow down.  Doesn't matter if I am driving my Yukon XL Denali or my RAM CTD, anything over 65 MPG reduces my MPG dramatically.  Above 75 MPH, it drops like a rock.

[Sparky450]

1 hour ago, RyanB said:

By far, the cheapest and most effective way to increase your MPG is to slow down.  Doesn't matter if I am driving my Yukon XL Denali or my RAM CTD, anything over 65 MPG reduces my MPG dramatically.  Above 75 MPH, it drops like a rock.

And my 18 CTD. (IN CALI) With the worst fuel. Just got 16 mpg. loaded with tools at 75+😂. Hand calced 

[Infinitysurf]

I have had a 2016 Silverado 5.3 with 3.42 gears and max tow since new. Pulling my 7500lb, 24ft boat on tandem axles with surge brakes...its just barely legal on the GWVR. Power is ok but I never went over 65mph when towing and had no issues. Brakes started giving me issues towards middle of last summer and backing down steep boat ramps where trailer surge brakes do not work started feeling hairy. I looked at the 6.2 Silverado's as well and power is also MUCH better than the 5.3....I hear the new 8 speed trans with the 5.3 do better on gas and towing but dont know since mine has the 6 speed.

I kept this truck for work....but in Sept 2018, I bought a 2019 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 (non-etorque) and the 3.92 gears (rated at 11,500). Power is noticably better and brakes are WAY better, partly cause pads are 15" diameter. My average on the Ram is roughly 16.5mpg combined.....my 5.3 was roughly 18.5 combined (I do about 50/50 city/hwy driving...on towing I never have really tracked the MPG). I did lose 1.5mpg the moment I installed BF Goodrich A/T tires on the Silverado, I kept same size as factory and did not lift the truck....just the tread pattern cost me that much. Surprised me the loss was that high but have put over 25k miles on truck since then so know its true. I only use the Ram to tow and for personal now and just use the Chevy for work.

Anyway, with 20-21ft boat I don't think you would have an issue with the 5.3 and as long as you get the max tow package, you will also be legal as long as you dont exceed payload.At 23ft boat plus, you are pushing the limits IMO like I was with a 24footer. Its certainly doable if you are willing to drive more carefully when towing, but if you want to run 70-80mph, IMO you are pushing it beyond what it can safely do based on my experience....the 6.2 is a different ballgame and you are definately fine with those trucks, almost all of them have the right gear ratio and towing to be at 11-12k, especially if you go with Denali package. The 5.3 has been a good engine and truck with basically no repairs required for the 1st 100k miles except for this weird brake issue that I have been experiencing. Rotors and pads are "good", have bled the brakes, etc....and brake pedal is still stiff and does not react correctly, am pretty sure that its a TSB that was put out on the 16/17 5.3 engines.

[RyanB]

@Infinitysurf, I am not sure where you are from, but most places, at least in the US, give no legal weight to any of the manufacture ratings.  They don't know or care what a vehicles GVWR or CCC is.  Those numbers are strictly from the vehicle manufacture.  There is some science behind the tow ratings (as they now follow an SAE standard), but everything else is basically a compromise between the marketing department that wants to make claims like "best in class" vs the actuarial that want to keep a handle on warranty claims.

[oldjeep]

15 minutes ago, RyanB said:

@Infinitysurf, I am not sure where you are from, but most places, at least in the US, give no legal weight to any of the manufacture ratings.  They don't know or care what a vehicles GVWR or CCC is.  Those numbers are strictly from the vehicle manufacture.

Well, sorta.  That is true for 3/4 ton and below. You license anything bigger than that at a weight category based on the GVWR, same way you do with a trailer (in MN anyways).  Also driving anything over a certain GVWR can require a special class of drivers license.

[carguy79ta]

As far as I know, the state that issues license plates are the only ones who care, that's why I have 24000 plates Beyond Local. I know people who drive 3500 trucks with a 6000lb plate. Dumb.

[RyanB]

30 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Well, sorta.  That is true for 3/4 ton and below. You license anything bigger than that at a weight category based on the GVWR, same way you do with a trailer (in MN anyways).  Also driving anything over a certain GVWR can require a special class of drivers license.

 

17 minutes ago, carguy79ta said:

As far as I know, the state that issues license plates are the only ones who care, that's why I have 24000 plates Beyond Local. I know people who drive 3500 trucks with a 6000lb plate. Dumb.

Both examples of local laws (I don't have to do either of those with my 3500 DRW in Colorado).  And both are examples that show the manufactures rating really doesn't mean anything.

And the driving over a GVWR is commercial.  I can hook up to a 30,000 pound RV and tow it without a special license.  Dad had a 40' diesel pusher coach that was likely somewhere in that weight range, and didn't need a special license either.

[Sparky450]

In California. RV 10k  bumper pull or 15k fifth wheel and coach over (I believe) 40’ requires a non-commercial Class A. 

[hawaiianstyln]

5 hours ago, Infinitysurf said:

Anyway, with 20-21ft boat I don't think you would have an issue with the 5.3 and as long as you get the max tow package, you will also be legal as long as you dont exceed payload.At 23ft boat plus, you are pushing the limits IMO like I was with a 24footer. Its certainly doable if you are willing to drive more carefully when towing, but if you want to run 70-80mph, IMO you are pushing it beyond what it can safely do based on my experience....the 6.2 is a different ballgame and you are definately fine with those trucks, almost all of them have the right gear ratio and towing to be at 11-12k, especially if you go with Denali package. The 5.3 has been a good engine and truck with basically no repairs required for the 1st 100k miles except for this weird brake issue that I have been experiencing. Rotors and pads are "good", have bled the brakes, etc....and brake pedal is still stiff and does not react correctly, am pretty sure that its a TSB that was put out on the 16/17 5.3 engines.

I tow a 21 VLX with the 5.3 and do just fine, always have.  Even if I want to tow at 75 mph on the highway (which I travel once a year from MI to OK - 900 miles one way) and never had any trouble but yes the mpg are like 8-9.  I do know it drastically changes if I slow down.  When I would tow at 65 mph I would get around 11-12mpg.  However, I didn't give a crap about the gas $$, I just wanted to hurry up and get to my destination. 

[Infinitysurf]

You are right, that part was a typo, when I said "its just barely legal on GVWR".... I meant to say, GCWR (gross combined)...so the truck and boat/trailer combined (which on my Chevy with the 5.3 engine and 3.42 gears is 15,000lbs combined and 8900 trailer weight rating), so pulling a boat/trailer that weighs 7500lbs plus the truck, the passengers and gear in the truck to get away for a weekend, I was probably right at or just over the "legal" combined limit. But, I did it for 2yrs without any issues and nothing "felt unsafe" till the truck brakes started giving me issues (hard pedal pressure required and regardless of pressure sometimes she still didn't want to stop) and backing down boat ramps could get scary at times. My desire to surf overcame that fear for many months tho.

I have weighted tags for both of my trucks....I don't know if cops look for that or not. The only "legal" part I really care about and why I mentioned it....is insurance covering things if there is an accident since I have seen first hand that they sometimes check the ratings for that vehicle when there is an accident while pulling a trailer since in most vehicle policies, there is fine print that says that if you tow anything "beyond the limits of the vehicle", they are not required to pay for any damages and you are on your own whether its your fault or not. But if someone is injured badly, you are found at fault and technically you are "over the legal tow limits of your vehicle", someone could come after your personal assets. 

A VLX on the trailer is going to top out around 6000lbs full of fuel and gear I would think, definitely no issue there with a 5.3 and that engine could pull twice that without any issue for quite a while, its a very reliable engine.... of course your transmission will go out one day, even tho they have also proven to be pretty durable.

[RyanB]

Not trying to go way off topic, but I have yet to see or hear of an insurance company denying coverage based upon "towing overweight".  Simply internet folklore.

[Sixball]

2 hours ago, RyanB said:

Not trying to go way off topic, but I have yet to see or hear of an insurance company denying coverage based upon "towing overweight".  Simply internet folklore.

  I think you will need to be so grossly over before any one even looks.