Trying to figure out the towing capacity of my 2018 Chevy 2500HD

[Canyonlight]

Jim - the thing Rob is not sharing with us the picture of that other jack lifting weight off the pin or how many neighbors are standing on the rear bumper so he can be just under 2K pin weight !

Dan

[BabyBober]

Jim - the thing Rob is not sharing with us the picture of that other jack lifting weight off the pin or how many neighbors are standing on the rear bumper so he can be just under 2K pin weight !

Dan

Amen brother, Amen! Hay Rob, so you have an early 303 that still has the bumper. How many neighbors can stand on it at once?

[Second Chance]

Dssmith1839 - You have found all the relevant numbers and are asking the right questions. The limiting number is the "payload" . . . the "occupants and cargo should never exceed" number. Most 337 haulers on this forum who weigh their trailers ready for camping find a pin weight in excess of 3000 lbs. Even before you add the hitch weight and any other cargo or persons in the truck, you are (unfortunately) well over the 2145 lb number on the door label.

The main reason for this (BTW) is the weight of the diesel powertrain which reduces the available payload capacity significantly below the number shown in the sales brochure for a base truck with the gasoline powertrain.

Rob

I won't toot (other) Rob's horn too much, but there is not a more knowledgeable person on the forum when it comes to automotive engineering (he can share with you why I say that if he wants to). Anyway, he is right. Our 337 has consistently scaled between 3,000 and 3,200 lbs. on the pin... which is the reason we traded our Sierra 2500HD D/A for a 1-ton DRW when we got the chance. We're not the only 337 owners on the forum to have done so, either. You could get by with a SRW 1-ton if it were optioned properly - i just like the safety margin of a spare wheel on either side in the back.

We seriously considered the 303 when we were shopping. The deciding factor for us - as full-timers - was the large closet across the front with the big dresser opposite the bed. Otherwise, there were features in the 303 that we like better than the 337 (such as the night stands for my wife's CPAP). Might be less expensive than eating the depreciation on your current truck.

Rob

[Cate&Rob]

Jim & Dan . . . it's easier than that, I just use the "pin weight adjustment switch" and I can dial in any pin weight I want . . . oh wait, thats the landing gear switch .

Seriously, though . . . we do travel with an empty truck and pack the trailer very carefully. When I got the Sherline scale, I completely unloaded the trailer to see how close the scale weight came to the 1742 lb "as shipped pin weight" supplied by GDRV. The scale was actually 50 lbs under that which I attributed to scale accuracy, but now that I have learned that the factory doesn't always get all the water out of the holding tanks before weighing, maybe that was why. So I then loaded everything back into the trailer, passing each bin or box over a bathroom scale on the way in. 900 lbs of stuff (everything except fridge contents) brought the pin up to just shy of 2000 lbs. 30% of the loaded weight carried by the pin seems about right. Remember that the 303 does not have nearly the bedroom storage space of other models.

Dave - Thanks for your kind comments. This forum is a great place to share ideas. I have easily learned more than I have helped with.

Rob

[theclarks]

Thanks for the replies. I was afraid that was the case! Thanks for the confirmation. Payload of 2145 is a bummer....time for a new truck???

Been there done that. . . . . just traded my 2016 Chevy 2500LT CC SB gas (payload 2604) for a 2018 Chevy 3500LTZ CC SB Duramax (payload 3523). Hindsight is 20/20. . . . . our 303RLS has a loaded pin weight of 2200#. . . .

[Dssmith1839]

Been there done that. . . . . just traded my 2016 Chevy 2500LT CC SB gas (payload 2604) for a 2018 Chevy 3500LTZ CC SB Duramax (payload 3523). Hindsight is 20/20. . . . . our 303RLS has a loaded pin weight of 2200#. . . .

Thanks, that just confirms our decision to shift our sights on a 303RLS instead. Our truck is too new to trade up at this point. Appreciate everyones input.

[theclarks]

Hi Paul - Just shy of 2000 lbs. Although I have heard of others up around 2200 lbs. We purposely pack a light as possible toward the front of the trailer. See attached picture of pin weight ready to go camping.

Rob

Hi Rob, did you ever get a 5th version of the Sherline scale? Been kicking around the idea of getting one, just wasn't sure which version to get, the TT or 5th wheel. . . .

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Rob, did you ever get a 5th version of the Sherline scale? Been kicking around the idea of getting one, just wasn't sure which version to get, the TT or 5th wheel. . . .

Hi Joe - This is their “5th wheel” version. It has a 5000 lb gauge range rather than the lower range gauge scales used for TT tongue weight. They recommend taking readings at about half scale for best accuracy. The only difference between their different scales is the gauge range . . . the rest is the same.

Rob

[theclarks]

The LM-5000 for TT's is $142 while the LM5-5000 for 5th wheels is $265. . . . think I'll go the 5k TT version and have a buddy weld up a steel plate for under it and set it on the 5th wheel plate. . . . .

[Cate&Rob]

The LM-5000 for TT's is $142 while the LM5-5000 for 5th wheels is $265. . . . think I'll go the 5k TT version and have a buddy weld up a steel plate for under it and set it on the 5th wheel plate. . . . .

The LM5 “specifically for 5th wheel pin” is something new that I have not seen before. I don’t really see the benefit of their added plate except to sandwich the scale between your hitch and the pin. As you can see in the picture, I set the original scale on a block of wood on my pin tripod. Seems much simpler than using the truck and the hitch to support the scale. The scale itself looks to be the same.

Rob