ZR2 HD BISON TOWING?
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Barely, all the specs are listed on GMs website. There's a lot of information on towing and loadng in the manual.
Fifth wheel, triple axle? Can and should aren't the same.
Me personally, If I know I'm gonna tow more than 15k on a regular basis, then I'd have a 3500 SRW or likely a dually. I've never towed with anything better than my Dad's Ram dually, simply unmatched with heavy loads.
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I tow close to that amount almost daily with no issues. I did not like the squat of the ZR2 HD compared to my old LTZ 2500 Z71 so i installed Air Bags and love them. I tow this setup below 70-80+ mph very often and sometimes 3-4 hrs drives and it feels safe and stable pulling with no stopping issues. The tractor on the trailer is 120hp and weighs about 10k with the loader and 10ft brush cutter. The trailer weighs about 7k
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securityguy
Well-known member
Very nice!
I would want load range E tires with 10 ply rated for 80 psi for that weight. I also wouldn't want to run 37s, as it just adds more height and lateral stresses on tire sidewall and affects braking. That alone affects the max weight you can safely tow. Your vehicle ratings change with modifications to the truck, they are not static.
I don't really think it matters if you tow 1 time or 100 times. You're right on the ragged edge and when things go bad rolling down the road 70 mph at 27k gross, it's too late to matter. I've seen plenty of campers piled up around here.
I would get a different truck that'll safely tow that big 5er or get a 5er that clocks in closer to 15-16k if you want a modified truck.
This guy did something wrong and it wasnt likely the fact he was driving a Ford. Tow rig was buried in the ditch, so it wasn't visible in photo, but I seen it as i passed. Both units were facing 180 degrees. Truck looked as bad as the camper. I'm guessing both were totaled.
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That trailer isn't loaded correctly. You have too much weight forward of the trailer axles. That's why it's squatting and your pin weight is biased.
It’s not squatting in the picture I have 2 tractors and when I load both tractors it squats also in the picture it is absolutely loaded correctly I have a ten foot cutter on the back so I load it to have minimal pin weight and the cutter to be fully on the trailer. I have been loading trailers on a farm and towing for about 30 plus years. You can’t tell from a picture especially with airbags pin weight. Also to be clear when i spoke of squatting it was comparing it to my old 2011 2500 HD which did not squat as much with the same exact load and loaded the same exact way apples to apples comparison but to be fare the ZR2 HD rides great compared to the 2011 and that is why i added the air bags.
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Yeah, I have to add more air to my bags to compensate for the weight of the trailers than my previous rigs. I haven't towed more than about 12k, and even with that weight mine squats plenty without air in the bags. Lighter springs is how they get a softer ride. I can't imagine towing more than 12k without bags. There's no way this thing would safely tow 18+k without bags. Not sure how they determine these ratings, but I don't think they are as accurate as standard models.
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NICE!!
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What brand/size tires are you running?
Factory
Lol, nope. I mean will it pull it?, sure. But you will be overweight. A 18k 5th wheel is going to have a pin weight of 3k+. Just a FYI my Gas, non bison has a max pin weight of 2,711 with a max payload of 3,333. And you said the trailer is not a triple axle. That's actually worse for pin weight. These trucks are rated for more like a 12k 5th wheel. What is the pin weight on the 18k trailer? I've had lots of trucks and it's next to impossible to actually hit max tow number with out first going over payload ,RGAWR or pin/tongue ratings. Putting airbags on does not increase your trucks ratings.
Anytime you get a new trailer and a new load, especially if you think you're getting close to max weight, then you should take it through the scales before getting on the road for lengthy trip. I suspect a lot of people would be surprised they break the max load on the rear axle of the truck because they forgot about pin weight, fuel, people, gear, and cargo.
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Yep, 100%. I'm almost at max tongue weight with my little 11,400 GVWR toyhauler when it doesn't have a toy loaded. No where near max payload or RGAWR. That's the deal though it's which ever runs out first. My conventional tow rating is 16k. I would love to see anyone hit that 16k number without being overweight. Personally I want atleast 12% tongue weight. So that alone actually caps conventional towing at 13k for my truck. I even was considering a different trailer but changed my mind because it's GVWR was 13.5k
It's the same with that 18.5k gooseneck rating. To hit that max tow you would have to have a pin weight of no more then 15%. Which is very unlikely. Generally your supposed to assume 20%+. Towing at the bare min tongue or pin weight is actually pretty schetchy at highway speeds.
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