GM Half-ton Max Tow Package - Worth the upgrade?

[CWSWine]

The industry has always used 10 percent. I don’t look at TW ratings. If it fits payload and rear axle it is good to go

The manufacturers base all of the tow ratings on a boat or low deck

It states "MAX Tongue Weight" I understand the J2807 uses 10% but the word "MAX" and doesn't say only when towing a boat or lop deck and RV is more tongue weight. This is the first I have seen "MAX Tongue Weight" even being listed on a door post.

On Edit -- I just check the owners manual and says not to exceed the Trailer or tongue ratings listed on the door jam. If this what GM recommends what I have learned about just staying under GVWR and GAWR is not correctly anymore.

Edit Again. I just did more reading and where it use to Tongue weight should not cause your truck to exceed the GVWR/GAWR is gone and just refers you to the door jam and max tongue ratings. The way I read it the Max Tongue weight is a manufacture ratings like GVWR and GAWR. This is a huge change....

[NB Canada]

It states "MAX Tongue Weight" I understand the J2807 uses 10% but the word "MAX" and doesn't say only when towing a boat or lop deck and RV is more tongue weight. This is the first I have seen "MAX Tongue Weight" even being listed on a door post.

Looks like the same stuff that was always in the owners manual
My 2018 doesn’t have it on the door

Like I said I don’t pay any attention to it

If it had a different engine or axle ratio ,2wd or 4wd and the towing capacity changed because of that it would automatically change the TW as well when none of the structure changed

[Harvestmoon]

Does that package come with anything else? Towing mirrors? Additional cooling? Beefier alternator? Bigger battery? I know these things used to be part of the half ton tow packages over the years.

I imagine GM isn't building the 3.0L DMax with heavy trailering capabilities for the same reason Ford limits HDPP to more basic trim levels. They're trying to force us all to buy behemoths.

On the engine braking, are you shifting it manually? I camp in the mountains with my GM 5.3L and 2600RB. I can come down I-17 near Black Canyon City in AZ, or down from the Payson AZ area without touching the brakes. These are 6% grades running about 60 MPH.

From the GM web site, the max trailering package includes: 9.76" rear axle, 3.42 axle ratio, enhanced cooling radiator, revised shock tuning, heavier-duty rear springs, increased RGAWR, and 220-amp alternator.

For engine braking, I am shifting manually, although maybe I am not letting the RPM go high enough. What RPM are you running down the 6% percent grade? Keeping in mind also, my 2017 is a 6-speed trans.

[CWSWine]

Remember when use to say was the tongue weight couldn't cause the truck to exceed it GVWR/GAWR but now it listing the Max Tongue Rating along with all the other ratings that can't be exceeded and doesn't mention tongue weight exceeding GVWR/GAWR only. This older GM trucks still will have don't exceed the GVWR/GAWR but this change in newer trucks. At least on the newer GM trucks looks like Max Tongue is a manufacture rating right along all the other rates like GVWR and ETC.

From the 2022 GMC 1500 manual.
Trailer Towing


When towing a trailer, the combined weight of the vehicle, vehicle contents, trailer, and trailer contents must be below all of the maximum weight ratings for the vehicle, including:
. Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)
. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
. Maximum Trailer Weight Rating
.Maximum Trailer Tongue Weight Rating .
Gross Axle Weight Rating-Rear (GAWR-RR)

Is there anything else in this list you just "Like I said I don’t pay any attention to it" or just Max Trailer Tongue Weight Rating

[Harvestmoon]

Can someone make sense of this? GM has put sticker on the door jam of the new trucks that state payload but also states max Trailer Weight and Max Tongue Weight. On the sticker below it has 1911 payload which normally I would say it would enough for 1200 pound tongue weight just watch how much stuff you carry in your truck. But the sticker clearly states Max Tongue Weight of 950 pounds. Anyone know why it's the low. It also states that 9500 pound trailer and 950 tongue weight is just 10% of 9500 pounds. To say within the 950 pound trailer tongue weight and have a 12.5% tongue weight you limited to RV around 7600 pounds max. ?????????

What the sticker say on the OP truck state?

OP has a peeve with GM that they did not put this information on a door sticker in 2017. I just have the "yellow" total everything loaded in the truck may not exceed 1602 lbs. Everything else I have to dig out of the owner's manual. I think the newer trucks are lighter and hence get more payload than my older truck, but I think they get that by using a lighter axle, which I think is what limits tongue weight. My owner's manual says I can carry 1,250 lbs. TW on a WDH, which I would never do because it would take up nearly the entire payload not to mention sitting the truck on its a**. I agree for a typical TT you would be limited to around 7600lbs with 950lbs of TW. More than that and you are probably going over the 3800 RGAWR and again riding very low. I have not seen the door sticker on a max tow equipped truck, so I don't know what that gives you for TW rating. I expect it would be a little higher with the heavier rear axle and 4150 RGAWR, otherwise what would be the point of upping the trailer tow rating.

[CWSWine]

OP has a peeve with GM that they did not put this information on a door sticker in 2017. I just have the "yellow" total everything loaded in the truck may not exceed 1602 lbs. Everything else I have to dig out of the owner's manual. I think the newer trucks are lighter and hence get more payload than my older truck, but I think they get that by using a lighter axle, which I think is what limits tongue weight. My owner's manual says I can carry 1,250 lbs. TW on a WDH, which I would never do because it would take up nearly the entire payload not to mention sitting the truck on its a**. I agree for a typical TT you would be limited to around 7600lbs with 950lbs of TW. More than that and you are probably going over the 3800 RGAWR and again riding very low. I have not seen the door sticker on a max tow equipped truck, so I don't know what that gives you for TW rating. I expect it would be a little higher with the heavier rear axle and 4150 RGAWR, otherwise what would be the point of upping the trailer tow rating.

That is what I have learned over the years is to load the truck with people and stuff bring to the scales and weight the truck. Take weight of the truck and subtract from the GVWR and you have max tongue weight. This Max Tongue weight RATING listed along with all the other ratings kinda threw me for a loop doesn't fit with what I had learned over the years. I have not be keeping on truck specs so what you saying about axle makes sense since trailer loads axle more than gooseneck.

[NB Canada]

Remember when use to say was the tongue weight couldn't cause the truck to exceed it GVWR/GAWR but now it listing the Max Tongue Rating along with all the other ratings that can't be exceeded and doesn't mention tongue weight exceeding GVWR/GAWR only. This older GM trucks still will have don't exceed the GVWR/GAWR but this change in newer trucks. At least on the newer GM trucks looks like Max Tongue is a manufacture rating right along all the other rates like GVWR and ETC.

From the 2022 GMC 1500 manual.
Trailer Towing


When towing a trailer, the combined weight of the vehicle, vehicle contents, trailer, and trailer contents must be below all of the maximum weight ratings for the vehicle, including:
. Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)
. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
. Maximum Trailer Weight Rating
.Maximum Trailer Tongue Weight Rating .
Gross Axle Weight Rating-Rear (GAWR-RR)

Is there anything else in this list you just "Like I said I don’t pay any attention to it" or just Max Trailer Tongue Weight Rating

You didn’t quote me like I am quoting you so I don’t know if you are replying to me but I assume you are
I thought I explained myself in my previous post

[NB Canada]

OP has a peeve with GM that they did not put this information on a door sticker in 2017. I just have the "yellow" total everything loaded in the truck may not exceed 1602 lbs. Everything else I have to dig out of the owner's manual. I think the newer trucks are lighter and hence get more payload than my older truck, but I think they get that by using a lighter axle, which I think is what limits tongue weight. My owner's manual says I can carry 1,250 lbs. TW on a WDH, which I would never do because it would take up nearly the entire payload not to mention sitting the truck on its a**. I agree for a typical TT you would be limited to around 7600lbs with 950lbs of TW. More than that and you are probably going over the 3800 RGAWR and again riding very low. I have not seen the door sticker on a max tow equipped truck, so I don't know what that gives you for TW rating. I expect it would be a little higher with the heavier rear axle and 4150 RGAWR, otherwise what would be the point of upping the trailer tow rating.

The TW rating is 10 percent of the towing capacity. It is that simple

Has nothing to do with heavier suspension or axles

Same hitch ,same frame,same brakes etc etc

[CWSWine]

You didn’t quote me like I am quoting you so I don’t know if you are replying to me but I assume you are
I thought I explained myself in my previous post

Here I quoted you.

So the list I found in 2022 1/2 pickup states "When towing a trailer, the combined weight of the vehicle, vehicle contents, trailer, and trailer contents must be below all of the maximum weight ratings for the vehicle, including:"
"Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)
. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
. Maximum Trailer Weight Rating
.Maximum Trailer Tongue Weight Rating .
Gross Axle Weight Rating-Rear (GAWR-RR)"

They keep referring to the door sticker fo rRatings Now since the manual list Maximum Trailer Tongue Weight RATING . as a rating along with GVWR and GCWR and etc in the same list which ones on this list do you ignore go by? Why would only pick certain ones and ignore others?

[Harvestmoon]

The TW rating is 10 percent of the towing capacity. It is that simple

Has nothing to do with heavier suspension or axles

Same hitch ,same frame,same brakes etc etc

I see what you mean. In my 2017 owners manual, there are tables to find your tow rating and combined weight rating based on your truck's specific configuration. For my truck it is 9,100 lbs. trailer and 15,000 lbs. combined. BUT the manual has a blanket statement for all 1500 series trucks of max TW 1,250 on a WDH. That would seem to make more sense than limiting TW based on the tow rating. I guess I fall into the "I don't pay attention to that" camp, in the sense that I would never get close enough to that rating for it to matter. In my current truck, I always run out of payload first.

It's easy to get caught up in the numbers, which is not to say they are unimportant, but my interest also lies in how the truck/trailer combination feels qualitatively with the max tow package.