this thread is kind of a dead horse, but i just got around to reading through it. a lot of people here live and breathe by the posted specifications and never let any common sense into the equation. i've never once looked to see the exact towing capacity of any of my vehicles - until now. there was a link in one of the early posts that had towing data for vehicles back to the early 90's and i looked up a couple of my previous vehicles:
1993 gm 1500 regular cab shortbed, 5.7 auto, 3.73 gears - 8500lb towing capacity
2000 gm 2500 crew cab shortbed, 5.7 auto, 4.10 gears - 8300lb towing capacity
i'm sure that site may not be exact, but it's probably not off by much. i'd like the real world common sense answer as to why that half ton is a better tow vehicle. answers that pertain to: "it's against the law" or: "your insurance will deny a claim" or anything similar need not be posted, because they aren't common sense. they're fine print exclusions. i've owned them, and i'd take the 2500 every day of the week, and twice on sunday. the axles are at least twice the mass, the brakes are pretty well double in size, the transmission is better geared toward loads (4l60 vs 4l80), the frame is heavier and deeper in section. there's nothing about the 2500 that is inferior when compared to the 1500.
if there is any reason that i can guess at it would be that the same engine in the heavier truck would be struggling at highway speeds. i can't see where this is anything of a safety issue, but more of an inconvenience issue. you can go find an old medium duty truck that is still road legal that was capable of towing much heavier loads half a century ago that ran on an inline 6 with barely over 200cid. there's no way that can maintain speed loaded either, but people here wouldn't throw a hissy fit if you loaded that up like the half ton in question. i wonder if the manufacturer capacities are to lessen warranty issues on overstressed engines and not safety?
1993 gm 1500 regular cab shortbed, 5.7 auto, 3.73 gears - 8500lb towing capacity
2000 gm 2500 crew cab shortbed, 5.7 auto, 4.10 gears - 8300lb towing capacity
i'm sure that site may not be exact, but it's probably not off by much. i'd like the real world common sense answer as to why that half ton is a better tow vehicle. answers that pertain to: "it's against the law" or: "your insurance will deny a claim" or anything similar need not be posted, because they aren't common sense. they're fine print exclusions. i've owned them, and i'd take the 2500 every day of the week, and twice on sunday. the axles are at least twice the mass, the brakes are pretty well double in size, the transmission is better geared toward loads (4l60 vs 4l80), the frame is heavier and deeper in section. there's nothing about the 2500 that is inferior when compared to the 1500.
if there is any reason that i can guess at it would be that the same engine in the heavier truck would be struggling at highway speeds. i can't see where this is anything of a safety issue, but more of an inconvenience issue. you can go find an old medium duty truck that is still road legal that was capable of towing much heavier loads half a century ago that ran on an inline 6 with barely over 200cid. there's no way that can maintain speed loaded either, but people here wouldn't throw a hissy fit if you loaded that up like the half ton in question. i wonder if the manufacturer capacities are to lessen warranty issues on overstressed engines and not safety?
