2013 Chevy 1500 5.3 Anyone Tow with this?

[Cactusface]

I inherited a 2WD Chevy 1500 extended cab with a 5.3L and 96K miles. Any advice on how this truck tows? I have an open tandem 14 ft trailer and a combined trailer load is around 4500lbs. Any advice would be appreciated. 

[Cactusface]

just to be clear, I did think I could get away with no brake controller but later thought better of it. I bought a Curt wireless version and I will be happy with now having something. I have towed many miles with different vehicles. I currently have but not at my disposal a 2013 Ram 3500 Cummins dually with exhaust brakes and break controller. Serious towing machine so going back to a 1500 Chevy kind of messed up my thinking. What was I thinking?! 

[mkirsch]

This is what I get for not coming on here every day. Good lord... You guys are going to have me channeling Grit Dog on this one.

A 2013 Silverado 1500 with a 5.3L towing a 4500lb open deck trailer is NO PROBLEM. Any transmission, any gear ratio. The tow rating for that truck should be around 6000lbs, and no lower than 4500lbs so you're not even pushing the factory limits. At 4500lbs your limit is power, not payload. It's just not going to go as fast up the hills.

It would be well within the capabilities of a V6, and I'm not just talking about power. Payload, brakes... everything. 

The truck is pre-wired for brakes. All you need is a $50 brake controller, and a few crimp splices. IIRC there is a pigtail under the dash for the trailer brake controller on this version of the truck. You just need to connect the wires. If I'm mistaken on the pigtail, it's even easier. Then you just need the pre-wired adapter harness, and it's plug and play!

Why is everyone making this so complicated?

[blt2ski]

mkirsch,

NO ONE is arguing the weight issue in and of itself. I've done twice that amount with my 4.3 V6.

OP's initial thought was to pull this "without the trailer brakes working!" Would you pull a 4500 lb trailer with NO BRAKES behind a 15 series truck! much less semi safe and sanely with a SW 8 lug rig!

THAT is the issue! YES the truck will pull a 4500 lb trailer as mentioned. SHOULD have no real issues pulling a full size RV or box style trailer too. 

Marty

[mkirsch]

I addressed the "no brakes" issue in the latter half of my post, if you missed it.

In fact, I just went and checked to be sure, and the truck has a pigtail up under the dash. Etrailer's website has a detailed instructional video on installation. It's 4 minutes long and the actual installation won't take a guy much longer than that. 4 wires, 4 barrel connectors, 2 self tappers, and you're off to the races.

Any brake controller is better than no brake controller at all. It doesn't have to be an expensive Prodigy or other accelerometer based controller. I ran an old Tekonsha Voyager for years on my dually and it did the job.  You can get a Reese Brakeman IV for $35 on Amazon.

[Cactusface]

Does anyone here know in a 1500 what the approximate weight you can put in the bed of the truck over the rear axle? Since it's a "half ton" does that mean 1000lbs?

[blt2ski]

You can put approx 2000 lbs over to slightly forward if rear axles.

Typical truck as you have will be 5000-5500 lbs empty. 2000-2400 on the rear 2800-3200 on the front empty. Both axles are rated at 3900 or so.

Their is an engineer or two that feel one needs to get you down to the lb as to what you can carry tow etc. from 40 yrs of running operating commercially class 1-6 trucks. I'm close.

Marty

[Cactusface]

What I thought as well.

[opnspaces]

Definitely find a way to add brakes, even for that one trip.

Just this last weekend I was heading on a trip and traffic suddenly came to a stop because a car pulled out onto the highway with not enough room. Had I not had a brake controller I would have rear ended the truck in front of me.

[Cactusface]

Marty,

The GCVR is a little strange. This truck is 5.3l, no Towing package,  extended cab,  2WD, 6.5 bed, but I found that it is either 11,500 or 12,000 depending on Rear end. That part of the equation I don't l know. I went to the scales yesterday and truck came out at 5600lbs.  That was with me and a freshly topped off gas tank. So, with your experience are they correct with the GCVR or did I find wrong information? The newer truacks with same set up show 15,000 lbs

[Grit_dog]

“Newer” trucks or even differently equipped half tons of the same era can and will have higher combined ratings. 
moreso due to power and gearing than physical chassis differences. (“Heavy” spring models and Fords with different 3rd members excepted.)

Bottom line, if the truck is in good shape, slap a brake controller in it, either plug n play wireless or fairly simple wired in, pump up the rear tires and hit the road.

Your truck is fine for your use. 

[valhalla360]

Nothing unusual. Half ton trucks vary wildly in terms or ratings/capabilities.

A good example is payload (which often limits what you can tow long before GCVWR or Tow Rating). Payload can vary from 900-2500lb. At the low end, 4 big guys can max out the payload in an empty truck before you hook up the trailer. A 5000lb trailer should have a hitch weight of around 700lb, so the light duty versions may be stressed out while the heavy duty versions will hardly notice.

As someone else mentioned, newer trucks often have significantly higher tow ratings (which is not necessarily the same as a back calculated GCVWR).

[blt2ski]

IIRC the RWD models have a 3.23 std, or a 3.08. The 3.23 is actually similar final drive ratios to a 3.42 geared 4wd. Reason being the tire diameter is about 1" taller for the 4X. Which equates to about half a gear. 
Also from 2013 to 2014, a majority if not ALL of the manufactures gave their gas rigs a BIG HP gain, along with more gears generally speaking in the transmissions, and better MPG! Which equated to better towing ability performance wise too! So a 3-4000 lb increase for that motor is about right. ALL in reality this means, one of the standards to make a given GCW is for a min speed of 40 mph on a 5% grade. your truck might be going 45 with said trailer, meanwhile the 2014+ truck will be going 50-55mph due to the higher HP, closer spec gears in trans, ie a 6 or 10 sp instead of a 4, 5 or 6 sp trans. 

That is not to say you can't run down the road at 15K gcw with your current rig. Assuming you have the correct paid for tags, you would be legal at 15K lbs too! At least here in Wa st, the State Patrol LEO and CVEO doesn't care what your door sticker, manufacture warranty, performance weight rating is! They only care that you meet the "Federal Bridge Law" specs, along with having enough paid for tonnage, ie tax paid! for running down the road at XX lbs! I've been pulled over upwards of 150% of my manufactures GVW in my dumptruck, all but one time I was under the paid for tonnage. I was 1200 over, they gave me a 10 day up the gvw by 2000 lbs. Weight tickets are in reality like parking tickets, they generally speaking do not go against a driving record. 
BUT, if you were pulling without brakes on your trailer....that will hurt! As you will not stop in the field test portion of brakes working. SO the rig will be red tagged, ticketed for poor performance, ie not meeting minimum spec. Only way off the road to "FIX" the brakes is a tow via flat bed, or worst case, low boy trailer or equal mega expensive tow! This ticket will go against your driving record! The overweight ticket will generally speaking not go against your driving record. 
After ALL the stuff I just typed. You can figure out the ratio you have by looking in the glove box for the RPO codes. IIRC a GT4 is a 3.42 ratio, GT3 a 3.08, not recalling the 3.23. BUT, if you look up GM RPO codes via google or equal. You will find some sites with the codes. Many break out via what the code is for, ie axels, or engines, or transmissions, interior options....... If you don't have the original paperwork with options, its not too hard to figure out the options you had on that truck new. Some of the options may have changed.....like someone with a 2014 to be left anonymous, put 285-65-18 tires instead of the stock 265-65-18 tires in 10 ply version vs SL. A 2" lift kit on par with the Elevation pkg. running boards and bed cover...... Nothing wrong with any of this. Just saying the codes may or may not be correct. We will not discuss Anonymous's sons 05 reg cab 1500.....motor mods, 4' lift, swap out an 8.5" 3.42 geared RA for a 9.5" 4.10, front axel to 4.10, 33.5' tires instead of stock 31.5........

Any way, quit worrying about the 1500 you have in your hands, it should do quite well pulling the trailer you are going to pull. NO, it will not be as fast as the deezal Dodge/Ram 1 ton you have or had. Nor as fast as my now sold and gone DA CC DW rig I had. It will get their safe and sane, as long as the driver has done due diligence to make sure lights, brakes, trailer is in balance for and aft for best towing, side to side is equal in weight. My max for my truck is 2x to pushing 2.5x the RA amount, so 2 x 4000 = 8000 lbs of trailer max. SHort distances, ie local, I'll push 2.5. Long hauls the 2x ra is more comfortable, as long as I have the power, trans gearing to keep myself above min interstate MPH which is generally speaking 40 mph! THat is on a 4-6% steepest freeway grades. Local roads where there is no max grad %, ALL bets are off. I've been on some in the 25-30+% relm, one can get stalled out with out the proper drivetrain. Max towing spec used is 12% currently!

Marty

[Cactusface]

I bought a Curt wireless brake controller. I think this will work fine for me

[PatJ]

Chevy has 50 million possible option combinations for 1/2t trucks (just a slight exaggeration.) Those options combined with your GVWR and GCWR decide what you can tow safely and reliably without drama. That is all listed on labels in your glovebox and doorjamb. Check the labels and your owner's manual and that will most likely answer your questions. Without knowing that info, we are all just guessing.  You may have huge brakes, 4.56 axles, and auxiliary coolers that can easily handle a 12k# trailer; or you may have a light-duty turd running empty 500# below its GVWR that is at its limit with a full ice chest in the bed. We are all just guessing without that info. 

BLT2ski is 100% correct. Just because you don't have a factory trailer brake controller doesn't mean you don't have the factory wiring for one. I've owned six GMT400-GMT900 and every single one came pre-wired. Again it's in the RPO codes on the label. If the wiring is there it is essentially plug-and-play to install one and get it working, and a hard wire controller will be cheaper and work better than wireless. Good luck.