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WHO SAYS A 6.5 CAN'T Haul Heavy!

When I got my 6.5 my mechanic said I hope you never need to pull anything......
 
I know he has a picture of me towing his motorhome from the RV Park entrance to his RV pad on here somewhere, but after searching his posts the past hour (for some reason the search function only goes back to the Forum software update, and it took an hour going through his New To Me 6.5 Motorhome thread to come up with the spec list of his motorhome, but no pics from the July 4th expedition where his motor broke down in Lincoln [the reason for his motorhome repower saga thread] and he broke his ankle a few days later hiking down the Grand Canyon North Rim Trail while on his second honeymoon). But here is the dry weight rating of the motorhome I pulled through the RV Park. Add a few hundred pounds at least for water tank, waste tank, personal possesions, spare parts, etc. and it had to be at least 15,000 lbs I was pulling with the Burb!

Here's what I found about what I have, today.
The P30 chassis is listed under a company called Workhorse. I had to go to th local bus/motorcoach/RV dealer/service business. They were able to look up the VIN and give me some info that was helpful.

Model # CP31432

GVWR- 14800
 
Towing that thing around the RV Park with the Burb reminded me of Sam the dog pulling the Grinch's loaded sleigh!
 
And the final answer would be your attorney after your insurance company tells you "you are on your own" for gross overload. Yeah: "No coverage!" for overloaded no matter who is at fault. Simply don't go over the GCWR, axle ratings, GVWR - the last two are on the door. Tires also have a weight rating on them where 17" tires simply suck over 16" ratings in case one changed tire sizes. It's up to you to weigh your rig on a scale (full tank of fuel) to know what you have left of the GVWR as each truck changes with options and passengers. This is especially troublesome for slide in campers, but, a cargo trailer with stuff in the bed can go over what your rig is rated for. (HD rigs are a rating and class all of their own.)

Second answer is "It's Miserable in stock form" especially if any real grades are involved. But that what the performance section here is all about...

18a.jpg

360 LB NV5600 on it's way to be rebuilt.

nv5600.jpg


~650 LB 6.2 engine. A common cargo for Patch...

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Last 6.2 and a 50 gal aux tank toolbox combo also in the bed...

gift.jpg unwrapped.jpg

Largest 28' trailer, we loaded and unloaded like UPS every weekday, and totaled a 1993 with this loaded 28' behind it:

28trailer.jpg trailertires.jpg 0429100910.jpg
Oil cooler explosion painted the trailer.
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@WarWagon , the LT265/70R17 seems to have roughly the same load rating, if not higher, than LT265/75R16. Unless a guy is comparing apples to oranges (235/85R16 LRG to 235/80R17 LRE) the 17 is allways comparable to 16 inch.

The 265/70R17 is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, same height ,width, and almost the same load capacity as the 265/75R16, but shorter sidewall for better handling. still softer than a 245/75R16 too.
Plus the GMT900 GMC Snowflake wheels look damn nice IMO.

I stretch the GCWR well past factory, but try to be mindful of the GCWR of a 454 powered truck, as most GCWR ratings take into account acceleration under load (freeway merging, etc) the 454 is rated higher than the 6.5L just because of the acceleration, as the weight is very similar, and the braking system should be identical.

I have never encountered anyone who seems concerned about a slow truck going up a hill, as long as I have plenty of "Whoa" I dont care about the lack of "go" when running heavy.
 
I've towed a lot with my 6.5L, nothing monster heavy like shown but some sizeable loads.

351w_zpsqbyibehz.jpg

trailer%202_zpspvj84dkw.jpg

trailer%203_zpsnznqkrex.jpg

trailer%204_zpslvuh8kc8.jpg

IMG_20131109_120151_024_zpsa5867a22.jpg

tims%20stang_zpsvjbosfh5.jpg


These are all I can find quick pictures for but i'm still missing a ton.
 
@WarWagon , the LT265/70R17 seems to have roughly the same load rating, if not higher, than LT265/75R16. Unless a guy is comparing apples to oranges (235/85R16 LRG to 235/80R17 LRE) the 17 is allways comparable to 16 inch.

The 265/70R17 is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, same height ,width, and almost the same load capacity as the 265/75R16, but shorter sidewall for better handling. still softer than a 245/75R16 too.
Plus the GMT900 GMC Snowflake wheels look damn nice IMO.

I stretch the GCWR well past factory, but try to be mindful of the GCWR of a 454 powered truck, as most GCWR ratings take into account acceleration under load (freeway merging, etc) the 454 is rated higher than the 6.5L just because of the acceleration, as the weight is very similar, and the braking system should be identical.

I have never encountered anyone who seems concerned about a slow truck going up a hill, as long as I have plenty of "Whoa" I dont care about the lack of "go" when running heavy.

When researching "IF" my SRW truck could handle a camper I found The 17" tires are being limited to 3195 LBS each including older 17" tires that used to be rated higher. Other sizes do not have this magic number and are rated higher. Rim weight rating is also a concern.

Further I asked my attorney who handled a case of a wreck with a GN trailer that overloaded the tow vehicle... So instead of 19.5" tires on my truck and overloading the GVWR sticker for a slide in camper I went with a RV trailer. Nevermind the truck could do it - the sticker is the hard limit and liability makes it pretty clear with the insurance company walking away. (The springs and tires were the actual weak link where a DRW with the same axle could handle the camper in question.) This specific case example was without dead bodies tossed around. AZ makes it worse with the "stupid law" where the insurance company doesn't have to pay for injuries from you not wearing a seat belt, driving through a flooded wash has you paying the rescue bill, and other "stupid" like overloading the vehicle is on you as it clearly lets the insurance co. off the hook. (It's still a bad idea to run an overloaded pickup SUV around the USA.)

Interestingly enough when looking up what was possible lots of "incorrect" websites that explained how you can take your truck past the GVWR sticker to the limit of the tires for a slide in camper are now gone.

Commercial, CDL, HD 450/550 trucks, and Farm use may be different than what I asked: Pickup payload and trailer weight limits for an RV.
 
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