Tow vehicles for RZ2?

[2thdoc01]

Hey guys,

I have a 2010 silverado 1500 with the 5.3 in it. Will this be enoough truck to tow the RZ2? I noticed with my old boat, the malibu ride, it got a bit squirrelly behind my truck on the little country roads at 55 mph, and it seems the RZ2 is a 4150 lb boat and the ride was 3000.

I have a chance to buy a 2012 2500 HD with the duramax diesel in it, from a buddy of mine who owns the local chevy dealership. I know the 2500 will be better, but do I NEED it?

[robert theisen]

I would think your Chevy would tow 5500lbs.If so, it should be fine.Make sure you have the proper tounge weight and hitch height.As both of those can affect stability.Otherwise the 1500 should be fine.

[skippabcool]

Where are you towing, how far do you plan to tow, how often do you plan to tow? Elevation plays a roll. If your not towing far or often then you should be fine. If you search there are many threads about tow vehicles. I know that several have used four runners, seqouias, F150's, suburbans, etc...

Typically this kind of thread will turn into get the diesel.

[chpthril]

Was your Bu Ride on a single axle trailer? Based on the description of "got a bit squirrelly", sounds like the Ride was either too high or too low at the tongue or had too little or too much tongue weight. I do not see the tow cap of the 1500 being exceeded by the RZ2. Heck, I towed our 22Ve for 4 years behind our 4.2 I6 Trailblazer and it was stable as can be. I change out the draw-bar to get the trailer level and never had a problem.

[Ewok]

Here is my 4runner hooked up to my RZ2. I pulled it from TX to WA state last winter and it did well. The boat was full of stuff my wife didn't want the movers to loose so I kept it at 65 for most of the trip and it held 60 up the steepest grade which was the grapevine hills area leaving LA. I've never had a problem pulling it out of the water either (4wd helps) so I think you would be fine with a 1500 pickup.

[Billua]

Hey guys,

I have a 2010 silverado 1500 with the 5.3 in it. Will this be enoough truck to tow the RZ2? I noticed with my old boat, the malibu ride, it got a bit squirrelly behind my truck on the little country roads at 55 mph, and it seems the RZ2 is a 4150 lb boat and the ride was 3000.

I have a chance to buy a 2012 2500 HD with the duramax diesel in it, from a buddy of mine who owns the local chevy dealership. I know the 2500 will be better, but do I NEED it?

It all depends on the type of terrain and weather that you plan to tow in.

For instance, if you are at sea level and it never gets to more than 90 degrees for a high and you tow on level terrain, your 1500 should be fine if properly maintained.

If, you tow in conditions like I do here out west with highs of 115 F and across mountain passes when going to Big Bear/Lake Powell/Lake have a brew etc, go with the turbodiesel, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Also remember, by the time you fuel your boat, add fire extinguishers fore and aft, life preservers, toys, tools spares, boards, stock the coolers etc, your boat can gain 700 to 1,200 lbs easy over the published empty weight.

Congrats and enjoy your new boat!

[Timmy!]

If you are at sea level, keep the 1500, it will do the job fine. If you are towing through the mountains a lot or live at elevation, you will love the Duramax! Also, while I do love my 2500 duramax, it's not that fun to drive on short trips or park. It may not look much different than the 1500 but it doesn't ride, steer or park the same. The steering radius is a lot larger, it doesn't have auto 4wd and the bumps are a lot more noticeable. Fully loaded, you are looking at 6,000 lbs with the trailer.

[NICKYPOO]

More truck= better towing. The 1500 should fine but, once you go diesel, you never go back. I've never towed my boat with a 1500 but, I have towed it with a small block 2500, a big block 2500 and I will never go back to gas now that I have a Duramax HD.

Sounds like your Bu didn't have enough tongue weight.

[houstonshark]

I would think the 1500 would do fine. If you tow it any real distance though the 2500 with the Duramax would be money.

Have you had a 3/4 Ton before? I know I struggled trying to decide if I should get a new F250 or stay with a F150 a couple months ago. I've always had 1/2 Ton trucks and wasn't sure if I'd be happy with a 3/4 Ton that was that much bigger. I ended up getting a Platinum F150 with the Ecoboost. To me, it was the best of both worlds. Half ton size and handling with (nearly) 3/4 Ton towing.

I can't wait to see how it tows my RZR when it's done.

[rensink]

Tow my Rz2 with my 2012 avalanche it tows it fine I have a 5.3 with tranny cooler 3.42 rear end heavy duty bags it's fine however if I was going to be towing a ton on hilly roads or for long distances i would opt for the duramax but depends how much pulling you need to do? A boat in the summer? Enclosed trailers? Just depends

[jmoore15]

I have a chance to buy a 2012 2500 HD with the duramax diesel in it, from a buddy of mine who owns the local chevy dealership. I know the 2500 will be better, but do I NEED it?

Having pulled trailers all my life I have never "boy I wish I had a smaller truck with less power that did not tow as good". Buy the diesel! You will not regret it.

[Timmy!]

You will not regret it.

Depends on what the daily use is for...it will cost you more(diesel is $.70 a gallon more than gas) to drive the diesel on a daily basis than the gas truck. The truck itself costs more, the maintenance costs more. If you only tow short distnaces, no hills and a few months out of the year, I wouldn't do it.

If you aren't sure if that truck is right for you, ask the dealer to take one home over night and then go do all the things that you do every day in the diesel and see how it compares. If you still think you want more power, go drive an F150 Ecoboost. I almost traded my 07.5 Duramax in on one. I'm more of a Chevy guy than a Ford guy but that is a really nice truck and blows the 5.3 out of the water as far as power is concerned.

[jmoore15]

Depends on what the daily use is for...it will cost you more(diesel is $.70 a gallon more than gas) to drive the diesel on a daily basis than the gas truck. The truck itself costs more, the maintenance costs more. If you only tow short distnaces, no hills and a few months out of the year, I wouldn't do it.

If you aren't sure if that truck is right for you, ask the dealer to take one home over night and then go do all the things that you do every day in the diesel and see how it compares. If you still think you want more power, go drive an F150 Ecoboost. I almost traded my 07.5 Duramax in on one. I'm more of a Chevy guy than a Ford guy but that is a really nice truck and blows the 5.3 out of the water as far as power is concerned.

I also have a Yukon. The Yukon gets 12-14 mpg and w my boats gets maybe 9. My truck gets 22mpg either way. True the diesel will cost more than a gas truck but it will also have much better re-sale.

[rensink]

Have you considered the 3/4 ton vortec?

[Iwndr]

I'm sure some do not want to hear it, but Engines like Ford is putting out with their EcoBoost series are going to be the future. I'm sure all of them are working on similar engines now.