My last remark about this whole thing is this. Bigger is not always better. COMING FROM A TRUCK DRIVER MY SELF! It is not how fast you can get up the incline it is how you can control it going down. PERIOD! You don't see any pushers going up the hills in the Rockies do you? NO, you see stop ramps (Also known as Run-a-way truck ramps).

As far as Mr. Shamrocks truck needing to be at 5,000 RPM's to get up an incline, well my friend you need to back off your truck a little bit! You don't have a D-Max, so your gas engine needs to be at that high of RPM's to get the power out that it needs. Look at the power band of your 6.0L and compair it to a 6.6L D-Max. You cannot compair them, they are totally different worlds. If you need anymore power to get up the hill then I say Hell Yeah! But you still need to be a smart driver, you still need to prepair to stop that heavy load.

So we can continue to argue the facts, but the fact is that this truck CAN pull this load and it will stop just fine when needed. (With trailer brakes) How fast it will pull will depend on what you are planning on pulling and what you are climing. (What the grade is and how long)

I have driven many different trucks (Semi and p/u size) and pulled many different grades over the western side of the US. and one thing is very evident. If you have a smart driver in a crappey loaded down POS, versus a new or in experienced driver with a newer faster truck loaded the same. The smarter driver will always win, maybe not today or tomorrow, but he/she will live longer and not break as many parts or have as many accidents. Getting up the hill faster sounds like a logging trucker talking. And they always say that you are not a good logging trucker until you have gone over the edge at least once.

That is all I have to say about that!

 

Wow if that isn't a dangerous statement. Please let me know when you are crossing into South Carolina so I can stay home. Just because a truck CAN pull a trailer doesn't mean it is capable of doing so safely. If what your saying is true we would all be driving Toyota Tacoma's with trailer brakes. The very fact that you are relying on run away truck ramps really says alot. If a load slows a truck down to where it is unable to accelerate or maintain a decent speed going up a hill then you are no longer in control of your load and are there for pulling more than your truck can handle. That is what I am saying. The stopping part goes right along with it. Larger trucks have larger brakes and have more stopping power that ALONG with a properly set up truck - trailer combo is the key to a safe ride. Wow I can't beleive the mindset of people. NEWSFLASH: just because a truck CAN move a trailer doesn't mean it should. A little common sense here would go a long way!

 

We seem to be getting a little touchy here over something that I think we all agree on. This will be my last post in this thread just because I think it is going nowhere. As far as the initial question here I still stand behind my answer. If the trailer weighs what she says it will loaded she should be fine. I am all about safety and my driving record proves that. I just cringe everytime a see a truck that is not rated to pull a certain load going down the road draging it's ***. I guess the comment about the 1/2 ton pulling a 10,000 trailer kind of concerned me. Every truck is rated to pull a certain weight and with the proper brake set-up it should stop that same weight safely. So yes a smart driver will prevail everytime - I totally agree with that statement. However a smart driver also knows his trucks limits and will not purposely put humself in a dangerous situation. I say purposely because dangerous situations pop up everyday that are beyond drivers control. There is no reason for a smart driver to add to the danger by having a load that his truck cannot handle. To quote the wise Forrest Gump..."Thats all I have to say bout that".

 

I completely agree with you. I was mearely making the point that power doesn't prevail all times. In fact it will get you into more trouble than it is worth. (saying you are not a smart driver or a safe one for that matter) So, that pretty much settles that!

Another day we can talk this out, peacefully.

 

Any idea if Zu Zu took your advice?

 

I just purchased an 09 LT crew cab and it has the HD tow (cooling) package. I can confirm that the 09's with the cooling package are rated to tow just over 9000lbs, and what's strange is according to the list in the owners manual the 5.3 is rated a few hundred lb's higher than the 6.0. I have no idea why maybe it's the difference in weight between the two engines?? I was torn between trying to get the 6.0 or better yet the 6.2 over the 5.3, but ultimately had to go with the 5.3 because that's what was available. I bought the truck to tow my new boat which is in the 4500lb range depending on how much stuff I have. Let me tell you this truck tows it no problem. Push the tow/haul button and the 5.3 matched with the 6 speed trans handled it no problem.

That said I do agree with what others have said you can never have to much truck, that's why I upgraded to the silverado from the trailblazer. Yeah the blazer was rated at 5300 lbs but I don't like towing something that is at the top of the rated weight.

One last bit of clarity the new 5.3's that do NOT have the HD trailer/cooling package have a much much lower towing rating so make sure it does truly have the HD tow package.

 

Glad we got all that straight. Seems like we all agree that more is better and you NEED to have the right set up or you will be in trouble. I honestly wouldn't try and take one of those trucks to its max tow cap, nor near it for that matter. For 6K she should be fine but if your looking to pull anything over 8-10K yes.... time to get a d-max.... all I can say is 660lb-ft of torque!

Now here is a friendly question... I could probably look it up just as easy but off the top of your heads does anyone know what the HD package comes with that makes it so much better for towing? Just wondering.

 

the HD package(this is based on what's on my 09) has a cooler for pretty much every fluid in the truck, and has large electric fans. It also has a slot in the front bumper that rams air up to the coolers, this might be on all the 09's, but none the less it's there. I know mine has the locking rear diff I'm not sure what package that was part of.

Edit:
Ok finally found it there is the HD cooling package: Heavy-Duty Cooling Package
Includes external engine oil cooler, auxiliary external transmission oil cooler, electric fan and heavy-duty radiator.

It looks like this trailering package includes the heavy duty cooling package (K5L and the locking diff G80) I guess this is actually what I have it includes : Trailering Equipment Package (w/6 Speed)
Includes heavy-duty automatic locking rear differential, external engine oil cooler, auxiliary external transmission oil cooler, electric fan and heavy-duty radiator, trailer hitch platform with 2" receiver, 7-wire harness for park lamps, backup lamps, right turn, left turn, electric brake lead, battery and ground, independent fused trailering circuits attached to 7-way sealed connector, wiring harness for after-market trailer brake controller, single wire for center high-mounted stop lamp. REQUIRES L76. INCLUDES K5L and G80.

This is what bumps up the tow ratings until you get into what they call the Max trailering package and that gets you the 6.0L engine and 3.73 gears along with the extra cooling parts and it will get you to the 10K lbs rating witch is a rating that seems a bit much to me, but that's already been argued here.

 

Cool! Good info! Thanks a lot!

 

WOW.......no one ever said ANYTHING about getting up the hill faster.......when I said BIGGER I did not mean to get up the hill faster but to get up the hill as efficently as possible and BE ABLE to control your decent with more ENGINE braking and wheel braking....example.....a truck rated at 20,000 lbs pulling a 9,000 lb load WILL stop and CONTROL that load BETTER than a truck rated at 10,000 lbs pulling a 9,000 lb load....take it from a experianced truck driver also.......BIGGER IS BETTER...not for speed but for control!!!!!!!!!!!!!