Tow/Haul Ratings for 1/2 ton trucks - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

veinbar · 06-14-2011, 01:55 PM

My '79 1/2 ton SWB 2wd has 250hp/300ft lbs 350ci w/ a th400. I have filled the bed of my truck with lumber on numerous occassions, but I have never known the actual tow / haul ratings on these trucks. I surfed the web for a few minutes and couldn't find a definitive answer.

Could I tow 5500-6000 lbs?
Could I haul 1000+ lbs?

mdb · 06-14-2011, 10:50 PM

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=398295

A guy scanned his owner's manual for 78... according to that it's 8000lbs towing. I guess you'd just have to figure out the difference between curb weight and the GVWR of your truck for hauling.

Keep in mind GM didn't differentiate between engine, transmission, axle ratio, or wheel base. None of that mattered in the 70s.

Edahall · 06-15-2011, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veinbar

My '79 1/2 ton SWB 2wd has 250hp/300ft lbs 350ci w/ a th400. I have filled the bed of my truck with lumber on numerous occassions, but I have never known the actual tow / haul ratings on these trucks. I surfed the web for a few minutes and couldn't find a definitive answer.

Could I tow 5500-6000 lbs?
Could I haul 1000+ lbs?

Yes you could tow that amount but your truck will probably struggle unless you have 3.73's. For a truck with 3.43's, I would say 4500 lbs towing.

tucsonjwt · 06-15-2011, 01:08 AM

The ultimate answer for haul capacity on your truck if to find the GVWR (should be somewhere on your truck, like the door or pillar) and subtract the empty weight of the truck with you sitting behind the wheel (like weigh empty at a truck scale, maybe at the local dump). This is the true payload capacity of your truck, since you may have other accessories/junk on your truck compared to stock truck out of the factory. I'm not sure about tow capacity, but I would never tow anything unless I had a frame mounted hitch, not a ball mounted to the step bumper. My frame mounted hitch is only rated for 5,000 lbs., but you can, of course, get hitches rated for 10,000 lbs. +, assuming that your truck is rated for that amount of weight, like 3/4 ton to 1 ton + trucks.
Filling your truck box with full load does not indicate the weight of the load. I can load my C20 with brush and scrap lumber to overflowing over the box sides and it is only about 1,000 lbs. If I load the truck with rock or dirt only 10" deep it weighs 2,300 lbs. - which is all my dump hoist conversion will lift, even though my true payload is about 3,000 lbs.

06-14-2011, 01:55 PM	#1
veinbar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 292	Tow/Haul Ratings for 1/2 ton trucks My '79 1/2 ton SWB 2wd has 250hp/300ft lbs 350ci w/ a th400. I have filled the bed of my truck with lumber on numerous occassions, but I have never known the actual tow / haul ratings on these trucks. I surfed the web for a few minutes and couldn't find a definitive answer. Could I tow 5500-6000 lbs? Could I haul 1000+ lbs?

06-14-2011, 10:50 PM	#2
mdb Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: canada Posts: 43	Re: Tow/Haul Ratings for 1/2 ton trucks http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=398295 A guy scanned his owner's manual for 78... according to that it's 8000lbs towing. I guess you'd just have to figure out the difference between curb weight and the GVWR of your truck for hauling. Keep in mind GM didn't differentiate between engine, transmission, axle ratio, or wheel base. None of that mattered in the 70s. Last edited by mdb; 06-14-2011 at 10:53 PM.

06-15-2011, 01:08 AM	#4
tucsonjwt Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,191	Re: Tow/Haul Ratings for 1/2 ton trucks The ultimate answer for haul capacity on your truck if to find the GVWR (should be somewhere on your truck, like the door or pillar) and subtract the empty weight of the truck with you sitting behind the wheel (like weigh empty at a truck scale, maybe at the local dump). This is the true payload capacity of your truck, since you may have other accessories/junk on your truck compared to stock truck out of the factory. I'm not sure about tow capacity, but I would never tow anything unless I had a frame mounted hitch, not a ball mounted to the step bumper. My frame mounted hitch is only rated for 5,000 lbs., but you can, of course, get hitches rated for 10,000 lbs. +, assuming that your truck is rated for that amount of weight, like 3/4 ton to 1 ton + trucks. Filling your truck box with full load does not indicate the weight of the load. I can load my C20 with brush and scrap lumber to overflowing over the box sides and it is only about 1,000 lbs. If I load the truck with rock or dirt only 10" deep it weighs 2,300 lbs. - which is all my dump hoist conversion will lift, even though my true payload is about 3,000 lbs.



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