Heavy Weight Champ

[AXE]

I was doing some towing this past couple weeks, so I decided to run my rig and trailer across the scales to see what the weight data showed.

I had to run about 35 miles to pick up some concrete blocks that I use to protect some well heads, tanks, and buildings from oil field traffic. These concrete blocks are 2x2x4 feet and weigh about 2k lbs each so they are stout.

Trailer is a 24 ft flatbed beavertail that we mostly use for hauling Bobcat skid steers and a mini x and related attachments. It has a 14k gross and 9500 lbs cargo capacity, so trailer weighs about 4500 lbs.

This doesn't look like a lot of cargo, but it makes the ZR2 growl a little at nearly 24k gross rolling down the road. For reference, that's the weight of about 5 1500 ZR2 or 3 2500 ZR2 rigs.

Here's the scale numbers with truck only, truck and trailer no load, and truck and trailer loaded with 10k of cargo.

 

[AXE]

Here's some pictures of what I was towing. The 2500HD ZR2 towed incredibly well off road getting into some project sites and highway. When towing I ran my air bags at 50-75 psi and i couldn't have been happier with the ride quality and handling. The air bags make a huge difference in towing capabilities, just like my last two 2500HD rigs they are invaluable for working this tow rig likev it should be.

 

[AXE]

So know that every trailer and load is different. If you look at the vehicle and tow ratings you can see get really close to the axle weights in the truck front and rear even though I'm not even close to gross on the trailer. I do have quite a bit of tools, equipment, and hunting gear on board, so I would estimate that to add 800 lbs in the truck.

You should always weigh your rigs and trailers to be sure you're within specs and legal limits, also for safety.

 

[AXE]

It always seems like the truck is squatting in these wide angle photos, but it sits pretty level with the airbags. Here's a photo of just the truck loaded with same trailer and two 2000 lb concrete blocks to illustrate.

 

[GATORB8]

Thanks for sharing. Concrete is definitely one of those thing that looks deceptive on a trailer although it's ~150 pcf.

 

[AXE]

Thanks for sharing. Concrete is definitely one of those thing that looks deceptive on a trailer although it's ~150 pcf.

Yep I needed 8 total blocks, so did two loads. My Dad had hauled 5 at once, but technically it would put that trailer 500 over gross, but not when hooked up and some weight is transferred to truck axle. I would generally trust running a little over gross, but doesn't make it "right".

 

[GATORB8]

Yep I needed 8 total blocks, so did two loads. My Dad had hauled 5 at once, but technically it would put that trailer 500 over gross, but not when hooked up and some weight is transferred to truck axle. I would generally trust running a little over gross, but doesn't make it "right".

What bag setup did you go with?

 

[AXE]

What bag setup did you go with?

Air lift super duty. I have a detailed thread with pictures on this forum.

 

[DNZR2]

A truck that is actually being used to do work. What a rarity.

 

[AXE]

A truck that is actually being used to do work. What a rarity.

Even though I had towed light with it, I finally feel like it's doing some real work.

I would say GM found a great balance of sporty fun and work horse. GM should sell a factory air bag kit for $1500 when ordering these trucks. They sell a lot of useless accessories, but they would sell a lot of beneficial airbags.

Gotta do some work once in a while, save for my new granpa rig like SecurityGuy in a few years........LOL.

 

[AXE]

I loaded up my toyhauler for a 1600 mile journey from ND to AZ. I stopped at the scale again to check the weight. The toyhauler did not have much of a load, only my normal camping gear, hunting gear, about 100 galllons of water, and 10 gallons of fuel. The toyhauler is 28 feet and has most of the weight in the front half ahead of axles. The real is mainly for offroad rigs.

I had 75 lbs of air in my bags and truck sat pretty level. You can see my rear axle is nearly overweight, but I didn't sweat it much with the bags and weight distribution hitch. Moved some gear to rear of toyhauler, but couldn't really tell if it made a difference as it towed excellent.

 

[AXE]

She's a thirsty son of a bitch. I couldn't even pull 8 mpg in 750 miles. Flat to rolling terrain and speeds 65-80 mph. Best I got was one stretch Interstate 25 from Cheyenne to Denver at 10.1 mpg and that's relatively flat with slight downhill.

I thought i would at least get 10-13 mpg. I pulled this toyhauler up to ND in my LML Duramax lifted running 35s and got 10-11 mpg. I could usually get 12 mpg in flat stuff.

Anyway she rode incredibly well and handled superbly. Hit a little wind in a couple areas and some choppy pavement. Suspension and tires running 70 psi made it a little stiff on some bumps and crappy pavement.

I pulled a 13 hour shifts and never shut it off. So far, so good for first major tow. Halfway there, we'll see what happens the next 800 miles.

 

[ZR2xBIZON]

Well that's what happens when you roll through Colorado with Arizona Air in the tires.

When friends come from outa state I recommend a full deflate and reflate at the state line for better MPG's

 

[AXE]

Well that's what happens when you roll through Colorado with Arizona Air in the tires.

When friends come from outa state I recommend a full deflate and reflate at the state line for better MPG's

I came from ND tho.....that's rare air!

 

[ZR2xBIZON]

Well well well, haven't the turn tables.

 

[AXE]

So the second half of the trip was about the same, interestingly enough I encountered quite a bit of cross winds and some head winds for about 250 miles from Colorado Springs CO to Las Vegas NM and it didn't seem to affect mileage that much.

Clocked another 13ish hour shift and 860ish miles. I ran on more freeway with not bad traffic, so had higher sustained speed of 75-80 mph.

26+ hours of run time for 1655 miles, rig wasn't shut off either day.

I guess when you have your foot in it and towing high profile trailers weighing 10k+, 8 mpg is about all you can get.

 

[ZR2xBIZON]

Im taking notes for when I buy my behemoth.

 

[8ball_99]

Pretty common mpg from what I've seen online. Ofcourse you get the few guys who claim crazy high numbers, but most seem to get around 11 or less with campers. I posted mine before but I get around 7 to 8mpg pulling my toyhauler with my Gasser. It's around 10.5-11k. I am a little surprised the Duramaxs don't do a little better. The refreshed trucks seem to do a little worse compared to previous gens. Emissions tweaks maybe?

 

[DNZR2]

Looks nice and level.

 

[AXE]

Pretty common mpg from what I've seen online. Ofcourse you get the few guys who claim crazy high numbers, but most seem to get around 11 or less with campers. I posted mine before but I get around 7 to 8mpg pulling my toyhauler with my Gasser. It's around 10.5-11k. I am a little surprised the Duramaxs don't do a little better. The refreshed trucks seem to do a little worse compared to previous gens. Emissions tweaks maybe?
View attachment 17184View attachment 17185

I just expected the same mileage as my previous truck. I would run a 55 HP heavy tow tune, so power levels were close. I thought the 10 speed transmission was gonna make it a little better. The transmission was pretty spot on, it towed great.

When I load mine up for a hunting or dune trip, it'll be interesting to see what it does when I'm rolling with 13,500 loaded and 23,500 gross.

Of course, once you blow past 70 mph it gets significantly worse with heavy loads. I run 14 ply tires that are 123 N rated, so I can run 80 mph if the pavement is good.