Anyone Towing with a Duramax Colorado or GMC Canyon

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Ive got a little interest in a GM Canyon or Colorado theres a lot of great videos and reviews that look like GM has had some influence on them so there hard to take at face value. It will tow three different trailers one of which can hit 7000 pounds intermittently. All have trailer brakes. Its rated at 7600 pounds which im usually the type to have much more tow rig than what my max trailer weight is. It wont tow often at 7000 pounds like three or four trips a year there 70 mile each way and in flat ground. This is a normal routine. But its only a few times a year. It will tow a 5000 pound trailer up a steep hill periodically.

In case some of you have first hand experience here it would be great to know. Thanks.

 

[poconojoe]

I'm thinking you need a full size truck for that heavier trailer.
The Colorado/Canyon are the perfect size for me. Not too small, not too big.
We love our 2016 Colorado with the gas engine (3.6 gas). I only tow around 3,000 pounds and it handles it with no problems. Hardly feel it back there.
That being said, the gas version is supposed to handle 7,000 pounds as verses the diesel at 7,700 pounds. So, you will be very close to your limit with that 7,600 pounder.
The diesel offered in theses second generation trucks is what originally attracted me to them. I guess it was just a novelty for me, because after researching, I realized the diesel wasn't worth the cost for me personally. The increased price upfront, the cost of diesel fuel and maintenance were the deciding factors.
So, the diesel is rated for 7,700 pounds...I wonder if you could somehow test drive one with your trailer.
When I test drive vehicles at my local dealer, they just give me the keys and nobody unusually comes along. The perfect opportunity to hook up a trailer. Maybe your dealer will let you take it home to "show your wife" who is home watching your grandson (wink, wink).

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Same thought here on putting a trailer on it. There are lots of videos of it towing 5000 pounds but no ones put a 7000 pound trailer on it and drug it up and down a winding mountain road. Then you get right down to numbers. I own a crew cab Durmax 1 ton and I regularly tow a combined GVW of 17,000 to 19,000 and have made a few cross country trips at 22,000 pounds and it will flat handle all of those. The weight of that truck is 8,000 tow capacity is 13,000 pounds so you look at the specs on the Colorado is a 4500 pound truck with a 7600 pound trailer weight the numbers are the same even more in favor of the Colorado if you get right down to it. But it seems no ones documented how well it will handle this weight. This truck solves a number of problems for me and my family. My son wrecked my truck this summer its fixed but were using that truck for things that just racks up mileage and my wife is scared to death if she has to drive it. And I need that 1 ton to drag my new boat cross country the rest of my life. If the Colorado will handle my small boat and the two other work related trailers I win all the way around. If it wont then it will not have been worth the purchase.

 

[poconojoe]

Tough call...as stated, it's limit is 7,700, but how will it handle? Assuming they under rate it a bit for safety sake, you probably will be OK. But to make that big purchase without knowing for sure is a gamble. You need to test drive it and put that trailer on it.

I wonder if you can rent one somewhere. Or if you lease, you might be able to turn it back in for a full size.

 

[poconojoe]

Go to coloradofans forum and post your dilemma in the diesel section
https://www.coloradofans.com/#/forums/226

 

[Maclin]

There is also the GCWR, gross combined weight, to consider for the whole ensemble as it is rolling on the road. It includes cargo, persons, gear whether in tow vehicle or towed item. My 1/2 ton pickup is rated at 7,400 but it can only have 10 gallons of fuel in it, and someone a lot lighter than me in the cab and nothing in the bed...

 

[harringtondav]

I tow with SUV's. The engine size defines the rated towing capacity. My '99 Durango 5.2 is rated at 4300# and has 300 ft/lb torque, and doesn't know my 3000# trailer is back there. With the 5.9 and lower axle ratio the same drive train will handle 7300#. 335 ft/lb. I hauled a rental skid steer 5 mi. with my 5.2. I was close or a little over the 7300#. With manual gear shifting and O/D off it handled it. Just more time to come up to speed, and more braking time.

With the low frequency, distance and duty cycle of your 7000# rig, I'd feel safe being under the truck's max. You'll optimize your fuel economy the rest of 95%+ of the time you'll be driving over a larger truck, or more expensive engine.

My '17 Cherokee was rated at 3000# with the 3.2 V6. But I bought the 2.4L (2000#) because of that 99% use ratio. I tow the boat 106 mi twice a year to our river place, where it sets on a lift for the summer. I bought the Active Drive II low 'crawl ratio' transfer case for maneuvering and backing in our steep terrain local storage parking lot. Steep hills from that lot and out of the steep boat ramp don't bother std 4WD a bit.

I've hauled the boat on a 30 mi trip with the Jeep. I can select the gear to keep it up in the rpm range where I get the best torque and response. I watch the engine temp and trans temp. I do keep it below 55 mph, and the temps stay well w/in the safe range. I use the Durango for the long distance trips. But when it pukes - coming soon - I will use the Jeep on 55 mph back roads, slowing to 50 mph or whatever for hills. I think that will still be the best game for that 99% use, and otherwise good gas mileage.

 

[poconojoe]

Just as a note...the Colorado/Canyon have a tow/haul mode button that changes the (auto) transmission shift points.
There is also a (M) manual mode on the shifter which basically let's you limit how high of a gear you wish to choose. For example, if you have it set at 4th gear, it will only shift up to 4th gear.

It's not like an old school muscle car manual mode auto where you run the transmission through the gears manually.

 

[dingbat]

I'm approaching the same dilemma with a tow vehicle. Looking around to see what's out there.

Can't get my head around a vehicle with less torque, geared considerably higher, can pull more 40-50% more weight than my currrent vehicle.

Then you read how they come up with the number... min. fuel, 2- #150 people, wind from the south at 15 kts....lol

https://www.gmfleet.com/content/dam...018-chevrolet-trailering-and-towing-guide.pdf

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Well Im going to be able to answer my own questions pretty soon.ill post my outcome in a few weeks after I’ve drug a few things over the mountain. I bought one tonight. Wasn’t able to bring it home the battery was dead would not restart after they moved it. Its been sitting for at least a month I looked at it four weeks ago. There shop and parts were closed or they would have put a battery in it. There delivering it tomorrow. I made the decision that since I have the means to tow anything I will ever own ( I have an f550 and a one ton Chevy as well) that if I’m not sold on it towing my one trailer that’s often near 7000 pounds I have options. Id love it if my one ton becomes purely for personal use towing my bigger boat and my employees and family can drive this smaller truck with a lot less to fear. I can write off a lot of this truck and what life it will save me on my one ton makes the costs pretty tolerable.

 

[Scott Danforth]

get a half ton GMC or Chev. tow capacity is 9600#. I know it tows 7000 without a sweat.

 

[dingbat]

get a half ton GMC or Chev. tow capacity is 9600#. I know it tows 7000 without a sweat.

If you call the need for a weight distributing hitch and down shifting on overpasses “no sweet” then I would agree.

 

[Scott Danforth]

shouldnt need a WD hitch on a GM half ton at 7000 yet, however it is on the edge. the colorado/canyon has less curb weight, so that would require a WD hitch.

with my 2014, I havent had to down shift other than to pass. then again, FL is about as flat as a pancake.

 

[dingbat]

shouldnt need a WD hitch on a GM half ton at 7000 yet, however it is on the edge. the colorado/canyon has less curb weight, so that would require a WD hitch.

with my 2014, I havent had to down shift other than to pass. then again, FL is about as flat as a pancake.

Sandwiched between the mountains and the ocean, it's a roller coaster ride

I have the "heavy tow" package with the 5.3 and 3:73 rear. It pulls the boat OK in tow-haul mode, but the horse trailer is something else.

We used my buddy's 2500HD (Duramax) to tow my boat to a tournament last Spring. Now that is sweet!!.
Didn't know it was back there. Love the jake brake