I am sure this is not the most anyone has towed here. And this is going to sound like I am a complete idiot but I've towed a 18,000lb boat with my 3/4 ton Sierra Duramax, the suspension is however beefed up to handle one ton like loads (I could not live with a long bed crew cab one ton) Handled it pretty easy, more than enough power, braking was ok, and handling was acceptable.

My first truck was 1986 bronco with a 300 I6. I pulled lots of hay racks around the county and one time a I know I had over 20,000lbs. I was not going high speeds but it sure did the job. I now have a 2001 Expedition and it has all the power I need for pulling and going through deep snow, plus hauling around a big family. It always makes me wonder why everyone thinks the 5.4 is so underpowered. With almost 160.000 miles I have never had the truck fail to meet my expectations.

The most i've hauled ..... not counting pull sleds ...... GCWR of just over 19,000lbs which was my 1992 37' fifth wheel camper. Used my 98 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 with the 12v Cummins and a 5 speed. Plenty of power. Good breaking, and average handeling. Averaged 14.8 mpg.

The most I've ever pulled for sure was a little over 6000 pounds of blocks plus the weight of the trailer (18' tandem axle utility with treated wood floors), and that was with my '06 Sierra crew cab with the 5.3L/3.73 gears. I regularly pull my 1966 Chevy II race car on my 20' open car hauler with steel floors. Counting the trailer, that load probably comes in at under 5000 lbs.

I regularly tow 15000lbs with my subaru impreza uphill in the snow.

2 full grown horses in a two horse slant load trailer...not sure what the total weight was...used my 2004 F-150 FX4 w/ the 5.4. Truck did exceptionally well, got up to speed very quickly, and stopped very smoothly.

Towed a 20' gooseneck weighing 3500 lbs with a John Deere tractor weighing 10k. Pulled it with a 92 F150 with 351 V8. Pulled it fine once you got up to highway speed but took a long time to get there. Luckily only had to tow it 25 miles

I have an '06 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears. I pulled a John Deere 5055E with loader and brush hog. Estimted weight with trailer close to 8,000 pounds. Did okay, but did not go very far. Definitely could feel it back there going up hills. Spent $60 and got trailer brake controller to help out.

Ive only scaled about 20,000lbs with my F250, flatbed tilt trailer, and international tractor with a loader bucket. But my friends 1999 F350 crewcab long bed with a 6inch lift 35" tires, towing a 28' hydraulic ramp gooseneck dual axle dually, with a 2005 90hp enclosed cab massey tractor, with water in the tires, with a loader bucket, towing a mower/conditioner behind the gooseneck witch has a 18' tongue and is 13' wide. This whole thing scaled over 42,000lbs.

I don't know how much it weighed, but the four-horse trailer filled to the brim with wet firewood was definitely too heavy for the 1990 F250 I was pulling it with.

I have a 99 Dodge Ram Sport. It has a 318 with 3.73 gears. It is an extended cab truck. I recently purchased 2 M105A2 trailers from a military surplus website. I live in South GA and I got the trailers from Huntsville, AL. I towed my 2000 lb. 20' trailer up there and loaded the 2 trailers on my truck. The trailers weigh about 2800 lbs. a piece. That would be 7600 lbs. It is very hilly in that region coming back home and I could definately feel the weight. Thank the lord for my trailer brake controller. I for sure needed more truck than I had, but it did get the job done. Took me about 8 hours to get back home and I sure didn't try to push it.

Does the winner with the heaviest load get a "runner up" Darwin award?

Yes, congratulations Bob! You're so cool man, because your dad drives a Duramax. I'm puzzled as to why you take the victory personally, like you made the truck?

Only about 6,000 lbs for me. I am only guessing too, I have no idea, but that's probably where it's at. A half-ton does it without any problems, but I would still rather tow with a diesel.

@Bob - the Chevy didn't win by much.
It won the braking test by 3 inchs.

In my world - 3 inchs is a miniscule amount.

In your world - keep trying to convince yourself that 3 inchs is all that you need.

I have been pulling a triple axle gooseneck weighing around 19,000 lbs with my stock 07 F-250 w/ 6.0 powerstroke. Have been doing it for 100,000 miles without any problems. It will pull it fine, but stopping is a different story...especially with no trailer brakes.

Don't forget the 1/4 mile:

"The best time for the Denali was 22.3 seconds, while the best time for the Ford was 22.4, and we’re guessing if this were a half-mile flat-tow head-to-head test, the Power Stroke would have likely overtaken the Duramax in the next 200 feet."

I knew Bob would come back and claim victory over .10 seconds.

@Mark - 0.1 seconds. That is all the time Bob needs. It goes with the 3 inchs.

Weight: The most I ever pulled was a 22 ft sailboat that weighed at 3500 lbs. Doesn't sound like a lot but with the size it is tricky.

Truck: half ton.

Towed: not regularly. A few times a year.

17,000LB with my 97 F250 PSD. All stock so it was dog slow but did the job none the less.

10,250 lbs with my 2000 Silverado 1500 5.3! 205,000 miles and counting.

8000 lb truck - 2005 Dodge CCLB 3500 SRW 4x4 Cummins 6sp (Stock)
3000 lb trailer - 28' goosneck
2 - 6100 lb tractors - TN60 New Hollands
500 lb Hay tedder
Grossed at 23,700

That is why you need a straight drive in a farm truck - an automatic would have sh*t taking off going up a hill. This is also why Dodge will sell more trucks with the manual than ever before because no one else is going to offer them.

Follow this link to see the average load we haul, that one in this pic is a brand new 360 Cruisers (20,000 Lbs) being hauled by a 25,000 Lb hydraulic trailer (6,000 lbs) total of 26,000 lbs total on a 2006 350 with a 6.0 powerstroke with airbags in the back for heavy tongue weight. Almost 300 kms and still pulling hard! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/415227/IMG_0026.JPG

The ranch I used to work on had a D4 dozer that we hauled on a 28ft gooseneck, pulled it with a '94 1 ton chevy dually 454. Dont know exactly how much weighed it was but it ended up bending the 10k axels on the trailer. The truck pulled it pretty good considering what it was towing, but they ended up getting an international tractor and a float to haul it on.

I put a 1,000 of liquid fertilizer in the bed of my F-350 and 2,000 pound of grainular fertilizer and tow a 1000 pound machine every day.

Please don't feed the trolls. That comment has been deleted. But if folks feel that they must bash, then take it to the War Room in the forums.

~120,000lbs on a 1969 Brockway N361TL custom.

http://home.comcast.net/~paul810/brock69.JPG

With trucks I can't really say, however I know I've pulled some pretty heavy loads behind our F350 chassis cabs (dump trucks). Definitely exceeded their GCWR a few times moving stuff around job sites.

4000 lb holiday trailer with about 2000 lbs of water, wood, generator, and ranger 400 side by side in the box. Truck is a 93 Dodge 3/4 ton Cummins 5sp. Couldn`t even tell it was there was once highway speed was reached.

Most hardest work i did with my 2008 harley f150 was haveing a 2008 arctic cat m8 sled in the box it was 3 feet over the tail gate . I did 2 years of hardcore sleding with that truck it did awesome !! Thats why i always drive a ford

OK, this one may take the cake. In the early 80's I had a 1970 Ford F-100 with the 240 cid 6 and a three speed (three on the tree) and over 100,000 miles. Nothing was "heavy duty" and no trailer towing package other than an equalizer hitch that was added for the travel trailer. I pulled a 32.5 foot Shasta travel trailer, that probably weighed at least 6000 pounds from north Louisiana to southeast Texas and had to run straight antifreeze to keep the truck from boiling over. On some of the hills around Jasper, TX, I would be topping them at 10 mph. Later when I moved the trailer to a lot to be sold, a friend pulled it with a F-100 and 390 V8. He said he didn't know how I pulled it with the 6 cylinder because his 390 was struggling to pull it. By today's standards the 6 cylinder like mine would probably have only about a 2500 pound towing capacity (comparing this to a 2008 F-150, 4.3 V-6 5 speed manual).

@Lou

It doesn't matter if it was 3 inches or .1 seconds Chevy still won the shootout!!!!!!!! Why did they win? Because Chevy is doing what matters most to customers. Would you rather have a Ford with a manstep or a Silverado that backs you for 100,000 miles or 5 years? Would you rather have a LTZ or a FX4? Chevy interior with Onstar or a Ford? Enough said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGI8IRXRqpo

@Bobby, I have no brand bias I think they are all great trucks. But I would rather the FX4 over a LTZ interior. Onstar, I don't care about, I wouldn't renew my subscription nor would I do that with satellite radio. The only point that you mention that does anything for me is the extended warranty that Chevy gives. Actually at times, I do wish I had a tailgate step. Having said that, the Chevy is a great truck. I just wish the Ford and Chevy were not $8,000 more than the Dodge. They need to lower their prices quite a bit!

11000 of dirt + tandem dump trailer, with my 2006 silverado 1500 with a 4.8, boy was it doggy goin up our NY hills, but she did the job

3,500lb camping trailer with my 2001 Ford Ranger. I need a larger truck so I can get a larger trailer hehe.

Sorry for veering "Off topic" but I'm a little annoyed. I just watched the video posted by Bob that was on Youtube busting up on the Ford F-150 "Manstep". Why do the folks over at the general think this is such a bad idea? When I buy my next F-150 I will for sure have this step incorporated in my truck. It beats the hell out of bashing your hands and knees when getting into the bed. I notice that the folks at GM don't really have a lot of legitimate negatives to say about the F-150. They mainly pick on Toyota and Dodge. I guess when the competition gets it right then theres not a whole lot of dissing to be had? Way to go Ford! Have a "Manstep" ready when i purchase my next F-150!

I left the quarry a few weeks ago with my 2011 f350 and the loader operator got a little heavy with it. Total weight, trailer, rock and pickup a shade over 37,000, glad no dot was near. normally shoot for 30,000. Regularly put 10,000 to 20,000 on my flatbed trailer which weighs around 7,000, once again glad the dot has never stopped me on those heavier loads.

Not the heaviest, but I regularly tow an 11,000lb camping trailer plus a couple thousand lbs of stuff in the bed with a stock 01 F-350 PSD crew cab long bed srw. Barely felt it doing about 70 until I hit an 11% grade. Held it about 58 until I hit the top just over a mile later.

Half full bed + full HD utility trailer of flagstone; Palette of sod in bed and one in trailer. 1997 F-150 4.6L. The flagstone combo did twice, suspension was maxed out and drove several miles down washboard dirt roads - really slowly. Don't recommend, probably shouldn't do it again but a great truck. Sold w/275K running well, only put a little money into the suspension.

As for a man step I have used them and like them. However I do not like the handle/pole. I don't use it and it is just bulky and sometimes in the way. Overall nice feature.

I towed a 6600 lb 24 ft boat with a Nissan pathfinder successfully. The F150 with the 5.4 8 cyl handled it easier but the Nissan with a 6 cyl didn't complain.

Tow my TT with my 2009 F150 SuperCrew 6.5 FX4 MaxTow. Trailer tips the scales at 10,400 fully loaded. Just put her in Tow/Haul and the truck does the rest. It still amazes me how well the truck handles the load, even in the mountains, no issues holding speed at all. Best tow rig I have ever owned.

Hey Lou you posted before that the truck that won the HD shootout was the one you would buy. When does your new Duramax arrive in your driveway?

Hey LOU , you don't even have a HD truck, why do you have to comment like you own one????

I tow a 42 foot stock trailer with my 08 ford f350 powerstroke daily. One time i hauled 22 cows weighing just over 1500 each, that 33000 pounds plus a 10000 pound trailer.

Mike,
Should part of this question be at what speed? I regularly see farm trucks in Australia towing 40,000-60,000lbs of hay at 50-60mph. Granted they are heavy medium trucks.
This or B Doubles/Roadtrains
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/MediumDutyHaybales.jpg[/IMG]

Oops did not come out. You get B Doubles or Roadtrains towing a lot more. So at what speed can maintain the load you are towing?
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/MediumDutyHaybales.jpg

@Riley "Hey Lou you posted before that the truck that won the HD shootout was the one you would buy. When does your new Duramax arrive in your driveway?"

Riley I never said that.

I would seriously consider a GM if I needed a diesel pickup.
I was more impressed with the chassis and brakes than the engine.

I don't want or need a diesel. I've driven diesels on the job. I do love the torque.

I tow a 5th wheel with my 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 4x2 Quad cab. The trailer weighs 6900 dry and maybe between 7500 to 8000 with all our gear and food depending on the trip. The truck handles it OK and pulls it well. Heavy crosswinds aren't fun since the trailer is quite tall (12 - 12.5 ft) and I can get between 9.5 to 11.5 MPG while towing. I've installed air bags to counteract the bum sag and my Prodigy brake controller is sweet. I've convinced the wife that a diesel is a better option since we take long trips and I want to add a fuel tank to the back and filling up in most gas stations with a tall 5th wheel is a hassle to say the least. She wants a Mega Cab! Mmmm, a 6-speed auto would be nice with the ERS and exhaust brake...Can't wait. Hopefully will order in February.

Towed a 8k lb trailer with my dad's 2002 chevy silverado 1500 Z71 extended cab, with the 5.3L and it did pretty good. Towed it on mostly highways for about 50 miles and then in town. I felt the load getting up to highway speeds and on the little hills that surround Sealy TX (50 miles outta Houston) but the brakes werent quite as strong as I would have liked

@Jim - Hey LOU , you don't even have a HD truck, why do you have to comment like you own one????

I didn't know that ownership was a prerequisite for posting on this site.

I don't loose sleep over the fact that I don't currently own a pickup.
It seems to traumatize you and some others.

I've owned 3/4 ton trucks and compact trucks.
I don't currently own a HD but I've driven various diesel chassis cab paramedic units on the job.
I've also driven gravel trucks.
Is a Mack truck with a 14 yard box HD enough for you?
It only had a 237 HP Maxidyne engine in it.
Probably not!
It wouldn't win a drag race against the Jimmie either.

I was impressed with the chassis improvements that GM did. If you stack those improvements against Ford's crappy traction control - you end up with a very close 1st place trophy for GM in the diesel ranks.

@bobbysilvy - not to bright, are you? You don't even realize what I was refering to when I mentioned 3 inchs or 0.1 second.
You are completely incapable of paying attention to anything I say.
Cell phones do what OnStar does. A 200 dollar GPS does the rest.
I like the manstep.
If I think I need a long warranty - I'll buy it.
Have you read the fine print on that 100,000 mile warranty?

If I needed a HD I'd consider a Sierra not a Silverado. The Silverado is ugly. The Denali is a pretty truck.
I was impressed with the Denali looks and abilities. I have yet to sit in one - so I'll reserve judgement on the interior.
If GM actually pays us taxpayers back - that would impress me as well.
I'd rather have an FX4 with the Luxury package than a Chevy "LoTzaZitz".
I already told you - I don't like the LTZ interior.
Say something useful for a change.

@Lou

You owned a pickup trucks 20 years ago.

When are buying a truck?

I heard you bought a Tundra.