I am thinking about getting another truck (last was 2500hd/duramax) but would need something that can tow 10k without costing as much as a Dmax. I need another daily driver as my dual-disk Formla is a real workout in bumper to bumper traffic. Although the rcsb is only rated at 7300lb towing with the 5-speed and 4.8 litre (with 3.73 gears), I was thinking about buying a rcsb, 5-speed, doing the T-56 swap and putting in 4.11 and then some sort of turbo or supercharger. Can a rcsb safely tow 10k with the changes listed. How much have you guys actually towed with RCSB's? PS- I would tow less than 2k miles a year.

 

It's not a question of power as much as the tail wagging the dog with a 10K load hooked to a light RCSB truck. Even though it is only 2K miles a year I don't think that is the best tow vehicle for a 10K load with safety in mind.

The extra cooling system, suspension and brake system stress would not bode well for the life of the truck either.

 

I think the 7,300 lb. number is a little off. I'm looking at the dealer brochure right now and it says that the RCSB 4.8 5spd can tow 4500 lbs. with the 3.42 gears and 5500 with the 3.73 gears.

Anyway, BMDMAX said it correctly, I don't think it would be the best vehicle for the job. Also, I'm not sure the t56 can handle that job either.

Jeff

 

I would also suggest that you'll open the door to all kinds of potential legal liability.

If you have an accident with a claim (or injuries), the insurance company and/or police will probably investigate, and find that you're over the rated GCWR for your vehicle (which is set by the manufacturer and based on things like chassis strength, brake capacity, axle capacity, etc). At that point, the insurance company may tell you that you don't have a valid claim (you're overweight) or the police may say you're liable for damages (you're overweight and that is the cause of the accident).


I'm not saying this to be an alarmist. I'm just trying to point out that the little numbers on the doorjamb are there for a reason, and some folks will look at them. And changing tranny's or turbo'ing the engine won't change those numbers to the people who enforce the rules.

Here's an example for you:
I used to work for a company that built television trucks based on Ford E-350 supervans, which have a maximum GVWR (thats gross vehicle weight rating) of about 9800 lbs (does depend upon the specific options of the truck in question). Local TV station (WJLA in DC) had one built by a competitor that weighed in at about 11,800 lbs with a reporter, driver / cameraman, and the gear that was routinely in the vehicle. That vehicle was involved in a head on collision with a small sports car, occupied by 3 persons, all of whom were pronounced DOA at the site. The TV station got lots of tough questions from all kinds of people, including the Federal police (accident happened on a Federal Park roadway, their jurisdiction), State police (why was the vehicle overweight?), and the station's insurance company (who didn't really want to pay the $500k + that the truck was worth (truck and all the various television equipment, most of which was a total loss). The station had some difficulty avoiding any liability, up until it was revealed that the sportscar was racing, driving on the wrong side of the road and doing 65mph+ in a 35 mph zone. At that point it seemed relatively obvious that vehicle weight was not a contributing factor to the cause of the accident, the Fed and State police dropped the investigations and the insurance company paid for a new truck. But it could have gotten ugly just as easy, if just a few details had changed.

'Dreamin'