Pickup-truck makers thump their chests about how tough their trucks are and, in particular, how much they say their rigs can tow. But only recently did the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) develop a protocol, called SAE J2807, to actually standardize and validate those towing claims. We explicated the SAE J2807 testing procedures when it was first developed, and yes, it is sufficiently rigorous, involving maintaining acceptable speed climbing the grueling, 3000-foot Davis Dam grade in Arizona, as well as meeting acceleration standards when pulling maximum loads on both flat and 12-percent grades.
Whether or not a truck is tow-rated along the SAE J2807 guidelines is up to its manufacturer at this point, and only Toyota had done so previously, but GM’s light-duty Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 have just taken the J2807 plunge. The good news for the GM twins is that the maximum towing for the Silverado/Sierra 1500 2WD double cab powered by the 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8 engine and equipped with the max towing package remains a stratospheric 12,000 pounds, with the 4WD version coming in at 11,900 pounds. But alas, Chevrolet and GMC acknowledge that tow ratings for many of their six zillion Silverado and Sierra configurations will change, providing a few examples in the table below:
Tow ratings for all 2015 Silverado and Sierra 1500 models can be found in the charts below. As you can see, the good news is the ratings drop by just a few hundred pounds. How soon will the rest of the industry get on board with SAE J2807? Hopefully soon, so we can really know which tugger is the real king of the hill. Or, at least king of one big hill in Arizona.
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