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Why only 7700lbs towing

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LazyGru

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
The wheelbase has grown 3 inches. Its wider and longer than ever before
Compared to the diesel, it has 181 more HP and 61 more lb/ft of torque.

Even after this it is rated to tow the same as the 2022 Diesel version? Is this just a marketing ploy to not eat into sales of Sierra/Silverado or do you think it will handle towing better than the numbers suggest?
 
#2 ·
Lot of time, the limit is cooling.
 
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#5 ·
It's a mid-size truck and these have various GVWR and GCWR limitations for their classification and for CAFE requirements. You say "only 7,700lb" as if that's a minuscule amount for a mid-size truck. If you need to tow anywhere close to 7,000LB you really should be looking at a full-size truck, IMO.
 
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#6 ·
Manufacturers make much more money of their full-size and HD trucks and then there is the image of pulling an Airstream trailer with a mid-size truck that just doesn't work really well. 7,700 lbs is more than enough for a mid-size truck IMO.
 
#7 ·
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#8 ·
While the longer wheelbase will add stability when towing, it's not there only factor. Brakes, cooling and suspension also play a large role.
 
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#9 ·
Yep, I think 7700 lbs is ways over where you'd be pushing you luck - at least in a '22. Sure backroads where speeds are limited you can get away with a lot, it'd be alright for the cautious. But 70 MPH - too much trailer, not enough truck IMO - or put it this way, you wouldn't like it.

Really towing safely is mostly about the truck and not what's powering it. A '23 not much more truck than a '22. And it's about the smallest conventional truck made (give or take minor differences between makes). The Gen1s tow capacity was only like 4000 lbs or something, which is actually what I wish they'd shoot for (smaller truck)..
 
#10 · (Edited)
Kinglumber said:
While the longer wheelbase will add stability when towing, it's not there only factor. Brakes, cooling and suspension also play a large role.
Click to expand...
Why build an engine with 129 more HP and 60ft lbs more torque than the LWN and not increase the cooling, brakes and suspension and then only be able to tow as much as the aformentioned LWN. To me and this is strictly MHO, this truck is a dissapointment and it isn't much more capapble(if any) than the 2022 model except for additional bling. It's not going to take long for the other guys to put this truck back in 2nd place or lower if it's not there already. Plus you're going to pay through the nose to get the higher end models.
 
#11 ·
Jacqson said:
Why build an engine with 129 more HP and 60ft lbs more torque than the LWN and not increase the cooling, brakes and suspension and then only be able to tow as much as the aformentioned LWN. To me and this is strictly MHO, this truck is a dissapointment and it isn't much more capapble(if any) than the 2022 model except for additional bling. It's not going to take long for the other guys to put this truck back in 2nd place or lower if it's not there already. Plus you're going to pay through the nose to get the higher end models.
Click to expand...
Because after increasing the cooling, brakes, and suspension, you have a midsize truck that you are trying to sell at a fullsize price.
 
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#12 ·
Listen... 7700lbs is on par with what the average fullsized trucks were capable of a little over 10 years ago. (Yes there were some configurations with max tow and or cooling that would go a lot more, but the majority sold didn't have that.) 7700 is plenty. And having pulled a real 7000lbs in both a 1500 and colorado, if I had to do it regularly I'd own a 2500...
 
#13 ·
One answer.....

Lawyers.
 
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#14 ·
littleblazer said:
Listen... 7700lbs is on par with what the average fullsized trucks were capable of a little over 10 years ago. (Yes there were some configurations with max tow and or cooling that would go a lot more, but the majority sold didn't have that.) 7700 is plenty. And having pulled a real 7000lbs in both a 1500 and colorado, if I had to do it regularly I'd own a 2500...
Click to expand...
I think that is what a few people forget. The towing capacity of trucks has shifted a good bit over the years.

I wish I still had the door label from my 1995 C1500, and even from my 2001 Tahoe to compare with my 2015 Canyon and now my 2020 Silverado. It would be an interesting comparison to the capability increases that have happened in the truck industry. My 2015 Canyon could well outperform my 1995 full size truck, and get better gas mileage while doing it.

The Colorado/Canyon are sized to fit a market niche. Need more, go full size.

After the 2015 release of the Twins, the other manufacturers came out with various offerings. In most honest reviews. the Twins still came out on top. Sure, the Gladiator might outperform the Twins offroad, but the ZR2 held it's own, and all were better behaved on the road than the Gladiator. The Ford Ranger didn't hit it out of the park. The Ridgeline did not get many accolades other than having a bed that could become a speaker, a trunk in the bed, and not bad on the road. But truck capabilities, it was not. Frontier - heard a little rumble when it was being introduced, but not much else, have only seen 2-3 on the road. The Taco is the same truck Toyota has built for years, Maybe the next generation Taco will have some great improvement, but I doubt it.

I don't see anyone going out of their way to increase the capability of their mid-size offering. Most are concentrating on the bling the younger generation wants, and siphoning off any profits from ICE vehicles to support their EV development. In 2015, the Twins made a splash with better capability, especially when the diesel became available. Since then, the competition has just tried to play match point.
 
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#16 ·
I agree with what is said above about midsize,1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks and what you should be towing with them.... with one caveat... frequency

I bought my Canyon with plans to tow up in a 6000lb range.... but most likely only once a year will I ever tow a trailer more then 60 miles
 
#17 · (Edited)
Brake rotor sizes
2023 colorado
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
Front Suspension:2WD and 4WD: independent coil-over-shock; twin-tube shocks; Multimatic DSSV dampers on ZR2
Rear Suspension:Solid axle with semi-elliptic two-stage multi-leaf springs; twin-tube shocks; Multimatic DSSV dampers on ZR2
Rear axle:Open differential (std. WT and LT)
G80 limited-slip differential (std. Trail Boss & Z71)
Power-locking front and rear differentials (std. ZR2)
Steering Type:Electric power-assisted rack-and-pinion
Brake Type:Power-assisted four-wheel discs with Duralife™ long-life brake rotors; standard ABS; hill descent control available (std. Trail Boss & Z71)
Brake Rotor Size (in / mm):13.4 / 340 (front)
13.3 / 337 (rear)
Wheel Size:17 x 8-in. steel (std. WT)
17 x 8-in. aluminum (std. LT)
17 x 8-in. aluminum (std. ZR2)
18 x 8.5-in. aluminum (std. Trail Boss & Z71)
Tire Size:P255/65R17 all-season (WT)
P255/55R20 all-season (Z71)
LT285/70R17 mud/terrain (ZR2)
P265/65R18 all-terrain (Trail Boss & Z71)
2022 colorado
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
Front Suspension:2WD and 4WD: independent coil-over-shock; twin-tube shocks
Rear Suspension:Solid axle with semi-elliptic two-stage multi-leaf springs; twin-tube shocks; G80 automatic-locking axle std. on Z71, avail. on WT and LT
Steering Type:Electric power-assisted rack-and-pinion
Brake Type:Power-assisted four-wheel discs with Duralife™ long-life brake rotors; standard ABS; hill descent control available
Brake Rotor Size (in / mm):12.20 / 310 (front)
12.75 / 324 (rear)
Wheel Size:17 x 8-in. steel (std. WT)
17 x 8-in. aluminum (std. on LT and Z71 – incl. avail.Trail Boss; avail. WT 4WD)
18 x 8.5-in. aluminum (avail. on LT and WT)
Tire Size:P255/65R17 all-season or all-terrain
P265/60R18 all-season
 
#18 ·
Impressive the brakes are on par with most fullsized trucks. Now how thick are the rotors because that also matters...
 
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#19 ·
7,700 number was strategic so that at the time of press release, GM could beat the Gladiator to be able to claim best in class. Gladiator has since magically matched the twins, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of upward adjustment in the future, but would not expect much.

The 2.7t gets around 9,000 lbs max in crew cab standard bed configurations. Now this is for the HO engine in more or less entry level / mid-level trim options. Once you start checking the boxes on the Silverado/Sierra (and thus adding bloat, ie.e more weight), you need to migrate one of the v8s or diesel.

Assuming with the HO engine in a more work truck oriented trim in the Colorado/Canyon , GM could get you at or close to 8,000 max, do you really think the beefier frame, wider/longer stance, bigger brakes, etc. of the Silverado/Sierra chassis is not worth an extra 1k in max towing capacity?
 
#20 ·
Some years back I used to own a '97 Ram 2500 with the Cummins. Factory rated at 180HP @ 2,500RPM and 420lb-ft @ 1,500RPM. The max tow for my config was about 10,500LB. The 5.9 V8 versions of the truck maxed out at 8,700LB for the 4WD trucks.

For a mid-size truck to have a max tow rating of only 1,000LB less than a 3/4-ton truck from ~25 years ago says a lot.

The Cummins made 180HP @ 2,500RPM...my LWN made 1HP more at the same RPM when stock and peak torque came in 500RPM later than the Cummins. Of course, the Cummins always made more torque down low than the LWN just due to sheer displacement so they really don't perform similarly even though their peak numbers aren't horribly different.

Perspective is important when thinking about capabilities. A 3/4-ton from 1997 still made a better tow vehicle in terms of stability/capability than our midsize trucks could ever do.
 
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DieselDrax
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