[NickJ]

I am sort of new to the towing game and I am unsure of what exactly I need when it comes to this whole world. I know that I don't need a big HD truck that will tow the state building off of it's foundation, but will the 7,600 lbs of towing (4X4 model) will be enough to tow trailers with a few motorcycles or a UTV.

Towing ratings is for the gross weight of the load right? Trailer weight plus the weight of the cargo.

What sort of trailer weights are there? I know that the all aluminum ones are lighter, but more expensive as well.

 

[Fast14]

I have a 10'x6' Miska enclosed trailer with ramp door. I use this to transport my bike to races. Trailer weight is 1500lbs combined with the bike, scooter and all my gear I might be at gross weight of 2500lbs...This Diesel will pull that around like its not even there, maybe not even affect the fuel mileage at all...lol

 

[TexanInNebraska]

I have a long bed 4x4 model (not z71) and tow a Coleman 192RDS camper with it. (About 4K empty weight, maybe 6K loaded).

I just got back from a trip through the Rockies with it. It rides great and handles low speed mountains roads amazingly. The exhaust breaks in the mountains are pretty darn cool.

I get about 29 mpg without the trailer and about 10 with the trailer if I keep up with traffic.

If I slow down to 60 mph, I get mpg in the upper teens, with trailer.

You have to realize that this diesel has really low horsepower (181), so high speed while towing just ain't going to happen unless you are going down hill or have wind to your back. On some rather minor hills, keeping up with 75 mph traffic is difficult. 65 mph is more manageable. (Without trailer speed is no problem.)

But low speed, pulling your light trailer through the mud to get to a private spot? This truck is designed for that. Torque is great (369) for a smaller truck. I climbed up some rather muddy places with ease with the trailer attached and felt very confident about getting there and back without getting stuck somewhere.

 

[Trplxl2]

I had my first towing experience with my diesel yesterday, 18 foot open car trailer dual axle, with an 04 Colorado rolling chassis on it. Total weight around 2,300 lbs, the truck did great. The only complaint I would have is the suspension seemed very soft, ever bump the trailer hit you could feel very pronounced in the trucks suspension. Other than that very happy so far.

 

[Shaun Harrison]

I had my first towing experience with my diesel yesterday, 18 foot open car trailer dual axle, with an 04 Colorado rolling chassis on it. Total weight around 2,300 lbs, the truck did great. The only complaint I would have is the suspension seemed very soft, ever bump the trailer hit you could feel very pronounced in the trucks suspension. Other than that very happy so far.

Sounds more like

I had my first towing experience with my diesel yesterday, 18 foot open car trailer dual axle, with an 04 Colorado rolling chassis on it. Total weight around 2,300 lbs, the truck did great. The only complaint I would have is the suspension seemed very soft, ever bump the trailer hit you could feel very pronounced in the trucks suspension. Other than that very happy so far.

Sounds like the trailer was improperly loaded.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

I had my first towing experience with my diesel yesterday, 18 foot open car trailer dual axle, with an 04 Colorado rolling chassis on it. Total weight around 2,300 lbs, the truck did great. The only complaint I would have is the suspension seemed very soft, ever bump the trailer hit you could feel very pronounced in the trucks suspension. Other than that very happy so far.

Your trailers total weight would be much closer to 4000 lb. my 18 footer dual axle comes in at 1900lb unloaded. You should have had about 400-500 lb tongue weight riding with that load.

I agree with Shaun about the loading.

 

[JustinWhitty81]

I am sort of new to the towing game and I am unsure of what exactly I need when it comes to this whole world. I know that I don't need a big HD truck that will tow the state building off of it's foundation, but will the 7,600 lbs of towing (4X4 model) will be enough to tow trailers with a few motorcycles or a UTV.

Towing ratings is for the gross weight of the load right? Trailer weight plus the weight of the cargo.

What sort of trailer weights are there? I know that the all aluminum ones are lighter, but more expensive as well.

Hi,

My Colorado has 6,000 miles on it and if you want to talk about towing prowess I am confident this one is pretty tough to beat. I ride with a group of 6 snowmobiles and we have a 5 pace aluminum inline snowmobile trailer. This was the first trip we used the Colorado for because it was 800 miles round trip and the gas 1/2 tons we usually use were getting 6-7 mpg with this rig.

Mpg was as follows without 6th sled in the bed of the truck 16.1mpg with the sled in the bed 14.4. Now this truck isn't going to break any land speed records, but we did hit 80 a few times passing. I let a buddy drive it and he couldn't believe how well the Colorado pulled the trailer. RPM not a problem keep them low if you can keep the truck in the torque band and out of that 2,600+ RPM range.

Trailer empty weighs 2,800 lbs. 5 snowmobiles with gas and oil averaging 500-550 lbs a piece and to top off the cake on in the bed.

Trip was from Oshkosh, WI to Roscommon, MI. The "baby max" was so efficient even with a chase vehicle the fuel costs for the trip were half that of a standard V8 gas engine.

Moral of the story the Colorado/Canyon with a Diesel is the undisputed king of towing in the midsize segment. It rivals the V8 Silverado 1500 and this is proof.

 

[scarfile]

I understand that the Colorado diesel has built in anti-sway capabilities, that if it detects trailer sway it will correct it with braking the trailer and the truck. Does that mean I don't need anti-sway bars?

 

[jdavis1877]

You need sway bars, there is no getting around it with these trucks. i have a 2017 Canyon Diesel and ive been less than impressed with it towning. So much so i sold the TT i was trying to tow because i never felt safe pulling it. I messed with tongue weight, adjusted/readjusted the WD hitch. Got the WD manufacture involved and we finally were able to get the TT to be "safer" to pull about 60mph but it still felt unsafe, def not what i was used to in a larger truck.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

You need sway bars, there is no getting around it with these trucks. i have a 2017 Canyon Diesel and ive been less than impressed with it towning. So much so i sold the TT i was trying to tow because i never felt safe pulling it. I messed with tongue weight, adjusted/readjusted the WD hitch. Got the WD manufacture involved and we finally were able to get the TT to be "safer" to pull about 60mph but it still felt unsafe, def not what i was used to in a larger truck.

“Less than impressed” is exactly right. It gets a little better with a tune but not much. Bigger truck is the answer.

 

[jdavis1877]

“Less than impressed” is exactly right. It gets a little better with a tune but not much. Bigger truck is the answer.

I think these trucks have their place, power wasn’t my biggest issue it was weight of tow vehicle versus trailer weight. Any wind would throw the canyon back end around and I never even knew I had a trailer when I had a full size. I love a lot about this truck but I’m really disappointed in towing. Maybe open or flat trailers is a different story but as far as travel trailers go, not impressed in the slightest.

I’ve read sooo many posts where guys are pulling all this weight and length and uphill etc and man I bought right into it.

 

[terryjm1]

While it isn’t a diesel discussed in the article, it answers some of the questions.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2237506/chevy-colorado-enough-truck

Here is a quote of specific interest when the author had some doubts about overtaxing his Colorado towing an Airstream trailer:

“Absolutely not,” Brent Deep, Chevrolet’s vehicle performance manager for the Colorado told me. He described Chevy’s worst-case scenario testing, including a towing test in Death Valley on a 20-minute uphill grade at 300 feet below sea level at temperatures sometimes exceeding 120 degress Fahrenheit while carrying more than weight ratings. “Your truck is tested to take a whole lot more than you’re throwing at it,” he told me. He suggested that setup, including load distribution in the trailer and weight distribution on the tongue, is the likeliest culprit for performance issues. He recommended load bars (we already use them), and we’re also considering air bags for the suspension, which are an easy way to add stability. “You can find conditions and terrain that would stop any truck from pulling your trailer.”

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Big difference in “yeah, she’ll do it” and “ I’m comfortable towing my load like this”. The truck did the job. Barely.

 

[terryjm1]

Good point, let me interpret... via my opinion. I think it is fine for once in a while heavy load towing. It has been great for me in that capacity. If I wanted to tow heavy loads frequently, a 4 cylinder mid-size truck made by any manufacturer would not be my choice. The truck is what it is, a mid sized small engine truck. It gets great fuel economy and does everything I need and expected. I didn’t expect a full size V8 hiding in a mid sized 4 cylinder. And, for the same trim level, it was a lot less expensive than a full size. My SLE was right around $33,000 new. And so far, it has been very reliable. It is what I expected and actually a bit more.

 

[DeeK]

FWIW, I'm not towing big trailers, usually about 2500lb fiberglass camping trailer. I've thoroughly enjoyed the Colorado especially compared to my previous TV, a 2010 4.0l tacoma. The colo gets consistently 22mpg pulling that trailer but I do try to stay under 65. I am buying a larger trailer that will be about 4600lb weight and planning on using a Fastway E2 trunnion equalizer and sway control hitch. I've heard you shouldn't use an equalizer with air bags, which I have.
Does anybody know why?