Hi all,
I am happy to say that I am the new owner of a 2010 Chevy Avalanche.
As a family vehicle I'm really impressed with the Avalanche, it rides nice, sits high and looks good.

To give you all some context this is the first truck I've ever owned. I'm a 39 yr old professional and I have a young family.

I bought the Avalanche for a number of reasons...safety, dependability and capability being the top three and perhaps the last of the three is why I'm starting this thread...yikes!!!

When looking for a truck one of the items I had in mind was my family wanted to purchase a nice trailer and go camping. When I found the Avalanche I noticed the sticker on the truck had a line item indicating the truck had a HD trailering package. Having not purchased a truck before I thought (like many of you I'm sure) that a HD trailering package must mean transmission cooling, raiderator cooling, extra suspension, etc, etc.
After purchasing the truck and while looking at trailers my wife asked me what the trucks towing capacity is. Naturally I thought it was in the 8,000lb range but being the conservative guy that I am, I thought I better call the dealership to confirm EXACTLY what the towing capacity is for my new truck. To suggest I was shocked is an understatement...the towing capacity on my new 2010 Avalanche is a paltry 5,000lbs. Heck my old Chevy Uplander minivan could tow 3,500lbs. Apparently the sticker on the window did say HD trailering package but that doesn't mean more towing capability. Specifically HD trailering is a marketing term that means the truck comes with a hitch and wiring harness...yup that's it.
To suggest that I feel duped is an understatement. Do I like my Avalanche...yes. Do I feel I was duped by a marketing term and that the marketing term is confusing to customers, absolutely!!!

Here's a suggestion for Chevy, if you mean to say the truck comes equiped with a hitch and wiring harness then simply state it as a line item...don't use a marketing term to confuse the facts!!!

Edited by: Palmetto on Jul 28, 2010 12:21 AM

Edited by: Palmetto on Jul 28, 2010 12:27 AM

WOW it seems GM's 'safety' margins are growing. I had a 2000 Sierra rated for 8800 lbs towing. My new 2008 Silverado is rated at 7500 lbs towing. My only conclusion to why my stronger, better, more powerful truck tows a FULL 1800 lbs less is warranty. GM backs their vehicles with a great powertrain warranty. What will wear out a drivetrain faster than normal? Towing! If they severely under rate the towing capacities the vehicle shouldn't have any issues. This is all purely my theory though. I'm sure GM would never confirm it.
I tow almost a 6000lb travel trailer with my Silverado. I need to upgrade the P tires to LT's but beside that it tows flawlessly. You know the tires are too light when the wind is strong but on calm days its almost a non issue.
My best guess would be considering your Avalanche is essentially a Silverado in heavier SUV clothing would be you can tow at least 7000-7500 lbs. I'd defiantly upgrade the tires from the wimpy P rating to LT and confirm you have a transmission cooler. It should come from the factory with one if I'm not mistaken. Also defiantly use a weight distribution hitch. I wouldn't tow anything over 4000lbs without one.

You could always do as I did and ask GM directly. I always find those door decals a little confusing thanks to their abbreviations. I would not take the dealers word as total truth. I've known some dealers to just make up or throw out a number for this stuff. Many dealers just don't know what they are talking about when it comes to towing trailers.
To be 100% sure, I wrote GM Canada sending them my Silverado's VIN. I asked for the actual towing capacity for MY truck, not the generalized limit as the brochure says. GM will write back and give you the actual towing capacity of your truck. Options like wheel size, rear end gears, etc.. will have a bearing on tow limits not shown in the brochure.
Do you by chance have 20" wheels? If so I'll bet (if true) thats the reason you can only tow 5000lbs. The extra wheel weight takes away significantly form braking capacity. Its a common problem I've seen on RV forum sites. People buy a nice new truck with fancy 20" wheels and wonder why they can't tow 8000+ lbs. If I remember correctly Dodge de-rates their trucks by 1500 lbs purely based on 20" wheel diameter.

Good luck and keep us all informed here!