Tow Rating

Upgrading to a new 5W that the specs are hitch weight 2500 lb factory weight 12670 lb cargo capacity 3737 lb gvwr 16407 lb. According to the 2002 tow guide my c/c lwb Dmax dually has a 5W towing capacity of 15100 lb. My feeling is that 1.5 K over max the suspension drive train and a Kennedy tune will not effect safety. The braking ability is what I am concerned about at 1.5 K over. I will try to keep as close to 15100K as possible. I have 101K on the truck with about 10% tow miles its just getting broke in good. I didn't need to but I just replaced the factory brake pads with Raybestos ceramic pads. Always use tow/haul mode when towing. What do you high milers think?

I haven't looked at your specs but my 2006 with 5w was 21500 gross down the road. Everything worked well. First trip started of the Reno side of Donner and realized my trailer plug had worked loose so all I had were truck brakes. I was able to get her stopped and repair the trailer plug. Just glad it wasn't a panic stop.

Find a CAT scale and axel it out so you know for sure. There is an app Fifth Wheel St. get your weights and plug them in and it will tell you if your legal or not. Best to be just incase something happens. Damn lawyers get nasty if the find your not.

I agree with 5150nut that you should go to a CAT scale probably before you buy it and weigh each axle. If your 2002 has the same brakes as my 2006 and you drive with caution in the mountains you should be OK. Try your best to be legal because if the DoT weighs you and your heavy the fines are very high. I assume that a trailer as heavy as you are buying will have three axles with brakes. Three trailer braking axles and using T/H mode will make a big difference.

You indicated that you just installed new Raybestos ceramic brakes. When I put them on my 06 truck the stopping distance increased considerably. The ceramic pads will never wear out but they will eat a set of rotors about every 50k miles. I hope you have better luck with the ceramic brakes than I did. I now run Raybestos top of the line non ceramic brakes with drilled and slotted rotors and I am very happy.

Good luck
John