With the warm weather now upon us, thousands of people are taking to the road each day to participate in equestrian competitions across the country—and naturally, they’re bringing their horses with them. But trailering those four-legged friends requires special care. You need a truck that has the ability to tow thousands of pounds with superior safety, and it doesn’t hurt if sophisticated good looks are part of the package, too. Which is why so many horse lovers also profess their love for the GMC Sierra HD.
Take Jennifer Thompson, an equine veterinarian who travels from her home state of Wisconsin to compete in horse-and-buggy driving competitions throughout the eastern half of the United States. Her workhorse of choice: A Sierra 2500HD. Packing a robust 6.6-liter Duramax V8 turbo diesel, the truck boasts a segment-leading fifth-wheel trailer-weight rating of 21,700 lbs. (single rear-wheel models only) and a best-in-class weight-carrying hitch capability.
Leveraging that kind of performance, Thompson said, “On one trip we were driving over the mountains of Pennsylvania, trailering three horses and 10-days’ worth of feed, hay and luggage weighing a total 15,500 pounds, and the Sierra never even burped. My fellow driver, who owns a Ford F-250, was really jealous.
“I really appreciate my truck’s power when merging onto the interstate and towing over mountains,” Thompson added. “I also appreciate the engine’s ability to hold the trailer back when going downhill so that I don’t need to ride the brakes.”
That’s courtesy of the Sierra’s “smart” exhaust brake, an innovative standard feature on 2011 models equipped with the Duramax diesel. This system can be engaged to use backpressure generated by the engine’s turbocharger to slow the vehicle without having to use the brakes. And it lives up to its “smart” reputation by being able to sense the grade and vehicle load to vary engine braking for optimum performance.
It’s just one more benefit of GMC’s extensive use of real-world testing in the vehicle-development process.
“For towing capability we test our vehicles under maximum load conditions and under extreme conditions, like Death Valley when it’s 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and up and down long, steep grades like Interstate 70 in Colorado up the Eisenhower Pass,” said Jim Mikulec, lead development engineer for heavy duty trucks. “We go to extremes so that our customers can tow with confidence, even on snow and ice.”
And even when there’s almost as much horsepower in the trailer as there is under the hood.
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