PROJECT LOOKS. MUSCLE. LONGEVITY
PART SEVEN: LET’S TOW SOMETHING!
Project Looks. Muscle. Longevity has come a long way since coming off the used car lot last November. This truck was somewhat high-mileage with 117K on the clock, but it was in perfect condition both inside and out. The previous owner had taken good care of it and Carfax showed great maintenance reports for the first five years of its life. This go-around, we’ll finally make the 2012 Silverado tow-worthy.
During the warmer summer months this truck will spend most weekends in the mountains dragging a 12,000-pound fifth wheel travel trailer around, but to do that it’ll first need an in-bed hitch system installed. For ease of install for a DIY kind of guy, the CURT EZR Double Lock underbed hitch is a great choice. Yes, it’ll still take a couple hours to complete the task, but it can be done start to finish by just one person thanks to CURT’S carriage bolts and their simple, no-drill, no-weld frame rail mounting brackets. There will need to be a big 4-inch hole drilled in the center of the bed floor, but CURT makes this easy, with no measuring required, thanks to the ingenious Center Locator tool included with the kit. The EZR Double Lock offers additional peace of mind and security with a dual locking pin design through the turnover ball.
On 2011+ GM model trucks the toughest part of this install is dealing with the boxed frame rails, as four large bolts need to be fished into place from the inside through some access points not directly behind the outer mounting hole locations. For this, CURT also helps make installation easy by including coiled fish wires you can thread the bolts into to help fish the bolts into place.
With the gooseneck hitch taken care of, in conjunction with a fifth wheel adapter the truck can finally start being used for its real purpose in life, heavy towing. Before that first big camping trip, however, bolting on some additional load support can not only help ride quality and prevent excessive suspension sag when towing but also prevent excessive sway and make for a more stable driving experience.
While on-board airbag systems have their advantages, there are some airless systems available like the Sumosprings kits from