1996 GMC SIERRA weight

Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running (Automatic Transmission
Models Only)
I A ‘CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with the
engine running. Your vehicle could move suddenly
if the shift lever is not fully in PARK
(P) with the
parking brake firmly set.
If you have four-wheel
drive with
a manual transfer case shift lever and
your transfer case is in NEUTRAL
(N), your
vehicle will be free to roll, even if your shift lever
is in PARK (P). So be sure the transfer case is in a
drive gear
-- not in NEUTRAL (N). And, if you
leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could
overheat and even catch fire. You or others could
be injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle
is in PARK (P) and the
parking brake is firmly set before you leave
it. After you
move the shift lever into PARK (P), hold the regular
brake pedal down. Then, see
if you can move the shift
lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling
it
toward you. If you can, it means that the shift lever
wasn’t fully locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission)
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK
(P) properly, the weight of
the vehicle may put too much force on the parking
pawl
in the transmission. You may find it difficult to
pull the shift lever out
of PARK (P). This is called
“torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, set the parking
brake and then shift into PARK (P) properly before you
leave the driver’s seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting
Into PARK (P)” in the Index.
When
you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK (P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the transmission,
so you can puIl the shift
lever out
of PARK (P).
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Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving
is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive
a vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are
the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, some
18,000 annual motor
vehicle-related deaths have been associated with the use
of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured.
Many adults
-- by some estimates, nearly half the
adult population
-- choose never to drink alcohol, so
they never drive after drinking. For persons under 2 1,
it’s against the law in every US. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to solve this highway safety problem
is for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. But
what
if people do? How much is “too much” if the
driver plans to drive? It’s
a lot less than many might
think. Although
it depends on each person and situation,
here is some general information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
The amount of alcohol consumed
0 The drinker’s body weight
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol.
According to
the American Medical Association, a
180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same
BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (I 20 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had I - 1/2 ounces
(45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
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It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close
to 0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have
a
somewhat lower BAC level.
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men.
Since alcohol is carried in body water, this means that a
woman generally will reach
a higher BAC level than a
man of her same body weight when each has the same
number
of drinks.
The law
in many U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, the limit is
0.08 percent. In some
other countries, it’s even lower. The
BAC limit for all
commercial drivers
in the United States is 0.04 percent.
The
BAC will be over 0.10 percent after three to six
drinks
(in one hour). Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person drinks them.
But
the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC
of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance
of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have
a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance of
this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level
of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
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Am I likely to stall when going downhill?
A: It’s much more likely to happen going uphill. But
0
e
a
0
if it happens going downhill, here’s what to do.
Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply
the parking brake.
Shift
to PARK (P) (or to NEUTRAL (N) with the
manual transmission) and, while still braking, restart
the engine.
Shift back
to a low gear, release the parking brake,
and drive straight down.
If the engine won’t start, get out and get help.
Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go across
the
incline of a hill. If this happens, you have to decide
whether to try
to drive across the incline. Here are some
things
to consider:
0 A hill that can be driven straight up or down may be
too steep
to drive across. When you go straight up or
down a
hill, the length of the wheel base (the
distance from
the front wheels to the rear wheels)
reduces the likelihood the vehicle will tumble end
over end.
But when you drive across an incline, the
much more narrow track width (the distance between
the
left and right wheels) may not prevent the vehicle
from tilting and rolling over. Also, driving across an
incline puts more weight
on the downhill wheels.
This could cause
a downhill slide or a rollover.
0 Surface conditions can be a problem when you drive
across a
hill. Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires to slip sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle slips sideways, it can hit something
that will trip it
(a rock, a rut, etc.) and roll over.
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Loading Your Vehicle
n ", ,. , I --- SEE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION I U
The Certificatiomire label is found on the rear edge of
the driver's door or in the Incomplete Vehicle Document
in the cab.
The label shows the size of your original tires and the
inflation pressures needed to obtain the gross weight
capacity
of your vehicle. This is called the GVWR
(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating).
The GVWR includes the
weight of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo.
The Certificationmire label also tells
you the maximum
weights for the front and rear axles, called Gross
Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR). To find out the actual loads on your
front and rear axles,
you need to go to a weigh
station and weigh your vehicle. Your dealer can help
you with this. Be sure to spread out your load equally on
both sides of the centerline.
Never exceed the GVWR for your vehicle, or the
GAWR for either the front or rear axle.
And,
if you do have a heavy load, you should spread
it
out.
I
In the case of a sudden stop or collision, things
carried in the bed
of your truck could shift
forward and come into the passenger area,
injuring you and others.
If you put things in the
bed
of your truck, you should make sure they are
properly secured.
Using heavier suspension components to get added
durability might not change your weight ratings. Ask
your dealer to help you load your vehicle the right way.
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Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR. If you do, parts on your vehicle can break,
or it can change the
way your vehicle handles.
These could cause you to lose control. Also,
overloading can shorten the life of your vehicle.
NOTICE:
Your warranty dose not cover parts or
components that fail because
of overloading.
If you put things inside your vehicle -- like suitcases,
tools, packages, or anything else
-- they go as fat as the
vehicle goes. If you have to stop or turn quickly, or if
there is a crash, they’ll keep going.
CriUTdN:
r
Things you put inside your vehicle can strike
and injure people in
a sudden stop or turn, or
in
a crash.
0 Put things in the cargo area of your vehicle.
Try to spread the weight evenly.
Never stack heavier things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle
so that some of them are
above the tops
of the seats.
0 Don’t leave an unsecured child restraint in
your vehicle.
When you carry something inside the
vehicle, secure it whenever you can.
0 Don’t leave a seat folded down unless you
need to.
There’s also important loading information for off-road
driving
in this manual. See ”Loading Your Vehicle” in
the Index.
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Truck-Camper Loading Information
This label is inside your glove box. It will tell you if
your vehicle can carry a slide-in camper, how much of a
load your vehicle can carry, and how to correctly spread
out your load.
Also, it will help you match the right
slide-in camper to your vehicle.
When you carry a slide-in camper,
the total cargo load
of your vehicle is
the weight of the camper, PLUS
0 everything else added to the camper after it left
the factory;
everything in the camper; and
0 all the people inside.
The Cargo Weight Rating (CWR) is
the maximum
weight
of the load your vehicle can carry. It doesn’t
include the weight
of the people inside. But, you can
figure about
1-50 Ibs. (68 kg) for each seat.
The total cargo load must
not be more than your
vehicle’s CWR. Refer
to the Truck Camper Loading Information label
in
glove box for A and B dimensions.
Use the
rear edge of the load floor for measurement
purposes.
The recommended location for the cargo center of gravity
for the Cargo Weight Rating (CWR)
is the point where
the mass of a body is concentrated and,
if suspended at
that point, would balance the front and rear.
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Here is an example of proper truck and camper match:
A. Camper Center of Gravity
B. Recommended Center of Gravity Location Zone
The camper‘s center of gravity should
fall within the
center of gravity zone
for your vehicle’s cargo load.
You must weigh
any accessories or other equipment that
you add
to your vehicle. Then, subtract this extra weight
from the CWR. This extra weight may shorten the
center
of gravity zone of your vehicle. Your dealer can
help
you with this.
If your slide-in camper and its load weighs less than the
CWR, the center of gravity zone for your vehicle may
be larger. Your
dealer can help
you make a good vehicle-camper
match. He’ll also help you determine
your CWR.
After you’ve loaded your vehicle and camper, drive to a
weigh station and weigh on the front and rear wheels
separately. This will tell
you the loads on your axles.
The loads
on the front and rear axles shouldn’t be more
than either of the GAWRs. The total of the axle loads
should not be more than the GVWR.
Open your driver’s door and
look at the Cel-tificationflire
label to find
out your GAWR and GVWR.
If you’ve gone over your weight ratings, move or take
out some things until all the weight f;llls below the
ratings. Of course,
you should always tie down any
loose items when
you load your vehicle or camper.
When
you install and load your slide-in camper, check
the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you want more information
on curb weights, cargo
weights, Cargo Weight Rating and the correct center
of
Just ask for a copy of “Consumer Information,
Truck-Camper Loading.”
L qravity zone for your vehicle, your dealer can help you.
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