Towing the Gauntlet 5.3 NHT

peejaykay · July 4, 2015

Gents, just thought I'd let y'all know I'm going to drag my ~10k trailer over the gauntlet (Eisenhower tunnel pass) in about 2 weeks. 2014, CC std box, 4x4, 5.3 NHT. I've seen TFL videos where they took a 6.2 and it did OK. My run won't be as instrumented as theirs and I'm not doing it just for fun, it's part of my route. I'll include the weight tickets for my load in case you're interested.

Edit: Thought I should add that I have several thousand miles towing this exact combination, with this truck and trailer. I'm super comfortable with how it handles up, down and around semi's. No sway, no sketchy white knuckling and completely controllable under adverse conditions. I should also caveat that I've been doing this stuff for a long time, and proper setup of the trailer, hitch and truck all come into play when towing in that "gray area" - where one may choose to have a slightly larger truck. Some people wouldn't be comfortable with this.

This should give someone an objective idea of how the 5.3 NHT can do going up and down I-70 East through Colorado en route to Colorado Springs. It will also give you an idea as to whether the jump in price/capability to a 6.2 NHT is worth the additional $. For me personally, if I can hold 50mph the whole way up then the truck did its job.

Trailer: Open Range LT308BHS

Hitch: OEM receiver

WD/anti-sway: Propride3P

Weight: TBD - will have the ticket on 7/8.

Update to come!

Jon A · July 4, 2015

Good luck, man! Be safe! We'll all be anxious to hear how it does.

Any chance you have an android phone or tablet? With the app Torque you can log your max engine, oil, tranny fluid, etc temps on the way up which might be quite informative.

BlackZ71Silverado · July 5, 2015

That's one hell of an incline that's for sure. Make sure you're all squared away before making that trip.

Sent from my crappy iPhone 6

using Tapatalk

peejaykay · July 6, 2015

I don't have the Torque app. I can download it, but I think I need an adapter too. Not sure where I can pick one up locally. That would be some good data, especially if I get a failure!

00Silverado4x4 · July 6, 2015

Good luck, be safe, and make sure to come back and let us know the results. First hand experience/knowledge is always good to have.

peejaykay · July 8, 2015

Here's what we did today. No weight ticket yet but I'm guessing around 10,500-11,000lbs.

Elevation Profile attached. Had some fairly long grades in super hot weather. I was most concerned on the 2nd major grade in the elevation profile, attached. So keep in mind this is a 3.73 geared, crew cab, 4wd 6.5ft bed max trailering package. I think that changes the rear leafs and adds additional cooling as well.

On the first major grade, I held 55mph the whole way without any problems. No significant heating in the trans temperature or coolant. Down was painless, grade braking wasn't even activated.

The second grade, it was 112 degrees and much longer. held 55mph for about 60% then had to drop it to 50mph because I noticed the trans temps rising. Held 50mph through the remainder of the grade. Trans temp peaked at 230degrees, which is warm. Additionally, the coolant did bump a tick on the temp gauge. The downside was also steeper than previously. 6% for 7 miles. At the crest, I slowed to 45 and manually put the trans in 2nd gear. Never touched the brakes the whole way down. It was stress free.

Tomorrow will be another grade heavy day on our way to Bryce. I believe the peak elevation was 4700 ft or so.

Jon A · July 8, 2015

That's good info. Here's the adapter I got to run Torque (cheaper ones didn't work well with this 2014): https://www.scantool.net/obdlink-mx.html

Here's an example of what you can look at:

When you set it up with those types of guages for temps it tracks the max and minimum so you can go over the data more carefully after you've stopped somewhere instead of staring at it when you're trying to drive. You can also read codes when the CEL lights up and clear them, etc, which can be handy when you're on the road.

I think you'll find your temp gauge isn't very accurate as most GM gauges aren't. The one on my Denali reads exactly 210 from about 190 to 230 degrees. When it finally ticks up a little it's close to 240. GM does that so owners wont worry. And there's no Oil Temp gauge stock.

calgator73 · July 8, 2015

Awesome! BTW.... Your transmission temp should be good up to 270

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

00Silverado4x4 · July 8, 2015

Good to hear it worked so well for you.

peejaykay · July 9, 2015

Got my ticket this morning. Either the CAT scale is whack, or my WD hitch needs some adjusting! I bought my WD hitch used, and suspected the WD bars were 1000lbs and not 1400. I think that is the case.

I was standing outside the truck so that may also affect the numbers, but here they are:

Steering axle: 3182

Drive axle: 4411

Trailer axle: 9249

GCW: 16680

Full tank + wife, 4 year old, infant and about 150lbs in gear in the bed.

So what I think needs to happen is I need to shift weight to the rear of the trailer. I do have a ton of shit under the bed which is in the front. I also need to verify the what kind of bars I have.

Anyways, on to towing experience today. Had zero heat concerns with the transmission today. Trans temps never went over 220, held 58mph through the majority of the trip. There were some grades where I slowed to 50 and after I got off I-15 and entered the gorges/mountain passes, I had to slow to 45 because it just wasn't safe to tow a massive trailer on such a windy road in the mountains. That worked out great as well.

Elevation profile attached. Peak elevation today was around 7900 feet.

calgator73 · July 9, 2015

Is your truck level when hitched up?

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

Is your truck level when hitched up? Also did your front fender height go up after hitching?

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

peejaykay · July 9, 2015

It is level. I set we so that the front is within 1/2" of where it was before hooking up.

Jon A · July 11, 2015

So what I think needs to happen is I need to shift weight to the rear of the trailer. I do have a ton of shit under the bed which is in the front. I also need to verify the what kind of bars I have.

I agree on both counts. It looks like you've got ~1500 lbs tongue weight which is definately a bit much. And as most know I'm not a fan of transfering too much weight with the WDH, but by your numbers it looks like it probably isn't doing enough.

peejaykay · July 12, 2015

I agree on both counts. It looks like you've got ~1500 lbs tongue weight which is definately a bit much. And as most know I'm not a fan of transfering too much weight with the WDH, but by your numbers it looks like it probably isn't doing enough.

Yep, I think that's what is going on. So we leave to Moab, UT tomorrow. Mostly down hill. Going to move some stuff behind the trailer axles and see if that helps me out, and get reweighed in Moab.

peejaykay · July 15, 2015

The second major grade on the elevation profile above gave me some trouble. I didn't want to tax the trans or engine too much, so I slowed to 45 and temps climbed to 235. It could do 50 in 2nd but what's the point. It could even hold 55 in 3rd, but the temps were climbing so I assumed 45 in 2nd would be safer. This was a second gear pull for about 30% of the climb. It was pretty long too, I'd say about 15 miles. It's hard to tell what the grade was. Going down is easy. 2nd gear, 45mph with the flashers on and its stress free. Touch the brakes when you hit 50 and it will go down to 40 quickly. Repeat, about 3-4 times. My brakes see greater wear and tear in stop and go.

So far, I am not regretting going with the 5.3 vs 6.2. It gets the job done...so far. Big test will be Thursday through the Eisenhower tunnel.