Towing Advice Needed....

jerseydrew · April 17, 2010

i have offered to help my friend go pick up his newly restored 67 camaro. anyway we will have to find a closed trailer and will be using my truck to bring her back. i know i will need to add in the trailer brake controller. now my truck is a 2007 1500 CC with 5.3liter and the HD towing package. i know it is rated for 7500 lbs. including everything. the 3 people going should be at most 800 lbs. so that leaves me with 6700 lbs for trailer and car. i know the car is about 3500lbs and we have to source a trailer. i ASSUME the trailer shouldn't be more then 2k-24500 lbs. all the math says it should work out well.

anything i am not thinking about or any other problems or concerns i should be aware of?

i want to make sure this goes well, what do you guys think?

oh and it's a straight shot 500 mile trip, NC to north Jersey.

Stevens03 · April 18, 2010

As long as you have an e-brake controller, you'll be fine. I towed more weight than that with my 5.3

jro909 · April 18, 2010

push the button and bet the trailer brake and you should be ok...with an enclosed trailer your going to get alot of drag but just take it easy on it..

jerseydrew · April 18, 2010

As long as you have an e-brake controller, you'll be fine. I towed more weight than that with my 5.3

that's good to know.

push the button and bet the trailer brake and you should be ok...with an enclosed trailer your going to get alot of drag but just take it easy on it..

yes but with a freshly restored car he does not want it out in the open. he is buying gas so it is what it is but i want to make sure the truck can handle it.

c4cruiser · April 18, 2010

I think you will be right at the ragged edge of safe towing and at or over the truck's limit for the towed weight. A 24' enclosed trailer can weigh as much as around 3200 to 3600lbs depending on the brand. Add the 3500 lb car, 800lbs of cargo in the truck and you are close to 8K lbs total weight. You will need a weight distribution hitch for the trailer to handle the load and keep the tongue weight at the proper amount. A WD hitch will allow more capacity for towing but make sure you don't go over the safe limits. You really need to make sure that you don't tow more than about 80% of the maximum capacity as shown in the owner's manual.

BTW, the trailer tongue weight is typically 10 to 15% of the weight of the loaded trailer and has to be added to the cargo weight in the truck.

What tires are on the truck? Are they P-metric tires or a LT rated tire? P-metric tires may work for the single trip but keep the speeds down to any truck speed limit or even around 50-55. You will get better gas mileage at that speed and less speed means better braking and stable handling. Be careful on hills and keep your speed down. Plan way ahead for downhill braking. With an enclosed trailer and the weight involved, don't use OD. Stay in 3rd and use tow/haul. Gas mileage will suck, but there will be less chance in hurting the tranny. Also consider installing a larger trans cooler than the stock one. Hot weather and a heavy load will team up to kill a trans.

You will need to figure out how long the trailer should be to get the car in and to tie it down. A 20' can work if you aren't hauling any extra parts. A 24' is fine, but at this length, trailers start to get heavy and more of a handful to tow. You will also need suitable tie down straps to secure the car.

music · April 18, 2010

When you're talking tow ratings, GM states:

Maximum trailer ratings are calculated assuming standard equipped vehicle, driver, and required trailering equipment.

With a 5.3/4-spd/3.73, I'd feel fine up to ~8k lbs trailer weight under most conditions, but would expect to always use 2nd on steeper grades. Honestly, my 5.3 pulls as hard as the 6.0 2500HD trucks I've driven w/ the 4L80... stronger actually. I think the difference is that the 4L80 has less gear ratio in 1st and 2nd (plus the extra weight). I only mention that because the 6.0-HD trucks are rated higher for towing (and much more payload), but it's not because they have more power. They are built for payload and stability.

502ci · April 18, 2010

You mention a weight of 2k-2450 lbs for an enclosed trailer, that would be one light trailer even if it was aluminum...my 24 ft. enclosed trailer weighs in at 4,200 pounds, granted that includes a few accessories but I would bet you will end up with one that is at least 3,500 lbs.

Regardless though you should be okay as I tow mine with my 2006 5.3 with 3.42 gears. If you keep the speeds down and have a weight distribution hitch and set the brake controller up properly you will be fine...oh, and load the car for a proper tongue weight.

2005LT · April 18, 2010

George and Bill hit a couple of important topics above. I towed a 24' enclosed cargo trailer today with about 500lb of tools in it. The trailer weighs 4500lbs empty so 5000# total. I don't tow it often, just once in a while. This is without a WD hitch.

There was a slight crosswind today ~10mph and I towed with T/H on and the transmission limited to 5th (6 speed auto). At 60 mph, the rig felt a little shaky. The rear of the truck had a "floaty" sensation like I was driving on water baloons for lack of better description.

My guess is this came down to the factory P-rated tires that came on my truck and perhaps the need for a stiffer rear suspension (add-a-leaf or air bags). My hunch is that the P-metric tires have weaker side walls which allow more side-roll. A WD hitch may have helped but we've towed this trailer a number of times before with my dad's 2003 duramax crew cab and didn't get the same swaying/floating feeling. That's why I am thinking tires & suspension. These may be things for you to consider.

If you're just going to be driving in town at low speeds and this is a one-off thing, you will probably be alright with the brake controller at the minimum.

music · April 18, 2010

At 60 mph, the rig felt a little shaky. The rear of the truck had a "floaty" sensation like I was driving on water baloons for lack of better description.

Did you put the tools in the front of the trailer? What you describe usually indicates too little tongue weight.

MarkD · April 18, 2010

What length trailer are you considering? Will this be just your truck (I assume) or a partner vehicle? I pulled close to 10k regularly with an 03 5.3.

If you rent a trailer, it will probably have surge brakes, not electric brakes. Make sure you have a trailer with electric brakes and your own controller.

Have you thought of renting a 3/4 ton from someone like Sunbelt for the trip?

jerseydrew · April 18, 2010

we haven't gotten that far into it. we need to figure it out though.

502ci · April 18, 2010

To help get rid of some of that mooshy feeling when towing when you have lets say factory tires...read the sidewall on the tire and inflate them to their maximum pressure (just guessing maybe 44 lbs), that will drastically get rid of that feeling. Of course air them down when done towing or it will feel like you are riding on stone tires...

hockeypro1411 · April 18, 2010

When you're talking tow ratings, GM states:

Maximum trailer ratings are calculated assuming standard equipped vehicle, driver, and required trailering equipment.

With a 5.3/4-spd/3.73, I'd feel fine up to ~8k lbs trailer weight under most conditions, but would expect to always use 2nd on steeper grades. Honestly, my 5.3 pulls as hard as the 6.0 2500HD trucks I've driven w/ the 4L80... stronger actually. I think the difference is that the 4L80 has less gear ratio in 1st and 2nd (plus the extra weight). I only mention that because the 6.0-HD trucks are rated higher for towing (and much more payload), but it's not because they have more power. They are built for payload and stability.

That is true. The 4l80's have different gear ratio's in them versus the 4l60's. The 5.3 may pull harder because of the gearing, but put a trailer behind the same two trucks and see which one pulls faster. Driving at highway speeds is not a problem for either truck. It's all about how quickly you can get there when you need to and cruise there comfortably. Not to mention the lessened stress due to a mechanical advantage, bla bla bla. I'll stop now.

music · April 18, 2010

The 5.3 may pull harder because of the gearing, but put a trailer behind the same two trucks and see which one pulls faster. Driving at highway speeds is not a problem for either truck. It's all about how quickly you can get there when you need to and cruise there comfortably. Not to mention the lessened stress due to a mechanical advantage, bla bla bla. I'll stop now.

Absolutely, the 6.0HD/4L80 is a stronger setup. Pulling a load from a dead stop, the 1500 5.3/4L60 has more gearing advantage for pulling at highway speeds up a hill. It's just the way they're designed. Many folks complain about the 6.0/4L80 being "sluggish up a slope w/ a load", and they are, but it's a very strong setup overall and is *built* for heavy work.

2005LT · April 18, 2010

At 60 mph, the rig felt a little shaky. The rear of the truck had a "floaty" sensation like I was driving on water baloons for lack of better description.

Did you put the tools in the front of the trailer? What you describe usually indicates too little tongue weight.

The tools were distributed fairly evenly throughout the trailer and the truck was squatting a fair bit so I know there was a decent amount of tongue weight. Inflation pressure is a good tip too Bill. I was running ~40psi on all corners.

Sorry about the thread jack Drew, though this might apply to your case.