Need More Towing Power ....

jhhavisto · March 3, 2011

I have a 2004 Sierra 1500 Crew Cab 4x4 with 5.3L Vortec and 3.73 gears (G80). I hooked up a 19' Jayco trailer last year and was very disappointed at the performance. On the flats it was ok in trailer mode, but power up any type of hill is not there. I am considering some upgrades including CAI, cat back exhaust or at least new muffler, powertune, gear swap to 4:10, tranny cooler. Pulling out all the stops if they make sense, any advice on this would be appreciated besides the obvious upgrade to diesel, I think there is power to unleash just not using it.

cghbuilder86 · March 3, 2011

Whats the weight of your trailer? I pull with a truck sounds about like yours. It does pretty good.

txab · March 3, 2011

Whats the weight of your trailer? I pull with a truck sounds about like yours. It does pretty good.

+1

Knowing your total weight makes a difference on recommendations.

music · March 3, 2011

Sounds like your expectations may be a bit high? Towing in 3rd rather than 4th may be the only change needed for satisfaction.

Stevens03 · March 3, 2011

Skip the 4.10's and go straight to 4.56's and you'll be completely happy I did alot of towing with my previous 5.3 that had 4.10's and quite frankly, I wished I had a little more gear.

tyhuck · March 3, 2011

Are you running stock size tires? Larger tires will reduce some of the power. Ide say, if you are going to be towing often, then maybe you should look into something with more Cu" . May be time to trade up to a 6.2, or a 2500 with the 6.0. Swapping to 4.56 is just gonna piss you off when driving unloaded because the fuel is gonna eat you alive. Other than that, the other mods you listed arent gonna net you much more power. Personally Ide look into a 2500 if I were you.

jro909 · March 3, 2011

big rims/tires= less torque to the wheels

jhhavisto · March 3, 2011

The trailer weights about 3750lbs, probably 5000 fully loaded, tires are 265/70R17 Cooper Discoverer ATR.

DwayneJ · March 3, 2011

There are ways to add a good bit more power before resorting to a larger engine.

I think you are on the right track to start with a tune though. For towing power I would probably skip a CAI and catback exhaust though as I believe most of the gains from those will be high rpm.

4.10s would help and with the tire height and overdrive still be fine on fuel.

brainpause · March 4, 2011

your truck is exactly the same as mine, except I have 3.42 gears. I also am towing a hybrid camping trailer that weighs about the same as mine, maybe a little less. We even have the same size tires.

I got a custom tune, but I am considering blackbear. I also never tow in OD. I am always in 3rd gear. Much fewer harsh hard downshifts to second gear that way.

All that said, I am begging my wife to let me get 4.10's.

Larry

Blue2500CC · March 4, 2011

First question is where do you live? When you say "Any type of hill", that could be a big difference.

Here in Mi I have towed an '87 Yelllowstone 25' that weighs about 5500 empty (maybe 6500 loaded) w/ my old 2k SIlvy ecsb 4x4 4.8/3.73/286-75-18. I did fine. Though I wasn't going to win any races, but it handled it.

But then again my "hills" could be speed bumps for you! Lol

I would think 4.10+ gears, the maybe a tune from what I have read (never had one). After that maybe a newer truck w/ the 5.3/6spd????? I haven't towed a LOT of weight with the new 2010 YET, but it pulls 2600ish lbs a lot better than my old 2k I mentioned. Plan on towing the Yellowstone this Summer, so we will find out then!

Was that the first time you have towed a trailer that heavy? If so, maybe it was your expectations as mentioned???

Also, are the brakes working right on the truck or trailer? Is one dragging maybe? How are the bearings on the trailer? Proper air pressure? Just trying to think of any possibilites!

Rest assured, you are in the right place for help!

Chris

jhhavisto · March 4, 2011

your truck is exactly the same as mine, except I have 3.42 gears. I also am towing a hybrid camping trailer that weighs about the same as mine, maybe a little less. We even have the same size tires.

I got a custom tune, but I am considering blackbear. I also never tow in OD. I am always in 3rd gear. Much fewer harsh hard downshifts to second gear that way.

All that said, I am begging my wife to let me get 4.10's.

Larry

The Blackbear PCM tune looks like a great way to go, I was looking at Superchips tuner so that I can tweak it for towing and then go back to a daily driving tune. I keep it in 3rd for towing as well, I have to even on the flats. 4:10s make sense to me to get the extra torque across the board. I think I will try these things and if it doesn't work out I will trade in the wife's Cherokee for a 2500 and use that for our weekend warrior trips.

jhhavisto · March 4, 2011

First question is where do you live? When you say "Any type of hill", that could be a big difference.

Here in Mi I have towed an '87 Yelllowstone 25' that weighs about 5500 empty (maybe 6500 loaded) w/ my old 2k SIlvy ecsb 4x4 4.8/3.73/286-75-18. I did fine. Though I wasn't going to win any races, but it handled it.

But then again my "hills" could be speed bumps for you! Lol

I would think 4.10+ gears, the maybe a tune from what I have read (never had one). After that maybe a newer truck w/ the 5.3/6spd????? I haven't towed a LOT of weight with the new 2010 YET, but it pulls 2600ish lbs a lot better than my old 2k I mentioned. Plan on towing the Yellowstone this Summer, so we will find out then!

Was that the first time you have towed a trailer that heavy? If so, maybe it was your expectations as mentioned???

Also, are the brakes working right on the truck or trailer? Is one dragging maybe? How are the bearings on the trailer? Proper air pressure? Just trying to think of any possibilites!

Rest assured, you are in the right place for help!

Chris

Thanks for asking, we live in Kamloops B.C., semi-desert with pretty good mountains all directions. Daily driving is through the valleys, relatively flat, but camping usually requires a bit of a hill climb to get to the lakes. The real good lakes require a trip up the Coquihalla (HWY5) and I wouldn't even attempt towing up there at this point, even unloaded I am either in 3rd at 55mph or can hold it in OD at 75 or 80. Brakes are new, it is just a tough pull and yes I think I may have overestimated this truck for pulling. I am going to do the gears and tune and see where that gets me, if nothing less I will have a better performing truck for my daily driver and convince the b&c that I need two trucks. The reason I don't just trade in this truck is that I drive about 40k miles per year on company business and they limit the size of truck they will sponsor, I am pretty much limited to a 1500 but don't mind since they pay the gas ! I'll will post how this works out in a few months.

6.2 GMC · March 5, 2011

Something to think about before you get the gears replaced, on a 4X4, you have to change out both the rear & front gear sets to get a matched set, lots of $$