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Real world towing with a 1/2 ton

rusty01

By rusty01
in Towing, Hauling & Hitches

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CKNSLS Enthusiast

CKNSLS

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I'm going to be towing a 25 ft airstream trailer which has a dry weight of 6500 lbs and prob with gear and fam we will be at or close to 7500. The trailer has a hemsley weight distribution hitch. I'm towing with my '05 Yukon Denali xl. I've got 14" drilled and slotted rotors on front and rear with hawk pads. And of course I've got a proportional e brake controller. Ive got oem chrime 20" gm rims and cooper zeon LTZs. I'm towing it about 500 miles round trip.

 

What do you all think?

 

 

 

I tow a 28 foot 5,500 pound travel trailer with my 2011-5.3 Crew Cab. I couldn't afford a bigger truck so this is what I bought. It will tow fine, especially on the highway. On the hills the transmission will downshift and will get warmer. I was towing a week ago coming from Southern California to Utah in 105 degree heat. The transmission ran a constant 185 (rule of thumb is 100 over ambient temperature) with it going to 235 on the hills, which were three mountain passes at 6,000 feet elevation. I kept the speed right at 60, going down to 50ish on the passes.

 

I averaged about 12 mpg.

 

I believe the new transmission fluid GM is using can really take the heat.

 

Hope this helps.

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      After I wrote that reply I went for a ride. 85 F out. So trans started at 85 F and it shifted the same as it did an hour latter at 168 F. I've never actually recorded the to cold to shift point but it is under 32 F before they start hanging on to a lower gear or leaving the converter unlocked. Both intended to heat fluid.    Yes, brake or bake. Absolutely.      Your welcome. True research ended decades ago. Field trials are still in play.    There is a thing called oxidation onset temperature. This is the heat related oxidation not the O2 exposure kind. For mineral oil that starts at 140 F. So what happens after 140 F? Each 20 F cuts fluid life in half! Does using a Full Synthetic improve that? Yes! By how much? Depends on the base oil type and a few other factors. But enough to notice. Some esters are even higher. There are even synergies between types the will raise it higher than any one component is alone.    Then there is "Hindered" oils. Antioxidant additives. Hindered Polyol Esters can sit at 500 F for years in a turbine.   When a blender brags his oil will 'take 500 F" in service he doesn't specify for how long. Water will dance on a 500 F hot plate for several seconds. @newdude put up a chart showing the relationship between fluid temperature and it's life in an automatic transmission. Here's a version of that chart for Group III based oils. These temperatures are those in the pan as observed as 'normal'. that is you drive as you do for as long as you do under what load you ask of it and whatever that temperature is this graph applies to. Flash temperatures of a few minutes isn't what his means.    Note that fluids held at a constant 240 F have a service life of only 20K miles. 220 F explains the factory exchange limit, eh? My equipment I keep under 180 F and I'm good if the cooler will hold it as low as 140 F. But that's me.   

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