Towing with the 6.2 V8

[bills]

Well, here are the numbers I promised in the above post. I just filled up my tank and got 16.23 MPG calculated for combined city/highway driving in Birmingham, AL. Not to shabby! The DIC showed 16.8 MPG.

[bills]

 

I agree with bills the bluetooth voice command is pretty cool (when mine decides to play nice), it is going in for an update tomorrow that should correct it I found a PI that came out 3/10/14 to address some of the quirks the HMI module has that I noticed.

 

 

Craig

 

 

What kind of quirks did you have with the HMI?

 

Bill

[1kwik72]

 

 

I agree with bills the bluetooth voice command is pretty cool (when mine decides to play nice), it is going in for an update tomorrow that should correct it I found a PI that came out 3/10/14 to address some of the quirks the HMI module has that I noticed.

 

 

Craig

 

 

What kind of quirks did you have with the HMI?

 

Bill

 

There are a whole list of them that the PI covers. Mine was specifically not recognizing the voice commands intermittently. Sometimes It would say "device initializing" then every time you would say a command it would say "pardon"

and not hear anything. Eventually either I or the truck gave up trying to make it hear me. The other issue specifically listed on the PI that I had was a blank screen with "service rear camera system" message. It only happened once after shifting to drive right after backing out of the driveway. I cycled the key at the end of my block and it went away.

 

I am also having some random bluetooth issues not listed on the PI that may or may not be related (may be my phone not playing nice). Quite frequently it will display "no internet connection" when trying to play Pandora. It also sometimes will just hang on the Pandora screen with a song showing but nothing playing. It also will randomly say "check device connection" Sometimes cycling the key helps. Generally restarting my phone has no effect but if I disconnect and reconnect via the HMI it will usually fix the issue.

 

All in all it isn't too bad just kind of annoying from time to time. It is strange my truck was built 1/11/14 and had the older version of the software in it. This PI for reprogramming the HMI is pretty new as it came out 3/14/14. I had it done today hopefully it makes things a bit less buggy.

 

Craig

[captras]

I just came up on 1000 miles on my 6.2 Max tow equipped Silverado.I hope to hook up to my trailer sometime in the next couple weeks which should give this thing a real workout at 9900 lbs I can already tell it should have no problem power wise compared to my dads 07 Classic 2500HD with the 6.0. I just hope the chassis handles the weight adequately. I won't be towing it a bunch (that's what my C5500 Kodiak motorhome is for) but it will be nice to be able to run my trailer around town or up to the track for a day trip without getting the motorhome out.

 

So far this thing has been awesome. I am little disappointed with the fuel mileage (11.2 average) but it has been really cold here lately and I drive mostly city stop and go (plus it is too much fun to drop the hammer on this thing). Its not a huge deal I didn't buy it for the MPG but hearing how good some of you have been doing I was cautiously optimistic.

 

I agree with bills the bluetooth voice command is pretty cool (when mine decides to play nice), it is going in for an update tomorrow that should correct it I found a PI that came out 3/10/14 to address some of the quirks the HMI module has that I noticed.

 

 

Craig

I would love to know how it works out. Do you have a 5th wheel or bumper pull. I am averaging 18+ combined. Carried a load of about 1200 #, plus wife and dog on a 100 mile trip and still averaged 19+ with speeds ranging from 55 to 75.

[1kwik72]

I would love to know how it works out. Do you have a 5th wheel or bumper pull. I am averaging 18+ combined. Carried a load of about 1200 #, plus wife and dog on a 100 mile trip and still averaged 19+ with speeds ranging from 55 to 75.

It is a 28' enclosed bumper pull with tandem 6000lb axles. It is loaded right up with finished interior and cabinets in the front so the trailer by itself is fairly heavy. The car weighs about 3000 lbs plus a quad, fuel, tools & spare parts adds up quick.

[captras]

That's awesome. I am looking at a travel trailer, bumper pull, about 9000# GVW, so your experience should give me a great starting point for my planning. I appreciate your info!

[Kryptes]

Well I get to pick up my 2014 6.2L White Diamond this afternoon (super pumped!) and was wondering if there is any difference in towing I should be aware of with the All Terrain Rancho Shocks that are installed. Does anyone have anything neg or pos to share towing with them?

[thewhitestallion]

nothing really special. they are just your everyday "off-road" shocks. have towed with my 5.3 z71 and they handle just fine.

[J-man67]

Yeah, they are just another shock. They dont have much to do with towing as the leaf springs.

[Kryptes]

Awsome thanks guys

[redwngr]

I would love to know how it works out. Do you have a 5th wheel or bumper pull. I am averaging 18+ combined. Carried a load of about 1200 #, plus wife and dog on a 100 mile trip and still averaged 19+ with speeds ranging from 55 to 75.

Is your 6.2L a Max Tow (3.73) or a 3.42?

[captras]

Is your 6.2L a Max Tow (3.73) or a 3.42?

YES, it is a 3.73.

[redwngr]

Thanks captras, I'm considering 6.2 max tow as well.

[nards444]

Would love to hear how it works. Based on my truck, 7200# GW, my empty wt as equipped is about 5400. Add myself, the wife, the dog, and some gear and the weght of a 5th wheel hitch and it brings it to about 5900. Thats 1300 below max. I can get a 5th wheel with a dry hitch wt of about 1100#. If I now add water, gas, gear, etc to the trailer, totally 1000#, figuring a hitch wt equal to 15% of the total trailer weight, that adds another 150# to the hitch weight for a total hitch weight of 1250#, putting me 50# under max allowable gross vehicle weight. Most RV dealers dont have a clue. Most "1/2 ton towable" 5th wheels have a dry hitch weight in excess of 1300#, so you really have to be careful and do the math.

Now this just by the numbers, I know some people dont believe in them but thats your choice or theirs.

 

Truck 5400lbs, 1,100lb hitch or tongue weight. 200lb man, 150lb women, 50lb dog. Total 6900lbs before gear, which check you are good on payload. Which means you have a 300lb leway to put gear in your truck. Remember do you have a tool box with tools on the truck, a bunch of junk in the glove and cubbies, those things all add weight.

 

 

 

Now for trailer. 9,000lbs of trailer, water is going to run you 300lbs on 40 gallons, if you got a bigger tank factor that in. I have read between clothes, food, hot dog sticks, camp chairs, lanterns, the average travel trailer has around 1500-2000lbs of gear in it. So 1500 plus 300lbs in water is 1800 total weight in the trailer, making your trailer weigh 10,800lbs.

 

 

I know a lot of dealers and people that arent just trying to sell you something will tell you a half ton should only be pulling travel trailers in the 6-8klbs tops. As I said before becuase most people put about a 2k worth of stuff into this trailers. Also travel trailers act like sails going down the road, even before it windy.

 

 

GCWR is 17,700lbs your truck weight 6900 with people, dog, and tongue weight which gives you 10,800lbs to tow with and your trailer with gear weighs 10,800.

 

 

I guess you can plug and play with the numbers a little, but either way you are on the dot, and not something I would do. Look for a trailer to give you a little leway thats a little lighter. A lot of guys say dont tow at 100% tow at 90% which would mean you your 1000lbs over if your playing it safe.

 

 

 

I know a lot of dealers and people that arent just trying to sell you something will tell you a half ton should only be pulling travel trailers in the 6-8klbs range tops. As I said before becuase most people put about a 2k worth of stuff into this trailers. Also travel trailers act like sails going down the road, even before it windy.

[Jon A]

See other thread. Again, in this example the truck weight for the GCWR is only 5800 (don’t add tongue weight twice), giving you 16600 total. Still 1100 below max. A heavy load to be sure, but the truck is rated for it with some room to spare.