Heavy Haul Review

[nards444]

Ok thought I would post to help new buyers and what not. Have a double cab 4x4, 5.3 with max tow LT. I tow a 10k boat that is 30ft long. First time doing it in this truck. Towed the boat 173 miles this weekend, not far.

 

 

Used a backup camera for the first time and what a difference to hooking up, if you dont have one and tow a lot, get one. Boat did make the truck squat somewhat that was to be expected. I mainly travled in the 62-65mph range this weekend. I did get 12.3mpg round trip, so I was pretty impressed with that.

 

The good things. Handling and breaking and overall truck handeling the boat was just as good if not better than any other 1/2 ton I have owned. The truck was quiet. The tow mode handled good when down shifting and helped you slow down due to down shifting.

 

 

Bad things. The tow mode on upshifting SUCKS, sorry but it does. On flat pavement it would go to like 4500-5k rpms for no reason, and would get stuck in shifting. I actually just turned the thing off a few times. The downshifting like I said worked good, but upshifting is horrible. This necessarily isnt a bad thing, but the 14 is a lot better in acceleration than the old 5.3l, but with 10k on the back, your not going anywhere in a hurry. In comparison to the EB I had the chevy doesnt even have a dog in the fight when it comes to acceleration, not even the same league.

 

Overall I was happy with the performance of the silverado when towing. If I towed heavy and alot or far, this probably wouldnt be the best application to chose, but for the average weekend warrior, it would more than fit the bill. Click below for my original review.

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/160350-6-month-review/?do=findComment&comment=1442074

[oldmann]

The trans doesn't upshift to save itself. It may have been flat ground but the wind resistance on that thing must be crazy.

[nards444]

The trans doesn't upshift to save itself. It may have been flat ground but the wind resistance on that thing must be crazy.

10mph wind if that. Boat actually is pretty sleek and sits low only like 8ft tall, so wind wasnt an issue. Not necessarily upshitting which it did to a few times for retarded reasons. But starting out on flat ground it wanted to stay in a gear forever, gets the point your no longer accelerating due to it. Just terrible shift points on the way up IMO, i Understand getting the most of each gear range, but stayed pegged at high RPM for no reason doesnt make sense.

[fondupot]

10mph wind if that. Boat actually is pretty sleek and sits low only like 8ft tall, so wind wasnt an issue. Not necessarily upshitting which it did to a few times for retarded reasons. But starting out on flat ground it wanted to stay in a gear forever, gets the point your no longer accelerating due to it. Just terrible shift points on the way up IMO, i Understand getting the most of each gear range, but stayed pegged at high RPM for no reason doesnt make sense.

 

10k lbs of a 30ft boat is a LOT more wind resistance than you may think. that 10mph of wind could add pretty significant drag to the vehicle causing the spikes in RPMs like you noticed.

[nards444]

 

10k lbs of a 30ft boat is a LOT more wind resistance than you may think. that 10mph of wind could add pretty significant drag to the vehicle causing the spikes in RPMs like you noticed.

ehh I hear what you are saying. But i have towed that boat with three other vehicles one of them being a half ton, and never seen the RPM spikes before. My old 07 did the same thing with a 4000lb boat. I just think the shift points are wrong or it holds to long. Both times starting out was flat for a mile or more in a bowl so wind being 10mph tops that day and being in a bowl, I dont see that as much of factor. like I said with the boat hooked to the truck it sits pretty low and is long and narrow if anything the truck probably blocks or pushes more wind around it. Either way im talking the truck being stuck at like 20mph, wind or no wind, if it doesnt switch gears and stays in the same gear which doesnt allow you to accelerate, kind of hurt your cause, as the engine wants to go, but the tranny wont let it. Going up some hills it would drop down some gears which is explainable, but I crested the hills and go on a slight decline not much and would still be stuck in lower gear at about 4500rpms.

 

I have heard of this from others though. Im sure the computer is doing what it thinks is best for the truck at the time, but for performance it sucks.

[Jon A]

Thanks for the review, interesting comments. Did the upshift issue go away when you took it out of tow/haul mode? The part throttle shift points in most areas are higher in tow/haul than in drive--which is usually what you want to some extent, but it sounds like it was excessive in this case. Then when you really need the juice and have your foot to the floor they're lower. I think much of the time people will be happier in drive. Of course all of this can be fixed with tuning....

 

However, people should keep in mind (epsecially those experienced with the EB), these engines are going to be happier towing at higher RPM than that thing, the torque curves are just different. That doesn't mean one is better than the other, just different.

[Silverado Steve]

Nards,

 

Did you try manual mode at all? The TFL truck pulled a similar load up the Eisenhower pass here in Colorado with the 6.2 Silverado and their complaints were similar to your findings.

[Full Lock]

Nards,

Did you try manual mode at all? The TFL truck pulled a similar load up the Eisenhower pass here in Colorado with the 6.2 Silverado and their complaints were similar to your findings.

iirc they had issues with it shifting up when it should've held at a higher rpm but they weren't using tow mode either. If they would've used tow mode I think they would've been a lot happier having the rpm's at peak torque.

[thewhitestallion]

iirc they had issues with it shifting up when it should've held at a higher rpm but they weren't using tow mode either. If they would've used tow mode I think they would've been a lot happier having the rpm's at peak torque.

 

they were in tow / haul mode, that is why they were so disappointed with the comp upshifting when it should of held in that gear. What they didn't do is use manual mode because then that would have not been a fair review because on every other truck they do i.e. ram, f150, tundra, titan (is that even considered a truck anymore lol) they just put it in tow / haul and drive it and let the truck do all the work and compare them that way which I believe is a fair review.

[Full Lock]

Oh that's what it was.... They were in tow/haul mode but not manually shifted. Sorry it's been awhile since I watched it.

[rpdeines]

All,

I just picked up my 2014 chevy 6.2L with Max Towing and I'm possibly pushing the tongue weight limit without a weight distribution hitch. I didn't consider reviewing the other data as I just looked at total towing capacity, since I have 3/4 duramax which doesn't need a weight distribution.

 

My boat (25')/trailer is around 8000 calculated weight and I need to get the boat to a scale to determine actual weight. If you figure 10% tongue weight I'm OK (at 800) but if it is 15% I'm at 1200 lbs. I was hoping to stay away from a weight distribution hitch because I tractor lauch in Alaska. You dismount the boat and a tractor connects and pushes the trailer/boat into the ocean. I wouldn't like to disconnect the weight distribution system every time I tractor launch plus I don't know how it would connect to boat trailer.

 

Any help would be appreciated. I thought with the max towing package it would be higher tongue weights which is my fubar!

 

Ryan

[nards444]

Thanks for the review, interesting comments. Did the upshift issue go away when you took it out of tow/haul mode? The part throttle shift points in most areas are higher in tow/haul than in drive--which is usually what you want to some extent, but it sounds like it was excessive in this case. Then when you really need the juice and have your foot to the floor they're lower. I think much of the time people will be happier in drive. Of course all of this can be fixed with tuning....

 

However, people should keep in mind (epsecially those experienced with the EB), these engines are going to be happier towing at higher RPM than that thing, the torque curves are just different. That doesn't mean one is better than the other, just different.

Yes I did take it out of tow haul mode, and it corrected. Yeah and I did notice that it will run a little higher then the EB. The EB typically ran at about 19-2000RPM, this engine is at about 2200-2300 it seems at cruise and shift points go higher by about 1000-1500 higher which is explainable for a NA engine vs a turbo engine. My issue was with it holding and being erratic. Im not a pro, but I have been towing lots of items for close to two decades, and IMVHO the computer shifting on this truck is terrible.

[nards444]

Nards,

 

Did you try manual mode at all? The TFL truck pulled a similar load up the Eisenhower pass here in Colorado with the 6.2 Silverado and their complaints were similar to your findings.

No I did not. It was my first time towing this load with this truck, and didnt want to add to many variables into the mix. On the way to where I was going I left it in tow/haul on the way back probably left it off 75% of the time. More than likely it will get left out tow haul or I will try manual mode. Again I see no reason for that tranny to hold a lower gear on flat ground with no wind or holding a lower gear well past cresting a hill.

[seamus2154]

I have the 5.3 crew w/ short box LTZ w/ 3.08's. It pulled about 6 -7ooo lbs car and trailer pretty well. I had the same issue w/ the thing screaming in tow mode. It holds the gears way too long even if there is no load as in easing off the gas. I have had several GM trucks from a duramax to a couple of 5.3's and a 6.0. This tow mode is not right.

[nards444]

I have the 5.3 crew w/ short box LTZ w/ 3.08's. It pulled about 6 -7ooo lbs car and trailer pretty well. I had the same issue w/ the thing screaming in tow mode. It holds the gears way too long even if there is no load as in easing off the gas. I have had several GM trucks from a duramax to a couple of 5.3's and a 6.0. This tow mode is not right.

Thanks. Glad Im not going out of my mind. But yes Forgot to mention letting off the gas and still pegging a high RPM. But like I said the truck towed pretty well all in all not the best 1/2 ton rig for towing Ive had but its adequate at least. But like I said the tow/haul mode sucks pretty bad.