Towing a Toy Hauler with 5.3L

1300c · January 30, 2016

Which unless the truck has the 6 speed in it the truck doesn't have. I take their tests with a grain of salt..... they are all over the place constantly and have misinformation in about the same frequency too. The truck did well either way though.... but unless they are running the 2 trucks side by side that same day I really don't care what they ran lol. I have varied by nearly half a second on naturally aspirated street rides depending on the density altitude on the given day. That's just drag racing in a quarter mile.... running up a mountain might vary by 30 seconds..... again.... grain of salt.

Yeah the way they change up trailers on different trucks instead of using one trailer as a control. The bags in the back of the truck to bring the weight up to a 4x4 weight when it should be in the front. Than only to complain that the front end was feeling light. Once Mr. Truck was doing a mpg test and floored it to pass a car before an exit iirc instead of letting off to stay behind.

But I brought the video up because it was the closest comparison between the two I could find in a reasonably quick manner.

1300c · January 30, 2016

Please reread my post above since I edited it.

Thanks.

Okay my boats never gave me trouble so I never had to move axles. Our trailers are 20 ft or under, with welded axles hangers, and fenders, and moving axles would entail a lot of fab work. We can argue for days but I think we both agree that having more truck than you need is better than not having enough to properly pull, stops and turn it. I hope you have a great weekend.

Jon A · January 30, 2016

Before this thread gets derailed anymore than it has. The Fast lane trucks on YouTube tests every truck they can on the Ike gauntlet. Which is an 8 mile uphill pull at 60 mph with a 7% grade. They just tested a 1500 5.3l 8 speed with the max towing 3.73 rear end towing a 9000lb horse loaded horse trailer with a 900lb tongue weight. It did a very close time to a 6.2l with an 8 speed, 3.23 rear end.

Keep in mind, the times were close because this year they're strict about sticking to the 60 MPH speed limit. The 6.2 was able to maintain that speed at part throttle much of the time. They ran a much better time with the 6.2 last year towing 10,000 lbs running it a bit harder.

Regardless, as I mentioned before, that was a really impressive run by the 5.3. I think the 8-speed makes it a much more viable choice for towing that much weight.

1300c · January 30, 2016

Keep in mind, the times were close because this year they're strict about sticking to the 60 MPH speed limit. The 6.2 was able to maintain that speed at part throttle much of the time. They ran a much better time with the 6.2 last year towing 10,000 lbs running it a bit harder.

Regardless, as I mentioned before, that was a really impressive run by the 5.3. I think the 8-speed makes it a much more viable choice for towing that much weight.

That's true you're right. I'd like to see the max towing on the 6.2l tested.

redwngr · January 30, 2016

Are you sure about the rear end on the '16 5.3 8 speed max tow? I could swear both the '16 6.2 and 5.3 8 speed Max tow came with 3.42 rear end.

You are correct. On the 5.3 8 speed max tow is 3.42, just like the 6.2 max tow. Max tow 5.3 6 speed is 3.73.

The discussion at end of TFL webpage about the run also mentions this.

Here's a link to the article and the video of the run.

http://www.tfltruck.com/2016/01/2016-chevy-silverado-5-3l-v8-ike-gauntlet-towing-video/

HondaHawkGT · January 30, 2016

Classic GM, deny an 8-speed+3.73 option for the 5.3. I was seriously conetmplating a trade-in if it was going to be available. I've always hated how constrained GM's package offerings have been. You can build an F150 any way you want for the most part. Try to build a GM half-ton is an exercise in frustration. "Want the max tow package? The following options you also wanted have been removed."

peejaykay · January 30, 2016

This is the Pro Pride http://www.propridehitch.com/

Hensley is similar. Both designed by the same guy.

Very expensive. I have a Equal-i-zer 4 point that works very well and is 1/3 the price.

I tow a 34' TT loaded weighs 8,200.

Ignore the dry weights of a trailer and plan on towing weight being the dry weight + carrying capacity. Keep the total trailer weight 80-85% of the truck towing rating.

Then you have to figure out what your tongue weight is. Figure about 15% of the trailer weight. This is where most 1/2 tons lack capacity.

I really doubt your truck will pull what you are thinking of.

It's not that I could afford to buy the hitch. It's that I couldn't afford NOT TO. My wife, 2 kids, dog, cat are in the truck with me. Trust me, if I thought we didn't feel safe, we would've gone with a bigger truck. I didn't beat any speed records...I set the speedo to 60mph, and that's where we sat the majority of the trip. I remember 2 panic stops due to traffic incidents. We stopped fine, no white knuckles. I also have a tire pressure monitoring system on the trailer tires that can detect slow leak or temperature rise. The alarms tripped a few times during the trip but only to alert me they saw temp rise, nothing significant. Some of the toughest grades were in Utah @ 110 degrees outside. Going from 6500 ft to 9000 ft in within 2-3 miles was a 45mph slog for about 2 minutes. But again, no dangerous overheating of the trans or coolant.

And I'm not even bragging here, I'm simply stating that the truck can do what you want it to do you just need to be adequately prepared and drive defensively. It's an Open Range LT308BHS. 37' long travel trailer. 9600 loaded, three slides and we were on the road for 7 weeks.

cmysstailights · January 30, 2016

Boughta used silverado high country 2014. Does anyone know the code for max trailer pckg in glove box?

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

SMiller · January 30, 2016

Boughta used silverado high country 2014. Does anyone know the code for max trailer pckg in glove box?

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

No max tow available on high country.

cmysstailights · January 30, 2016

Got ya thx

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Out of curiosity what makes the max trailer pkg besides gears

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

SMiller · January 30, 2016

It's not that I could afford to buy the hitch. It's that I couldn't afford NOT TO. My wife, 2 kids, dog, cat are in the truck with me. Trust me, if I thought we didn't feel safe, we would've gone with a bigger truck. I didn't beat any speed records...I set the speedo to 60mph, and that's where we sat the majority of the trip. I remember 2 panic stops due to traffic incidents. We stopped fine, no white knuckles. I also have a tire pressure monitoring system on the trailer tires that can detect slow leak or temperature rise. The alarms tripped a few times during the trip but only to alert me they saw temp rise, nothing significant. Some of the toughest grades were in Utah @ 110 degrees outside. Going from 6500 ft to 9000 ft in within 2-3 miles was a 45mph slog for about 2 minutes. But again, no dangerous overheating of the trans or coolant.

And I'm not even bragging here, I'm simply stating that the truck can do what you want it to do you just need to be adequately prepared and drive defensively. It's an Open Range LT308BHS. 37' long travel trailer. 9600 loaded, three slides and we were on the road for 7 weeks.

Surprised to hear that the trans didn't get hot, others that have pulled similar have reported over heated trans temps.

Jon A · January 30, 2016

That's true you're right. I'd like to see the max towing on the 6.2l tested.

Here's the one they did last year:

redwngr · January 30, 2016

Got ya thx

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Out of curiosity what makes the max trailer pkg besides gears

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Here you go.

From 2016 order guide (silverado):

"NHT Max Trailering Package, On Crew Cab and Double Cab models, includes 9.76" rear axle, (JL1) trailer brake controller, enhanced cooling radiator, revised shock tuning for increased control, heavier duty rear springs and increased RGAWR

On 1LT - Includes (G80) heavy-duty automatic locking rear differential and Z82 Trailering Package. Requires (L83) 5.3L EcoTec3 V8 engine and (DPN) outside heated power-adjustable vertical camper mirrors. Includes (PZX) 18" x 8.5" bright-machined aluminum wheels with (RBX/RBW) 18" tires or may upgrade to (RD4) 20" aluminum wheels with either (RC7) or (QSS) 20" tires.

On 1LZ - With (L83) 5.3L EcoTec3 V8 engine, requires (PZX) 18" x 8.5" aluminum wheels and (RBX/RBW) 18" tires or may upgrade to (RD2) 20" chrome wheels with either (RC7) or (QSS) 20" tires. With (L86) 6.2L EcoTec3 V8 engine, requires (RD2) 20" chrome wheels with (QSS) 20" tires. Requires (DQS) Outside heated power-adjustable vertical camper mirrors. Not available with (Z71) Off-Road Suspension Package.

redwngr · January 30, 2016

Classic GM, deny an 8-speed+3.73 option for the 5.3. I was seriously conetmplating a trade-in if it was going to be available. I've always hated how constrained GM's package offerings have been. You can build an F150 any way you want for the most part. Try to build a GM half-ton is an exercise in frustration. "Want the max tow package? The following options you also wanted have been removed."

The 8 speed with 3.42 has a deeper reduction than a 6 speed with 3.73's.

Badass69 · January 30, 2016

redwngr, on 30 Jan 2016 - 11:45 AM, said:
The 8 speed with 3.42 has a deeper reduction than a 6 speed with 3.73's.

True..... in first gear only. The point of moving forward is improvement... not staying the same. The 8 speed has way more ratios to play with as it has 5 mid range gears as opposed to only 3 with the 6 speed. What I mean by that is you have granny low first in both ( 4.56 and 4.02) and then 2 overdrives..... leaving only 3 mid range road gears for the 6 speed while the 8 has 5 to play with. Still..... 3.73 with the 8 speed would be stout as attested to by.. well there is only one stock height guy on here that has done it lol.