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What have you towed with 5.3L 3.08 gearing?


Gasser43

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I'm actually so frustrated with Chevy selling a 1/2 ton V8 truck that is only rated for 6200 lb towing I'm to the point of trading it in on a used Ford.  The  Chevy Colorados they sell have more towing capacity then this. 

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i have a 14' silverado with 5.3l and 3.08s. door sticker days im rated for 7200, Always check the door sticker.....

anywhos,

i have a car trailer that weights about 2000lbs and ive had:

Lifted Jeep Cherokees

Lowered Honda s2000

dodge srt4 neon

4 pallets of hardwood flooring

and many random things

 

also

my truck has towed a 27' inline sled trailer 5+ hours last years when I lent my truck to a buddy.

 

so, dont let the 3.08s get ya down. there is still a lot that the truck can pull.

 

heck, i have a buddy that pulls a enclosed 20' full width enclosed trailer with his similar truck with no problem.

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20 hours ago, Gasser43 said:

I'm actually so frustrated with Chevy selling a 1/2 ton V8 truck that is only rated for 6200 lb towing I'm to the point of trading it in on a used Ford.  The  Chevy Colorados they sell have more towing capacity then this. 

Have you decided on the boat or trailer size?  You might find that your truck is ample for your needs.  Your truck won't be towing anything  most of the time and getting superior fuel economy during that time.   I've been looking for a travel trailer and the selection in your (our) tow range is huge.  Try not to get wrapped up in numbers.  You have a very good tow vehicle.  

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21 hours ago, Gasser43 said:

I'm actually so frustrated with Chevy selling a 1/2 ton V8 truck that is only rated for 6200 lb towing I'm to the point of trading it in on a used Ford.  The  Chevy Colorados they sell have more towing capacity then this. 

Who's fault is that for not fully checking what you are buying? Sounds like it will be plenty for what you are wanting to tow, don't get hung up on that 3.08 rating it is a pretty good dear set in most cases and most wouldn't be able to tell a difference between the two.

 

Tyler

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55 minutes ago, amxguy1970 said:

Who's fault is that for not fully checking what you are buying? Sounds like it will be plenty for what you are wanting to tow, don't get hung up on that 3.08 rating it is a pretty good dear set in most cases and most wouldn't be able to tell a difference between the two.

 

Tyler

 

3 hours ago, TrueBlueSilverAdo said:

i have a 14' silverado with 5.3l and 3.08s. door sticker days im rated for 7200, Always check the door sticker.....

anywhos,

i have a car trailer that weights about 2000lbs and ive had:

Lifted Jeep Cherokees

Lowered Honda s2000

dodge srt4 neon

4 pallets of hardwood flooring

and many random things

 

also

my truck has towed a 27' inline sled trailer 5+ hours last years when I lent my truck to a buddy.

 

so, dont let the 3.08s get ya down. there is still a lot that the truck can pull.

 

heck, i have a buddy that pulls a enclosed 20' full width enclosed trailer with his similar truck with no problem.

Mine is a crew cab, not sure if that's the weight difference.  Also, I believe my door sticker only mentions GVWR, not towing capacity.  If I'm not mistaken the GVWR would be any weight added to the truck (hitch weight, passengers, gas etc) combined with the truck's weight. 

58 minutes ago, amxguy1970 said:

Who's fault is that for not fully checking what you are buying? Sounds like it will be plenty for what you are wanting to tow, don't get hung up on that 3.08 rating it is a pretty good dear set in most cases and most wouldn't be able to tell a difference between the two.

 

Tyler

I take responsibility for this- The dealer listed it online as towing 9200 lbs, bought it on a Sunday so service and parts were closed and couldn't check the gear ratio, However, I still have a screen shot of the online add showing 9200 lb capacity.  

1 hour ago, Donstar said:

Have you decided on the boat or trailer size?  You might find that your truck is ample for your needs.  Your truck won't be towing anything  most of the time and getting superior fuel economy during that time.   I've been looking for a travel trailer and the selection in your (our) tow range is huge.  Try not to get wrapped up in numbers.  You have a very good tow vehicle.  

Really appreciate all these post!  You guys are definitely making me feel a little better.  I guess it was the shock of finding this out.  Again, I live in Central Florida so it will be 99% flat road towing.  If I could find a travel trailer around 4500 lbs loaded, then I should be okay- I believe my payload of the truck is 1700 lbs so with a the hitch weight, 3 kids, 2 adults, and dog I would think I should be ok.  I guess now I need to learn how to properly tow a heavy load with the manual shift mode.  From what I'm reading, keeping the rpms around 2500 is ideal and will cause the least strain on the transmission.  

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23 hours ago, Gasser43 said:

Called today.  I asked for someone that really knows trucks.  The salesman I spoke with agreed the trucks build is misleading, having the HD hitch, the trans HD cooler, electronic  braking adjuster.  I mentioned how the dealer published this as 9200 towing capacity and 3.42s and said he's going to talk to the "managers"  to see what he can do.  He did actually sound like he felt bad, but honestly I doubt I get any help from them, sure would be cool if they would find the same truck as mine or newer and make a great deal happen but I doubt it.  Also, I called the service department- according to them, they have never replaced the gears and wouldn't be able to change them.  Just great.

If your dealerships service department cant cant change gears in the diff, I would think twice about getting it serviced there.

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My trans is usually around 190-192 degrees towing. I always run tow haul with anything more than an empty trailer, so the gear hunting isn’t bad at all to me. Now unloaded, under 50 mph, it’s a b***h and will be tuned once I hit 36k miles.

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On 11/27/2017 at 5:11 PM, Gasser43 said:

 I mentioned how the dealer published this as 9200 towing capacity and 3.42s and said he's going to talk to the "managers"  to see what he can do. 

If you have documented evidence of this or your salesman specifically told you it had the 3.42 then definitely hold the dealership accountable.  There is no way a buyer can be expected to verify the gearing in his rear-axle beyond what is advertised!   

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On 11/30/2017 at 6:21 AM, GRN69CHV said:

Way the trans is geared, 4th gear is 15% underdriven, makes the 3.08 an equivalent of a 3.55 gear.  

That's interesting, -- With that said, all the transmissions with the 5.3 are geared the same right?

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Yes the 5.3 gets a 6L80E with ratios of 4.027/2.364/1.532/1.152/.852/.667 (3.064 rev).  I've used a 5.3L/4L80E engine trans combo as a reference to see how these stack up.   Using the 3.08 gearing with the 5.3/6L80E in the '15 vs the  3.73 that came in my '02 5.3L/4L80E, 1st gear in the '15 is equivalent of running a 5.00/1 rear ratio in the '02.  With the 4L80E, OD drops the 3.73 down to 2.79 ratio.  3.08 drops to 2.62 ratio in 5th.  6th gear is where it really gets impractical under load with the 6L80E, that .667 6th gear drops the ratio to a 2.05/1.  I recently drove a '16 Suburban with the 5.3L and 8 speed.  1st gear is deeper and ratios are tighter in between, motor was much happier with more bottom end and less drop between gears.  See where GM goes with all this.  I also recently drove a Ford F150 with the 2.7L Turbo and the 10 speed.  I really liked the 10 speed, drops between gears was negligible.  Reminded me of driving the 10 speed Range Rover transmissions we ran in our over the road the road trucks, drop between gears is a lot smaller.  

             
           
         
       

 

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