Towing with the GM 1500 series...

[HillHound]

Since there's not alot of posts about towing with the 1500 I thought I'd start a thread about it and see what happens.  The spring/summer months are fast approaching and alot of us will be doing recreational towing of watercraft, campers, atvs, motorcycles and maybe garden/lawn equipment.  So how about posting some hints and experiences you've had in towing with your 1/2t truck or SUV?  What kind of towing equipment do you use etc??

 

Here's what I posted in another thread a few days earlier:

 

"In case anyone's interested I thought I'd post my mileage from an ATV trip we took this weekend.  I took two atvs, one in the bed and one on a trailer.  The total weight of both quads and the trailer is about 1900lbs plus all of our extra junk.  The mileage I came up with round trip (450mi) was 13.5 mpg.  Not too bad.  It was 90% interstate @ 65-70mph, and keep in mind it's all in WV which has alot of hills.

 

   Most of the time when I tow that load on this trip I just put the tow/haul on and set the cruise control to about 65-70mph.  Seems to do well.  The Dodge Ram 318 5-speed I had used to get between 11 and 12 mpg on this same trip with the same load.  The Ram was better for towing at lower speed but for towing my stuff at interstate speeds the 5.3L more than makes up for it's low rpm torque.  I can hold 70mph hauling my atvs up any long hill I've seen around here, and the Ram 318 was lucky to hold 60mph on some of these hills even in 4th gear."    

 

And:

"The tranny (with tow/haul engaged) seems to downshift firmly on hills and stay there until you pull the hill.  Tow/haul definitely helps.  The engine/tranny seems to keep enough reserve power in the 1900 to 2400 rpm range to hold the speed constant at 65-70mph on slight hills and level ground.  Under those conditions it never "gear hunts", but just stays in overdrive.  Keep in mind I have 4.10 differential gears.  

 

I don't pretend to be moving a real heavy load, but I could'nt be happier with this setup for the loads I do haul/tow (usually 1500 to 3500lbs total)."

[silverado man]

im going to be hauling a buddies 66 mustang down to Arkansas this weekend.  Its a 4 hour trip down there.  Hopefully Ill be able to get some pics of it and I let everyone know on what kind of milage I get.

[Shaners]

I think DuckhunterInTn summed it up pretty good in this thread....   Read about it  HERE

[brax71]

since we're on the subject (sort of) i've been wondering for a while...

whenever i tow anything on the interstate, the truck wants to downshift all the time -- this isn't mountains, it's the stretch of I-75 between Tampa, Florida and Valdosta, Georgia...  roads just don't get much flatter.  each time i'm going up an overpass or even on one of those gently rolling hills it kicks down a gear and the engine screams.  

since i'm a cheap son-of-a-gun, i want to conserve fuel at any opportunity and i usually tap the brake, release the cruise control and work the pedal until i'm over the hill...  heck, sometimes it'll even do this when i'm not towing, just running 70-75.  

should it be doing this?  should i be concerned?  when it does, should i just ride out the hill in hi gear or calm the engine down like i've been doing?  

thanks!

[gmcjoe]

I've towed a buddies 63 409 in full trim w/an enclosed trailer with no problem.

 

Towing the snow/water toys on a 2 place trailer you sometimes forget they are there.  

[Shaners]

Brax,

 

When you are coming to a bridge try to get a run on it.  Gas your truck, and increase your speed about 5 mph before you start up the incline.  This may allow you to crest the top without the truck downshifting.

 

I rarely tow with the cruise on unless I'm towing a light load.  Mainly for the same reasons as you...

 

Keep in mind that these motors reach max HP at 5200 RPM and max Torque at 4000 RPM, so don't be afraid of it turning some RPM's.

 

When I tow my '32 travel trailer I usually am turning 2800-3200 RPM most of the time with my 6.0L.

[HillHound]

Hey Brax,

 

What engine and gears do you have, and what kind of load are you towing?  Also what kind of mileage are you getting?  If you're pulling a heavier trailer (say over 5000lbs is heavy to me ) I don't have alot of experience but someone like Shaners or Jp should know.  I think the lower gears makes a world of difference with the gear hunting but they hurt your mileage somewhat.

ROn

[dmdbit]

These half tons really do a fine job of towing.I tow a travel trailer just over 6000lbs. loaded. This is with a 4.8/5spd combo.The biggest thing I did with mine was install 4.10 gears.It is 2wd and came with 3.42.If you read any of the rv forums we shouldn't be towing anything over about 4 or 5000lbs.I have found as well as yall that these trucks can tow well some above that.

 

 

                                 mike b

[95Yukon]

All I tow is my jetski, and have to check the rearview occasionally just to be sure it's still behind me. :sideways:

[Ed Hahn]

I'll be towing my RX-7 on an open steel trailer for the first time next week, in a 1500 Avalanche.  We'll see how she does...

 

ed

[sunnydude]

Towing my boat ~4000lbs loaded on the highway 60-70mph average with 4 people in the cab i get about 14mpg.  Much better than expected.  No major hills to traverse though.  When i haul it over the mountain passes here in WA i only get about 12mpg but i try to maintain my speed.   I just turn on the tow/haul and it does remarkably well.

[porter959099]

A few weekends a month in warmer months, I tow an open steel trailer with a Miata and approx. 1000lbs of cargo/passengers. Total trailer weight is just under 4500lbs. I consistantly get 14-15mpg towing with a '00 ext-cab 4x4 5.3 w/ 3.42 axle. Unloaded mpg is consistantly over 18mpg (mostly highway at 75-80).

 

On occasion, I've towed my Kubota tractor on the same trailer (est 7000lbs total trailer weight). Mpg is consistantly 12-13mpg. While the 5.3 did have adequate power, I felt the spring rates were a bit too soft for this weight. Also, more torque would have been useful. If this was a regular thing, a 3/4 ton would be a very good idea.

 

I agree with the usefulness of the tow/haul mode. The firmer shifts and braking absolutely help the driveline better cope with the load. I generally only use this in low speed situations though as I'm not a big fan of running revs up over 3500rpm while towing (if avoidable). For the longest time, this torque management stuff had me worried about the 4L60s longevity. (weird behavior when you don't know what's going on).

 

When cruising at a reasonable speed (65-70), the truck does like to downshift especially if I've slacked and not paid attention to the upcoming grade. By running up to 75 or so (2-2.2k rpms), I get into torque a bit more and the grade won't provoke a downshift. Often, I find myself at 75-80 ALL too often as the 5.3 w/ my gears finds a sweet spot with this weight (don't particularly like hauling a trailer at 75+ for safety reasons though). At 50-65, the truck really wants to shift and I find myself shifting manually to 3rd and leaving it there until traffic permits a higher speed.

 

My REAL truck replaced a '99 Tacoma V6 TRD 5spd that, while rated to 5500lb trailer weight, fell on it's face regularly (with less cargo but same car/trailer). The Tacoma returned worse mileage than the 5.3 when loaded OR UNLOADED.

 

With the regularity of towing my race car, I didn't give that multivalve V6 much hope in terms of longevity. In fact, when it's new owner drove away, I noticed a nice puff of blue smoke. Guess a multi-valve cannot handle that sorta stress.

 

Unfortunately, I'm upgrading to a 3500 Duramax crew-cab soon as a 30'+ enclosed trailer is in my future. (arriving a few years earlier than I had planned). I'm approaching this with mixed feelings.. I REALLY WANT A HUGE TRUCK <insert grunt here> but will likely miss the 1500 (and the cash from my wallet!) The 1500 is a PERFECT compromise between capability and daily driving.