1986 Chevy G20 3/4 ton, 6.2 Diesel
Hi all, So I recently upgraded my trailer to a Zinger ZT33BH. It's big. It's heavy (8455lbs dry). I'm pretty sure my old '86 Chevy won't be happy with me pulling it. I can make do for very short pu...
Forum Discussion
bmupton wrote:
Oh I know I'm not going to be happy with its tow performance, I'm just trying to figure out what the van's actual ratings are. I hauled this trailer from the dealer to my house through the city and it made it fine, but there were no major inclines and I avoided the freeway so I didn't have to get up to speed.
I hauled a Mallard 31T that weighed 5000 dry, about 6500 wet (I never did an actual weight on that one), and didn't even really know the trailer was behind me, so I figured I could at least make the 35km trip to where my seasonal is this year with it. I don't plan on loading as much gear in to this trailer either as it has more amenities built-in so I'm estimating I'll have ~1000lbs of additional weight.
Two things I know for sure is it has the 700R4 tranny which was recently rebuilt and 3.73 rear end, which I realize are two rather large strikes against it for towing much of anything. That being said, I don't have to get there fast, I just have to get there.
well, actually the 3.73 rear end isn't a strke against you, many of these vans came with REALLY REALLY tall rear end ratios, a 2.73:1 IIRC was std, combined with a .7OD, was useless. The 3.73 is actually pretty decent rear end, probably a good one with the diesel.
However the 700R4 is a definite strike against you. Ours was going fine after 160K when I sold it and probably hit 200K or more, but that was with a gas engine AND an add on trasmission oil cooler AND NEVER towing in OD. One of the weakest links in the 700R4 was the overdrive and torque converter lockup clutch. Especially with diesels the 700R4 had a tendency to blow the torque converter clutch and/or OD clutches. My advice, only tow in drive, add an external transmission oil cooler, and ALWAYS make sure your above the torque converter stall speed when towing. With the gas engine this is about 2,000rpm, don't know about the diesel. If your below torque converter stall speed, you'll heat the transmission fluid real quick with all the torque converter slip.
I dug through my documentation, and couldn't find the tow rating for various combos, but I do recall for 87 the max for the 3/4 Ton was 6500lbs. The 350 with 4:11's was one combo with that rating, that's what we had, don't know what the diesel rating was.
