shaffersh1 wrote:
I have a 2003 Avalanche 1500 4x2 with a 3.73 axle and locking diff. I hope to be pulling a travel trailer weighing 4900lbs dry (2004 R-Vision TB27DS).
Is this a sound setup for a well serviced half ton with 150K miles on it? The towing cap is 7200 lbs for my vehicle (with two people in the cab), but I doubt that is realistic (most people agree this is stretching it a bit). Would you recommend air bags? Maybe an aux tranny cooler?
Now that we have the Avalanche's ratings sorted out ...;)
The TT sounds more or less like what we pulled with our '05 Suburban 1500, except our 'Burb had the 4.10 gears. The experience was passable. Didn't move along too quickly, and spent almost all of the time in 3rd gear or lower (and I suspect that w/ 3.73 gears, 4th gear or "d" will be pretty much useless when towing), but we got there and never had any issues. Used a fair amount of gas (8.5 -- 10 mpg), but that is to be expected.
As far as ratings, we were usually at or slightly above the 7200# gvwr when the TT was attached, and had maybe 1000# to 1500# to spare on the combined ratings. It worked for us for a couple years. My opinion -- try it and see. If it doesn't work, you can switch TVs. FWIW, if you're looking to change vehicles, the 6 spd transmission in our '10 makes for a much better towing experience than the '05 provided.
Good luck!
