2013 Chevy 1500 5.3 Anyone Tow with this?
I inherited a 2WD Chevy 1500 extended cab with a 5.3L and 96K miles. Any advice on how this truck tows? I have an open tandem 14 ft trailer and a combined trailer load is around 4500lbs. Any advice w...
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This is what I get for not coming on here every day. Good lord... You guys are going to have me channeling Grit Dog on this one.
A 2013 Silverado 1500 with a 5.3L towing a 4500lb open deck trailer is NO PROBLEM. Any transmission, any gear ratio. The tow rating for that truck should be around 6000lbs, and no lower than 4500lbs so you're not even pushing the factory limits. At 4500lbs your limit is power, not payload. It's just not going to go as fast up the hills.
It would be well within the capabilities of a V6, and I'm not just talking about power. Payload, brakes... everything.
The truck is pre-wired for brakes. All you need is a $50 brake controller, and a few crimp splices. IIRC there is a pigtail under the dash for the trailer brake controller on this version of the truck. You just need to connect the wires. If I'm mistaken on the pigtail, it's even easier. Then you just need the pre-wired adapter harness, and it's plug and play!
Why is everyone making this so complicated?
mkirsch,
NO ONE is arguing the weight issue in and of itself. I've done twice that amount with my 4.3 V6.
OP's initial thought was to pull this "without the trailer brakes working!" Would you pull a 4500 lb trailer with NO BRAKES behind a 15 series truck! much less semi safe and sanely with a SW 8 lug rig!
THAT is the issue! YES the truck will pull a 4500 lb trailer as mentioned. SHOULD have no real issues pulling a full size RV or box style trailer too.
Marty
I addressed the "no brakes" issue in the latter half of my post, if you missed it.
In fact, I just went and checked to be sure, and the truck has a pigtail up under the dash. Etrailer's website has a detailed instructional video on installation. It's 4 minutes long and the actual installation won't take a guy much longer than that. 4 wires, 4 barrel connectors, 2 self tappers, and you're off to the races.
Any brake controller is better than no brake controller at all. It doesn't have to be an expensive Prodigy or other accelerometer based controller. I ran an old Tekonsha Voyager for years on my dually and it did the job. You can get a Reese Brakeman IV for $35 on Amazon.
