Two Vehicle Transmission
I have a 2000 Chev 1500 LS - 4.8 engine with automatic transmission and 263,000 miles on it - I tow a Jayco Ultralite that weights around 5000 lbs loaded. plus load in truck - Weights are under so I a...
Forum Discussion
Mr.Beebo wrote:
To the OP, a 6 speed is nice, but I think you are wanting one for the wrong reasons. You need to keep your engine in its powerband when you are towing. Lowering rpms isn't good for the engine or the transmission under load, and it won't save you any fuel if the engine is working even harder to hold speed.
This is a good response. We went from the 4 spd in our '05 Suburban to the 6 spd in our '10. The 6 spd tows very nice, and is a considerable improvement. Mostly because it is more likely to have the right gear for the job.
But we don't really get any better towing mpg with it. In fact, it only shifts into 6th when towing down hill, and most of the time is between gears 3-5.
It does get quite a bit better unloaded mpg on the freeway than our '05 did (the '05 had 4.10 gears). But towing, you're gonna get 10 mpg with a 4 or 6 spd, I'm afraid.
And I can't imagine what it would take to swap in a 6 spd ... certainly would not be economically feasible, if it could even be done at all.
