2014 Silverado 1500 4.3 v6 - towing questions

Dad,

What does it take to get GM to put one of these 4.3's into the lightest 8lug 25 series truck. With 4.10's, you can pull 10K easy enough, the DOD some decent mileage......great for a work truck!For the way I drive,4.33's would probably be the better ratio.....none the less, still a good combo!

Marty

roadjunkie wrote:
I recently bought a Gulfstream Ameri-Lite 21 that had a dry weight of 3215 pounds. My truck is an 05 GMC Sierra 1500, short bed, reg. cab, 5.3L with 4spd. auto, 3.23 gears and it pulled it but it was a miserable experience and horrible gas mileage. I would recommend more truck or less trailer. The manufacturer tow ratings are highly inflated.

The poster indicated that the vehicle did fine.

The new 4.3 delivers good power, the 6 sp with the 3.42 puts the power to the road. This engine will pull a 9k pound trailer on flat land.

I recently bought a Gulfstream Ameri-Lite 21 that had a dry weight of 3215 pounds. My truck is an 05 GMC Sierra 1500, short bed, reg. cab, 5.3L with 4spd. auto, 3.23 gears and it pulled it but it was a miserable experience and horrible gas mileage. I would recommend more truck or less trailer. The manufacturer tow ratings are highly inflated.

It's not too surprising that you hit V4 mode in the flats, the 4.3 is still capable of >200HP in V4 mode, in that regard it's actually much better than the 5.3 in cylinder deactivation mode as the V8 is only producing half power vs 2/3rds for the v6.

gac914 wrote:
Okay, people had asked me to post results after towing. We had a "shakedown" run to a campsite, and towed to a State Park about 170 miles round trip. It towed like a boss! Although the V6 was, as suggested by some, not an out-and-out powerhouse, it did pull just fine. Transmission temps were only up about 2 to 4 degrees above usual, engine temp stayed stable, and I even saw some "V4" mode on level pulls. Got between 10 and 13 MPG, depending on the routing I took and how many stop lights I had to accelerate from. Everything went pretty well.

I do have a question for those out there more used to distributing hitches. I found I had to pull up another notch on the chain to get the truck level and a little more weight on my steer axle. Everything, truck and trailer, ended up about perfectly level, (far and away more than a lot of rigs I noticed coming in to the park!!!,) but my torsion bars are past parallel to the frame on the trailer (end of the bar where the chain attaches at the mini u-bolt is about 2 1/2 inches from the trailer frame). Will this hurt in the long run, or am I okay to leave as is?? Next trip out will be a long one from Illinois to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota!

Add some more washers. Go to the scales.

gac914 wrote:
Okay, people had asked me to post results after towing. We had a "shakedown" run to a campsite, and towed to a State Park about 170 miles round trip. It towed like a boss! Although the V6 was, as suggested by some, not an out-and-out powerhouse, it did pull just fine. Transmission temps were only up about 2 to 4 degrees above usual, engine temp stayed stable, and I even saw some "V4" mode on level pulls. Got between 10 and 13 MPG, depending on the routing I took and how many stop lights I had to accelerate from. Everything went pretty well.

I do have a question for those out there more used to distributing hitches. I found I had to pull up another notch on the chain to get the truck level and a little more weight on my steer axle. Everything, truck and trailer, ended up about perfectly level, (far and away more than a lot of rigs I noticed coming in to the park!!!,) but my torsion bars are past parallel to the frame on the trailer (end of the bar where the chain attaches at the mini u-bolt is about 2 1/2 inches from the trailer frame). Will this hurt in the long run, or am I okay to leave as is?? Next trip out will be a long one from Illinois to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota!

Thanks for posting an update on your towing results! I figured it would work for you. Steep long grades can be a challenge for any gas engine. You will encounter some of this between Rapid City and Mount Rushmore, and other areas of the Black Hills. Most have a slow lane, if you still have your trailer connected, just watch temps.

Have a great trip!

Jerry

gac914 wrote:
Okay, people had asked me to post results after towing. We had a "shakedown" run to a campsite, and towed to a State Park about 170 miles round trip. It towed like a boss! Although the V6 was, as suggested by some, not an out-and-out powerhouse, it did pull just fine. Transmission temps were only up about 2 to 4 degrees above usual, engine temp stayed stable, and I even saw some "V4" mode on level pulls. Got between 10 and 13 MPG, depending on the routing I took and how many stop lights I had to accelerate from. Everything went pretty well.

I do have a question for those out there more used to distributing hitches. I found I had to pull up another notch on the chain to get the truck level and a little more weight on my steer axle. Everything, truck and trailer, ended up about perfectly level, (far and away more than a lot of rigs I noticed coming in to the park!!!,) but my torsion bars are past parallel to the frame on the trailer (end of the bar where the chain attaches at the mini u-bolt is about 2 1/2 inches from the trailer frame). Will this hurt in the long run, or am I okay to leave as is?? Next trip out will be a long one from Illinois to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota!

The bars should be parallel if possible, anything less could hit the tongue frame in tight turns or damage your snap up brackets if there isn't enough length in the chains to allow a turn.

It's a simple fix with most instructions online (or search this forum) Loosen the head bolts and tilt the head back towards the tt. This will angle the bar ends more towards the ground allowing you to hang more links under the same tension. Depending on the hitch you may need to add a washer or two between the head and shank if needed.

gac914 wrote:
Okay, people had asked me to post results after towing. We had a "shakedown" run to a campsite, and towed to a State Park about 170 miles round trip. It towed like a boss! Although the V6 was, as suggested by some, not an out-and-out powerhouse, it did pull just fine. Transmission temps were only up about 2 to 4 degrees above usual, engine temp stayed stable, and I even saw some "V4" mode on level pulls. Got between 10 and 13 MPG, depending on the routing I took and how many stop lights I had to accelerate from. Everything went pretty well.

I do have a question for those out there more used to distributing hitches. I found I had to pull up another notch on the chain to get the truck level and a little more weight on my steer axle. Everything, truck and trailer, ended up about perfectly level, (far and away more than a lot of rigs I noticed coming in to the park!!!,) but my torsion bars are past parallel to the frame on the trailer (end of the bar where the chain attaches at the mini u-bolt is about 2 1/2 inches from the trailer frame). Will this hurt in the long run, or am I okay to leave as is?? Next trip out will be a long one from Illinois to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota!

You need to tilt the head more with washers.. Then you can use same link and bars may be parellel.

You can use up to 8 washers

The ecotec 4.3 V6 was first introduced in the 2014 model year. As has been said, the only thing this motor share with the last generation 4.3 v6 is displacement. Not the ideal motor for towing the camper you are speaking of, but will work. The tow pkg includes a transmission cooler located inside the radiator, but keep an eye on the transmission temp displayed in the instr cluster.

Okay, people had asked me to post results after towing. We had a "shakedown" run to a campsite, and towed to a State Park about 170 miles round trip. It towed like a boss! Although the V6 was, as suggested by some, not an out-and-out powerhouse, it did pull just fine. Transmission temps were only up about 2 to 4 degrees above usual, engine temp stayed stable, and I even saw some "V4" mode on level pulls. Got between 10 and 13 MPG, depending on the routing I took and how many stop lights I had to accelerate from. Everything went pretty well.

I do have a question for those out there more used to distributing hitches. I found I had to pull up another notch on the chain to get the truck level and a little more weight on my steer axle. Everything, truck and trailer, ended up about perfectly level, (far and away more than a lot of rigs I noticed coming in to the park!!!,) but my torsion bars are past parallel to the frame on the trailer (end of the bar where the chain attaches at the mini u-bolt is about 2 1/2 inches from the trailer frame). Will this hurt in the long run, or am I okay to leave as is?? Next trip out will be a long one from Illinois to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota!