Tow vehicle upgrade

if it is a 2wd then a swap to a 4.10 gearset , preferably positraction would be the best bang for the buck .
being a car guy myself , for towing the best route are the modifications that increase the capacity to pump AIR through the engine .
modifications that pump additional fuel through the engine are very expensive in actual practice during towing with $ 3.75 gasoline .
headers are a good method , if you make the swap out to the larger diameter exhaust plumbing behind the headers .
i would also seriously consider a large capacity auxilliary transmission cooler radiator .
aftermarket headers and their gaskets are not able to mainain their seal under repeated high heat conditions such as pulling hills with a 7000 # square box behind .
additional cooling capacity will help mitigate header gasket failure .

We think alike

I know what I did to my 1997 F150 when it had around 70,000 miles on it and I just bought a #5000 TT about 11 years ago..

Most of what I did gets a big "poo-poo" here and many other boards, but that's fine... ;)

What you need to do is find mods that keep or increase torque in the lower rpm range.

I went with the option to feed the large air pump more air.. I didn't swap gears and I'm running 3.55's with a LT265/75/16 tire!

I did it with an exhaust mod and an air filter mod.. For the exhaust, I went with a aftermarket 3" 'cat back' setup. Get the muffler of your choice for the kind of sound you are interested in. I got a straight thru style, yet it does not drone you out of the cab, but it does provide that nice V8 sound I do love to hear... :)

For the air filter, lets just say it's not a very popular brand on this site and others.... I've not had the issues that's always stated with the use of this type of filter, but that's just my opinion and experience and I'm not saying the other folks didn't have issues... I just have not been one of them..

That being said, my F150 now has 246,000 miles on it. I tow the same #5000 GVWR TT from 11 years ago and I'm still running the same cat back exhaust and air filter.

When I first got my TT, I had the cat back and air filter, but the original muffler that came with the cat back was essentially a POS baffle type of muffler that really didn't live up to it's hype.. But, it was better than the OEM muffler it replaced... ;)

When towing with the POS muffler, I could not hold OD for nothing... It would downshift on any rise in the road (over passes for example). I was so close to doing the gear swap at this point....

But, the POS muffler developed a rattle and I replaced it with the straight thru muffler it still has to this day.

The first tow over the SAME route with just the new muffler allowed me to run OD when the conditions were right. It did NOT downshift on every rise in the road. I got about 1-2 mpgs better towing (I get around 10 mpg now) and the truck drove and had a lot better throttle response all the way around..

I know I have no 'proof' of this and I'll be called out on it, as it is just my own seat - O - the pants meter and my own performance comparisons I'm going by...

But, I know what I had and I know what I have and even when I have to swap out my air filter for a paper one when it's being cleaned, I can tell a difference with just a different air filter... Yes, I'll be called out on that too, but again, it's just my own SOTP feel and I can't prove any of it... ;)

Maybe it's all my own perceptions or false feelings because I spent money for the mods and really 'want' them to make a difference?? Dunno, but whatever, the results for me was positive and I'm happy, so there you go!

I'm not saying you will get the same results.... I'm just saying what worked for me...

Good luck!

Mitch

Your current TV is plenty capable for your TT. If you want more usable towing power, gear swap is it. When it comes time to sell it, any upgrades will net you no additional resale value.

That said, any stock big block from that era or current half ton with 6+ transmission gears would offer far more noticeable improvement in towing performance.

Good advice,thankyou. Im keeping the suburban because its just to nice to let go. I really want to just make small improvements to have the best half ton I can. Just did complete brake job,and new shocks with spring loaded on back. Its not going to get pulled on long halls, prob.less than 200 miles one way. When I step up to longer trips I realize I need a more capable tow vehicle. Please keep sharing your upgrades ideals, some Ive not even considered.

"Souping up" the vehicle with headers, gears, chips, etc. are going to little to increase any of the capacities of the vehicle. I would really be hesitant to spend that kind of coin on a old vehicle. You'll be much happier with a truck that has the HP, torque, and payload capacity to do the job.

I tried most of what has been suggested above. After spending time and money, I still wasn't happy. The headers caused other problems, burnt spark plug wires, melted speedometer cable and the power wire leading to the starter had the insulation melt off so it would short against the frame.

The gear swap in the rearend increased the speed up a 6% grade by 10MPH but it lowered the MPG a little. Of course when not towing the engine was running at higher RPMs on the highway so it used more gas instead of 10 MPG I was getting 8.

The only thing that made me happy was to get a new truck. That made of all of the difference. Now I tow happy. Duramax diesel with an Allison transmission.

Being a TBI motor...

You can in a 454 throttle body. The intake manifold will need to be ported to allow the larger valves to open, and mounting bolts drilled & tapped. It really is a simple swap. We did it on a stock-spec 305ci that was installed on a friend's Nova a few years ago. The additional air flow will work well with an aftermarket cam. You can also port the small block TB for slightly more air flow for nothing more than a little teardown and sanding.

Visit TBI Chips Don't mess around, click this link!!! Good info, from fuel pressures, to cam recommendations, to ditching the stock y-pipe in the exhaust...

Vortec head swap and new intake manifold to mate the TB to the heads (the Vortec heads have a different bolt pattern for the intake manifold). IIRC the exhaust manifolds will bolt right up.

If this is more of an in-town and towing rig, you would benefit greatly from a gear swap. My '97 K1500 (265/75R16, 3.73) would run a few hundred RPM under peak torque output at 60-65 when in 3rd. I would make more power at a faster speed, but then had to overcome the increased wind resistance. ~70mph would have been the 'sweet' spot for my Vortec, placing the engine right close to 3k rpm (peak torque was near that from what I recall). A 4.10 gear set would have placed me a lot closer to that desired engine speed, and would have resulted in better towing. If you don't do a lot of empty highway driving in the Burb, a gear swap would benefit you!

There are numerous gear calculator on the Web. Figure out what rpm your truck would operate with what gear. Best to keep the the truck in its torque band while towing. Headers, exhaust and intake can help. Not sure if the results would be worth it. Will the comp cam maintain emissions? I would recommend looking into rear gears and maybe tranny shift kit upgrade. The tranny shift kit will make it shift a little abrupt. For gears I would start with 4.10. It sounds like you don't need alot. The other item with gears is the case break. You can change gearing and keep cost down if you avoid having to change out all internal components. 4.56 and 4.88 probably requires a complete internal swap. Does the truck have overdrive? Running down the road empty with tall gearing will wind out the engine.

All you need is more rear gear