1/2 Ton Suburban in steep grades with TT
I've read a bunch of different posts in several forums about towing with a 1/2 ton Suburban and how it will struggle on steep grades and that you should really have a 3/4 ton. Here's my situation:...
Forum Discussion
I use a tahoe to pull a 7000# camper from Denver around the rockies. (9.5 MPG)
Absolutely use 2nd for pulling the hills. 4000 rpm won't hurt the engine and you cam maintain about 50 up the hills. At 3400 you will drop out of the power curve and slow down quickly. Lock it into 2nd and you can let way up on the gas and pull the hills just fine. If you try to use third it will keep shifting between 2nd and third and that could damage the tranny.
Also if it came with a tow package it should have a tranny cooler. Look for a small radiator in front of the main radiator.
Make sure you have E rated tires and I just got some of these. They help a lot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/03-06-Silverado-Tahoe-Pickup-Towing-Mirrors-Tow-Power-Heated-LED-Signal-Pair-Set-/252000852854?fits=Model%3ATahoe&hash=item3aac6bdb76&vxp=mtr
Absolutely use 2nd for pulling the hills. 4000 rpm won't hurt the engine and you cam maintain about 50 up the hills. At 3400 you will drop out of the power curve and slow down quickly. Lock it into 2nd and you can let way up on the gas and pull the hills just fine. If you try to use third it will keep shifting between 2nd and third and that could damage the tranny.
Also if it came with a tow package it should have a tranny cooler. Look for a small radiator in front of the main radiator.
Make sure you have E rated tires and I just got some of these. They help a lot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/03-06-Silverado-Tahoe-Pickup-Towing-Mirrors-Tow-Power-Heated-LED-Signal-Pair-Set-/252000852854?fits=Model%3ATahoe&hash=item3aac6bdb76&vxp=mtr
