how much weight do you tow with 1/2 ton gm 5.3l

[Bishops]

I have been out of the camping world for a couple years. I sold my f350 and 38ft 5ver. I currently have a 08 gmc sierra 1500 5.3 crew 4x4 and looking at a travel trailer. just curious what ya'll are towing with the 1/2 ton 5.3

[cpres]

3000lb slide in with 1000 pound trailer hitched to a 99 reg cab long bed. Was about 1000 pounds over GVWR. 5.3l wit 4 speed auto and 3.73 gears. I never worried about power, stopping was the issue. 5.3l will twist 3 to 4000rpms all day. Got 10mpg with that set up and was running strong at 211000 miles.

Read the owners manual and stay under GVWR and GCVWR and you will be happy. If you want a number I would be comfortable with a max of 6 to 8 thousand pounds behind the Silverado 1500 I had, it was rated to about 8 thousand pounds of trailer. I had a trans temp Guage and a huge trans cooler.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Hannibal]

That's funny you say that. 3k rpm sounds very relaxing to me with our 5.4L Ford and previous 5.7L Hemi. I'm good to about 4200rpm in the sound dept.

[Tystevens]

We had a 2005 Suburban w/ 5.3, 4 spd and 4.10 gears. We towed our 27 ft travel trailer, about 6500#, for about 2 years with it. Wasn't great, but we got there. Even w/ the 4.10's, 4th gear was virtually unusable when towing. Flat ground usually required 3rd gear, lots of shifts down to 2nd gear for much of any incline. Kinda slow going, probably 55-60 mph.

After our first long trip to the West Coast with it, we bought a diesel! 2 hrs of 3000+ rpm is one thing; 16 is quite another!

FWIW, the 6 spd does make a big difference. Our '10 w/ 6 spd and 3.42 gears tows much better IMO. Of course, it never gets in to 6th gear, but can hold 5th on flats, and more often has the right gear for the situation due to tighter gear spacing. The most annoying thing in the '05 was where it could easily push 3rd, but couldn't quite hold 4th (or same thing in 2nd and 3rd). Also, the t/h programming in the '10 is much better and much more effective. No hunting, and I seldom have to manually select.

I know this talk of the 6 spd doesn't help the OP much, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[rbtglove]

On my thrid GM truck with the 5.3 engine. Threre is a huge difference between the older 4 sp trany and the never 6 sp equipped vehicles. The newer trucks, 2007? or later I think, tow much better even with the 3.42 gears than the older ones even with the lower gears.

[ken56]

I have the 2014 CC Z71 short bed, tow package, 3:42 gears, 6 speed trans and tow about 6500 lbs. 30 footer all loaded for camping, For the most part its just fine but a stiff wind will push it around some and I get a little bit of wiggle when being passed by a big rig. I have been in the big mountains and pulled up 12% grades. Trans would down shift and revs would go to 48 to 5200 rpm and keep the speed at 60 mph. I get 10 mpg when towing and 18 when not. I am happy with it. Is it the perfect combo? A 2500 might be better maybe, oh well, I have something I am happy with overall.

[IndyCamp]

My father-in-law tows this trailer with his 2013 extended cab Sierra with the 5.3 and 3.42:

http://forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=205&Image=5059&ModelID=1319#Main

He has put a lot of miles on that combination and the only thing he did was upgrade his tires. He claims to be happy with the performance.

[dedbird]

I have a 2014 Silverado with the 5.3L a 3.73 rear end and the heavy duty tow package.

Just returned from 3 months in Florida with my 10,500lb 5ver. No issues, cruised at 60mph with average mileage of between 6 and 10. Used tow mode all the times which kept the tranny quiet.

A happy camper

[LimogesMan]

Terryallan wrote:

Rbertalotto wrote:


Must have been something wrong with my 5.3 or my expectations were simply too high.

Thing is. 5.3 are supposed to rev. that is where they make their power. High reving is actually good for them. They are very happy at higher RMPs.

Thing is. Most people ride around in OD when not towing. They NEVER hear the engine work, But when it does, like when towing. They think something is wrong gonna blow it's guts out, when in reality. It is doing what it is supposed to do, and loving it.

Words straight out of my mouth.. ?
Same goes with my torquy 5.4L. It pulls very well at 3000rpm.
Having said that, I would recommend the OP to set his limit at 8k pounds.

[twodogs603]

Dadoffourgirls wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

twodogs603 wrote:
My friend has a 6 month old Silverado 4x4 crew cab with the 5.3 and towing package. We towed two large motorcycles on a Featherlite aluminum trailer from Virginia to Florida. The total weight was around
26800 lbs and I was very surprised how poorly his truck towed that small load. Didnt have very good pickup and it seemed like it was always straining to keep up speed on the interstate. Kept downshifting and running the RPMs up real high. I expected a lot better performance then what it had.

Really? I would think that a 1500 towing twenty six THOUSAND pounds would be very disappointing. I would only be surprised if it actuall got to the speedlimit. Cause twenty six THOUSAND pounds is a lot for a 450.


However. I suspect that is a typo, and is more like 2,680. or two thousand, six hundred, and 80 pounds.:B

I suspect it must have been the twenty six thousand. I hauled an enclosed 16 ft U-haul trailer 1200 miles over 2 days with a 2014 Silverado that had the 5.3 and the 3.08 rear axle. Half of the miles had the trailer full of household items, including school books.

Holy crapola. That was a typo on my part. The total weight was only about 2800 lbs.

[Dadoffourgirls]

Terryallan wrote:

twodogs603 wrote:
My friend has a 6 month old Silverado 4x4 crew cab with the 5.3 and towing package. We towed two large motorcycles on a Featherlite aluminum trailer from Virginia to Florida. The total weight was around
26800 lbs and I was very surprised how poorly his truck towed that small load. Didnt have very good pickup and it seemed like it was always straining to keep up speed on the interstate. Kept downshifting and running the RPMs up real high. I expected a lot better performance then what it had.

Really? I would think that a 1500 towing twenty six THOUSAND pounds would be very disappointing. I would only be surprised if it actuall got to the speedlimit. Cause twenty six THOUSAND pounds is a lot for a 450.


However. I suspect that is a typo, and is more like 2,680. or two thousand, six hundred, and 80 pounds.:B

I suspect it must have been the twenty six thousand. I hauled an enclosed 16 ft U-haul trailer 1200 miles over 2 days with a 2014 Silverado that had the 5.3 and the 3.08 rear axle. Half of the miles had the trailer full of household items, including school books.

[Bishops]

I know all about gvwr. I am a class A cdl. I was just curious on what people are pulling. My truck is a z71 with tow package 3:73 gears. The unit we have decided to go with is a 30ft tt double slide ultra lite that is 4500# empty

[Terryallan]

twodogs603 wrote:
My friend has a 6 month old Silverado 4x4 crew cab with the 5.3 and towing package. We towed two large motorcycles on a Featherlite aluminum trailer from Virginia to Florida. The total weight was around
26800 lbs and I was very surprised how poorly his truck towed that small load. Didnt have very good pickup and it seemed like it was always straining to keep up speed on the interstate. Kept downshifting and running the RPMs up real high. I expected a lot better performance then what it had.

Really? I would think that a 1500 towing twenty six THOUSAND pounds would be very disappointing. I would only be surprised if it actuall got to the speedlimit. Cause twenty six THOUSAND pounds is a lot for a 450.


However. I suspect that is a typo, and is more like 2,680. or two thousand, six hundred, and 80 pounds.:B

[Campfire_Time]

APT wrote:
2008 is 4-spd trans. Axle ratio is important as 3.08 performance and ratings is significantly different than 3.73 and 4.10. If you do not know, look in the glove blox for the RPO sticker. You will have one of these in your list:

GU4 : AXLE REAR, 3.08 RATIO
GU5 : AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
GU6 : AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
GT4 : AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 : AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO

You should also verify you have Z82 in your list for the HD trailering package. That includes transmission cooler which is essential for any high walled trailer.

Assuming you have 3.42+, towing any high walled RV means 3rd gear, 2400-27000rpm on flat ground at 65mph. That's a lot like my prior truck. Downshifts to 2nd on hills at 4000-5000rpm. As Terryallan said, the truck will do that all day long (keep an eye on trans temp). The driver may not be pleased with that level of performance.

Stick to under 6000 pounds dry for a TT. That's 7000-7500 pounds loaded.

If you have 3.08 gear, just get a replacement truck. 🙂

You're a knowledgeable guy and I enjoy your posts, so it's not that I disagree with anything you said, but did you even read the previous posts? I already posted everything about the gears. To be a bit more precise, 3.08 gears were not available on any of the 1/2 ton PUs in in '08. I listed only what was available with the 5.3 (this is why I always insist that folks check their owner's manual and not rely on Internet towing guides). There was a 3.23 but that was only available with the V6 or 4.8l V8 so it doesn't apply to him.

Hopefully he has the 3.73s.

[handye9]

Bishops wrote:
I have been out of the camping world for a couple years. I sold my f350 and 38ft 5ver. I currently have a 08 gmc sierra 1500 5.3 crew 4x4 and looking at a travel trailer. just curious what ya'll are towing with the 1/2 ton 5.3

Pickup trucks (12 ton, 3/4 ton, one ton, etc) are not all created equal. What one person is towing with their 1/2 ton GMC, may not be the right weight for your truck. Depending on cab configurations, power trains, transmissions, drive trains, and option / trim levels, the payload can vary considerably, from one truck to another. F150 for example, can have payloads from 750 lbs to over 3000 lbs. They also have a 6000 lb range in tow capacities.

Check your drivers door jamb, for a tire / loading sticker. It will give your truck's specific payload (occupant/cargo) rating.

From that number, subtract the weight of people and cargo you plan to have in the truck, subtract the weight of aftermarket accessories (bed cap, bed liner, step bars, etc), and subtract 100 lbs for a weight distributing hitch.

What you have left is available payload to carry trailer tongue weight. Divide that number by .13. The result will be the loaded trailer weight that will put you in the neighborhood of GVWR on the truck. Shop for a trailer that has unloaded weight of 1000 lbs less.

Here's a towing calculator that will do the math for you. Just plug in your payload and weights.