newb looking to set up 2010 Chevy Express 3500

[ogre01]

Hello all, I've bought a used Chevy express 3500 with the intent of hauling a camper within a year for family vacations. For the rest of this year, I would like to outfit the van appropriately. It does not have a factory tow package and no indication it has ever towed before.

I plan to add a Reese Class IV hitch, Prodigy 3 controller. I do not have a factory trailer wiring harness. Suggestions on a harness mfg. would be appreciated. I've seen them on amazon/ebay but I have zero familiarity with the names. The Reese site suggested a Hopkins harness (for $100) that appears to have some manner of controller. Any opinions on that?

The van has a 3.42 ratio on 6l90e trans, factory trans cooler and aux trans cooler (by RPO code). It is an open diff, should I consider an upgrade to this? I don't expect to off-road, but a 12% gravel road at a campsite could get hairy.

No camper yet, but when it does get purchased, we plan on watching the weight carefully. Funds dictate it will be smaller than we would like, so that should keep the weight down too.

Any other thoughts, suggestions, or clever ideas for setting one of these up for longer road trips would be great. When I was a kid, my Dad hauled us all over the Country in an '86 Ford van pulling a 22' camper, an industrial inverter and little TV fitted to a custom stand taking up one of the seats. I'm quite inclined to do any number of things to this rig for enjoyment, precaution, and safety.

Thanks to all.

[falconbrother]

For most controllers they will work anywhere you can mount them as long as the innards are sitting level. Mine has a little arm on the side to adjust the horizontal so that I can mount it at various angles.

[ogre01]

Hey folks, for an update, the tow package has been put on, and I have the tuner in hand. I also took a mild road trip (4 hours) and with 45 minutes idling around town, averaged 17.2 hand-calc'd (DIC said 17.0); I'm very pleased so far. I seldom went above 70, but I'm pretty happy about that speed. However, to continue on about my truck and upgrades, I've come to another odd issue:

brake controller location (in a 2010 3500 Chevy Express van for anyone reading this post only)

I had them install it in the "typical" place, towards the steering shaft side of my right knee. Well, it turns out that for me, in a van, that is a terrible location. Wanted to know if anyone has done some keen install elsewhere? I was looking at the knockouts in the center of the dash and thought about putting it there but sure would like to see if anyone else had done that, or some other atypical place.

[RoyJ]

carringb wrote:
I agree, although it seems to be working other than causing more powertrain heat.

I don't think line pressure will help. It's just not enough surface area in the torque converter clutch. The diesel and the gas motors don't use the same torque converters because of their requires stall speeds, and clearly they must have changed more than just turbine profiles.

TSB is GM#14745. Sorry I can't post the text, since I'm no longer subscribed to any repair databases. Applies to 2010-2014 models. 2015 must have an upgraded T/C, and the company that makes the purple ones has an upgrade as well.

I see. Wonder if more clutches would fit in there. I know 47RE rebuild kits offer better friction material AND more clutch plates.

Guess I'm just a bit surprised by the whole thing. Technically, the 47RE is only a "700 Nm" rated transmission, and the 6L90 is 720 Nm.

[carringb]

RoyJ wrote:

That sounds like a bandaid solution to a improper design!

Is there not a way to increase the line pressure? On my old Dodge 47RE, a Trans-go shift kit increased the pressure high enough so that the stock V10 can't slip the converter clutch at any throttle opening.

The 6L90 is a tougher transmission, and the 6.0 is a weaker engine (torque wise), can't see there being any trouble. If they can run a de-tuned Duramax on this unit, how can a stock 6.0 slip the clutch?

I agree, although it seems to be working other than causing more powertrain heat.

I don't think line pressure will help. It's just not enough surface area in the torque converter clutch. The diesel and the gas motors don't use the same torque converters because of their requires stall speeds, and clearly they must have changed more than just turbine profiles.

TSB is GM#14745. Sorry I can't post the text, since I'm no longer subscribed to any repair databases. Applies to 2010-2014 models. 2015 must have an upgraded T/C, and the company that makes the purple ones has an upgrade as well.

[ogre01]

@fourgirls, thanks for the heads up on the bluetooth. I've had the device for several years now on any of five vehicles or so, but I've never used it as more than a passing analysis for some driveability problem or code check. I know it gives you the ability to start writing values and really jack something up (with the custom PIDs), but never considered that it's "passive" use could cause an issue.

[RoyJ]

carringb wrote:
Bewared that there is an open TSB for the transmission programming. The torque converter clutch slips at heavy throttle when operated at max GCWR, so the programming leaves the torque converter unlocked more. This saves the clutch, but at the expense of more heat. This was causing overheating issues for the motorhome guys, but Hayden came out with a better fan clutch that kicks on sooner.

That sounds like a bandaid solution to a improper design!

Is there not a way to increase the line pressure? On my old Dodge 47RE, a Trans-go shift kit increased the pressure high enough so that the stock V10 can't slip the converter clutch at any throttle opening.

The 6L90 is a tougher transmission, and the 6.0 is a weaker engine (torque wise), can't see there being any trouble. If they can run a de-tuned Duramax on this unit, how can a stock 6.0 slip the clutch?

[Dadoffourgirls]

ogre01 wrote:
Thanks for the conversation.

@CarringB - the van does have the RPO for the tow package tranny cooler and aux engine oil cooler. So, it is "as good" as the factory will get. I am talking with Blackbear on tuning engine and transmission with the AutoCal box. I'll get their opinion on that TSB, I would generally prefer at all times less heat in the transmission and don't expect I would ever use heavy throttle at anything close to GVWR. I do have the "Torque Pro" app on my phone with a bluetooth OBDII interface which lets me setup a gauge set on a smart phone which includes Tranny Temp. I'll check if there is some converter slip sensor like diesel trucks have.

@fourgirls, yikes man, I'm glad I got a boy in third, or I may have just stopped. Guy I worked with had 5 all in a row. My shocks do look pretty old, and the springs sit pretty flat unloaded (contrary to what I thought at first). I'll look at replacing the shocks soon and am looking at manual airbags for towing use (and a big honkin' WD hitch).

@falcon, it is the 6.0. Those are some interesting looking springs, I'll look into them, they do want a pretty penny.

Let me caution you about the Torque Pro App and OBDII. After a year of use, I was 10 miles from home when I made a turn, and lost all power. Took me almost a mile to get to 35 mph. After getting home and unhitching, did not have issue. Since I was still under warranty, took it to dealer. There was a code that indicated that there was a communication fault between engine and transmission. They indicated that it was caused by the OBDII device. So if you experience that, I would stop, turn-off, and remove OBDII device.

[ogre01]

Thanks for the conversation.

@CarringB - the van does have the RPO for the tow package tranny cooler and aux engine oil cooler. So, it is "as good" as the factory will get. I am talking with Blackbear on tuning engine and transmission with the AutoCal box. I'll get their opinion on that TSB, I would generally prefer at all times less heat in the transmission and don't expect I would ever use heavy throttle at anything close to GVWR. I do have the "Torque Pro" app on my phone with a bluetooth OBDII interface which lets me setup a gauge set on a smart phone which includes Tranny Temp. I'll check if there is some converter slip sensor like diesel trucks have.

@fourgirls, yikes man, I'm glad I got a boy in third, or I may have just stopped. Guy I worked with had 5 all in a row. My shocks do look pretty old, and the springs sit pretty flat unloaded (contrary to what I thought at first). I'll look at replacing the shocks soon and am looking at manual airbags for towing use (and a big honkin' WD hitch).

@falcon, it is the 6.0. Those are some interesting looking springs, I'll look into them, they do want a pretty penny.

[falconbrother]

What engine is in that van?

Look at Sumo Supersprings for the rear end.

[Dadoffourgirls]

I purchases the Curt class V. It is rated to 2400lbs tongue weight and does not cost much more. That way, I can tow anything I may need.

I had a RV store install the wiring for my Prodigy. I had taken the panel off, and installed mine at my right hand side next to the engine cover. They needed to run the wire from battery all the way back. I decided it was a good investment, since I did not have hours to do myself.

I would suggest a set of new shocks. I am close to putting some on my van, to take out the bounce when not towing and using as a tour bus.

I have seen the Express with bucket seats in the 2nd and 3rd row in the Van Pool vehicles. Not sure if they just go into the factory openings or not. I would love to replace the benches with something higher.

The 3.42 axle does a great job when not towing. I have gotten as high as 21 mpg (driving at speeds under 65 mph).

As for the open differential, I had to leave my trailer once when trying to back up on wet soft grass. It was what I was expecting, but tried anyway.

[carringb]

Re-gearing is not needed with the 6-speed.

I would check into wether your transmission cooler is the same size as with the tow package, and if you need to add an engine oil cooler.

Bewared that there is an open TSB for the transmission programming. The torque converter clutch slips at heavy throttle when operated at max GCWR, so the programming leaves the torque converter unlocked more. This saves the clutch, but at the expense of more heat. This was causing overheating issues for the motorhome guys, but Hayden came out with a better fan clutch that kicks on sooner.

[Grit_dog]

I wouldn't spend any $ on an axle or gear swap until you see how it does. Unless you're looking to max out the towing capacity of the van, it will do fine with lighter trailers and your intended uses (shorter trips you said). Yes deep gears will help but that's a lot of budget for the return imo unless you're logging a lot of miles or flogging it with a big trailer.
Springs shouldn't be an issue in a 3500. Doubt you need bags. Hitch, brake controller and an aux trans cooler if you're inclined and let er rip.

[ogre01]

Thank you for that advice, I have been looking at truck axles for a swap rather than setting up a new gear set. Would this recommendation change with only pulling a couple times a year and day-trips the rest? I was also curious whether helper airbags would be of any benefit. I have not driven the van loaded to know whether seat of the pants says yea or nay, and I doubt the rear springs are too worn.

[KD4UPL]

I'd put in some sort of limited slip diff if you plan to pull a camper up that steep of a gravel road. As long as you've got the diff apart I would go to a lower gear. A 3.73 would likely be a nice improvement.