Too much trailer?

It would probably be OK for short flatland trips, but for longer trips, especially where mountains are involved, no way. What does the yellow sticker in the door frame say your payload is?

The only thing that maybe should have been changed is the rear axle ratio. It should have been a 3.73 at the least. The 3.42 will give you better fuel economy when you're not towing but when you're towing it'll feel like the trailer is weighing down your truck especially on hills. I had similarly equipped Silverado with a 3.73 rear and a small 5vr (gross 6350lb) and a 4 speed tranny. In order to maintain reasonable fuel economy when towing, I locked out O/D and ran it in 3rd gear and tow/haul all the time. In that configuration, I was able to maintain a reasonable 10mpg.

A 5.3 with 3.42 gears is not going to be fun in the hills of WV. Pulled a 9k 5er with my 5.7L Hemi for a while but had 3.73 gears and Michigan is relatively flat. I upgraded to a 2500 with a Cummins befor a cross country trip.

The rear axle ratio is the least of your worries if you have the six speed transmission. It is easy with the six speed to pick a gear that gives you the rpm's you want at any road speed. Your real problem is payload with a relatively heavy trailer and a half ton pickup. You will hate driving an overloaded vehicle, no matter what gear you are in.

TomG2 wrote:
The rear axle ratio is the least of your worries if you have the six speed transmission. It is easy with the six speed to pick a gear that gives you the rpm's you want at any road speed. Your real problem is payload with a relatively heavy trailer and a half ton pickup. You will hate driving an overloaded vehicle, no matter what gear you are in.

X2

Yellow sticker says 1880# capacity - puts it at 9000 total - rating on truck is 9500 which puts us in danger area if my math is correct

timskiwannacamp wrote:
Yellow sticker says 1880# capacity - puts it at 9000 total - rating on truck is 9500 which puts us in danger area if my math is correct

do you have to stuff 1880 lbs. of stuff in?
bumpy

You should post your payload rating from the door jamb on your truck. You will more than likely exceed it by a good margin. You won't be the first or last to do that, and is your choice.

i have a 2012 chev 1500 with the 5.3 and the 3.42 gears pulling a 30 foot tt with a gvw of 7500 and usually pulling down the road around 6600 pounds. the power is ok i run in 4th gear around 105 kph around 3000 rpm. its not great in the hills as ive been down to 75-80 kph in 2nd gear around 4500to 4800 rpm but its got lots of power there so dont need to go slower then that. but over all its rated 2000 pounds higher towing capacity then my other truck dodge hemi 1500 but it has the 5 speed and 3.55 gears that hurt it but they are in the same ballpark. my next truck will be a 3/4 ton gas where i feel would be good to about 10000 pounds. o yeah i think im 1680 payload on my truck and with this setup with the normal stuff in the box and wife and son i was 200 pounds away from max payload.

NOT too much trailer.
NOT enough truck.