Towing with silverado

[va_camper]

I was wandering if anyone has or is towing a camper around 6800 lbs ( short trips less than 50 miles one way) with a 2013 silerado 5.3 liter engine with a 3.42 rear end and what your experience was?

[GrandpaKip]

drsteve wrote:

CavemanCharlie wrote:

badsix wrote:
this is a 5.3 with a 6500# trailer ready to go it pulls great
Jay D.

What type of dog is that ?

An ugly dog.

Wassamatta U?

[falconbrother]

Boxers are great dogs. We like the flat nosed, short coated dogs at our house.

[badsix]

its a boxer.
drsteve why would you say something like that. if I thought your wife was ugly I would at least have the class not to tell you and everyone else.
Jay D.

[drsteve]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

badsix wrote:
this is a 5.3 with a 6500# trailer ready to go it pulls great
Jay D.

What type of dog is that ?

An ugly dog.

[CavemanCharlie]

badsix wrote:
this is a 5.3 with a 6500# trailer ready to go it pulls great
Jay D.

What type of dog is that ?

[badsix]

this is a 5.3 with a 6500# trailer ready to go it pulls great
Jay D.

[va_camper]

I looked at 3/4 ton trucks and realize it'll do a better job,but I want to stay with the half ton for a couple of reasons.I guess to get something, you have to give up something.Thanks for all the help everybody.

[JSS]

I had a 2014 Silverado with the 5.3l 6 speed. Payload rating was right around 1900 lbs. Trailer's camping weight was 8000 lbs. Truck had air bags, D rated tires and other upgrades to help stability. It had plenty of power to tow it but in any cross breeze it was a handful. Traded up to an F250 and its night and day difference. I now enjoy the ride and arrive much more relaxed.

[falconbrother]

I have been pulling 5800 lbs with a Suburban for three plus years. That truck's going to feel 6800 pounds. I don't know what your max weight rating is but, I'd recommend towing with empty tanks. I like the Chevrolets. When pulling a hill don't let the transmission decide what gear it wants. You decide. Let the RPMs stay in a comfortable RPM range. When pulling Black Mountain I pull it down and keep the RPMs over 3000 (about 3200) and that puts me around 47 MPH up the mountain with the AC on. I added Sumo Supersprings to the rear end and an additional transmission cooler. Don't tow in overdrive. Don't allow the transmission to hunt. I'm super anal about servicing. A 2500 would always do a better job but, I love my old 1500 Suburban and it gets the job done. We need the extra air conditioned space because we take our dogs with us. There's always better options if you have the cash.. But, for my 27 foot, 5800lb (dry) travel trailer the 1500 Chevy Suburban is adequate. If and when I trade I'll be looking for a big SUV, maybe GMC with the 6.0/6.2. The chassis handles the weight fine. It's super important to get that WD hitch set up right.

My max weight is 7200. I wouldn't want to commit to pulling a 6800 dry weight trailer around. That gives you very little, if any wiggle room on weight. Will it do it? Yep, I think it will. But, it's at the top end (or over). There are some people who store their big trailer near mine that I'm sure is at their weight limit. But, they pull it with a 1500 Suburban 5.3 all the time.

I tend to baby my transmission. I'm not in a hurry. I don't allow it to hunt for gears. I get a running start on hills where possible and let the speed slowly bleed down on the way up, etc.. The 5.3 isn't the problem. The GM 4.8/5.3/6.0 is a good design and don't mind RPMs. The powerband on the 5.3 requires RPMs and that's the way it was designed. The 4L60e transmission is a good transmission but, it needs to be serviced. I pulled the pan and replaced the fluid and filter a couple of years ago. I do a drain and fill on the Dextron 6 a couple of times a year. The fluid stays red and fresh all the time. I also service the differential every couple of years (it was rebuilt in 2017).

[kcgaz]

We are pulling a 7600# TT with a 16 Silverado with a 5.3L 3.42 axle with no issues. We pull hills just fine, we aren't the fastest to the top, but we are not in a hurry. Enjoy your rig with no worries!

[va_camper]

Thanks, guys. Good info.

[Grit_dog]

va camper wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm just trying to get a general feel for the 5.3. Don't buy trucks very often, ( i think Nixon was president when I bought the one I have now).??

Lol.
While I generally like Chevys, I understand the cylinder de-activation is potentially problematic. Not a lot of experience with it, but we've had a couple 5.3s of that era go down with top end issues. If I bought one, I'd get a tuner and turn off the AFM (recommended to help with that issue)
Just food for thought.

[Grit_dog]

Lwiddis wrote:
What’s magic about “short trips?” In fifty miles everything heats up...oil, water, tires, transmission fluid etc. and everything is as stressed as in a 400 mile trip. However, provided you are at or under payload, 6800 pounds of trailer in a well maintained Silverado is within specifications.

I agree with the second part of your statement, however the first part, while it could be correct, is not in real life.
Except maybe under a specific set of circumstances, like the drive is all uphill or something similar.

Either way, that truck is fine for a 7klb TT.

[va_camper]

Yeah,I'm kinda partial to the chevys. Did test drive an ecoboost 3.5. Wow!