2013 Tahoe/Towing question

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iseckora

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Afternoon all!! I have a 2013 Tahoe with a 3.5 inch rough country lift, and a 3 inch body lift, riding on 33s. My question is I am a travel contract worker and my gf is as well. We are looking at taking a contract in Alaska for a bit and we want to take her 2016 Jeep Wrangler 4d. Is my tahoe capable of flat towing her rig the 65 hour drive from Dallas to Anchorage? Or should I look at other options?
Thanks
 

B-train

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I would think so. You will definitely never be in 6th gear, lock her in 5th and go. Flat towing should be easier in general because you aren't adding additional weight and air restriction of a trailer into the mix. The jeep will basically follow in the draft of your truck.

Make sure to have all your maintenance up to date - fluids,filters,belt, alignment, etc and have fun.

What kind of contract work may I ask? Alaska is on the bucket list.
 

Marky Dissod

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... 2013 Tahoe with a 3.5 inch rough country lift, and a 3 inch body lift, riding on 33s.
My question is ... : Is my Tahoe capable of flat towing her rig the 65 hour drive from Dallas to Anchorage?
Or should I look at other options?
If your Tahoe has
RPO GU6: 3.42 rear axle
it might even be ok to let it use 6th in Tow / Haul mode. Maybe.

Anything under 3.42 - most likely
RPO GU4: 3.08 rear axle
avoid 6th at all costs
avoid Normal Mode at all costs
feel free to use your shifter to command a lower gear BEFORE you go up or down that hill.

I'd go so far as to the ATF & filter; replace with

If your radiator fans are reprogrammed for lower fan-on thresholds, that's a plus.
If your TCM has been reprogrammed with a more assertive Tow / Haul Mode, that's a plus too.
 

Trey Hardy

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Afternoon all!! I have a 2013 Tahoe with a 3.5 inch rough country lift, and a 3 inch body lift, riding on 33s. My question is I am a travel contract worker and my gf is as well. We are looking at taking a contract in Alaska for a bit and we want to take her 2016 Jeep Wrangler 4d. Is my tahoe capable of flat towing her rig the 65 hour drive from Dallas to Anchorage? Or should I look at other options?
Thanks
Invest you in a trucool 40k transmission cooler before the trip it would be cheap insurance to make sure you don’t run your transmission hot. When I did mine it dropped my temps from 190-205 down to 140-155
 

Geotrash

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Afternoon all!! I have a 2013 Tahoe with a 3.5 inch rough country lift, and a 3 inch body lift, riding on 33s. My question is I am a travel contract worker and my gf is as well. We are looking at taking a contract in Alaska for a bit and we want to take her 2016 Jeep Wrangler 4d. Is my tahoe capable of flat towing her rig the 65 hour drive from Dallas to Anchorage? Or should I look at other options?
Thanks
Gonna be a beautiful drive. I lived in Alaska for 3 years and can’t wait to go back.
 
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iseckora

iseckora

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Invest you in a trucool 40k transmission cooler before the trip it would be cheap insurance to make sure you don’t run your transmission hot. When I did mine it dropped my temps from 190-205 down to 140-155
Do you have a link or a can I goto a mechanic and ask then to install this?
 

Trey Hardy

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Do you have a link or a can I goto a mechanic and ask then to install this?
^^ @donjetman gotchu
It was a pretty simple install when I did mine and it’s held up great. If you have a factory transmission cooler already it’ll make install a breeze. Mine did not have one so I had to tap into the radiator lines under the hood but it does it’s job
4B02EDE3-C21D-4B9F-96B8-36C17FC2A2F9.jpeg30A45DF6-9E92-4666-856E-ED5C83BDB335.jpeg0EAAB6F0-7590-4E58-AD59-E51D00491BD4.jpegB29E6D13-BAAC-4ADD-B1E9-E4A472108C46.jpeg
 

intheburbs

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Assuming OP's Tahoe has the factory trans cooler, a larger one is unnecessary IMHO. 190-200° F is normal operating range for the 6L transmissions. Dex6 has substantially better high-temperature capabilities than Dex3. And low temps can be just as bad, or even worse, than high temps. If you're not getting above ~150°, you're not boiling off condensation that may have collected in the transmission. And we all (should) know that water in the fluid is bad.

I just have the small factory cooler in my Suburban. 240k miles, still original, still operates perfectly. And I beat the crap out if it. If I'm just driving, I'm cruising down the highway and high speeds (90-100+), or I'm towing either my 4,000-lb cargo trailer or 8600-lb travel trailer.

My personal record is 243°, usually achieved when I'm going over the Continental Divide with the travel trailer. I simply change the trans fluid more frequently. Sometimes with an interval as low as 30k miles. But usually I do it every 50k. Full flush - at the dealership. 16 quarts.

This was on I-70 eastbound towards the Eisenhower Tunnel, 7% grades, pulling the behemoth right at 16,000 lbs gross vehicle weight...
4jf69ij.jpg


Tiny cooler:
5Fgri2I.jpg
 
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