Towing 101 part 1
... I have service manual that came with the truck. It said that mine had 5,7 engine 2,43 gears with towing wight of 5500 it also said the truck with 5,7 engine with 3.73 gears has a 6500 towing wight. so that's why I went with the 3.73 gears. Is there anything more I need to do to help....
I'm looking at a similar application: 99 Tahoe, 5.7L, 3.42 gears, 4L60-E, factory towing package - towing a 6500lb cargo trailer. Here is my plan - it's likely all things you already know.
Considering the original 2.43 gears and 5500lb towing weight, it likely does not have any factory towing package.
You likely will need to beef up the rear springs. You have to carry enough tongue weight to keep the trailer stable. There are stability augmentation braking systems available, however my thnking is to start out stable - add the augmentation if you feel the need.
Tires: Check the weight on the rear tires (truck empty except fueled, with driver), add the probable tongue weight, add any cargo, add 1/2 weight of possible passengers Get load rated tires that meet or exceed.
Definitely get a good porportional trailer brake controller. I have a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 on an F250 pulling a 14klb 5th wheel - I really like it. I'll get the same one for my Tahoe.
If you don't have the towing package, the wiring is not PnP ready. Some wiring is involved. I have gotten the wiring diagrams (local library has a great system) and often the harnes is installed, just tucked up in the frame - you could get lucky.
There are braking systems that use a hydraulic cylinder on the trailer tongue - surge brakes. Not my favorite - lack of control
Verify the hitch is rated for the tongue weight and load. Figure 10% of the trailer weight will be on the tongue. You may wish to consider a weight distribution hitch.
I'm looking at 650lbs tongue weight, 250lbs cargo, one passenger. Even though I should be just inside the limits, I'll likely get one.
Long enough - more later.
I'm old enough that I've been dragging trailers for 50+ years. This is all just towing basic stuff - And as I said, likely all stuff you know.
ice
---------- Post added at 08:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:18 AM ----------
... Is there anything more I need to do to help. I sure love my old Yukon and I want to keep her happy. ...
Towing 101 part 2 Coolers
For this application, I'm thinking the transmission is the weak link and heat is the enemy.
Get a good cooler. "Good" is translated to lots of sq-in and best for ease of installation. When you are installing the cooler, drain the fluid, pull the pan, mop out the metal flour, change the filter, drain the torque converter if you can - I don't know if these have a drain plug in the TC or not. If not, I'll be using a Rose gun to drain and refill a couple of times. That is a bit expensive for fluid, but consider the transmission is a high temperature hydraulic system - it has to have good clean fluid. I don't have any recomendations on fluid type. Meet or exceed mfg spec.
Get a good engine oil cooler - same translation for "Good". As for oil, I like full synthetic, 0-30. My experience is 0-30 does not leak any worse than 5-30 or 10-30. I've seen a pretty good article on this. I've got it printed, but I can't find the link. If I can find the link, I'll post it - or maybe it is already on here somewhere.
If there is a larger radiator, with integeral transmission and oil cooler coils available, consider getting it.
Recommend completely draining and flushing the coolant system. I'll be using RO/distilled water, several flushes. Goal is to get less than 1% residual. Pick your favorite coolant. I'll be using International ELC. That's what I use in my F250. Stays clean, works well, doesn't break down.
Again, this is just my opinions based on 50+ years of dragging stuff around. Likley all well known, maybe even useful.
ice
---------- Post added at 09:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 AM ----------
Towing part 3 Driving: This is all personal opinion - YMMV
It is all about horsepower, braking, cooling, stability, reliability (not necessarily in that order) - nothing else matters. Okay, add comfort last.
You (me as well) are asking a rig, designed to haul the wife, kids, dog, groceries (maybe 6000lb gross), to the store and back or maybe as far as gramdma's house, to pull 12klb gross across desert mountains, 110F, at 60MPH, and have the air conditioner keep the cabin at 70F. We want the brakes to not fade coming down that freaking pass in Colorado that looks like one is falling off a cliff. It would be really good if it didn't crap out half way between Tok and Dawson Creek. And it needs to stay on the road during that wind/dust storm between Phoenix and Tuscon.
No sin with what we are asking - just have to realize we are demanding the rig perform safely and reliably at the limits of its specifications.
Consider the DirtDawgs and the MudDraggers. They perform for 30 seconds, then they get to work on it for a week - not taking anything away from them, they are impressive to watch.
We don't get to do that. We check the fluids, start up, back it up the trailer, check the tires, load the wife, kids, dog, 200lbs cargo. By then it has warmed the oil. We pull onto the state highway, run up to 60MPH and leave it there hour after hour. It gets maintenance pulled once a month and that's it. That's our expectation.
So, a few things:
Don't scrimp - buy good parts (tires, hitches, coolers, fluids, controllers)
Pull the maintenance -
Stop often - If you are not on the clock, there is no reason to not stop every hour, two hours max
Slow the hell down - I get one car backed up and they can't get around, I pull over and let them go. Climbing the hills - pull in with the truckers. Dropping off the steep passes - pull in with the tuckers.
Dropping from 70MPH to 60MPH drops the force on the drive train 25% - also drops the fuel consumption 25%.
Dropping from 50MPH to 35MPH (going down hill) reduces the braking energy to 50%.
Get trucking and enjoy - we like it. And we expect the Tahoe to perform just fine - within its limits anyway.
And I fully expect others to have different thoughts. And they are likely equally valid.
So sayeth the Worm (wish I could have figured out how to break it up into separate posts - this is way too long)
