Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 2002 Chevy 5.3 liter Z71 towing package

You need a 3/4 ton diesel truck.

Or, get the camper & try a couple shorter trips using the 1/2 ton you already own, before plunging into the expen$e of a 3/4 ton. You should know pretty quickly whether you're comfortable with it or not.

FC

I had that exact truck and used it to tow a 20' boat in the 4500 lb range for a couple of years. Though it worked, I wasn't happy with that combo - brakes and suspension weren't adequate in my opinion (too squirrely coming down mountain passes). The 5.3 pulled the hills okay, though it was a 2nd gear pull around 5k rpm with the engine screaming. Towing a camper / trailer with a weight distributing hitch and electric brakes with a controller may make all the difference on down hills, but can't say from experience. I use a 3/4 ton diesel for all my towing needs now and don't think I'd go back to a 1/2 ton.

Edit to add - we now have a 31.5' fifth wheel that is rated to be towed with a 1/2 ton but there is no way I'd ever consider that. As others have said, I think manufacturers are optimistic on their ratings / capacities and just because it's legal to tow a given weight, it's not necessarily a good idea.

I towed about 10K on a flatbed tandem from texas over the divide in colorado with a 2007 5.3 with 3.73 rear end, HD tow package. In retrospect I wouldn't do that again. It was fine on the flats but didn't handle the mountains well. I thought we were not going to make it up Hoosier pass. A camper has a much higher wind load. As long as you have a weight distro hitch and anti sway and good tires you would be ok except in high altitude. If you are going to do this very often you should change rear end to 4:10

Yes sir. It's scary how fast folks bomb down Snoqualmie pass with a 25' trailer behind them.

I have the same truck in a 2008 model 3.73 gears. I tow my tractor with bucket and bushhog approx 6500# plus the trailer. I use a weight distributing hitch and single axle electric brake. I don't haul Cross country but I can move it 70mph down the interstate without any issue to date.

I have not found the need to change tires. I have the Goodyear LS 2 275-55-20 load rating 111 2400#

Half the tow rating is comfortable for long trips.

Go over that, and you'll soon start thinking about a bigger truck just so you can feel comfortable again.

People eat more. Look at the U.S. obesity rates. ;-)

2002 Chevy Silverado.
I have 300,000 maintenance free miles on mine.
Best truck I've ever owned.

Maintenance free?

I was considering trading my low milage Z71 for a Dodge Ram 2500 if I could find one in decent shape, what the hell happened to truck prices? $50K for a 2013 truck with 60,000 miles?

not at $75,000.00!! I would just buy a used class a motor home.

^^^^ Great advice here. ^^^^

A lot depends on what you intend to do. Trailers are nice if you are not going to be on the move a lot. Park it somewhere and stay a while. If you are going to primarily be on the road traveling, then a motor home is a lot better choice.


Jerry

I had a 2000 Silverado 4 WD in this setup, I don't think you would want to do any steep grades with that much weight. I pulled a 22 ft Hewescraft around in Kodiak, approx. 4500 lbs, not any steep grades, and it did pretty well.

I had a 2003 Yukon XL 1500 with that 5.3 and a 3.73 rear end with the towing package. I towed a 3 horse slant load trailer with three or four horses in it several times. We took out the dividers to fit the 4th horse. I'm guessing the trailer weight was around 8,000 lb. I had to use a weight distributing hitch as the rear sagged badly without it. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it did. We made several trips involving 6% grades. Just put it in tow-haul mode and let that vortec rev. You're not going to be passing the turbo diesels, but you'll get there.

On the topic of towing at or near the max rated: When I first started towing it was with gasoline half tons rated for around 7K lb., putting out around 210 HP Those trucks struggled with heavy loads. Now for the last ten years I have been pulling with turbo diesels. My current one is a 2008 F250 with a lightly modded 6.4 putting out about 420 HP. I tow a gooseneck trailer weighing 14,450 lb.most days in the summer, which is about all it is rated for. This truck handles it like a kitten on a string. I think it could go 16K easily, maybe more.

(1) Properly rated tires that are properly inflated.
(2) Sufficient braking capacity.
(3) Drive sensibly.
(4) Enjoy...

"It's not the truck. It's the nut behind the wheel."

I have a GMC extended cab 1/2 ton with the 5.3, 460L automatic, and 4:10 gears. Tow package too. It will tow what you are thinking of doing but you would be a lot better off with a 3/4 ton. The 480L is a better transmission than the 460L in my opinion. It will last a lot longer towing heavier loads than the 460 will.

Have a 2001 Tahoe with that engine and tow package. Toad a 28' Coachmen with 12' slide and stuff about 40 miles home when I bought it then about 90 miles to a campground where it currently resides. Easy 6500 lbs. Flat or mostly so with small grades was no problem. Last part of the journey was from 800ish feet elevation up to 3100ish including uphill for a couple thousand feet on a truck warning grade. That's absolutely all the weight I ever want to pull uphill with the 'Hoe. Too many RPMs with a 4speed auto. Braking (lectrics) combined with downshifting to involve the engine made the few downhill grades no problem but uphill steep was a strain.

The truck will pull 6000 lbs easily that isn't what you need to worry about. The thing that limits towing capacity is payload. There should be a sticker on the drivers door or door jamb with 2 numbers on it. One will be payload, the other is GVWR. The GVWR is the total weight of the truck and contents including trailer tongue weight. passengers and cargo. Payload is GVWR minus the weight of the truck when it left the factory.

My truck is rated to tow 7700 lbs. My GVWR is 7350 and payload is rated at 1621. That means my truck weighed 5729 lbs when it left the factory. The combined tongue weight, and weight of passengers and cargo shouldn't go over 1621. BUT.... My truck actually weighs 6000 lbs with the gear i keep in it, my fiberglass cap and myself sitting in the drivers seat. Now my payload is only 1271. A 7700 lb trailer will have about 1000 lbs tongue weight plus about 100 lbs for a weight distribution hitch and only leaves me 170 lbs for my wife and cargo in the truck..

For my truck about 5000 lbs is as much as I'd feel comfortable pulling. I don't need a WDH and with about 650 lbs tongue weight I'm left with over 600 lbs for other passengers and cargo in the truck.

You need to figure out how much weight your suspension is rated for 1st. You are probably right at the limit with a 6000 lb trailer, but could be over. You might have room to spare. I'd strongly advise taking the truck to some scales and find out exactly how much it does weigh. Any accessories you've added such as bigger tires, bumpers, winches, tool boxes etc will cut into available payload. A 4X2 truck will weigh less, as will a regular or extended cab. My crew cab is heavier and that does reduce payload.

3/4 ton trucks can handle more weight because they have more payload, not necessarily because the drive train is more powerful.