Max Towing Question... I know it's prolly been asked before, and I *WILL* search!

[cmcolfax]

But I wanted to put it out here in the hopes of getting a quick response.

Gotta work on getting my kids to bed, then will come back and seach.

The Rig:

1996 K1500 Suburban LS 5.7L, 4L60E.

Per the window sticker it has the following:

Heavy Duty Trailering Equipment Package
Locking Rear Axle Differential
7,200 LB GVWR
3.42 Rear Axle Ratio
HD Auxiliary Transmission Cooling System

Unfortunately, the truck is not in my driveway right now, so I can't check RPO codes.

I looked at a 1998 Fleetwood Wilderness 24M (24') Travel Trailer today but am concerned about the Burb's ability to tow it.

Title / Registration says trailer weighs 4,935#.

Manufacturer's Tag says GVWR of trailer is 6,600#.

If I use the 10-15% of actual weight formula to figure Tongue Weight, I get 495 - 740#.

If I use the same formula and GVWR of trailer, I get 660 - 990#.

Without my truck here I can con confirm Maximum Tongue Weight or Maximum Towing Capacity.

Anyone able to field this and give me a FACT BASED answer (not "my buddy tows 10,000 lbs with his 1500...).

I want to give the seller an answer tonight...

Thanks!

-CMC-

 

[east302]

Per the owners manual, max towing capacity for a 1996 K1500 Suburban with 3.42 gears is 5,000-lbs. It is 6,000 with 3.73

http://www.vadengmpp.com/owners-manual/chevrolet/1996-Chevrolet-Suburban.pdf

 

[cmcolfax]

FAWK.

Based on that, I am right at my limit BEFORE I load food, beer, clothes, etc, etc, etc into the camper.

 

[rosco]

If it makes any difference, my 1998 Sub has the 3.73s, same hd tow package otherwise, but I pulled a 30ft rv for 8 hours a few years back. I think it was about 7k loaded. The only issue I had was some brake fade in small towns with a lot of stops and fuel mileage. I think I got about 8.

 

[thz71]

Well ik you said you didnt want personal expierience. So ill just say this, imo itll do it no problem.

 

[cmcolfax]

Thanks Rosco and THZ

I didn't mean I didn't want personal experience, I was just trying to avoid the "i know a guy who said he pulled 10k, up hill, at 70mph, with stock everything, blah blah blah" stories

 

[RichLo]

How much do you plan on using it? There are a few things you can do to the truck to have more peace of mind towing slightly over the rated load like adding a tranny cooler, replacing trans fluid and axle fluid with good fully synthetic oil, adding helper springs/air bags to the rear syspension, get 80psi rated tires, etc. The engine itself will tow anything a 1500 can handle (350s are in 1-tons too) but things behind it wear out first with continued abuse. So as long as your not WAY over the rated load and you do some preventative maintenance you should be able to tow that camper without any worries.