CAN 5.3 TOW 6000 LB TRAVEL TRAILER?

[LVJJJ]

My 94 Suburban 383 is kind of screwed up even tho only has 24,000 on it. Bent a pushrod, beat up the valve but having trouble finding an intake valve to replace it. So we're looking for another vehicle. A lot of the Burbs or Tahoes have the 5.3. Is that any good for trailer towing?? I think our TT weighs about 5000 lb loaded.

 

[Macs Garage]

Can and should may not be the same answer, but I have pulled a 7000lbs fifth wheel with mine a few times. Tow mode helps but will still run higher rpms and suck gas.

 

[Alteca]

I used to haul a boat about that same weight with an 08 tahoe 5.3 never had any issues. Did drink some gas. What year range are you looking for?

 

[Supercharged111]

They should be rated to tow 6000#, but it's going to tow a lot different than that 383. They have no torque, so don't expect to get out of 3rd gear. The thing that bothered me with the wife's Envoy towing was that 2nd gear is barely doing anything at 55mph, so it was never able to fill downshift to it's happy spot and when it did, there wasn't much margin until it got dragged down out of it. This was with a 4000# trailer at 6000-10000ft altitude. Still though, I don't think there was a pass we hit that we didn't pass someone in a newer F150. Truck never got hot or pulled any crap, just didn't have anywhere near the oomph I was used to with my supercharged 350.

 

[95burban]

I had a Tahoe and I pulled an open car hauler all the time with it. It had factory 4.10 gears. Did great.

 

[89RCLB]

Had a 2015 Tahoe with a 5.3 and 3.73's that did just fine towing a flatbed, steel deck car hauler loaded with an 05 Yukon. Mine was rated for 8600#'s towing.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

My friend who's moving, has a '19 suburban with a 5.3, and he's been pulling a 12' enclosed trailer with it during the move. Many trips to Canyon Lake (near San Antonio/New Braunfels) from Alvin (south of Houston) loaded with models, toys, etc. This is the same trailer he hauled to Austin last month for the Roundup, and a couple weeks ago to the model show and contest. Those boxes are heavy; I've helped with loading, packing up and unloading the trailer several times! He says it hauls fine, and I don't know if he uses tow/haul function. His prior suburban had a 6.0 and he had the transmission replaced at least 3 times (so maybe not!). It hauled the same load and trailers....
I've ridden in it with and without the trailer, and I can tell the load does affect the performance. Not a lot, but it does. He needs my one ton LoL....

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

The older ones are kinda pokey for towing especially with the 4 speed. I have towed a couple times with a 5.3 and a 6 speed using tow/haul and I thought it did pretty well, but it was probably closer to 4.5K.

 

[95burban]

One thing I would advise against is towing with a 1/2ton truck with a 6 speed and 3.08 gears. I’ve done it many times and hate it. Gears are your friend.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I cannot stand the 5.3L even with a 6spd and 3.73s in an unloaded Express van. I test drove one overnight that the last dealership I worked for took on trade and had priced for a steal. It was always shifting around and just plain gutless unless the pedal was on the floor and the engine reving to the moon. I do not think towing would hurt the 5.3L, it would just be gutless doing it. I ended up not buying it because I would have had to put a 6.2L or 408 stroker in it for me to be happy with it. FWIW this was before I built the 383 for my 97.

SBC valve should not be hard to find. What size valve is it?