Best towing engine/tranny setup

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Rebel

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Hello everyone, new to the site and love seeing people still interested in our trucks. I have a ‘97 K2500 that I use to move my trailer from job to job. When I’m not moving it I have a ‘15 Silverado I use to cruise around in. The engine has 300k miles and I’m planning on doing a full build on the truck this coming year. Trailer weighs about 13-14k and the 5.7 struggles with it. I was thinking about upgrading to a built 454 out of an equivalent year but I’m curious if going to a newer style engine would be worth the trouble of conversion vs the bbc I plan on. Thanks in advance
 

Schurkey

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Sell the truck, buy a truck that has a Duramax with Allison.

More cubes is better, a 454 will do more, easier, than a 350. Similarly, an 8.1 will work better than a 454. But turbodiesel is king.

Don't forget the rest of the driveline--trans, axle gearing, and ENOUGH BRAKES.
 

HeavyAsAChevy

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Cummins swap if you have the dough. How often do you tow? If it’s not too often, then the 454 would be fine. In the long run you would be better off with a diesel.
 

Rebel

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I’ve done the diesel scene, built a ‘05 Cummins and loved it but I’m not interested in a diesel now.
Cummins swap if you have the dough. How often do you tow? If it’s not too often, then the 454 would be fine. In the long run you would be better off with a diesel.
It depends on how quick I get the jobs done. Sometimes 4-10 times a month, other times maybe twice a month
 

HeavyAsAChevy

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I’ve done the diesel scene, built a ‘05 Cummins and loved it but I’m not interested in a diesel now.

It depends on how quick I get the jobs done. Sometimes 4-10 times a month, other times maybe twice a month
Awesome. Yeah. My brothers got a 99’ Cummins and loves it, but I don’t really want to keep up a diesel.
 

stutaeng

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Yep, OP is pushing beyond with a K2500 with a SBC was rated for. That load is actually the upper bound limit for a K3500 with a BBC with a gooseneck setup, per the factory ratings...I think @Schurkey summarized it well.

Otherwise, sell it and get a K3500 DRW with a BBC already in it. Even if you upgrade to a BBC on your truck, you won't have the larger rear axle and larger brakes.

For reference, here are the towing ratings per the Owner's Manual:

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Good luck.
 

stutaeng

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Kinda OT, but it's amazing how much tow ratings have increased over the years. My wife's Gladiator has a 7k lb tow rating.
They sure have! Unfortunately, it seems from reading some of the forums on the newer vehicles, the consensus is folks don't recommend you go to the maximum limit. I want to say a 75% of the maximum is that they say? Some 1500s I believe max out the pin weight before you an achieve the maximum trailer weight. In other words, they don't have enough payload. Not surprised, since mostly everyone wants to have a comfortable ride. It's more marketing, I think.

And that SAE test they started using, that was supposed to standardize manufacturer's ratings doesn't take into account durability.

On the RV forums you typically see guys buy a moderately large RV (6k-8k) because the RV salesman said they can tow it with their 1500, then the users realize it's not an ideal setup after they load it with all of their stuff.

How do like the Gladiator, BTW? Do you off-road with it? Does that one have the 3.6L? 7k towing sounds impressive!
 
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0xDEADBEEF

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They sure have! Unfortunately, it seems from readying some of the forums on the newer vehicles, the consensus is folks don't recommend you go to the maximum limit. I want to say a 75% of the maximum is that they say? Some 1500s I believe max out the pin weight before you an achieve the maximum trailer weight. In other words, they don't have enough payload. Not surprised, since mostly everyone wants to have a comfortable ride. It's more marketing, I think.

And that SAE test they started using, that was supposed to standardize manufacturer's ratings doesn't take into account durability.

On the RV forums you typically see guys buy a moderately large RV (6k-8k) because the RV salesman said they can tow it with their 1500, then the users realize it's not an ideal setup after they load it with all of their stuff.

How do like the Gladiator, BTW? Do you off-road with it? Does that one have the 3.6L? 7k towing sounds impressive!

The Gladiator is the ultimate compromise vehicle. It's not a great Jeep and not a great truck, but good enough at being both that it's worth holding on to.

We've been to Hidden Falls with it once and it did really well anywhere that doesn't penalize longer wheelbase. If you really want to hit all the trails it needs a lift and big tires to keep it from dragging the skid plates. We're more into the overland softroading stuff, but we're going to the Palo Duro Jamboree in April.

It's got the 3.6 pentastar. 285 hp is pretty impressive out of such small displacement, but the torque not so much. The ZF 8 speed is really good, definitely my favorite modern automatic, and it helps the pentastar make up for its lack of torque.

I have a very small toy hauler/camper that's about 2k lbs and it tows it fine, but you can feel the drag on the highway. I personally wouldn't attempt 7k with it, even if I could get the payload balancing math to work.
 
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