What Would Ya'll do to Equip a Vehicle for Towing?

[Trenton]

I currently own a 1998 Chevrolet K3500 CCLB SRW with the 5.7 Vortec/4L80e/BW4401. I haul stuff fairly commonly, but I've never hauled anything as large as a fifth wheel RV. I might be obtaining one from my grandpa, so I would like to know what ya'll do to set up a truck for towing. I already have a factory oil and transmission cooler, over-sized radiator, 4.10 axle gear ratio, Bilstein yellow HD shocks, new 285/70R17 E tires, trailer brake controller, steering stabilizer, cat-back exhaust kit, Volant cold-air intake, Amsoil in my engine, transfer case, differentials, and a full ACDelco tune up. I plan to do a timing chain soon since it's throwing a camshaft/crankshaft code. Is there anything else I'm missing that would aid in towing? Picture below is my truck and '02 Impala I bought, just for attention.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[BNielsen]

What my plan is to add to my truck; 96 K2500 454/4L80E; is adding a shift-kit to the trans, Mag-Hytec deep pans to the trans and rear dif, swapping to Amsoil (already run it in my engine, still have to clean out trans and rear-end) and a trans temp gauge.
Everything else seems like you've got it pretty well figured out; I'm sure someone else here with more towing experience can shine some more light with their opinion.

 

[hatzie]

What my plan is to add to my truck; 96 K2500 454/4L80E; is adding a shift-kit to the trans, Mag-Hytec deep pans to the trans and rear dif, swapping to Amsoil (already run it in my engine, still have to clean out trans and rear-end) and a trans temp gauge.
Everything else seems like you've got it pretty well figured out; I'm sure someone else here with more towing experience can shine some more light with their opinion.

Before you add the Mag Hytec cover to the diff you may want to watch Gale Banks diff cover series on Youtube. It's enlightening. It kinda looks like a stock inside profile cover that uses the stock oil fill level is the best cover. The Mag Hytec and other square inside profile covers actually run hotter and don't allow the ring gear to carry as much lube to the pinion bearings as a stock profile cover.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Towing a 5th wheel with a SRW truck, even a 1 ton, may be challenging. I bought my 2005 SRW 2500HD 4wd that was being traded in by a guy that was replacing it with a DRW truck for his 5th wheel camper. I was in the right place at the right time when I picked up the truck so I actually met the previous owner. He said the camper drove the truck down the mountain when he went over Donner Pass driving from from Sacramento into Reno and the wind tended to push the truck and trailer around more than was reasonable on the drive from Reno into Salt Lake City. He drove a dually that belonged to another couple he and his wife were traveling with that had a similar trailer attached and it was night and day different so he traded his 2005 in.

Taller sidewalls of the 285/70R17 tires will not add to the stability of the truck. Lower profile 265/70R17 "10-ply" Load Range E tires are as tall as I'd go. That's what I have on my 2005 2500HD T800... I have 265/75R16 Load Range E tires on my 2000 C2500 T400. I tow an 18' conventional Tri-Axle flatbed trailer with both of them and they stay reasonably planted. Not as good as a dually but good enough.

A larger AUX transmission cooler isn't a bad idea. The stock T400 T800 & T900 coolers are all plumbed with the AUX cooler after the radiator loop.

More transmission fluid doesn't hurt but you don't want the pan to hang so low it gets bashed by road trash like 18wheeler treads. The one very nice thing the aftermarket pans give you is a drain plug. If you're towing a lot you can change the ATF in the pan every 2-3 oil changes... 10,000 to 15,000 miles... without dropping the pan.
A magnefine filter in the cooler return line, that you replace with every engine oil change, will keep the crud levels way down in the ATF. Since this filter has a magnet... Every time you change this filter you're discarding any fine iron filings that would otherwise make it back to the pan to get sucked up by the pump. It's also a 25 micron paper lube filter so the 110micron strainer in the pan never sees particles large enough to catch.

 

[Trenton]

Before you add the Mag Hytec cover to the diff you may want to watch Gale Banks diff cover series on Youtube. It's enlightening. It kinda looks like a stock inside profile cover that uses the stock oil fill level is the best cover. The Mag Hytec and other square inside profile covers actually run hotter and don't allow the ring gear to carry as much lube to the pinion bearings as a stock profile cover.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Towing a 5th wheel with a SRW truck, even a 1 ton, may be challenging. I bought my 2005 SRW 2500HD 4wd that was being traded in by a guy that was replacing it with a DRW truck for his 5th wheel camper. I was in the right place at the right time when I picked up the truck so I actually met the previous owner. He said the camper drove the truck down the mountain when he went over Donner Pass driving from from Sacramento into Reno and the wind tended to push the truck and trailer around more than was reasonable on the drive from Reno into Salt Lake City. He drove a dually that belonged to another couple he and his wife were traveling with that had a similar trailer attached and it was night and day different so he traded his 2005 in.

Taller sidewalls of the 285/70R17 tires will not add to the stability of the truck. Lower profile 265/70R17 "10-ply" Load Range E tires are as tall as I'd go. That's what I have on my 2005 2500HD T800... I have 265/75R16 Load Range E tires on my 2000 C2500 T400. I tow an 18' conventional Tri-Axle flatbed trailer with both of them and they stay reasonably planted. Not as good as a dually but good enough.

A larger AUX transmission cooler isn't a bad idea. The stock T400 T800 & T900 coolers are all plumbed with the AUX cooler after the radiator loop.

More transmission fluid doesn't hurt but you don't want the pan to hang so low it gets bashed by road trash like 18wheeler treads. The one very nice thing the aftermarket pans give you is a drain plug. If you're towing a lot you can change the ATF in the pan every 2-3 oil changes... 10,000 to 15,000 miles... without dropping the pan.
A magnefine filter in the cooler return line, that you replace with every engine oil change, will keep the crud levels way down in the ATF. Since this filter has a magnet... Every time you change this filter you're discarding any fine iron filings that would otherwise make it back to the pan to get sucked up by the pump. It's also a 25 micron paper lube filter so the 110micron strainer in the pan never sees particles large enough to catch.

Yeah i didn't buy the 285s for the stability, I bought it for the extra off road capability and look, but I can feel the excess drag over 265s, which i had at one point. My pan already has a drain plug, actually, but with 251k on it I don't really want to touch it.
And luckily, all of the driving I'd do is between East Texas and Kansas, so just rolling hills. The trans temp gauge is a great idea actually.

 

[Supercharged111]

251k and you're not gonna flush that trans? You're just asking for it. I feel guilty having not yet flushed my dually at 138k.

 

[454cid]

I wouln't flush the transmission either, but I would change the filter, and drain and fill it with a short interval. I need to do mine again.

The 4L80E has a factory drain plug.

 

[Supercharged111]

You guys advocating against flushes crack me up. Nothing like old, broken down dirty fluid to keep a truck running forever.

 

[454cid]

You guys advocating against flushes crack me up. Nothing like old, broken down dirty fluid to keep a truck running forever.

I've heard that the flushes can put particles where they don't normally go (or something like that). Not wanting to run old fluid is why I'd suggest draining at shorter intervals.

 

[Supercharged111]

It doesn't. I've flushed a few vehicles, my 1500 when it had the 4L60 was particularly nasty. It was over 200k. Change the filter, pump your nasty ass fluid into a jug by removing a return line, repeat until clean. Did the Grand Prix around 200k as well. Envoy only had 63k, 3500 is next. Did a friend's Mitsubishi as well as a couple others I'm forgetting.

 

[454cid]

It doesn't. I've flushed a few vehicles, my 1500 when it had the 4L60 was particularly nasty. It was over 200k. Change the filter, pump your nasty ass fluid into a jug by removing a return line, repeat until clean. Did the Grand Prix around 200k as well. Envoy only had 63k, 3500 is next. Did a friend's Mitsubishi as well as a couple others I'm forgetting.

You're using the transmissions pump then. How are you keeping it filled while it's running, just pouring it in from the top? I think most people when they here flush, assume the machine at a shop. Most of those have a pump, and don't use the transmissions own pump, which is where the contaminates are supposed to come from... Maybe they're pushing the fluid backwards? I've never studied it thoroughly as it's not something I plan to do.