4campnuts,
Your 95 probably had the 5.7L which would have had more HP and torque than the 5.3L, and the Jayco probably weighed less than the Coachman. Either way, an apples to oranges comparison is useless. In my experience, the 5.3L would be okay if you can stay out of the mountains and under 7000#. Other than that, forget it!
Unless that 25ft camper is heaver than most your 1500 Sub should be able to handle it. I towed a 6000lb 25ft camper for several years and it did a decent job. The mountains were not much fun though.
DavidG wrote: Your 95 probably had the 5.7L which would have had more HP and torque than the 5.3L...
David, even though most of your information is usually dead on, I wanted to point out that a 1995 5.7L would not have had more horsepower, and maybe 10 more #-ft of torque. A 1995 5.7L would be rated at something like 225hp and in the 330#-ft torque range. In 1996 the GM trucks 5.7L got port fuel injection (?, like the LT# engines)and bumped the HP to 255.
The 5.3L's debut in the 2000 Suburban had 285HP for a couple of years. If I recall correctly the 285HP 5.3L was rated at 325#-ft of torque.
Kevin and my...
Wife, three daughters, a son
and two dogs(brittany and english setter)
2005 Suburban (295HP/335#-ft, 3.42 axle)
1994 Caprice LT1 (260HP/330#-ft, 2.93 axle)
2003 Trail Cruiser C22
Actually, a 95 350 if it were a TBI, then it had 210 HP IIRC, 195 for 350'is in rigs with 8 lugs. The vortec's are 255/330 or somewhere near there abouts. Major difference in power too. The V350 is about as strong a puller as my BB 454 TBI/4 bbl carb'd rigs. In some cases, personally, I feel the V350 is better than the old BB 454 as mentioned. Now the vortec 454 or 8.1, I will not compare. Generally speaking, the 5.3 is rated the same as a 350, the 6.0 gas, the same as the old 454, with the 8.1 getting a slight bump in ratings tow wise.
My old 92 24' prowler non slide was about 6500 loaded, 7000 total on heavy weekends skiing with full water, partial ie about 1/4 black tanks, 6-8 sets of skis etc. 8000 lbs for the coachman seems really heavy. Look in a cabinet door, if it is newer than about 95-98 or there abouts, there should be a as equiped from the factory, a weight sticker. I would add about 200 lbs to that, if you have an awning and AC, as those would be dealer add ons, and not included in that base wt amount on the sticker.
marty
05 Chev CC D/A LS Dooley
92 Navistar dump truck, 7.3L 7 sp, 4.33 gears with a Detroit no spin
00 Chev C2500, V5700, 4L80E, 4.10, base truck, no options!
92 Red-e-haul 12K equipment trailer
3 Single axle utility trailers
Well, that's a little better, but not much. A UVW of 6233# means you're probably around 6500# before you get your stuff in it, so add another 1000# for all your stuff. Yes, I said 1000#. You really don't think it adds up to that, but it will. Now your trailer is at 7500# ready for the road and ready to make your truck work hard. That little 5.3L engine will have a tough time pulling 7500#, so I would try to stay out of the mountains. Actually, I would try to get something with a bigger engine, probably diesel. Yeah, I know, the price of diesel is worse than the price of gas, but that's the price you pay to go RV'ing.
We may have found a suitable TV. The only down fall is that it won't hold our family of 6, so I'll have to follow behind w/ the kids. It is a 95 sierra, 2500 w/ the towing package. Now if we can just get it within our price range.
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I didn't know where to go looking for the numbers for that motor.
