Duke-44 wrote: I had a new Chev 2006 6.0L 1500HD gasser that I bought to pull my 32" 8300# empty Sundance. It did fine as long as I was going downhill or on the flat with the wind at my back. It would pull up hill at about 25mph and 4000 rpms...
What grades and altitudes were you pulling at. My worst one has been a 7% grade but it was in WV so the altitude wasn't a factor but I could pull at 55 mph in 2nd gear @ 4,000 RPMs. I know the higher altitudes make a big difference in naturally aspirated engines. I am over 10,000 lbs for a weekend camping trip and have been as heavy as 11,900 when we were moving from PA to OK and crossing the Appalachians and needed 3 months of stuff with us until we could buy a house. 4,000 RPMs is where the 6.0L needs to run for hard pulls.
I am planning a trip to CO this summer and wondering how much the altitude is going to slow me down in the mountains passes. I do use a hypertech tuner and have it tuned for 93 octane which has been a good increase when towing. I get about 2 mpg better towing and don't gear hunt as often. If it starts to gear hunt I just shift down and let it run the higher RPMs until it can upshift and hold again.
2thesea wrote: I have a 2011 1500 Chevy crew cab with 5.3L and 3.42 axle with HD Cooling Pkg. I would like to tow a small fifth wheel (30' or less gross weight of under 9500lbs). I know the manual does not recommend this.
Is this due to the short bed?
Does anyone out there tow a fifth wheel with this similar truck?
If so, what type of hitch do you have?
Any suggestions would help.....
Thanks, Dan
I mean this politely...but the manufacturer of your expensive 2011 truck says no, but if some guy on the internet says yes you're willing to do it?
There are some lightwieght fifth wheels out there by Open Range and others, that are made for a short bed 5.8 truck like what you have. I just saw one of those today, and the hitch is set up different then mine. So keep on looking, otherwise I had the same engine/trany/gear combo that you have. I will tell you from experience that the 3.42 gears are not really good for towing unless you have the 6 speed trans. If not swap them gears out to 4.10 if you want to keep the truck. I upgraded to the 6.0 and prefer it better, but thats just my opinion. Never been down to 25 mph with the 6.0 in the mountains, in fact I have stayed above 55 with no issues. Anyway just look around and search the old internet, you will find the trailer that will fit your truck.
mkirsch wrote: Same drivetrain, same suspension as any other Chevy 1500 of the same age.
The issue is bed and cab clearance.
The 5'8" bed puts the axle close to the front of the bed. For a 5th wheel to tow properly at high speed the pin has to be directly over the axle or ahead.
That puts the front of the trailer awfully close to the truck cab. You need to be VERY careful about the shape and configuration of the trailer you get because even shallow turns can get sticky.
For sure you will never be able to reach the magic 90 degree number. There simply isn't room enough in the bed for the slider to go back far enough to give you 48"+ of clearance between the cab and pin on a 5'8" bed for a 90 degree turn.
You may never do a 90 degree turn in practice, but the fact that you can means you won't hit the cab with the trailer by accident.
I've got a 5'8" bed in my 2500hd crew cab and it goes way past 90degrees with my husky slider hitch. even without the hitch being slid back off the rear axel it goes to probably 80 degrees.
Duke-44 wrote: I had a new Chev 2006 6.0L 1500HD gasser that I bought to pull my 32" 8300# empty Sundance. It did fine as long as I was going downhill or on the flat with the wind at my back. It would pull up hill at about 25mph and 4000 rpms...
What grades and altitudes were you pulling at. My worst one has been a 7% grade but it was in WV so the altitude wasn't a factor
I pulled grades of 6% plus up to 10% w/altitudes of of 5000-9000 ft.
I had the tow/haul trans option. I did not have a 4.10 rear end.
I have a friend that pulls about a 28-30' rear hitch trailer with the same truck as me w/4.10 rear end. I don't know the weight of his trailer, but he says he has no problem. He previously pulled a 35', 2 slide 5er with a Dodge diesel.
Same drivetrain, same suspension as any other Chevy 1500 of the same age.
The issue is bed and cab clearance.
The 5'8" bed puts the axle close to the front of the bed. For a 5th wheel to tow properly at high speed the pin has to be directly over the axle or ahead.
That puts the front of the trailer awfully close to the truck cab. You need to be VERY careful about the shape and configuration of the trailer you get because even shallow turns can get sticky.
For sure you will never be able to reach the magic 90 degree number. There simply isn't room enough in the bed for the slider to go back far enough to give you 48"+ of clearance between the cab and pin on a 5'8" bed for a 90 degree turn.
You may never do a 90 degree turn in practice, but the fact that you can means you won't hit the cab with the trailer by accident.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
kw/00 wrote: ...I upgraded to the 6.0 and prefer it better, but thats just my opinion. Never been down to 25 mph with the 6.0 in the mountains, in fact I have stayed above 55 with no issues...
What mountains are you talking about Appalachians or Rockies. I have towed all over the Appalachians and can pull at 55 mph in 2nd gear on a 7% grade pulling 11,000 lbs no problem but when your altitude is over 8,000 feet like in the Rockies the air is much thinner and is a noticeable power loss just being unloaded. I rented a Toyota Sequoia in Colorado Springs and drove out to Keystone and in those high altitudes and inclines I couldn't believe how much the Sequoia lacked power. A naturally aspirated engine just doesn't have the ability to get enough air up high.
mkirsch wrote: Same drivetrain, same suspension as any other Chevy 1500 of the same age.
The issue is bed and cab clearance.
The 5'8" bed puts the axle close to the front of the bed. For a 5th wheel to tow properly at high speed the pin has to be directly over the axle or ahead.
That puts the front of the trailer awfully close to the truck cab. You need to be VERY careful about the shape and configuration of the trailer you get because even shallow turns can get sticky.
For sure you will never be able to reach the magic 90 degree number. There simply isn't room enough in the bed for the slider to go back far enough to give you 48"+ of clearance between the cab and pin on a 5'8" bed for a 90 degree turn.
You may never do a 90 degree turn in practice, but the fact that you can means you won't hit the cab with the trailer by accident.
I've got a 5'8" bed in my 2500hd crew cab and it goes way past 90degrees with my husky slider hitch. even without the hitch being slid back off the rear axel it goes to probably 80 degrees.
You have a 6'6" bed not a 5'8" unless it's not from GM.
Offline
