2005 Tahoe Towing

[JPVortex]

Hello, so in the coming days I'm going to be hauling my dads motorcycle to the dealer about an hour away with my tahoe.

Will be using a uhaul bike trailer with a 500lb bike.

My question is with the 4l60e do I need to keep it out of overdrive or use towing mode for this load? How do I know when to keep it out of OD?

 

[Fless]

Use tow/haul mode; it extends the shift points. When I tow anything I also lock out OD, since I almost never tow on flat ground. The wear and tear on the tranny when it constantly shifts between 3rd and 4th is what you want to avoid. You could see how your rig does with the lighter load you'll have; if it's not shifting in and out it might be okay to use OD. Wonder if @rockola1971 *might* have a comment about it.

I don't know if yours automatically locks out OD when using tow/haul, but my '04 doesn't lock it out, so I do it manually. I'll sacrifice some mpg for tranny life.

 

[JPVortex]

Ok and what about for a hauling a heavy load? I'm looking at purchasing a project 04 silverado, weighs around 4-5k lbs plus the 2.2k lbs of the uhaul trailer, the tahoes tow capacity is 6500, so its a bit over.

Do you think it's doable? Of course keeping out of OD.

Use tow/haul mode; it extends the shift points. When I tow anything I also lock out OD, since I almost never tow on flat ground. The wear and tear on the tranny when it constantly shifts between 3rd and 4th is what you want to avoid. You could see how your rig does with the lighter load you'll have; if it's not shifting in and out it might be okay to use OD. Wonder if @rockola1971 *might* have a comment about it.

I don't know if yours automatically locks out OD when using tow/haul, but my '04 doesn't lock it out, so I do it manually. I'll sacrifice some mpg for tranny life.

 

[rockola1971]

Ok and what about for a hauling a heavy load? I'm looking at purchasing a project 04 silverado, weighs around 4-5k lbs plus the 2.2k lbs of the uhaul trailer, the tahoes tow capacity is 6500, so its a bit over.

Do you think it's doable? Of course keeping out of OD.

Seems there are some differences in years and likely trim packages on the Tahoe, Yukon, Esky, etc. when it comes to what actually happens when in tow/haul mode. When towing the bike on a uhaul trailer that shouldnt load down your engine much at all so if you are doing it across flat ground then try shifter in OD with tow/haul mode on like FLess said. The goal is to keep from hunting back and forth from 3rd to 4th and back again. This will burn your 2-4 band up and you will lose 2nd and 4th gear when that happens. When towing a heavy load (3,000lbs or so+) or when towing in hills/mountains then I would stick shifter in 3rd and leave it there with tow/haul mode. The tranny will never go into 4th if you manually put shifter in 3rd and keep it there while towing.

 

[MassHoe04]

Hypothetically, of course...
If a couple of relatives piled in the 2nd and 3rd rows, there are pretty good odds that the human payload is over 500 pounds. I would think 500 lbs. on a trailer might haul like it is not even there (unless the trailer was a heavy car hauler).

 

[rockola1971]

Hypothetically, of course...
If a couple of relatives piled in the 2nd and 3rd rows, there are pretty good odds that the human payload is over 500 pounds. I would think 500 lbs. on a trailer might haul like it is not even there (unless the trailer was a heavy car hauler).

Saying "you" haul around fat chicks without actually saying "you" haul around fat chicks.

CHUBBY CHASER!

 

[JPVortex]

Saying "you" haul around fat chicks without actually saying "you" haul around fat chicks.

CHUBBY CHASER!

gotta haul them heffers!

 

[JPVortex]

Heres the update. Towed it today, and it went great! Used towing mode and it did just fine! If it wasn't for the horrible trailer jumping around while empty I wouldn't have even noticed it was there!

 

[Fless]

For your heavier hauling be sure there is a tranny cooler in front of the radiator. If the fluids haven't been replaced lately, do it preemptively.

 

[JPVortex]

For your heavier hauling be sure there is a tranny cooler in front of the radiator. If the fluids haven't been replaced lately, do it preemptively.

View attachment 391135

I believe there may be one there I'll double check though. And most of the fluids have been changed recently. Oil, tranny fluid, differential fluid, just need to do a brake and coolant flush