Need help/advice with towing problems

[WhiteHoeZ71]

The tow vehicle is a 06 2wd Z71 5.3L with 52k on it. Im pulling a 14' tandem axle trailer weighing approx. 3000 - 3500lbs loaded. First problem I need to address is the lowrider sag in the back when hitched up. Ive tried moving the heavy equipment all the way to the back of the trailer but that didnt help much. The Hoe currently has the torsion bar cranked for temporary leveling but I hope to do a small lift front and rear before toooo long.
What would be the best solution to the sag that I will also be able to use when the time (money) comes to do the lift? Another wrench to throw in the mix is that my wife hauls our two infants around in the Hoe quite a bit. She will nag and complain if the ride is really stiff.

My next question is how expensive is it to change out the gears? I'm assuming thats what I need to do anyway. My smaller 4.?, 6 cylinder F150 pulls the trailer much better than the 5.3 Tahoe. Which makes me think gears or the lower weight of the truck?? Any other less expensive options that would help much?

I would certainly appreciate any advice or opinions!

 

[Max]

Buy some airlift 60769 inner spring helper bags

those will drastically improve sway control. I'd recommend a pcm tune and some boltons before you start throwing money at gears, or if you do want to get wait until it's lifted and you decide on tire size.

 

[WhiteHoeZ71]

That was a fast reply! I saw those and thought they may be the ticket but, I didnt find any info on how you air them up. I'd like to avoid an on-board compressor if at all possible. Do you know If they will work properly with a T fitting and a single tire valve style inflation point?
Gears are something I had never considered until I started towing with the Hoe that feels more like a Kia sedan when pulling a trailer. A BB tuning probably would be much more cost effective though. Thanks for your input and btw, I love your blacked out grass tickler!

 

[Rivieraracing]

Do you have distribution bars and a rv hitch setup for your enclosed, if not I would get those first thing, might solve alot of your problem right off the get go!!

 

[05Yukon]

What gears do you have? Im guessing 3.42 if your having problems towing that kind of weight.

 

[05TahoeZ71]

This is my first post here, but I figured since I went through the same thing about six months ago, hopefully I can help someone out. Unfortunately at the time I didn't know about this forum so I ended up doing all of my research on a different truck forum. Like this one a lot better.

I tow a 28' TT fully loaded about 8k lbs. After a lot of research I went with a pair of Airlift 1000s like Max suggested. They were only 65 bucks with tax and shipping from Amazon. The install took less than an hour and I didn't have a lift to use either, just jacked up the rear end. I ran the air lines to a T and put the "valve stem" in the rear bumper. Now anytime I tow, I just hook my tiny portable compressor up to the cigarette lighter jack in the back and pump 'em up to 35 psi. No more sag and the ride is pretty good. I'll let out a little air to level it out if necessary. When I'm done I let the air down to 5 to 10 psi and the ride is back to normal. It even compensates for the soggy stocker Bilsteins that are wearing out and I'm going to replace soon.

I would recommend a load distribution setup, Reese is a little expensive, but a great product, there's also Eazlift and Drawtite. I had a Reese load distribution setup with my old smaller TT, about 3500 lbs and it worked great even though the trailer was lighter. Now I have an Eazlift with a sway bar setup.

As far as towing power, the only mods I've done so far is a Volant CAI (did a lot of research before getting it) and a Superchips Cortex programmer. The guys at the local GM dealership run 'em. Now I program it for Tow when I hook up the trailer and back to Mileage XS save when I'm done. I just have to run 91 octane during the camping season. All this made a huge difference, but I still would like more. Went from bogging down to 35 mph towing up the mountains without the AC on to 45 to 50 on steeper grades with the AC in 95+ heat.

Hope all that helps. I can give you more info or post pictures if you like. For everyone else, hope that wasn't too long winded.

 

[PETEY]

This is my first post here, but I figured since I went through the same thing about six months ago, hopefully I can help someone out. Unfortunately at the time I didn't know about this forum so I ended up doing all of my research on a different truck forum. Like this one a lot better.

I tow a 28' TT fully loaded about 8k lbs. After a lot of research I went with a pair of Airlift 1000s like Max suggested. They were only 65 bucks with tax and shipping from Amazon. The install took less than an hour and I didn't have a lift to use either, just jacked up the rear end. I ran the air lines to a T and put the "valve stem" in the rear bumper. Now anytime I tow, I just hook my tiny portable compressor up to the cigarette lighter jack in the back and pump 'em up to 35 psi. No more sag and the ride is pretty good. I'll let out a little air to level it out if necessary. When I'm done I let the air down to 5 to 10 psi and the ride is back to normal. It even compensates for the soggy stocker Bilsteins that are wearing out and I'm going to replace soon.

I would recommend a load distribution setup, Reese is a little expensive, but a great product, there's also Eazlift and Drawtite. I had a Reese load distribution setup with my old smaller TT, about 3500 lbs and it worked great even though the trailer was lighter. Now I have an Eazlift with a sway bar setup.

As far as towing power, the only mods I've done so far is a Volant CAI (did a lot of research before getting it) and a Superchips Cortex programmer. The guys at the local GM dealership run 'em. Now I program it for Tow when I hook up the trailer and back to Mileage XS save when I'm done. I just have to run 91 octane during the camping season. All this made a huge difference, but I still would like more. Went from bogging down to 35 mph towing up the mountains without the AC on to 45 to 50 on steeper grades with the AC in 95+ heat.

Hope all that helps. I can give you more info or post pictures if you like. For everyone else, hope that wasn't too long winded.

I would like to see some pics. I want to set mine up to do the same! Thanks

 

[05TahoeZ71]

Give me till tomorrow and I'll take some pics. Parents are in town watching the kids so I can finally get some work done on the Vette and the Hoe. The bag installed looks just like the second pic Max posted. If you like, I'll shoot some pics where I ran the air lines, tire chuck, and put the heat shields. I found a video of the install before I bought them. I think it was on youtube. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[PETEY]

Sounds good! Ill check it out. Also where did you order the kit from? Thanks

 

[05TahoeZ71]

Here's the pics I promised. Not sure if I uploaded them properly, so hopefully they show up. 1st pic: left side airbag in coil. 2nd pic: air line tee. I ran the line over to the left side to avoid the exhaust pipe. 3rd pic: Right side bag and heat shield. 4th pic: air fill fitting from inside bumper. 5th pic: air fill fitting.

I got my kit from Amazon, about $65 incl tax and shipping. That was the best price I could find, but you may be able to search for something cheaper. Also here's the link for the airlift website which has a vid in the middle of the page showing the install of the bag. http://www.airliftcompany.com/al1000.html They just don't show running the lines.Hope it all helps. Let me know if you have more questions.