Thinking of picking up a travel trailer... How can I bolster the tow capacity to afford myself a bigger trailer?

[squeeler642]

In the early phases of thinking about a travel trailer, but am finding myself wanting something larger than I have the tow capacity for on my rig.

Some details of my setup:
- 2003 Tahoe Z71, stock drivetrain. Has the wt. dist. hitch and trailer package from the factory. (VIN: 1GNEK13Z53R218653)
- 6.0L swap, mild cam, long tubes. Made 340HP/350TQ to the wheels last time it was on the dyno. Probably makes another 10-20 HP now with more work done on the tune since then.
- Powerstop Z36 brake pad/rotor upgrade. I know... these make the brakes... still stock. Not a real upgrade, I feel, for towing a larger trailer.
- Stock 4L60. Rebuilt a number of years ago, about 170k on the clock. I acknowledge it will need a rebuild or upgrade to really tow anything.

I found this post addressing some of my questions, but I still have some lingering questions...

Several weak links that I see that need addressing:
- Suspension
- Brakes
- Motor/trans

If we make the assumption that I have enough power for a larger trailer, what are the best/required upgrades in each of the areas I listed above? I see NBSS front brakes, probably a 4L65E upgrade, and beefier rear suspension (H2 springs?) to handle more tongue weight. Are there other areas I'm not thinking of?

 

[Scottydoggs]

tranny will hate you lol even if you add a cooler to it. id go and take the big one for a test drive, or one close to its weight and see how it feels.

back when i had my 03 gmc 2500 hd pick up id tow my 4,000 plus lb boat all the time. and you'd hardly know it was back there. my tahoe now would be fighting for its life i feel. its not as much of a truck than big SUV. weak tranny, soft springs, higher rear end ratios. the HD truck had a 6.0, 4l80 and 4.10 gears, could rip a house down as they say.

just about all trailers these days came with trailer brakes. makes a huge difference in stopping power, stock brakes would be just fine.

 

[OR VietVet]

IMO, save the upgrade money and get a longer wheelbase Suburban or XL 3/4 with a big block and bigger transmission. I recently bid on a 2005 Avalanche 3/4 ton with 8.1 and Allison. If you go bigger trailer, you will haul more load on weight along with the added trailer weight. You, again IMO, have too short a wheelbase truck for hauling big.

 

[Marky Dissod]

4.10 (4.30?) ... pcm tune specifically for Towing / Hauling ...
Normal mode can be for light towing on flat roads,
Tow / Haul mode can be for heavy towing on steep hills
(those were just ideas, you talk to your tuner so he'll tune to your tastes)

For towing, I'd bypass the radiator's ATF heat exchanger.
If you're not going to upgrade the GM OE external ATF cooler, at least add a fan to it.

How much more rotor beyond the GM OE 2010 Suburban front brakes can you afford to fit inside your wheels?
Rotor size is the simplest way to add to the brakes ability to store and reject heat.

 

[rockola1971]

Cant exceed what the tag in door well says the vehicle is rated for no matter what you add or delete from the vehicle. Do it and something bad happens and the insurance company will hang you out to dry if caught and possibly even the police too if the "bad happens" draws too much attention. Go 3/4 or 1 ton if you really want to go big camper/trailer. I lucked out many years ago and bought my grandparents travel trailer off them and it is an all aluminum frame, 32ft Holiday Rambler AlumaLite and weighs just 5400lbs. Pulls sweet behind just about any 1/2 ton with weight distribution hitch. Looks funny though with the camper being so long and behind a little ol 1/2 ton. I get the looks from guys that dont know the camper is an aluminum frame and believe Im pulling a big camper with a steel frame which would weigh close to 10,000 lbs or more.

 

[strutaeng]

Ditto on what everyone is saying.

A 2500 Suburban was the SUV vehicle this generation that had the highest towing ratings. Biggest differences over your truck are

1. Longer wheelbase (same as a suburban 1500)
2. HD transmission
3. Leaf springs rear suspension
4. Beefy 14 bolt 9.5" SF (or 10.5" FF) rear axle, either 3.73 or 4.10
5. 8 lug axles
6. Hydroboost HD brakes
7. 8600 lb GVWR

You can swap the HD transmission and maybe a rear 14 bolt axle (6 lug), but that's about it.

Does it have to be an SUV for the towing rig? What about an GMT800 2500HD truck? Maybe a RCLB with a shell? That's going to be the least expensive truck to buy and still handle the task with ease. Or you need the seating of the SUV? If you need more seating, the 2500/3500 Express Vans are another option. They have similar drivetrain as the HD trucks.

 

[Bigburb3500]

Rockola is right… you can make the truck “better” at towing but ultimately if you are over weight on the vehicle you are getting into the legal realm.

But since we are all talking hypothetical, you should also look at the trailer hitch capacity. Does not matter if you have the “tow package” because the hitch setup is likely for the max the truck could pull from factory. If you are looking to go beyond that, the factory hitch is no longer adequate for the proposed job.

 

[asand]

07+ or better stock front brakes and 4.10-4.30 gears.

 

[S33k3r]

The Tahoe is an over glorified people mover. It does have some capabilities and, when staying with the factory ratings, they are pretty good. But going beyond those, especially significantly beyond those, you are looking for trouble.

A good rule of thumb for this kind of stuff is to not exceed about 10% of your stated capacity, and then only for short trips. If you really want high capacity, get a vehicle designed and rated for that capacity. Trying to retrofit something never intended for that, especially trying to stay legal on public roads, is pretty much impossible. Remember, in addition to retrofitting capability, you are going to face legal consequences, in addition to human consequences.

If you want to stay in the Tahoe form-factor, maybe look at the H2 Hummer. I haven't looked at its rating, or even the H3 Hummer ratings. But those might be more inline with what you want, fill the legality issue, and be an all-around safer choice for what you say you want to do.

NOTE: I'm normally one that bitches at people for rejecting the original poster's desire and telling OP to do something else. And in most cases, where safety and/or legality are not implicated I am right. In this particular case, you have to be 100% right with EVERY decision and execution you make, and you have to have control over circumstances that will NEVER be within your control. If you do everything right -- overbuild every subsystem to do what you want -- you are still going to be liable even if it is the other party that causes the accident. Then you can lose everything, and that is beside the guilt of injuring, maiming, or even killing another human being. And it is no consolation even if it is the other person's fault.

The problem is that it doesn't matter what YOU do; you simply cannot overcome everyone else's stupidity 100% of the time. And it just sucks.

 

[Doubeleive]

if you are within weight limits and just want a better experience
better hitch
helper bags
hellwig sway bars (front and rear)
better rated tires (vehicle and trailer) usually the trailer factory tires normally are only "within spec" not what you can get that will improve the handling.
better transmission cooler and/or build that 4L60 out to a heavy duty built 4l80
otherwise get a bigger pickup instead of a SUV