Upgrading a 1500 4x4 for travel trailer towing

[swathdiver]

You'll tow that just fine. Now, being that she's 13 years old now, the 22840115/21648 radiator for the 6.2s is a good upgrade as is the 14-bolt axle for durability.

If yours has K5L, she has 700 watt cooling fans.

But, don't forget the springs and shocks. Mine started to sag with a 5K trailer right before we overhauled the suspension with all GM OE parts.

I took a vacation out west and when we left weighed the truck, she came in at 7,320 pounds (steer axle was 3700!) and probably weighed a little more after we got back from all the shopping the girls did. Truck didn't care.

I recently installed a 14-bolt and changed the gears to 3.73s. You can feel the difference in performance and our city mileage has increased. I have not been able to quantify the gains at the drag strip yet or highway mileage though some basic testing suggests no degradation in fuel economy on the highway. Anyhow, 4.10s would be fun but wouldn't want to spin the motor that high all the time even though the load on the engine is less.

The 2500 Suburbans and NHT pickups all run 3.73s, that's good enough for me.

Love the looks of those Z71 Suburbans!

 

[Marky Dissod]

... recently installed a 14-bolt and changed gears to 3.73. You can feel the difference in performance and our city mileage has increased.
I have not been able to quantify the gains at the drag strip yet or highway mileage though some basic testing suggests no degradation in fuel economy on the highway.
Anyhow, 4.10 would be fun, but wouldn't want to spin the motor that high all the time, even though the load on the engine is less.
2500 Suburbans and NHT pickups all run 3.73, that's good enough for me.

Forgot if it was 2500 or 3500 Sielvierrados (with 6L90s) that could've come with 3.73 or 4.10?

May I differ regarding 'spinning the motor that high all the time'?
With 4.10, bcbickers may very well find that he'll spend MORE time in 4th 5th and especially 6th, especially unladen. Same goes for his spouse.
Plus as said, he'll spend more time in 4th instead of 3rd when towing up steep hills, and more time in 4th & 5th when towing generally.
Up to his driving and his tuner how much time he spends in 6th when towing.

I'll go so far as to say that, if he spends more on gas, it'll be worth the durability/longevity improvement for the engine and transmission.

(Context for my suggesting 4.10 over 3.73:
Long ago I owned a 94 Caprice wagon with LT1 4L60E & 2.56 (still miss it, always will. Long story short, even though 3.42 made it SO MUCH MORE FUN,
my riders asked what happened that made my driving more tame. Since they wouldn't get it, I just took credit for growing as a person ...
Truth is it was ALL 3.42. With 2.56, I tried and failed to drive like a cabbie on meth, to the point that I tuned it to avoid 4th entirely til 3.42 came along.)

 

[swathdiver]

Forgot if it was 2500 or 3500 Sielvierrados (with 6L90s) that could've come with 3.73 or 4.10?

May I differ regarding 'spinning the motor that high all the time'?
With 4.10, bcbickers may very well find that he'll spend MORE time in 4th 5th and especially 6th, especially unladen. Same goes for his spouse.
Plus as said, he'll spend more time in 4th instead of 3rd when towing up steep hills, and more time in 4th & 5th when towing generally.
Up to his driving and his tuner how much time he spends in 6th when towing.

I'll go so far as to say that, if he spends more on gas, it'll be worth the durability/longevity improvement for the engine and transmission.

(Context for my suggesting 4.10 over 3.73:
Long ago I owned a 94 Caprice wagon with LT1 4L60E & 2.56 (still miss it, always will. Long story short, even though 3.42 made it SO MUCH MORE FUN,
my riders asked what happened that made my driving more tame. Since they wouldn't get it, I just took credit for growing as a person ...
Truth is it was ALL 3.42. With 2.56, I tried and failed to drive like a cabbie on meth, to the point that I tuned it to avoid 4th entirely til 3.42 came along.)

The gas 2500 and 3500 Silverados and Sierras could have 4.10s too. They were the only ones with a 6-speed to get those steep gears.

If one tows all the time, the 4.10s might make more sense. In my case, we only tow a time or two or three a year but spend quite a bit of time at highway speeds. At present the difference between the old (3.42) and new (3.73) at 70 mph is 159 rpms.

I didn't know that GM ran such a high gear behind the 4-speed back then. Right before the turbocharged Buicks got the 4-speed, they went from 2.29 to 2.73 to 3.08 and then 3.23 gears. With the introduction of the 200R4, they went to the 3.42 gear. So in 4th, their high gear ratio was 2.29, same as most 3-speed cars of the period. The Monte Carlo SSs with the 4-speed got 3.73s.

 

[j91z28d1]

why is it better to gear so it tows up the hill in 4th gear over 3rd?

unless the tranny has a known weak gear to stay away from. what's the point? you got 6 gears, use them all?