Towing with a 5.3 engine and 3:42 rearend

Grumpy Bear · June 10, 2021

1 hour ago, Jackie Donnals said:

I have this setup I a 2015 Silverado. I pull a 2201DS TT weighs 5000# dry. The the truck definitely struggles with it at times. When we went to the Rocky National Park it actually stated to over heat and I had to keep pulling over before I got up to our camp. Believe e when I got back I went around and around with my dealer and their maintenance mangers with no results.

il should easily pull this camper and sometimes it does like when there’s no wind and no hills. Any suggestions

That's your desires talking.

US34? Over the pass? Walking speeds? 12,000 feet will take the wind out of any NA motor. 36% at the top of the pass. 3% per thousand feet. If this is your normal trip then some modifications are in order. Steeper gearing, lower glycol percentage, trans cooler with fan. Oil cooler with fan. PAO/POE fluids. Have your fans reprogramed to a lower temperature and more aggressive slope. Lowering your expectations some. This road is a snail walk most of the way. Not fast enough to move air. If that doesn't get it done buy a Duramax.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Grumpy Bear

Gagliano7 · June 11, 2021

My 18 6.2 with 3:23 gears will tow that easy. I just towed a trailer full of wood about 3500 lbs bed filled with wood all oak. I also had 4 people in my truck with a weight of 800 lbs. Truck pulled no problem with plenty of power. And this was going up some decent hills. I also had the a/c blasting since it was 90 and humid out. The torque of the 6.2 is awesome.

truckguy82 · June 11, 2021

On 6/13/2015 at 3:26 AM, mzodarg said:

So I have the above set-up and I'm curious what others are experiencing when they tow.

I tow a 22 foot Pontoon boat, trailer has surge brakes on one axle. Total weight is roughly 4500 pounds.

Maybe I'm expecting to much but I'm not impressed, just curious what others are experiencing.

My trailer does have surge brakes, and I'm using a 2" drop tow pindle. I'm wondering if that could be part of the issue as the trailer neck is certainly not level.

I'm so dissapointed that I almost pulled the trigger on 2015 with 6.2 ltr until I saw that the differential was 3.23, intially I thought it would be a 3.73. After I discovered that, I killed the deal.

I also considered the HD 6.0 ltr but the only rearend offered is a 4.10. 3.73 is only offered in the diesel.

Anyway, any insights are welcomed.

TIA,

MIke

You’re rear end ratio obsessed I see. The differential is a torque multiplier. There are 2 torque multipliers when taking power from the crank shaft to the tire. The transmission and the differential.

Why people think they can judge the overall torque multiplication with just the differential ratio is beyond me.

Edited June 11, 2021 by truckguy82