2017 Z71 4x4 Double Cab 3.42 Rear End (Towing)

2017Silverado · January 27, 2018

Tag on the trailer Mama wants is 6500 lbs 23ft. The truck is brand new and the Trailer may be also.

We had a 34ft Diesel Pusher but it was Nickel and Dime us to death so we sold it (whew) thinking we were done camping and traveling but we decided we LOVE camping and traveling, but we have already bought the Pick-up and now want to camp and travel again.......

Your opinions and input will be greatly appreciated......

Thanks for your time.......

Logan Lanfear · January 28, 2018

Are you asking how your truck is going to do pulling this trailer? What engine and trans do you have. Id say any of them would handle it fine. Get a decent weight distributing hitch, I prefer a chain setup myself. Dont forget about some anti sway device. Whether its built into your WD hitch or a separate sway bar.

Cowpie · January 29, 2018

Assuming 5.3L with that 3.42. it will work fine. High altitude might not be as satisfying. Not that the pickup won't get the job done, just that it will have to work harder at it.

Yeah, a weight distribution hitch is a must. I have grown partial to the Blue Ox Sway Pro, but there are many other very good hitches on the market also. The Sway Pro does both a great job with weight distribution and anti sway. One of the easiest to set up and use as well.

The trans is not really an issue. 6 or 8 speed, the top gears are virtually identical. The only appreciable difference is the basement gears. The 6 speed has a longer track record and is pretty reliable. Unless you are always starting out on a steep grade, it is doubtful you would notice any real difference between 6 spd and 8 spd.

You are starting out of the gate with 6500 lb trailer. Just watch how you load it and how much. Payload and subsequent tongue weight will be your biggest issue. Do it right and there should not be any real problem. Trailer length will be a plus for getting in an out of the better locations if you like to boondock. That is the major reason I like to keep any TT shorter than 30' also.

2017Silverado · January 29, 2018

Thank you both for the replies . I will for sure take your advice especially about the sway bar and Weight Distribution hitch.......

Yes I have the 5.3 with a 6 speed transmission........ Do I use "Tow-Haul" all the time or just when starting out until I get up to speed?..........

Bobaloo22 · February 4, 2018

I pull a 5k travel trailer and always use tow-haul. Also most of the time put it in 5th.

Imcrazy · February 4, 2018

On 1/29/2018 at 1:09 PM, 2017Silverado said:

Thank you both for the replies . I will for sure take your advice especially about the sway bar and Weight Distribution hitch.......

Yes I have the 5.3 with a 6 speed transmission........ Do I use "Tow-Haul" all the time or just when starting out until I get up to speed?..........

You want to keep it in tow haul the whole time you're towing/hauling... For what it's worth I think you'll be OK with the 6500# trailer but, I'd want a good WD hitch and possibly airbags out back to help.... Also keep in mind that you're MPG will drop like a rock to about 10 mpg while towing...

2017Silverado · February 4, 2018

Thanks........... for the Tow-Haul advice

Jon A · February 12, 2018

Yeah, you'll be fine. As others mentioned, a good WDH and especially if you spend a lot of time on the road stiffening up the rear with airbags and using LT tires is always a good idea. Especially since you're used to a 3/4 ton, stiffening up the truck will make it feel much better to you.

What part of the country will you be mainly towing in? The 6-speed isn't as good at going up hills so if you do lots of steep grades you may be slowed down a bit from time to time, but you aren't towing that much weight so it shouldn't be an issue very often (unless you do a lot of nasty grades).

Blue2500CC · February 22, 2018

On 2/4/2018 at 10:34 AM, 2017Silverado said:

Thanks........... for the Tow-Haul advice

As mentioned, definitely use it!!!

It was also mentioned of putting the trans into 5th, which locks out 6th. His will help keep thebtrans temp down. If you find the trans hunting for the right gear between 4th & 5th, drop the M inti 4th then. A lot of gear shifting builds heat, so if you end up running a lower gear to lower the amount of shifting, the temp will should be lower!!!

is the 6500lbs the empty weight? Or is that the gvwr of the tt? Even if the empty weight you should be ok. Just watch hownyounoack as mentioned.

Good luck!!!

garagerog · February 22, 2018

On 1/26/2018 at 7:33 PM, 2017Silverado said:

Tag on the trailer Mama wants is 6500 lbs 23ft. The truck is brand new and the Trailer may be also.

We had a 34ft Diesel Pusher but it was Nickel and Dime us to death so we sold it (whew) thinking we were done camping and traveling but we decided we LOVE camping and traveling, but we have already bought the Pick-up and now want to camp and travel again.......

Your opinions and input will be greatly appreciated......

Thanks for your time.......

6500 lbs dryweight sounds awful heavy for a 23 foot trailer unless it has 2 tipouts or is constructed really, really sturdy. BTW that is almost the perfect length for a couple only TT, no need for bunk beds that take up living space. As others have said your truck will handle it just fine, but if it was me I would look for a little lighter TT so I could take more stuff, gear, provisions, etc. on extended trips, but that's just me.

2017HD · March 1, 2018

I agree that 6500 lbs sounds high for a dry wt - but a bit light for a Max Wt or GVWR. My old Arctic Fox 22H (24') was less than 6000 when fully loaded for camping. I towed it with a 99 Tahoe that had the older 5.7L 4spd and 3.73 rear gears. It was underpowered and the TT tended to push the Tahoe around. I did try new HD shocks and Tires - but what solved the push around issue was stronger bars on the WD hitch. I traded the Tahoe for an 07 2500 with a 6.0L 6spd and 4.10 rear end - world of difference. Now there is more correlation between the 6.0L and the 5.3L than the old 5.7L esp in the torque curves - both the 5.43 and 6.0L have wider torque ranges and work very well between 3000 and 4000 RPM - and on my 2500 that was 4th gear and between 50 and 60 MPH which allowed me to climb hills with minimal effort. I found that the 6spd in the 2500 was quite smart for downshifting when in tow/haul and I rarely had to use the manual control - grade braking on the downhill also worked very well and the truck was still on its OEM brakes at 92k and still had pad left.

I suggest that you pull hills using the tach - keeping it between 3 and 4k - don't worry too much about the gear or speed..

Cowpie · March 2, 2018

I really didn't use TH Mode all the much with my 1500 and I don't recall ever using it with my 2015 2500 6.0. I am more partial to manual mode and managing things myself. I can force a down shift and get RPM's up higher when needed on a down grade for some additional drive train braking. Also, when coming up on a climb, I can manually drop a gear and get the RPM's up a little for the pull before momentum starts to drop off. The trans cannot read the terrain. I can. By the time it figures to downshift on a pull, momentum has already started to decline. And manual mode significantly reduced gear hunting, even in tow haul mode, and one way to do that is to keep it in manual to eliminate going to top gear any time it can. And it is incessant gear hunting that will destroy the trans. Not saying that TH mode is stupid or a waste. I just don't have a real use for it myself. Probably all those millions of miles of commercial hauling under my belt. I just like managing things myself.

This is for serious pulling in hills and such. For the freeway, on rolling hills with nothing major, yeah, leave it in TH mode and forget it.