I own a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado with a 5.3 V8 and 4.10 gearing. According to my owners manual, and everything else I can find, my truck is capable of towing 9,000lbs. My question is will I be doing any damage to the vehicle if I pull a trailer that weighs about 8,200lbs. We are in the process of purchasing a new camper for a trip out west. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about this. The truck is in great shape, I maintain it well, it has 82K miles and has always been garaged. There is also a transmission cooler that was part of the factory installation package. I am the original owner. I am wondering if I will be doing any real harm or what to expect. I presently tow a camper that weighs about 3,000lbs. Thank you.
If it’s rated to tow 9000 then towing 8200 should be fine…Is that 8200 fully loaded or empty??? Also look at the Gross Weight Max. This is the combined weight of the towing vehicle (LOADED) along with what you’re towing (LOADED).
If you’re within those specs then you should be fine. The biggest help was the transmission cooler…I would NEVER tow with an Automatic without one.
If you do a lot of towing…then I’d consider switching to a Full-Synthetic engine and transmission oil. And I’m assuming the trailer has brakes???
Thanks for the quick reply. I’m confused. When you say Gross Weight Max, I cannot find that in my manual. What I have is GVWR which is 6,400lbs. Since the truck is weighs in at about 5,000lbs I figure I can add the additional 1,400 if I need it. The trailer is rated at 7,100 empty. The full weight is another 1,300lbs so that would bring it to about 8,400lbs. I plan on keeping it around 500-600lbs. So I plan on being under the max gross weight for both vehicles but I do not see anywhere a combined gross max weight either on the truck, in my owners manual or the camper.
Yes the trailer has breaks, and we have a good controller. I never thought about using synthetic oil for the engine and transmission. I change my oil every 3mts or 3K miles and planned on starting our trip this summer with an oil change. I last changed my transmission fluid and filter in 07 at 63K miles. Is it a big deal to drain the regular oil and then use synthetic? Wouldn’t that mix the two oils, the little remaining after draining the old oil? Would that be a problem? We are anticipating about 10,000 miles of driving with the trailer this summer. Thanks.
It’s called the GCWR. Some manufacturers show this rating…others don’t.
Here’s a web-site that explains it…
http://www.blackhillsrv.net/bhrvr/matchingtow.html
Synthetic an regular dyno oil can be mixed without any problems…In fact you can buy it that way (synthetic blend). There is no problem…nor has there ever been a problem with mixing the two.
Changing the engine motor oil every 3k is great…but if you’re going to tow 10k miles a year…then I’d recommend using full synthetic…I also doubt your owners manual suggests a 3k oil change interval…You should be fine with a 5k oil change interval…but check you manual.