Posts: 3504
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | ToddM - 5/21/2020 4:46 PM
3.6, 36 valve, 285hp@6400 and 260ft-lbs@4800 and a 6200lb towing capacity. 21mpg on the hwy. It will do it, gas mileage won't be much better than a 5.3 Chevy. It will labor some on hills and off the line. Another thing to look at is the brakes it you don't have them on your trailer. Look at the rotor and caliper size. Another thing to consider, where are you going on long trips? Short trips? Duluth, MN for example will tax the power train going north and the brakes on the way south. I had a brake fire once coming back through Duluth.
This...
It's got the power to do it, the capacity to tow your rig, and Todd is right here....the big thing isn't going to be the pulling capability, but stopping is something to consider as well...
Big thing in towing is keeping a transmission and brakes cool. Hopefully the vehicle has a transmission cooler on it...that will be a big help. Also, do you happen to know if the vehicle has a trailer setting which if I understand correctly, keeps the vehicle out of overdrive and possibly changes the shift points of the transmission for better acceleration?
Don't be afraid to run your engine over 3000 RPM in a lower gear going uphill or downhill. Those rpms help keep fluids running through the coolers, and downshifting if need be going downhill saves your brakes tremendously. you may find at certain times downshifting and keeping it there, although slower overall, will be better overall for the vehicle.
Steve |
