Chevy 1500 with 5.3L

07H200SS · **Posted:** Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:16 pm

Who has one and how does it tow your boat? I was looking for a 2500, but can't seem to find one in my area for a good price. Well at least not for what I am looking for. Looking for a newer tow vehicle for under 10K and have a lot of choices on 1500 trucks. Also wife thinks we need a 4-door (need to put two car seats in back) while I am good with an extended cab. I did find a 1500HD in my price range, but concearned with the miles on it (166,000) and it is in Grand Rapids Mich. so its a long drive for me to just go look at it.

9BALL · **Posted:** Fri Feb 26, 2010 5:07 pm

07H200SS wrote:

Who has one and how does it tow your boat? I was looking for a 2500, but can't seem to find one in my area for a good price. Well at least not for what I am looking for. Looking for a newer tow vehicle for under 10K and have a lot of choices on 1500 trucks. Also wife thinks we need a 4-door (need to put two car seats in back) while I am good with an extended cab. I did find a 1500HD in my price range, but concearned with the miles on it (166,000) and it is in Grand Rapids Mich. so its a long drive for me to just go look at it.

I used a 2004 Silverado 1500 to bring my V268 from Pgh. Pa. to Port Charlotte Fla. I was probably illegel but it did a fine job. Wouldn't recommend it for a regular tow vehicle for a 268 but it should handle your boat OK. My boat is lift kept at the house so towing is not a problem for me. The truck has a 5.3 litre engine.

9BALL

07H200SS · **Posted:** Fri Feb 26, 2010 5:32 pm

9BALL wrote:

07H200SS wrote:

Who has one and how does it tow your boat? I was looking for a 2500, but can't seem to find one in my area for a good price. Well at least not for what I am looking for. Looking for a newer tow vehicle for under 10K and have a lot of choices on 1500 trucks. Also wife thinks we need a 4-door (need to put two car seats in back) while I am good with an extended cab. I did find a 1500HD in my price range, but concearned with the miles on it (166,000) and it is in Grand Rapids Mich. so its a long drive for me to just go look at it.

I used a 2004 Silverado 1500 to bring my V268 from Pgh. Pa. to Port Charlotte Fla. I was probably illegel but it did a fine job. Wouldn't recommend it for a regular tow vehicle for a 268 but it should handle your boat OK. My boat is lift kept at the house so towing is not a problem for me. The truck has a 5.3 litre engine.

9BALL

What does your V268 weigh?

9BALL · **Posted:** Fri Feb 26, 2010 7:57 pm

07H200SS wrote:

9BALL wrote:

07H200SS wrote:

Who has one and how does it tow your boat? I was looking for a 2500, but can't seem to find one in my area for a good price. Well at least not for what I am looking for. Looking for a newer tow vehicle for under 10K and have a lot of choices on 1500 trucks. Also wife thinks we need a 4-door (need to put two car seats in back) while I am good with an extended cab. I did find a 1500HD in my price range, but concearned with the miles on it (166,000) and it is in Grand Rapids Mich. so its a long drive for me to just go look at it.

I used a 2004 Silverado 1500 to bring my V268 from Pgh. Pa. to Port Charlotte Fla. I was probably illegel but it did a fine job. Wouldn't recommend it for a regular tow vehicle for a 268 but it should handle your boat OK. My boat is lift kept at the house so towing is not a problem for me. The truck has a 5.3 litre engine.

9BALL

What does your V268 weigh?

6700lbs. towed it on a rented 35 foot aluminum trailer. Should be a picture of it in an old post about tow vehicles. Can't remember how to post pix.

9BALL

07H200SS · **Posted:** Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:38 pm

OK thanks. That is a lot heavier than my boat. Mine is only 4200 lbs. dry plus trailer.

jsimon · **Posted:** Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:54 am

I had an 05 1/2 ton suburban I used to pull our 268 the first year we had it. It pulled it but it was way over its tow rating and showed. It has the 5.3 with the 3.73 rear ratio, I think the rating was 7200#. So at 4200# plus trailer and gear you should be well within the tow rating. You should be fine IMO.

07H200SS · **Posted:** Sat Feb 27, 2010 8:26 am

I was just concearned because they show the tow rating at 8800 Lbs, but when you look at the hitch decal on the trucks they show the hitch itself is only rated for 5000 lbs.? They have a class III reciever which is what my Trailblazer has and my Trailblazer does pull it, but I feel I am stressing the engine and trans. on the TB in doing so. We need the TB to last a few more years.

LouC · **Posted:** Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:40 am

I'd try to get more info from Chevy on what else the truck needs to meet that 8800 lb rating...do you just need to buy a Class IV hitch...or do you also need to get a WD hitch for the tongue weight.... or is the 8800 rating only gotten with the lowest (highest numerically) gear ratio (4.10:1)
...they usually list all this in the owner's manual...For example in my old Jeeps manual it says to use a WD hitch for tongue weights over 350 lbs...but they all got the Class IV hitch with the factory tow package...

Aquadisiac · **Posted:** Sat Feb 27, 2010 10:11 am

I have a 2004 Avalanche 1500 to pull my sundowner that is around the 4500lb mark. Truck handles it fine, even pulled a 35' park model trailer with it. The only problem with my truck is it has coil springs,so it squats a little bit but the 5.3l is more than enough. a class 3 hitch is good for 5000lb without weight distribution, I have a class 4 which is more than enough.

TSR · **Posted:** Sat Feb 27, 2010 10:39 am

We've been towing our 258 for the past couple of years now with an '05 Sierra 4WD crew cab. It has the 5.3 plus various options including Z71, tow package, etc. Normally we're only an hour to the marina each spring and back to storage in the fall. Last year though, we towed 3 hours for a boat trip one way and it handled the job no problem.

Our boat is approx. 5,200 lb dry. Add fuel, gear, the weight of the trailer itself, etc. and I figure we're pretty close to our limit. You know the boat is behind you but the 5.3 in tow mode has plenty of power. My biggest concern is braking when some a-hole pulls out in front of you with little room to slow/stop.

Our truck is at the bottom of page 8 here:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=31&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=105

07H200SS · **Posted:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 4:41 pm

I think my search is over for now sadly. It seems with two kids we really want a crew cab and can't find one in our price range right now and have decided to wait a year or so until we have some more money to spend to get what I really want which is a 2007-up GMC 1500 crew with All-Terrain package.

New plan for now is to do some upgrades to the suspension on the TB. Afterall it does have a 114,000 miles on it so it is do for some new shocks and other things anyway.

SO far I know my front and rear sway bar end links are totoally shot and at least one rear shock is leaking. So I plan on getting some HD sway bar links front and rear, Bilstein shocks on all four corners and some Firestone Air helper springs. Hopefully some of the noise I have in the suspension even in daily driving will go away as well.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:37 am

Too bad you are not a dodge fan, this would cover your needs now.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/1622997261.html

07H200SS · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:25 am

Cap'n Morgan wrote:

Too bad you are not a dodge fan, this would cover your needs now.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/1622997261.html

I did look at a few Dodges, but your right, just not a fan. Have always had GM products and very familiar with working on them and have most tools needed to work on GM cars and trucks. I even looked at some fords and amazing that the Fords & Dodges can be had for such better prices.

EvilZ · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2010 3:27 pm

I had a 2000 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3 and now a 2003 Tahoe with the 5.3. They tow my Funship 214 just fine, which looks like it is pretty comparable in weight to yours....

When you do start looking again, you definitely want the crew cab...the suicide doors are a hassle with small kids, espcially in parking lots.

Until then, good luck with your TLC on the TB!

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:53 pm

Yep there are some good deals...I picked up our 07 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the 5.7 Hemi...Quadradrive II..Tow Package...pretty much all the options except the nav system....25K miles...for less than I paid for my 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with the 4.0 six when it was new 12 years ago! The Hemi has so much power in the Jeep that it leaps off the line like a musclecar...pulls our 200 Horizon like it's not there...they do have a tow rating of 7200 but you'd probably want more for your boat...

Anyway I put Bilstein monotube gas pressure shocks and the Air Lift airbags in the rear coils on my 98 and they greatly improved the towing performance....that and a good set of tires that are XL rated (XL rated tires are like between the standard P rated tire that maxes out at 35psi and the LT tires that max out at 50 psi...they usually go up to 44 psi and if you can get em in the right size they also give an extra margin of safety)...I'd still want to get the boat weighed to see what you are really up against...but around here it's really hard to find weight stations...I'm guessing mine is at least 4500 lbs judging by how the 4.0 six in the old Jeep used to struggle with it. Funny thing was that 4.0 with the mechanical selectrac 4x4 NEVER had any problem pulling out that boat...sandy ramps slimy ramps never a problem...

www.iFourWinns.com

Chevy 1500 with 5.3L

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