Long haul pulling my boat=3,000 Mls
 

On flat land can i keep my Chev 1997 dually
in Drive. Or must I run the entire distance in 3 rd gear. My boat weighs with trailer around 10,000 lbs. Will this destroy my trans. Your thoughts please. Mr. Bravo III
:confused:

Towing that much in Drive will destroy that trans, sorry.

not sure on the 97 model year, but both my 89 burban and 94 burban owners manuals stated to NOT run in overdrive while pulling a heavy load over 3,000lbs
I always pull in Drive (3) on the selector
But now I know someone that has a 99 GMC that his manual states TO use the Tow/Haul mode at all times when pulling.
Do you have this Tow/Haul mode on your truck?
If not, consult the dealer where you have it serviced
As far as towing that distance, I have towed boats from MN to Havasu, Denver,FtMeyers,Miami,Chattanoga, and many others.
I have logged at best 30,000 miles towing a average of 6,000 plus weight trailers and the only tranny that went was on my 98 Dodge Ram POS after a 3,500 mile trip :(

I take it you got your boat out of storage??
Awesome

My buddy runs a tranny shop and he said that you need to tow OUT of overdrive or you will ruin the tranny. I asked him if it was ok as long as it was not shifting up and down all the time. He said that even when it is not shifting there is slipping going on and you will heat up the oil and cook the insides. I was a little bummed till he pointed out that ussually when towing a load that if you keep the rpm's up that you will not burn as much gas over loading down the motor in overdrive, so it really does not matter as far as fuel consumption. Hope that helps a bit. He said that towing in overdrive is the reason that most trucks come in for tranny work.

Jon

No, I do not have the Tow/Haul Mode switch. I have a K3500 dually. with a manual on the floor to shift into 4*4. But is has the
700 R4, I belive. So far majority says no Overdrive, will cook the Trans. But i turn
2,800Rpm @ 65 mph. seems awefull high for RPm to haul. Oh well, I still will get there
in 1 piece. just alittle slower!.
mr. Bravo III

Kurt, I'm betting you can and chevy wants you to. check your manual and call the customer service people- get them to fax you something in writing- (They tend to verify they are correct if the have to do that rather thean just answer off the cuff)

There is likely a lot of confusion as in the early days of the 4sp auto's - (especially the 700R4 now computer controlled and known as the something else that slips my mind- 460LE??) used in the 1/2 ton trucks they were puking all the time towing golf carts. The 1/2 tons from the other guys were having similar problems too but not near the problems chevy had.

Your truck has the 480LE which is a beefed turbo 400 with an OD- they use these things in Ryder box trucks and they are very tough trannies. Any modern one ton that couldn't haul in OD would be a joke. At highway speeds your converter will be locked- no slippage- planetary gears are doing the OD work but they are made for that. When getting pulled down on a big hill the computer first unlocks the converter (slippage) but soon would go to third (direct drive) and lock the converter back up.

If you are really concerned- take the opportunity to change your fluid and filter, maybe add a deeper pan while you're at it. You should have a killer factory tranny cooler on the truck- if you don't, put one in. Last piece of mind is a tranny temp gage which you can keep an eye on.

The next best thing would be to verify fluid and filter is fresh, run in D, down shift on the bigger hills when it pulls down and pop back into D at the top of the hill. 10k weight in a boat hauls easier due to the aerodynamics, 10k in a big fifthwheel at 80 is pushing a lot of wind and is night and day to hauling a sleek off-shore boat. Good luck with your trip. :D

O/k gents, I am out of here. Will play around and watch trans temp. Thanks for the tips.
Florida/bahamas here I come. Yeah Haw!!!.
Wish me luck. Mr. Bravo III :D :D :D :D

I tower with a 1997 Chev. Dually back & forth to FL probably 6 or 7 times. Keep in mind that it is a very flat route.
I run in OD but any time there is an incline where I know it will have to downshift to keep up the speed, I let off the gas a bit & downshift manually.
I'm not saying you defenately won't have probs, but I have done this every yr, even with my 91 and 94 pick ups, and have not had a tranny prob yet
Just be gentle

if you have a 700r4 order a new one as a spare--o.d. on that trans. is the torque converter locking up--do not tow in o.d. as it WILL burn up--been there-done that-you can eliminate that with a switch that you can turn on/off so it doesn't lock up in any gear-john

Kurt, I've got a 99 crew cab dually 4x4 w.a 454
Our trucks have the 4L80E trans and GM states that you can tow in OD. I do all the time and fully loaded with gas and crap the boat/trailer combo weighs in at 11k+ lbs. Been to FL twice and go to LOTO two/three time a year...no problems yet and no funny smells from the tranny. But on a side note...i change tranny fluid every year and this last time i had them flush the entire trans clean with all new fluid.
I also shift into Drive on upgrades so the truck doesnt struggle and strain the trans. :D