What transmission do you have? Did you option for the allison? What MPG are you seeing?

it has the 4 speed automatic with tow haul mode.the dealer told me the allison wasn't avail in the avalance.i had one in my dually,it worked great but was very noisy.this truck is avg.9.5 mpg for me but that includes towing boats almost every day.it gets about 12 mpg if i drive it like a car[no towing]

That's great that you could tow that much. I would just watch your tranny. Trust me, with that much weight, you will be eating 4-6LE's for lunch. I have a Tahoe that used to be used to tow horse trailers. Had a larger tranny cooler and a electronic Brake controller. Still ate trannies every 70K or so. The 4-8LE in the big block trucks is a much stronger tranny. Obviously the Allison is even better....

In Wisconsin you would get pulled over and ticketed for that combo. That combo will get you into trouble when there is an accident regardless of who's fault and they find out your capacity was exceeded.

Also rememeber that most trucks can PULL a load, what makes a truck a GREAT truck is how it handles panic situations. In a panic situation, that boat will push that truck all over the road.

Nice truck you have but undersized for the laod you are pulling.

We towed 400 miles round trip this weekend. No issues at all. I have a 2002 2500 AV, 8.1, M32 trans, 4.10 posi-rear, and 1000lb. airbags. I have done a few bolt on mods to the truck, and I could not be happier with it. I just wish the bed cover was 100% waterproof, and not 90%. Not a huge deal, we just had to slip the duffle bags into trash bags.

The trip back was ALL RAIN, the first two hours POURING. We still made it back in 4.5 hours, 200 miles, including a fuel stop and and a food stop; travelling through the mountains of western VA. I tow between 7000 and 7500 lbs, plus give or take on fuel. Top that off with probably 500 lbs for gear, luggage, tools, and fuel in the truck, (this weekend). I have had the boat and trailer up to 92mph last season, before I did all the mods (we were running late to get to the Richmond Radar Shootout).

I know we all have to skimp on things once in a while to afford our hobbies. However, safety is not one of them. I am not sure how well is well towing a 42 with a 5.3L GM. I know second-hand that a 5.3L 1500 Silverado cannot tow a 32 single Sunsation from Florida to Virginia, with 3 guys and the AC running. I personally would not tow a 42 with a half-ton anything, any farther than my own yard. I also pay top dollar to have a $1Million Umbrella Liability policy over everything that I do, and if you have to continue towing like that, I would consider that my first and most important 'bolt-on'.

That sonds very scary to me

Should have left the key on in the boat........Then the tattletale GPS would have picked up the 92 mph

Yeah, we were flying in a convoy of about 5 boats. I-95 was all dorked up, and when it openned up, we openned it up. It wasn't smart. I don't look forward to doing it again, however, I did have the brakes and tranny to control it and deccelarate.

Seriously though, that Umbrella Policy is the way to go.

I can't remember who it was that I was talking too in Miami last year, but they were towing a boat cross country with a 1-ton, and had the rig up to like 109 or something in the desert. Now THAT is hairy!

Ren: The 3/4 ton is rated to tow 12,000#. How can your insurer argue if you're towing 11,000?