Towing with an Avalache
 

I pulled my 42 sonic out of storage today (16,300 lbs boat & trailer) with my 2003 5.3 motored 1/2 ton Avalance. This thing pulled it better than my buddys big block dualy. UNFU#@INGBELIVEABLE!! The power, the hanling, the brakes, the springs, no probelems at all. Really a quality truck. Hats off to GM for this one.:cool: :) :cool:

Madcow,

I pull my boat with the same motor. While I don't think it's the best combination for large loads like yours, I do feel that this motor does real well for what I use it for. The tow/haul feature is nice too. A 3/4 ton is in the near future though.

Buck

Re: Towing with an Avalache
 

Good for you. Just curious though, did you get a little squirm when stoppping at high speeds with your short wheel base truck.

I have a friend who has a 3/4 ton Ford with a diesel and he pulls a 342 Baja-it does fine towing and he needs to keep some distance when pulling for stopping, as well as it is hard for him to pull above 60 MPH at times because the boat/trailer will push him some on down grades or small hills on the downward side, causing a little weaving if he is not careful.

How was your overall stopping ability? Did you feel safe with that combination?

I know there are a person on this board that has the big block allison HD combo and he loves his Avalanche.

Thanks,
Mike

My dad has a 1/2 ton Avalanche with the 5.3, Z71 package, 3.73 gears, etc. Its amazing how well it pulls his 35 Fountain. It'll pull the boat 70+ on the interstate easily and doesn't have any trouble stopping.

Madcow.......pulled my cat out 1st time the other week with the 2500 Avalanche (w/373's). Super easy. Was excellent on the highway..........although not as firm a ride as the dually was, with just a little x-tra sway. (no suprise there).






Bob

Well I have 20 inch wheels on my Avalanche so that probably cuts down on the sway. as far as stopping I always try to give myself some extra room.

By the way Glassdave and I just took the boat out for the first ride of the year. Everything went great. I'm psyced & ready!

dont just talk about it post some pictures that way I am getting my moneys worth :D Rag's

I pull my 357 Formula all over the place with my '02 Avalanch Z66. No sway, no problems at all. Stops easy. It's as good as a dually for my money and actually rated for a heavier towing capacity than the dually.

What's this about half-ton, tho? It's built on a Suburban frame...how can it be half-ton?

Any luck at all, I'll tow it 800 plus miles to LOTO this weekend.

doright

Last time I checked they make A LOT of 1/2 ton Suburbans.

Buck

You are right buck that a Avalance is mostly 'burban, but my last truck was a 97 GMC 1/2 ton and it didn't come CLOSE to my new one when it comes to towing

The new one

Trust me in time it will kill that truck, worse than putting a snow plow on it. The brake's won't last long either or stop it as fast as in need's to in a panic stop . They are nice but you still should have a 1 ton.

You are way over your tow rating on the hybrid, and when it causes an accident you may find yourself with no coverage as your insurance carrier will know what you do not. Your truck is not designed for what you are doing. It will not last long under that kind of stress either. Please do some homework on this.

Madcow, I wasn't replying to your post. I was replying to doright's post. I should have quoted so it wouldn't be confusiing.

You are correct, these trucks will far outperform the old C/K models by leaps and bounds.

Buck

Tow a 42 Sonic with an Avalanche:eek: :eek:

Good luck:rolleyes:

i just got an 03 2500 avalance,496 with 4.10.it's rated to tow 12,000 lbs.it tows my 37 profile like it's not there.you have to pay a little more attention on the highway at 65mph,you cant be half asleep like i could be with my 01 dually.but with the dually you couldn't be half asleep going thru drive thru's or trying to park.

Its not like I'm towing the thing to Florida. Basicly I haul it from the shop to the ramp. For my limited usage, its impresive.

I've got an 02 2500 with 3.73 gears and pulled my 272 (around 9000# with trailer and gas) just fine. My lease is coming up Jan 1, and I got a letter Friday that they will pay it off with the lease pull-ahead program and throw another $500 off for also having a non-GM in the garage. Plus a $4k rebate, GM discount, 1k for having owned an Oldsmobile a year and a half ago, GM card $, cripes, I've got no choice but to go shopping...

I tow with a Yukon,but all the others are good cause they are CHEVYS!!! tripps

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'.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

That sonds very scary to me:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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

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?