Chev Avalanche 2500 limitations?
 

I own a 2003 Avalanche 2500 with an 8.1 with 3.73 rear axle, book rates at 10,000 lbs towing capability. The same truck with 4.10 gears was rated at 12,000 lbs. I'm looking at buying a Formula 353 fastech which weights 12,000 lbs on the trailer. My queston - Can I get away with 3.73 gears when my towing distance is short and occassionally 200 miles or less (flatland / no mountains)? I'm going to check to ensure the truck has adequate braking because I don't know if the Avalanche with 4.10s were any different in this respect. Both were GVWR of 8600lbs. Any information or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks Greg

I have a buddy that tows a 42 Fountain with one all the time.Just make sure you have good brakes on the trailer.

The two answers I always have to this question:
1. You can pull it with anything you like. It's the stopping that worries me. In my limited recollection, I believe the Avalanche with the 4.10 rear also had bigger brakes. However, don't rely on my memory.

2. Even if you're comfortable with the towing capacity and the stopping power of your rig, what happens if the unthinkable happens ? You're towing with a rig that's rated below the combined weight of your boat / trailer combo. Your insurance company will use that as a valid excuse to deny any claims / liability and leave you personally on the hook for all claims related to an accident.

T

I don't believe they had bigger brakes. Easiest thing to do would be look up parts online for the different configurations and see if they are different part numbers.

That said, I have experience towing 12,000 lbs. with a 2500 Avalanche (with 4.10 gears). I have made a lot of posts about this truck here in the past. There are some things you can bolt on to make it tow better.

In my experience, it will tow it adequately, but not expertly; and I can't tell you for how long. I had a Class-V hitch and a weight distribution setup, and I still saw that my frame was sagging when loaded aft of the rear axle. I didn't like what I saw so I sold it and went to a 1-ton dually.

That 1-ton looks softer in the a$$ then the Ava?

It's not.

Both have airbags installed in the pictures.

The AV pic is on flat land. It also has weight distribution bars installed.
The F350 pic is at the top of a (fairly steep) launch ramp, as such the truck is squatting a bit due to suspension pre-load.

Those are also different trailers. My Myco carries more tongue weight than my McClain, not to mention being a bit heavier.

502SS:

The first thing is to get a set of Firestone Air Bags and install. This will help immensley. Second replace factory hitch receiver with a Reese, Putnam or some other HD hitch. Factory hitch is a POS. Finally get electric or electric over hydraulic brakes on trailer. Do not use surge brakes- they are terrible. The real reason the drop from 12k to 10k is the gearing and the strain it puts on the tranny. I have 4.10 in mine and I pull a 30 ft Chris Cat on a Myco steel trailer pushing the 12 k limit. Once I got the air bags and electric brakes set up it is a breeze. You know its there but no sway at all and the air bags smoothed out the ride for the truck and boat over Michigans lousy roads. The brakes are the same on the 3.73 and 4.10 axles- they are full floating 14 bolt rear axles on the 2500. The 2500 will run better with a Hypertech tune job also... more rpm available from 4000 and up.

Wannabe

Don't forget the rear axle spacers and going to 8 or 9" wide wheels.

I was using a 2500 suburban with 3.73 (but the 6.0 motor) as a tow vehicle for a 312 fastech....which is only 500 lbs lighter than the 353. It did OK but it was all I wanted to haul. I figured the gearing and TQ of the bigger motor/gears raised the tow rating but I had everything needed to STOP the 12,000 lbs load. If you really want to keep using that truck then follow the advice already given and as with anything, drive responsibly.

Well said!

What tranny does the avalanche have. If it has an Allison you will have good engine braking, but not sure it was available in the avalanche. All Duramax diesels have 3.73 ratios, and the torque in the 8.1 is a little less that the diesel but a 3.73 should be adaquit. Without the Allison tranny I would be make sure you had good braking.

just my .02

No Allison.

M32 4L85E 4 speed auto

The Alalanche does not have the Allison but the brakes are the same. With a hitch change and E/H brakes we towed our 38' Sonic W/ trp. 500's through the hills to Lake Cumberland. The boat loaded W/ fuel and gear scaled @ 16,900lbs. way more than I was told. The truck did pull it well for 100,000 miles before going to a Cummins. Beware of having an accident though pulling something that overrated. I knew the agent (my wife)

WOW! 17K with a 2500AV! :eek:

Sorry I might be hi-jacking this thread but was wondering what tires are best for all types of season plus towing? We just bought a used 3/4 ton 2005 a couple of weeks ago and two of the tires look fairly new and the other two will need replaced soon. The two good tires or Ironman which I haven't heard of and guessing aren't the best tires so thinking of getting four new ones and hopping I can get some credit for the two good tires.

I ran BFG Rugged Trail E load rated and liked them.

If I were buying new tires, I would consider:

BFG All Terrain KO
Yokohama GeoLander AT/S
Michelin LTX

I have had great experience with Cooper tires as well. Others on here like the Bridgestone Dueller as posted in the past.

If you are investing in tires for a 2500AV, I STRONGLY SUGGEST going ahead and getting some 8 or 9 inch wide wheels. I can tell you from personal experience that the towing stability is DRASTICALLY better having towed with stock and 17x8 wide wheels back to back. Also, go for the rear axle spacers as well. I guarantee you will like the truck better with these two upgrades.

If you don't want to spring for wheels & tires, just go for the spacers for now.

I also don't recommend running different tires front and back.



(I ran my stock 16x6 inch wheels for only a few months. I then went to 16x8 inch aluminum wheels for a couple years with Cooper tires. I hit some metal debris and had a blow out on one of my Coopers on the 16x8 wheels, and opted to move up to nicer 17x8 inch wheels and tires. While waiting for my new wheels/tires to come in, I towed my 12K pounds to a poker run back at stock setup with the OE wheels/tires, and no spacers. I HATED IT. The truck lost 30% or more of its stability IMHO. I vowed to never put that setup back on the truck and sold the OE wheels/tires immediately. When you go from the stock setup to 8" wide wheels you are adding 33.3% more contact patch/tire footprint to the road. This is WAY noticeable. If you go to a 9" wide wheel, you are adding 50%!! more contact patch/tire footprint.)

SYD ive been looking for that exact truck!
-Mike

As for tire, You want to look at the Yokohama AT/s, HT/S depening on your exact needed. My Lanch had AT on it quick nice looking towed well. Load D on them. A couple other choices out there but thats best bang for the buck also comes in White Letter or rev. it to make a black side wall for less maintance.
-Mike

Harder and harder to find. I specifically sought out the LE because I didn't want to be 'just another black dually.'

I found mine on Cars.com. I was pretty excited about it when I got it as I knew there were only 2000 built ever, and that they were few and far between. Most of them went to Texas.
Only made in 2000 and 2001, and they all have leather and 4 doors, so you can narrow down your search parameters with such details.

Damn if there are not 10 of them or so that I regularly see in the Mid-Atlantic area, including another OSO member!

Thanks guys. I check and like I said the better tires are Ironman Radial and the other two tires are Falken landair h/t. Don't even know who makes it. Looking at discount Tires they weren't given a high rating. I was thinking of Bridgestone dueler a/t revo 2. Don't know much about Yokohama tires. I like BF Goodrich but they're kind of high and Michelin are also but it seems like Michelin's tread last a long time. I like Goodyear Wranglers but the only Goodyears they list are more mut tires. I take it you guys don't care for Bridgstone tires. I have a set on are care and they have been a good set of tires.

bridgestones blows balls along with copped. BFG's are a build from Michelins they are just another componey. Thats why the High tag on them. A great tire is like i said Yoko, Also General Grabbers do well with a great tag on them not to empty your pockets. Falking private label Asian build or korean depending on what model you buy. Continental tire builds the General line so it has a really good root it stems from.
-Mike Any question let me know. My dad owns a repair/tire shop i can get any info you want. Also those ironman tire junk no name off brand crap

Up here those LE packages are hard to come by and they want all the money for them. What makes yours special is the Short bed thats Key!!!!
-Mike

I have nitto terra grapplers on my 03 2500 avalanche and love them I will never buy anything but them I have 285 75 16 on the stock wheels and 285 60 18 on my summer wheels tthe 18s are 9 inches wide and the truck is deffinately more stable and my sonic is around 10500 on the traler and it tows very well

Mine came from MASS! :D Mine is not the short bed though. The short bed belongs to Randy aka "Beak Boater" here on OSO.

I thought I wanted a shortbed, but I'm glad I didn't buy one. I can stuff that bed to the brim, all 8 feet of it on a long weekend.

This is one of the reasons the Avalanche 2500 wasn't cutting the mustard anymore. I'd stuff the back of it to the brim, and then I was cutting down on GVWR capacity as well. I towed it home REALLY heavy one time, with the back FULL of tools and parts and stereo stuff. It blew a rear axle seal, under warranty thankfully. :eek:

Gregm35 -

I'm in a similar situation with a 'Burb that has a 12k towing capacity as I recently picked up an 08 353. I checked some numbers and got this from the manufacturers:
353 - 9400 dry
Fuel - 1050
Trailer 2860
TOTAL - 13310 without gear

It's not worth the risk to me to tow over the max rating. I don't need a lawsuit or to provide an excuse to my insurer not to pay if I have an issue. I also don't think mods will mean anyything if you have an accident.

My $.02..

ok gentlemen, help me out. I havean 04 avi 1500 373's and 5.3 drivers door says 7000lb gvw. I will be stepping up to a 29 scarab w/twins not sure of the wait as of yet. also I'm running 22 inch aftermarket wheels which have a very wide footprint. I'm currently towing a 24 scarab on tandem axle trailer and you really dont know the thing is behind it. this trailer that i have doesn't have any breaks but the truck came factory setup with electric breaks.just a lil unsure if the 29/trailer setup that i want will taxi my setup or what? I only have 15 miles to our lake and its all flat xpressway.the truck tho a 2004 is still new with only 24k miles on it as its only used in the summer to tow both my boats and not driven in the winter. any advise/input woulod be greatly appreciated.....

If you are stuck on the Avalanche, sell the one you have and go get a used 2500. You can pick them up for a very good price.

Bottom line, you are not going to be able to tow a 29 anything with twins safely with any 1/2 ton anything. You can't raise your tow capacity. Your truck does not have any special brakes on it. It has a round 7 pin connector that you can add a trailer brake controller to with a pigtail under the dash. Also, chances are your 22" wheels and associated tires are not rated for the weight that you are towing now. It's not a matter of taxing you setup. It's a matter of being legal and insurable and safe.

See this thread, or any one of the hundreds of other threads on here over the past 10 year on here where folks are trying to tow a big boat with a little truck. http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...city-boat.html

Well syd checked the tire rating on the 22's they are falken 305/40r22 m+s with 2601 @ 50 psi better than I thought concidering my other Chevy half ton z71 oe tires are 265/75R16 are only rated to 2400 lbs so it appears that these wheels/tires are plenty for my truck/boat/trailer and some room to spare

That's good news. I'm not nitpicking, so please don't take it that way. Your wheels themselves should also have a weight rating, either in the manufacturer specs or stamped on the back of the wheel as well.

no, didn't take it the wrong way. I understand safely and legally. i was just wondering on the power side of my truck if it had enough balls to pull a 29 with twins. again my thoughts are it will pull no problem but the real test would be the launch ramp and retreival. the truck has tow/haul feature so that helps on the road.my truck is going to get all new rotors and calipers hd version just to give a lil bit more stoppingpower. i'm watching a guy here where i live towing a p29 with a 1500 chevy 4x4 and he states that it tows fine but again his truck is a 96 same year as my other truck in fact same truck and i know that the gvw is only 6200 on drivers door.

Chaotic: GVW is the weight rating on the truck not including what your towing. GCVWR is the gross combined vehicle weight rating including weight of the towed vehicle. Your Avalanche probably is rated to pull around 7500 and a 29 Scarab with twins is WAY over that. Also of concern are your aftermarket rims, and the rating on them. A number of years ago a member had an aftermarket wheel on an Avalanche break while towing a cargo trailer. The trailer flipped the Avalanche. Sydwayz is right- get a 2500 Avalanche- will pull the Scarab safely within limits.

Wannabe