# Mi To Sc Haul - 28rss Tahoe 5.3l Notes.



## jeff28rsds (Jul 16, 2005)

Well, It is nice to be home, but I sure miss those waves already. I recall several posts about the Tahoe and pulling. I thought I'd toss a few notes in about my pull from S.E. Michigan to Myrtle Beach. This was done via I-75 to I40, to I26. (Ohio, KY, TN, NC, then into SC via rt.387

The Scales weight (we weighed on the way down) was 12,700 total. This was stripped to the bare minimum. I had to 'approve' any item the DW wanted to take. This included the kids stuff. All the water tanks and lines were drained. Several weight reduction campains were held as well. The Tahoe is classed out at 13,000lbs max for the total combined weight. Yes, I'm a bit heavy on the max to actual ratio, but more on that later.

Now onto the Tahoe- 2005 LS V8 5.3 Liter w/ the 3.52 rear axel. It has the tow package w/ two/haul mode. We pull out 1 of the rear seats (3 row seating option).

I run 93 Octane, with a Super Chips performance tuner setting for 93 octane. The SuperChips is built and designed for more hp and torque at higher RPMs. I called them about the use while towing, and they commented that their product is designed to for extra towing and hauling power. NOT MORE WEIGHT. They did note that their product is not meant to allow you to pull more, just add more power and response. About the use of the performance chip product at max loads, I was told to just watch to engine ping, and if I had any to back the program down to the 87 octane program and still use 93Octane.

I ran in TOW mode, in 3rd gear. There and back

So, the trip and the haul- I was suprized at how well my Tahoe ran coming and going. Hills were not a problem. Speeds were 55-65mph On some of the big hills on the way back, I'd hit 2nd gear and back off on the RPMs to 3500 to 3800 and just zip up at 50mph. This was only on 3 or 4 occasions. Most times, 3rd gear did just fine.

I was worried a'plenty after learning so much about pulling and weights, and tow vehicles. I just wanted any other Tahoe worry-warts to know that it seemed fine the entire trip.

Did the superchips help? I can say that I ran part of the trip on 87 Octane (to burn off the full tank the wife put in). When I popped over to a full tank of 93 and upped the program, I am confident that I had more zip. Is it totally safe for hauling and use at high loads. That is a Q I leave for some of you experts to chime in on.

thanks everyone to your insight and comments over the last few weeks while I asked every TV Q and weight Q, and Axel Q I could think of. You made me much more confident and the trip was more enjoyable that way.

JJout.


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Thanks for the Tahoe update. I've been active on those Tahoe/Yukon threads. Before my recent upgrade, I towed the 25RSS with an 05 Yukon, 5.3L, 3.73 gears. My results were decent and I climbed some big hills fairly well. You seem to get up the hills pulling a 28 better than I did but we don't know hill size and grades for a fair comparison. I upgraded since all my towing is on some pretty long 6 - 7% grades. I didn't want to be too close to the weight limits especially when my kids want to start packing friends. It's more of a safety insurance factor for me than a performance issue. The regular Yukon performed well. Glad your trip went well.


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

Thanks for the notes!!!! Hope you had a great trip!!!!

How did the trailer stop?

Did you say you were running in 2nd gear at 3500-3800 RPMS? How hot was your tranny running?

One word on the chips...They work well on the higher RPM range of the curve. I am still not sold on towing benefits of them. JMHO









Glad you made it home safe and sound!

Happy Outbacking!

Tim


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

jeff28rsds said:


> Well,Â It is nice to be home, but I sure miss those waves already.Â I recall several posts about the Tahoe and pulling.Â I thought I'd toss a few notes in about my pull from S.E. Michigan to Myrtle Beach.Â This was done via I-75 to I40, to I26. (Ohio, KY, TN, NC, then into SC via rt.387
> 
> [snapback]130781[/snapback]​


Glad you had a good trip, sounds like a nice adventure.











> The Scales weight (we weighed on the way down) was 12,700 total. This was stripped to the bare minimum. I had to 'approve' any item the DW wanted to take. This included the kids stuff. All the water tanks and lines were drained. Several weight reduction campains were held as well. The Tahoe is classed out at 13,000lbs max for the total combined weight.


When you weighed your combo, did you weigh on a truck scale that gave the weights for the individual axles (TV front, TV rear, TT combined)? If so, be sure you check what your TV front and rear axle weights were and compare those with the maximum axle wt. ratings that should be on the sticker inside the driver's door of your Tahoe. If you didn't get individual axle weights I would highly suggest that you do so. The problem you run into with any 1/2 ton SUV or pick-up is that you will max out the GVWR for the TV itself (and therefore the front and rear axle ratings) long before you max out the GCVWR (TV and TT combined). As close as you are to your GCVWR, I'd be willing to bet you're actually over the GVWR for your Tahoe.









Real life example: My first Avalanche was a 1/2 ton and I used it to tow a Jayco Kiwi 23D hybrid trailer. The AV was rated to tow 7,000 lbs., GCVWR 13,000 lbs. Actual scale weight of the Kiwi (loaded) was 4,600 lbs., actual scale weight of the AV/Kiwi combo was 10,000 lbs. No problem, well within the limits, right? *BUT* when I looked at the front and rear axle weights/GVW for the AV itself, I was within 250 lbs. of the GVWR - with 1 driver, 1 dog, full fuel tank, tongue wt. from the Kiwi and bulky but not heavy camping gear. That meant if I had any passengers I was going to be right at or quite probably over the GVWR for the AV - NOT a good thing.







After I got the actual wt. numbers I was very careful about how much stuff I put in the AV. When Chevy had $5,000 owner loyalty rebates in the summer of 2004 I jumped at the chance to trade up to a 3/4 ton Avalanche so I wouldn't have to worry about running so close to the max GVWR rating for the truck.

Just my $.02, FWIW.


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

The experts on chips (only kidding) say that it may have helped with power , burned more gas and 20 cents a gallon gas at that. I say tell them boys or girls at Superchip to pick up a book and get an education.

I believe if you looked at a dyno print out of the chip it raised the HP and torque across the band then dropped out fast. For towing you should be shifting the curve downward. Look at the Titan motor vs Chevy. Peak torque for Titan is 3600, Chevy is 4000. Titan can pullllllllll!

The chip also likely made your trans downshift quicker which of course heated it up more because you went faster.

So you spent more money and got very poor efficiency plus stressed your equipment.

I could have suggested more efficient ways to get what you were looking for but real engine tuning isn't cool anymore everybody has to do it with a chip. That isn't a nock on you that is the times we are in.

While you ask us about being safe, I offer you the following. Been there done that, as in trying to make street cars into race cars. Can't be done and one day I wised up and got a real race car. Then sometime after that I wised up some more and said "I really don't have the money" to be racing. Racing is racing, anything else is just toys. So 99% of the stuff you can buy is just toys. Toys are good I guess.

As for towing I believe my tow vehicle is a tool not a toy. Just trying to give you my sincere perspective which I believe will save you some money.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Jeff,

Thanks for the great and thoughtful review of your Tahoes performance. I'm sure it will be useful to many around here. Sounds like a nice trip, too!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

NJMikeC said:


> The experts on chips (only kidding) say that it may have helped with power , burned more gas and 20 cents a gallon gas at that. I say tell them boys or girls at Superchip to pick up a book and get an education.
> 
> I believe if you looked at a dyno print out of the chip it raised the HP and torque across the band then dropped out fast. For towing you should be shifting the curve downward. Look at the Titan motor vs Chevy. Peak torque for Titan is 3600, Chevy is 4000. Titan can pullllllllll!
> 
> ...


Mike......

You forgot one thing..............

He who has the most toys, wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good perspective!

Tim


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Glad you had a safe trip and a good time.

I don't want to cause a war here, my concern is safety. I would be completely shocked if you were to get individual axle weights with your truck and trailer ready to go; gear, fuel, people, etc. and were under the truck's GVWR. Campingfan said it, 1/2 tons hit GVW ratings long before their GCW ratings, he's got the numbers to prove it as do I. Our Yukon's GCWR is 13k, we are a full 2k under that, 1600 under the tow rating and right at the truck's GVW. If you are that close to your GCWR then I suspect you are well past the truck's GVW.

Again, not trying to start an argument here, I'm just really concerned about safety when it comes to towing.

Mike


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## jeff28rsds (Jul 16, 2005)

The trailer stopped just fine. I'm a real defensive driver... I watch the road real close w/ 3 little ones in the TV. I also check the Electric brakes, and adjust to 'that perfect roll stop' almost every trip.









I do not have a tranny cooler. How hard are they to put in? Can I do it myself?











Highlander96 said:


> Thanks for the notes!!!! Hope you had a great trip!!!!
> 
> How did the trailer stop?
> 
> ...


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## jeff28rsds (Jul 16, 2005)

I'm open to all discussions. I'm glad people post the items to be concerned about here. Had I known what I know now, I'd be driving a different TV. thanks for all the input from everyone.

Now, Here are the weights with a full tank of gas, all kids, toys, drinking water, everytying needed, no turning back for anything, we're on our way down. ( I only let DW put in a single pkg of hot-dogs in the fridge just in case...Put it that way).

Tahoe
Axle 1 - 3,000
Axle 2 - 3680

TT
Axle 3- 6020

Now, I'm still new to all this, so help me along here. 
The Tahoe manul we have lists a max LBs 6,900lbs A Max combined of 13,000 Lbs. So we are close, (real close) but not over...right?? I'm at work and may need to double check some things. I have an email of the basics I sent myself to have data onhand.
What I did not know is that there were ratings for both front and rear axles. I'll check into that tonight. Thaks for the tip there. So much to learn. The good news in all of this was that it felt very responsive, felt safe, drove well, stopped very well, and went up the 6% grades (althought shorter) with what I think is acceptable performance. Our usuall haul times are 2-3hrs w/ a few 6hr trips tossed in. This was our first long haul. Anything anyone has to add is very welcome. I thought I was very safe....But I now know the fundamentals of TV requirments and will be doing a bigger TV when the lease is due in 15 months.



camping479 said:


> Glad you had a safe trip and a good time.
> 
> I don't want to cause a war here, my concern is safety. I would be completely shocked if you were to get individual axle weights with your truck and trailer ready to go; gear, fuel, people, etc. and were under the truck's GVWR. Campingfan said it, 1/2 tons hit GVW ratings long before their GCW ratings, he's got the numbers to prove it as do I. Our Yukon's GCWR is 13k, we are a full 2k under that, 1600 under the tow rating and right at the truck's GVW. If you are that close to your GCWR then I suspect you are well past the truck's GVW.
> 
> ...


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## drose (Jul 26, 2005)

Glad to hear you had a great experience with the Tahoe and that TT. I personally had the same the same setup, I still have the Tahoe but my wife drives it now. I wouldn't recomend towing a 28ft TT with the Tahoe. I didn't have any power problems but only towed it a couple of times and that was too many. I believe it all comes down to wheel base. The tahoe in my opinion and using the useful calculator on this site it just to short. I know people do it and haven't had any problems and I didn't either the first 2 times it was the third trip coming home down I-40 and that made a believer out of me.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

> ( I only let DW put in a single pkg of hot-dogs in the fridge just in case...Put it that way).










That's pretty funny, you sound like me.

Look on the driver's side door, there is a GVW rating, should be right by the axle ratings, that's the max the truck can weigh according to GM.

If you've got the tow package then you have a transmission cooler, not a very big one but you have one. Changing that out is not a big deal.


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## Humpty (Apr 20, 2005)

If your axles have the same rating as my 04 'Burb, they are 3200 Front and 4000 Rear.

Did you weigh TV alone? If so, you can see how well (or not) your hitch is distributing the weight.


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

I'll chime in here since I tow with a 1/2 ton pickup. I don't agree with the blanket statements made above about the inadequacy of 1/2 ton tow vehicles -- and I have numbers to prove it too!

We packed up for an 8 day Florida camping trip a few weeks ago. The most stuff we've put into the TV and OB to date; five people and five bikes to boot. Stuffed with stuff! Twenty miles down the interstate I pulled off and weighed everything.

Front GAWR: 3925; weighed: 3320
Rear GAWR: 4000; weighed: 3640
GCWR: 13,000; weighed: 12520

We were within the limits towing our 26RS. Close, but within the limits. We had our 19 year old with us and all his stuff, but most all other trips will only be 4 of us. I would have loved to get a diesel, but I couldn't justify the extra cost, knowing that I wasn't going to be hauling a 5er any time soon. My primary consideration was the fact that this vehicle would be my daily driver for a 52 mile-a-day commute, and 95% of my miles will NOT be towing a trailer. If I don't drive over 65, I get about 18.5 mpg on average commuting to work, and its a 4x4 to boot!. No way would I get anywhere close to that with a 2500 gasser either.

Moral of the story is that yes, 1/2 ton vehicles can be effective, efficient towing vehicles.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Agreed, 1/2 ton trucks make capable tow vehicles when used within their limits, we tow with one ourselves.

I still stand by that most of us with standard 1/2 ton trucks are very near or over our GVW ratings, regardless of axle ratings, GCWR, etc.

Mike


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## kellydavid (Jun 14, 2006)

Wow, a discussion about 1/2 tons and trailer weight and it has remained civil!

Now that is why I love this forum....

Kelly


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Pretty great, isn't it Kelly?!








You gotta love Outbackers!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## jeff28rsds (Jul 16, 2005)

Yeah, I'm still a newbie on this TV/TT and truck type stuff. It's been a real education. Again, thanks for everyone who posted.



kellydavid said:


> Wow, a discussion about 1/2 tons and trailer weight and it has remained civil!
> 
> Now that is why I love this forum....
> 
> Kelly


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Jeff,

Think we forgot to answer you trans cooler question. If you have the ability it is an easy install. I ask though that you don't cut the lines and install rubber. Rubber will not last!

Search Google you will find millions. One with very high recommendation is Long Tru Cool, or something like that.


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## jeff28rsds (Jul 16, 2005)

Cool, thanks. Do they have coolers that come w/ a temp & gage for inside the cab? I'll assume they do. 
Mybe it's just time for a real TV.

(My buddy told me this :You need to get a real truck....harharhar).











NJMikeC said:


> Jeff,
> 
> Think we forgot to answer you trans cooler question. If you have the ability it is an easy install. I ask though that you don't cut the lines and install rubber. Rubber will not last!
> 
> Search Google you will find millions. One with very high recommendation is Long Tru Cool, or something like that.


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

From what I've read on the subject, you have to buy the whole new instrument panel that includes the tranny guage.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

A new cluster is an option, that's how I got our guage. I bought the cluster and sent it with the old one to a company that reset the mileage so there is no discrepancy.

The other is an aftermarket guage which there are many and there are a couple of different ways of installing them. I don't have any experience with installing but I think there is a test port that a sender can be installed in and another way is to put a "T" in the line from the trans to the cooler.

Mike


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## bweiler (Sep 20, 2005)

GoVols said:


> I'll chime in here since I tow with a 1/2 ton pickup. I don't agree with the blanket statements made above about the inadequacy of 1/2 ton tow vehicles -- and I have numbers to prove it too!
> 
> We packed up for an 8 day Florida camping trip a few weeks ago. The most stuff we've put into the TV and OB to date; five people and five bikes to boot. Stuffed with stuff! Twenty miles down the interstate I pulled off and weighed everything.
> 
> ...


Seems like with gas going higher and higher - some educated, safe decisions could save a lot of gas $$ for those of us who only tow 5-10% of the time. Good point.


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

The trans temp gauge can be installed on a "A" pillar pod with a electric sending unit tapped into the test port of the transmission. Very easy to install. I got the parts to do it in my old TV from Jegs. (www.jegs.com)

Gary


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## jeff28rsds (Jul 16, 2005)

Thanks Gary! Appreciate the info. Just what I needed.
J



Fire44 said:


> The trans temp gauge can be installed on a "A" pillar pod with a electric sending unit tapped into the test port of the transmission. Very easy to install. I got the parts to do it in my old TV from Jegs. (www.jegs.com)
> 
> Gary


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