6.0 with ML70 transmission and 3.08 rear.....ok for towing 6500lbs?
- Thread starter Jaybrezy
- Start date
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Frizlefrak
Well-known member
1500 or 2500 Sierra? Either way, you should be fine. The 3.73 will tow better in the mountains, but as long as you don't abuse it, you won't tear up the truck.
lavarock1210
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
- Posts
- 483
I have not been able to find the specs on a ML70 transmission.
With an 09 I would guess you have a 6 speed transmission. With a light trailer I doubt the 3.73 will help much as you have gears to keep you in the power band.
Not sure how a 3.73 will help in winds or trucks passing though.
With an 09 I would guess you have a 6 speed transmission. With a light trailer I doubt the 3.73 will help much as you have gears to keep you in the power band.
Not sure how a 3.73 will help in winds or trucks passing though.
Arctic_fox
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2015
- Posts
- 34
This one I can help with, I have a 2011 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3 engine, trailering package and 6 speed auto-manual transmission, factory gearing was 3.08 I upgraded to 3.73, I also added an extra leaf to the springs and upgraded my brakes and shocks to the same ones used on a 2500, I know its not quite the same truck but similar enough to share, now keep in mind I only tow a 18' TT that's pretty light, Namely about 4000-5000 pounds fully loaded with all my crap in it and black/grey/fresh tanks/propane tanks empty.
That said pre upgrade it could haul my TT pretty well, However it slowed down to low 50s on steep hills but otherwise not a major problem, The wind resistance wasn't too bad IMO but I'm used to wind as a truck driver so that could be part of it.
Post upgrade however the engine doesn't strain nearly as much and stays at 65 on steep hills with lower overall RPMs, it tows much smoother and doesn't feel bogged down nearly as bad, It also gets upto speed much faster and easier and overall I got around 5 or 6 more miles per gallon while towing at the cost of 3 or 4 highway miles when empty but gaining the same in town driving with overall smoother handling as the 3.08 gears in 2005+ GM trucks tends to hesitate and jerk a little, good trade IMO.
Adding the extra leaf and upgrading the shocks/brakes improved this even more to the point I hardly know I have a trailer with me anymore on the rare occasions I haul anything, Now keep in mind even without the upgrades it towed just fine, the upgrades only made it tow smoother and handle better when towing or not.
Keep in mind though handling is all well and good but if you overload your truck or try to race up hills is when your going to run into problems most of the time, if I were you using a half ton always go for 15-25% less then max weight your truck and tires are rated for, and always over estimate your trailers weight by 1k as the gvwr rarely accounts for things like clothing, TP, food, dogs, propane, battery's or anything else you lug around, and add 500 pounds after that for each extra person you bring, And even this is conservative as hell.
This is important I have experience with this as a trucker, NEVER overload your tires because if something will give that's what goes out first more often then not, and take it from someone who's had it happen losing a steer tire when pulling a trailer doing 65 is not something you want to happen to you, best case if you know how to react you will end up on the side of the road, worst case you end up a news story, you can overload the truck and all that will happen usually is stripped transmissions or blown engines and extreme wear and tear on the various parts that are over stressed, not good but better then flipping the truck and trailer.
Hope this helps
That said pre upgrade it could haul my TT pretty well, However it slowed down to low 50s on steep hills but otherwise not a major problem, The wind resistance wasn't too bad IMO but I'm used to wind as a truck driver so that could be part of it.
Post upgrade however the engine doesn't strain nearly as much and stays at 65 on steep hills with lower overall RPMs, it tows much smoother and doesn't feel bogged down nearly as bad, It also gets upto speed much faster and easier and overall I got around 5 or 6 more miles per gallon while towing at the cost of 3 or 4 highway miles when empty but gaining the same in town driving with overall smoother handling as the 3.08 gears in 2005+ GM trucks tends to hesitate and jerk a little, good trade IMO.
Adding the extra leaf and upgrading the shocks/brakes improved this even more to the point I hardly know I have a trailer with me anymore on the rare occasions I haul anything, Now keep in mind even without the upgrades it towed just fine, the upgrades only made it tow smoother and handle better when towing or not.
Keep in mind though handling is all well and good but if you overload your truck or try to race up hills is when your going to run into problems most of the time, if I were you using a half ton always go for 15-25% less then max weight your truck and tires are rated for, and always over estimate your trailers weight by 1k as the gvwr rarely accounts for things like clothing, TP, food, dogs, propane, battery's or anything else you lug around, and add 500 pounds after that for each extra person you bring, And even this is conservative as hell.
This is important I have experience with this as a trucker, NEVER overload your tires because if something will give that's what goes out first more often then not, and take it from someone who's had it happen losing a steer tire when pulling a trailer doing 65 is not something you want to happen to you, best case if you know how to react you will end up on the side of the road, worst case you end up a news story, you can overload the truck and all that will happen usually is stripped transmissions or blown engines and extreme wear and tear on the various parts that are over stressed, not good but better then flipping the truck and trailer.
Hope this helps
