waddisme

Just curious if that is comfortable enough to tow vette on a trailer. From what I can tell capacity is 7,000 lbs, which would be right at limit of all my stuff. But that is what my Tundra says and it doesn't sweat it at all. It would be in an Express conversion van with towing package if that matters.

Black89Z51

I towed 7000 lbs with a Ford 4.6L. Once. And never again.

I know it's a completely different truck and engine, but the principle is the same. I will say that it will tow it, but your fuel mileage will be in the 7-8 range and large hills are going to be very frustrating. Also keeping up with traffic at 65-70 mph will be a huge pain.

After that trip, I just went ahead and bought a diesel truck.

naschmitz

Tow all the time with my Silverado 1500 extended cab with the 5.3L V8. Enclosed all aluminum trailer at 2450lbs, Corvette at 3110 lbs, fuel, tools, spares, 2nd set of wheels no problem up to 70mph. 7500lb tow rating on the truck.

Above 70mph fuel mileage takes a dump as the truck is in 3rd gear instead of 4th. A six speed tranny would be nice.

Last C5

I've towed a couple times with a 5.3 Chevy and I'll avoid it if I can. That motor is working all the time just to come down the freeway let alone over the mountain passes.

flink

I tow with a Chevy Express 3500 based motorhome. It has the 6.0L engine I think.

It won't be winning anything at Pikes Peak, but it does OK. It definitely needs the weight distributing hitch. The only issue I'm seeing is inadequate engine cooling: the needle gets pretty worrisome on any sort of grade. It's OK around Norcal which is pretty flat but if I ever plan to head inland, I'll need to do something about it first.

drivinhard

open trailer w/ vette, it does ok. pulling an enclosed with the vette, it does it, but there's no real reserve power.

Bill Dearborn

Have been towing with my 5.3 Tahoe for 10 years. Just changed the plugs for the first time today. They still looked good with 88K miles on them. Trailer with car and 4 tires in the tire rack weighs right about 5500 lbs. Throw in all the crap I carry in the back and you might get another 400 to 500 lbs. Have some steep hills in my area and it has no problem. I even live on a steep hill. You do need the 3:73 axle ratio. A 3:42 will not hack it. The newer ones have the much improved six speed transmission and do much better. Don't know about the Express Van but the Tahoe/Suburban 1500 series does a credible job towing. I have seen people at the track that use the Tahoe Hybrid for towing as well. Weight limit is a little lower but they say it works well. Make sure you look at your Gross Combined Weight Rating not just the tow rating. GCWR will give you a more accurate picture of how the truck will do with the axle ratio it has in it. I think my total weight running down the road is right around 11.5K pounds which is less than the 12K GCWR. The steep back road to the Glen from Montour Falls has a 30 mph speed limit and I have to be careful not to blow by the Hospital there by going up the hill at 45.

Bill

c4cruiser

The owner's manual will have tables that shows the maximum towing capacity of the van based on the series, and final drive gear ratio. The tables also will show the maximum weight the van can handles and that will include the towing weight.

Keep in mind that the weight of the conversion package, occupants (buddies, wife and/or girlfriend, kids, the dog, etc), cargo, trailer tongue weight, and anything else you load in the van or on the trailer all have to be factored into what that GCWR will be for the van you select

The towing package is a help as it will get you a trans cooler, HD springs/shocks and possibly a lower gear in the diff. The 5.3 should work as long as you don't go much over 80% of the maximum GCWR.

You didn't say what type of trailer you are considering, but that has to be a factor too. Open trailers will weigh much less than an enclosed trailer. Enclosed trailers will have more wind resistance but provide good security. Towing an enclosed trailer will pretty much require a good weight distribution hitch.

I tow a 20' enclosed trailer with my '08 Silverado extended cab 4x4 with the 6.0L motor (367HP, 390 ft-lbs TQ) and the HD 4-speed auto. This truck is rated for 8500 lbs max towing weight and 14K total weight. My trailer with my '87 cope loaded weighs about 6800 lbs just short of the max trailer weight of 7000 lbs. I use a Curt 12K WD hitch with the factory receiver. On the flats, it will easily tow the trailer and can accelerate "fairly" quickly to 70+ MPH. Average mileage is in the 9-10 range when towing at 60-65.

GettReal

I have been towing my vette for 4 years with my Yukon 5.3. I pull an open trailer (all steel) and I usually have at least one extra set of wheels on the tire rack. My truck usually has several hundreds pounds of gear (tools, jack, pop up canopy, parts box, and sometimes my pit bike). on flat roads or downhills, you seriously don't even know its there. On uphills, depending on the angle it will kick down a gear every once in awhile. I think the steepest hills I go up are on the way to Watkins Glen and there, you can tell its only a 5.3

Hook up your trailer brakes and even with braking you can't tell its there. A friend of mine had a 20foot enclosed that he pulled with his 5.3 and although it didn't ever seem to be an issue for him, I think that might be just a tad over the comfortable limit of the 5.3

gbvette62

I can't speak to how a Chevy van with the 5.3 will tow, but I've been towing with 4 different 5.3 Silverados, for 12 years now. I tow a box trailer with parts in it to swap meets and shows. Generally, the trailer weighs around 5,000-6,000 pounds.

My 00 and 03 Z71 extended cabs, with 5.3, 3.73 rears and 4x4; towed ok. Milegae was around 10, when towing. My 07 LTZ extended cab, 3.73 rear, 4x4 4 speed auto and 5.3 with cylinder deactivation; towed better and got around 11-12 mpg towing.

I now have a 2011 LTZ extended cab, with 3.42 rear, 6 speed auto and the cylinder deactivation 5.3. It's rated at about 9,000 pounds towing, and pulls like a champ. I recently towed a box trailer with a 65 Corvette vintage racer in it, (along with tools, spares, tires, etc.) across NY, from Watkins Glen to Kingston NY. The weight of it was over 7,000. I was following a friend who was towing another Corvette vintage racer, in a similar trailer, but with a 6.0ltr Silverado 2500. I had a little trouble keeping up with him on some of the hills in the Catskills, but overall, it was no problem.

Strangely, the 2011's gas mileage isn't any better than the 4 speed auto/3.73 combination in the 07?

acrace

I've towed with a 2000 Tahoe since '04. Probably about 20k miles worth of towing. C5Z or C6Z on an open aluminum trailer. Usually a couple of sets of wheels/tires and support equipment in the Tahoe; luggage goes in the car that's on the trailer.

Typically I get around 10 mpg going 70 to 75. 12 mpg at 60 miles per hour.

Haven't had any reliability issues. Just don't overheat the transmission.

Being in Michigan and towing around Ohio, Indiana, and the like, I don't have the mountains that some of you out west would have.

davidfarmer

Open trailer fine, enclosed no. My 6.0 vortec stinks also with my enclosed trailer

AU N EGL

my silverado 1500 with 24' enclosed with load leaving hitch

It works OK. just keep the speeds to 50-60 mph. watch for 18 wheels passing.

11 to 11.5 mpg, on the flats or up & down mountains ( 3rd gear)

Lawdogg

I tow with a Colorado 5.3 and 4.10 diff. Open steel trailer, vette, and gear about 6000#s. At 70 mph about 12 mpg. At 80 mph about 10 mpg.

69427

2005 Silverado 5.3 AT and 20' Featherlite. Tows well, 14-12 mpg at 55-70 mph.



A couple dozen times up and down the pass at Monteagle (north of Chattanooga) with no problems.

stevensa

I have a 2010 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 4x4 with the 5.3, 6-speed auto, and 3.08 gears. The truck with me, full tank of fuel, and bed full of tools weighed in at 6000 lbs, open deck steel trailer with a c5z and a spare set of wheels/tires weighed 5500 lbs so 11,500lbs total. No problems towing at all, I get 11-14mpg depending on speed/hills/etc. On a recent trip I got 13.2mpg towing from Houston Texas to Chicagoland with the cruise set at 76mph.

Supercharged111

OP never specified what year 5.3. They don't make great low low torque in stock form, but they're all plagued with huge amounts of torque management/brake torque reduction. My friend's 2007 4 door 5.5ft bed truck seems to drag 5000-6000# of crap on my open deck just fine and he now has some 33" tall tires on the thing. I thought it would lag a lot more than it does, and we're up at 6200' elevation. OP never mentioned what kind of trailer he'd be pulling or the gears in the TV. I'm old school, still rocking the 5.7L Vortec. Haven't hauled a complete car since I too added 33" tires, stronger springs, and bigger rear end with 4.10s. At sea level with a snowmobile in the back it was faster than up here empty, so it's no slouch. I've got headers and a tune, 2 items that would really wake up any 5.3 too.

SouthernSon

Problems I ran into with the gas 1/2 ton chevy;

equalizer hitch really put too much of a load on the front end/tires.
when needing to pass a slower vehicle had to wait until I had a big opening in the left lane. (stuck behind slower right lane traffic a lot).
gas mileage suffered tremendously with 24' enclosed and couldn't keep up with traveling buds.

a light, open aluminum trailer without much stuff in the back of truck might work out OK with gas but ........

I bought a 3/4 ton diesel GMC and I can load up as much as I want, tow as fast as I care to, and can pass anytime at the drop of a hat. Mileage is really good with my open trailer (sold the enclosed) at 70mph (14.7 mpg).

Painrace

2012 Avlanche with 5.3. If I was racing I would have a different tow vehicle but I am retired from competition. The car and trailer has been from Spartanburg, SC to Detroit, VIR and Autobahn in Joliet. Yea, going up Saluda mountain on I-26 it gets down to about 50 MPH but so what? I get 9-10 MPH when towing and again, so what. Avalanche has 6 speed transmission. I tow at 70-80 MPH! I only use Mobile 1 and change ofter. Will service transmission at 30,000 miles. The majority of the time I am not towing and love the Avalanche. I still take the tool box that we used racing (my guess is 1,000#) plus extra tires and wheels. My guess is I am at the 14,000# capacity of the vehicle. I have a properly installed equalizing hitch. Key word here is properly installed!

Just my 2 cents!

Jim

SouthernSon

Yeah, but what do you know? It is only because of that aftermarket horn that you can get down the road.