towing with chevy 4.8

[brown_one]

i am looking at trading trucks. found a great deal on a chevy 4x4 crew cab with the small v8. my concern is how it will tow my boat. the boat loaded im around 3000lb. anyone with the 4.8 have feedback on towing with it?

 

[Knightgang]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

In my opinion, 3000# is nothing for a full size truck with a V-8. You may notice the weight a little on takeoff, but nothing significant. Stopping should not be an issue and the ride while cruising, I dought you will know hte boat is back there...

 

[boat1010]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

It's hard to say without knowing some of the details. Do you tow it far? Hills? I have a half ton 350 Chevy that I sometimes tow my boat with, granted mine is a little bigger, about 4,000 lbs loaded, but it is quite a load. I really know it's back there. The trailer has surge brakes and without those it would really be quite a chore to tow. Brown_0ne you never mentioned if you have brakes on the trailer or not. I guess if you are not towing it too far and not lots of hills and have trailer brakes it should be fine. It just feels so much secure when I tow with the 99 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. I couldn't believe the difference.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

Towing ability is less about engine size and more about axle ratio. A bigger engine with an incorrect axle ratio will not tow as well as a smaller engine with the correct axle ratio. With that size boat the 4.8 will not be an issue nor will braking if you mind what you are doing. Towing performance is all about what "you" expect, not what someone else feels is necessary. Heck, 90% of the folks that frequent this forum will lead you to believe you need a dually diesel to tow a row boat. See if the seller will let you tow your boat a short distance. If he won't I would wonder why.

 

[Philster]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

You need to check for specific ratings on that vehicle (check the driver door jamb sticker), but it is highly unlikely that a V8 pickup truck w/ auto trans and 4wd would have a tow rating below 5000 lbs.

Don't forget to add in junk and fuel, plus trailer, into the total.

Check the door jamb on drivers side for this: GVWR and tell us what that number is.

Tow ratings are affected by trans type, frame strength, brake equipment, tire/wheel size, rear axle ratio (higher numerically tows more than the lower numeric counterparts, because these higher numeric gears are "shorter" gears) and other factors.

Always...ALWAYS get a Heavy Duty trans cooler. ALWAYS!

re: gear ratios If two trucks are equipped identically, and the only difference is that one has a 3.55 rear gear and the other has a 3.96 rear, the 3.96 is going to have a tow rating at least a few hundred pounds more than the 3.55, and it could be even more than few hundred pounds. For example, a 12-speed bike has 1st as it 'shortest' gear in the rear, but it is the highest numerically. It's the "easiest" gear on your engine/legs.

 

[boat1010]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

I agree with Silvertip.. A lot of people tow with the smaller vehicles, and they do a very good job with it. I just wanted you to be aware of some of the things you should be looking at. Good luck with it.

 

[timdan94]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

My sisters truck has the 4.8 with 3.73 axles in it and she tows a two horse gooseneck horse trailer with it without problems. She tows all over pa with that truck and has never had a problem yet. My dad has a sierra with the 4.8 in it and the higher gearing. 3.23 or something like that and it tows 3000lbs easily granted you do have to give it a little more rpm going up hills than I'd like to see but it does it with out problems. The newer 4.8s are something like 285hp and 295-300ftlb of torque.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

Towing ability is less about engine size and more about axle ratio. A bigger engine with an incorrect axle ratio will not tow as well as a smaller engine with the correct axle ratio. With that size boat the 4.8 will not be an issue nor will braking if you mind what you are doing. Towing performance is all about what "you" expect, not what someone else feels is necessary. Heck, 90% of the folks that frequent this forum will lead you to believe you need a dually diesel to tow a row boat. See if the seller will let you tow your boat a short distance. If he won't I would wonder why.

Aint that the truth! Although 90% may be a little high......

 

[brown_one]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

thanks for the replies. i was concerned because is used to have a f150 with the 302 and it struggled going up hills towing a 24ft pontoon. i looked it up and the 94 302 was only rated at 195hp. most of the time i would be towing it just a few miles but twice a year we make a trip to table rock. its hilly and about a 70 mile drive. trailer does have surge brakes.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

Towing your pontoon was an issue because you are essentially towing a barn door through the wind and as such wind resistance, not the load was the issue. My S10 crew cab with a 4.3 v6 towed my Alumacraft Navigator and a weeks load of vacation stuff with absolutely no effort. The 4.8 with a 3000# load won't even breath hard.

 

[woosterken]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

i pull that much or a little more with my F150 4X4 and it only has the 4.9 L in line 6 and she dose just fine

woosterken

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

4.8 is a great motor- i put over 300,000 trouble free miles on 2000 Silverado1500- pulled trailers great .

 

[caseywcooper]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

Alright, here's the skinny on the 4.8 cc with 3.23 with g80. My previous truck was a 2006 z71 4x4 with 4.10 rear end, i live in california and tow from the high desert to Laughlin/Parker. My 5.3 with 4.10's would pull uphill in overdrive at 80 mph like the trailer (21 foot commander i/o) wasn't even there, my wife got a ticket passing a diesel on the way to parker going uphill. My 08 with 4.8 and 3.23 rear is a complete dog in comparison. It get's the job done, it just doesn't like to. Has anyone put 3.73's in this truck? I'm curious to know because I have to go up the cajon pass in 3 rather than D. Any input is much appreciated.

 

[caseywcooper]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

also, what rear gear do I need to acheive this?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

Old Thread...You should start your own.

 

[iop]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

A little research seems to show that:
if you have a "light duty" 4x4 with 4.8 your attention is paying off.
The MAX was about 5K... BUT thats with the 5.3.
If your "loaded" means 3000# includes tralier/gas/supplies you should be good even with the 4.3. Once you are in spec I would not worry about anything else with regards to trucks ability... it will be what it will be.

 

[Leeworthy23]

Re: towing with chevy 4.8

As long as you have a class 3 hitch, or even a 2 for that matter, you will have no problems towing the boat. You can easily tow up to 9900lbs,. 5000lbs and less you will have no problems. The 4.8 is a great motor and has plenty of umph to do what you need it to do.