I was reminded why I own a diesel this week.

patooyee · Aug 5, 2016

We went on a small vacation to Cherokee, NC this week. We decided to bring our dogs which meant that we had to take my wife's 2013 Tahoe and put all the luggage on the roof to make space for our two labs in the back. I had never towed anything with her 5.3L before but didn't figure that a 4-seat Polaris Ranger on small trailer would be a big deal. (Combined total of about 4000 lbs.) So I brought it along to explore the Wayehutta ORV Trails a little while we were there. MAN was I WRONG!!!! That 5.3L was HATING life!!!! Best mpg the entire time was 7.3, most of the time around 6.9. It had ZERO power to pull any hills, 5000 rpm on every single one!

Maybe I'm just a towing elitist, but it really made me appreciate my Cummins sitting in the driveway at home. It wouldn't have even noticed that ATV back there and would have got 17mpg the entire time.

Worst part was that Wayehutta sucked. We got bored within 2 hours, had covered nearly all the trails, and left.

We added a load of firewood to the trailer on the way home. I think that poor Tahoe was literally about to die after that. I can't believe that anyone would consider using one of these 5.3L's to tow an actual full-size rig!

So this is just my friendly notice. Friends don't let friends tow with gassers. Just say no!

I still want Ford to go back and do a joint venture to produce a limited run of Excursions with 5.9L Cummins engines in them! I would jizz my pants! I told my wife on the way home that, if I ever won the lotto, I was going straight to the shop to build her one.

onepieceatatime · Aug 5, 2016

Re:

Something ain't right. My 5.3 loved pulling my 1ton jeep on an 18ft trailer. Typically got 10mpg and best tank was 12 when I realized that it did better if I just left it out of overdrive. I'd still have it if it wasn't for the damn 4l60.

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bbone · Aug 5, 2016

I wonder if the many different models of gm trucks have anything to do with it: 2wd vs 4wd, gears, trans, suspension, wheelbase etc...

muddinmetal · Aug 5, 2016

patooyee said:
We went on a small vacation to Cherokee, NC this week. We decided to bring our dogs which meant that we had to take my wife's 2013 Tahoe and put all the luggage on the roof to make space for our two labs in the back. I had never towed anything with her 5.3L before but didn't figure that a 4-seat Polaris Ranger on small trailer would be a big deal. (Combined total of about 4000 lbs.) So I brought it along to explore the Wayehutta ORV Trails a little while we were there. MAN was I WRONG!!!! That 5.3L was HATING life!!!! Best mpg the entire time was 7.3, most of the time around 6.9. It had ZERO power to pull any hills, 5000 rpm on every single one!

Maybe I'm just a towing elitist, but it really made me appreciate my Cummins sitting in the driveway at home. It wouldn't have even noticed that ATV back there and would have got 17mpg the entire time.

Worst part was that Wayehutta sucked. We got bored within 2 hours, had covered nearly all the trails, and left.

We added a load of firewood to the trailer on the way home. I think that poor Tahoe was literally about to die after that. I can't believe that anyone would consider using one of these 5.3L's to tow an actual full-size rig!

So this is just my friendly notice. Friends don't let friends tow with gassers. Just say no!

I still want Ford to go back and do a joint venture to produce a limited run of Excursions with 5.9L Cummins engines in them! I would jizz my pants! I told my wife on the way home that, if I ever won the lotto, I was going straight to the shop to build her one.

Had to be a 6 speed, not in tow haul with 3.08s or something is wrong

onepieceatatime · Aug 5, 2016

Re:

He's probably got some FBI bullet proof edition that weighs a **** ton.

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Shortbus · Aug 5, 2016

bbone said:
I wonder if the many different models of gm trucks have anything to do with it: 2wd vs 4wd, gears, trans, suspension, wheelbase etc...

muddinmetal said:
Had to be a 6 speed, not in tow haul with 3.08s or something is wrong

This, several are also geared 3.42, that's for low rpm cruising on interstate not riding back roads or doing much towing.

onepieceatatime · Aug 5, 2016

Re: Re: I was reminded why I own a diesel this week.

Shortbus said:
This, several are also geared 3.42, that's for low rpm cruising on interstate not riding back roads or doing much towing.

My 05 1500 had 3.42s and pulled great.

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jeeptj99 · Aug 5, 2016

i dont know why anyone would want to pull with a gasser. I love being able to accelerate going up mountains if i need to. My old Cummins gets 17 pulling my jeep on a 20' trailer. A 4wheeler trailer it wouldnt even notice back there.

Zjman · Aug 5, 2016

Thats why i love my 7.3. Good and reliable, i will never own a gasser again

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scjustin · Aug 5, 2016

It sucks pulling with a gasser after your used to towing with a diesel. I could never go back to a gasser.

patooyee · Aug 5, 2016

It's a 2013 5.3L 2wd w/6l80e, was in tow-haul mode the entire time, and much of the time I was using manual-shift mode to get it to drop gears when I needed it to. I think the only axle ratio available for this model is 3.08?

patooyee · Aug 5, 2016

Just for the record, I've towed the same trailer / ATV with my 2015 Ram 5.7L Hemi, 8-speed, 4wd company truck that has 3.55 rear end and it isn't much better than the Tahoe was.

And again, same trailer / ATV w/my personal 2005 Dodge Ram 5.9L Cummins 4wd, NV5600. That truck will ****ing rip this trailer apart with ease, swing it around like a lasso.

onepieceatatime · Aug 5, 2016

Re:

Might be a dumb question but don't this have DOD? Could it be stuck in 4 cylinder mode? No reason that truck should've been working that hard.

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lowbudgetjunk · Aug 5, 2016

I always here these claims of getting 17-22 mpg towing with blah. When I am pulling 7k pounds I usually get 12-13 in my 7.3 auto. I run around 70-75mph. I usually get 18-19 unloaded.

That being said, last time I pulled with a gasser, it had low 3 gears and it liked the rev limiter. Got in the single digits towing.

patooyee · Aug 5, 2016

Re:

onepieceatatime said:
Might be a dumb question but don't this have DOD? Could it be stuck in 4 cylinder mode? No reason that truck should've been working that hard.

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I actually thought about that. It has an option to view when it is in V4 mode on the dash. It never left V8 mode.

muddinmetal · Aug 5, 2016

jeeptj99 said:
i dont know why anyone would want to pull with a gasser. I love being able to accelerate going up mountains if i need to. My old Cummins gets 17 pulling my jeep on a 20' trailer. A 4wheeler trailer it wouldnt even notice back there.

An 8.1 chevy will pull a house down!!! Way more useable power right off idle and more rpm to play with. Mileage sucks, but they are stout

muddinmetal · Aug 5, 2016

patooyee said:
It's a 2013 5.3L 2wd w/6l80e, was in tow-haul mode the entire time, and much of the time I was using manual-shift mode to get it to drop gears when I needed it to. I think the only axle ratio available for this model is 3.08?

Nothing is like a diesel, I just think it being that bad seems off. A non DoD 3.73 4l65 truck will pull 5k easily

onepieceatatime · Aug 5, 2016

Re: Re: I was reminded why I own a diesel this week.

muddinmetal said:
An 8.1 chevy will pull a house down!!! Way more useable power right off idle and more rpm to play with. Mileage sucks, but they are stout

And you don't see threads where people have to dump thousands of dollars in them to keep them running. Put gas in oil in it and roll on!

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patooyee · Aug 5, 2016

I'm 100% certain there's nothing wrong with the truck. I think it probably has a 3.08 rear end and I'm just used to pulling with 800+ ft/lbs on tap. I probably won't ever have to pull with the Tahoe again. One of my labs is old and this was probably his last road trip.

Once he is gone we're staying with one dog and he can fit in the back of the crew cab with my daughter, the luggage can go in the bed, and the Cummins can yank the trailer around all I want.

patooyee · Aug 5, 2016

Re: Re: I was reminded why I own a diesel this week.

onepieceatatime said:
And you don't see threads where people have to dump thousands of dollars in them to keep them running. Put gas in oil in it and roll on!

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I wish they didn't pull the plug on them.