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Do you think the 2000 cc...*edit...brake controller wiring issue*

Avery4jc

Avery4jc

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will have any problem towing my K10 on a flat bed trailer? As most of you know I'm heading off for Oceano Dunes which is about 150 miles away for two weekends in July and the plan is to tow my k10 on a flat bed...

The crew cab has a big block as well as the 4L80E and 4.10's so do you all think it'll be ok? I figure just let it do its thing all the way to kettleman city (about 80 miles all flat) and then after that when the hills come just keep it in 3rd and out of OD...I've never towed anything before so I'm a noob! Any tips?
 
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I don't see why not , I have towed over 5000 pounds with a 305 and 3.08 gears . Your rig with a big block , big tranny , and low gears is like a dream come true to me .

You do have the proper equipment ( ball , hitch , sway control or equalization , brakes etc ) , and a good cooler on your tranny ?
 
Yeah it runs auxillary coolers for all the fluids up front (mounted in front of the radiator)...
 
That's what that truck was built for. You will have no problems as long as you load it right, tie it down properly, and double check all connections, safety chains, trailer brakes, etc. prior to rolling out.

One other thing you should do is test drive about 10 miles (preferably in an area with the most hills) prior to the actual trip. Insuring the trailer doesn't start swaying going down hills and that the brakes are working properly. I do this before every trip, regardless of how many times I have towed this combo.

Oh yeah, since you haven't ever towed before, if the trailer does start to sway, DO NOT hit the truck brakes! Use the trailer brakes to stop the trailer from swaying.
 
Those are some good tips...I figured I would be doing some test runs before we left even though this is the test run for the possibility of me towing my k10 to Texas when it comes time to go to college in August.
 
More than enough truck for that kind of weight. If loaded properly, it should pull like it's not even back there- at least until you hit any significant grades. The 80e is designed to tow in OD, though I would leave it in D if in the hills like you are planning. The Vortec 454 has plenty of power, especially with the 4.10's, but you're probably going to see single digit MPG.

If you're planning on doing it regularly, improvements like overload bags in the back, as well as exhaust and intake improvements can improve your trucks performance under load. That being said, lots of guys tow more than that all of the time with rigs similar to yours that are bone stock.

1500 Miles should be no problem for that combo, let alone 150. I would invest in a good quality brake controller if you don't already have one. Also, make sure you're towing with a reciever hitch, lots of these IFS rigs have a hitch ball in the bumper, which isn't strong enough to handle heavier loads.

Take a short test run and dial in your controller, etc., and get a feel for how the truck is loaded. Don't be afraid to adjust your setup so that it pulls better. I had to pull a boat cross country once that didn't have enough tongue weight, and the sway was enough to get scary at times.
 
A test run will tell you a lot. make sure all your brakes are adjusted right. I run a prodigy controller, it works really well. they have a new one that is supposedly even better called the P3. Tongue weight is going to affect the way it pulls. if you get it right you will not have sway or bounce and it will stop straight. get it wrong and it can be a nightmare to pull.

your truck is more then capable. I pull my short bed on one tons on a 10K deck over with a 4.8 and 4L60E. I would love to have a 454 and 4L80E.
 
Yeah it already has an aftermarket receiver so don't worry...I wouldn't dream of hooking up a flat bed trailer and my truck to a ball on the bumper :)

Oh and its a federal truck so it is basically exempt from most of the Cali smog stuff...it has headers into dual cats into dual flowmasters as well as basically no smog equipment so its opened up plenty :wink1:


Ok so now it looks like I just need to look into some trailer brake controllers...



EDIT: I searched around and found the Prodigy P3 controller (not as expensive as I thought it would be)...

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=2749

So being that I'm a noob to trailering I was wondering....so these plug into the harness under the dash and after you get it setup as well as get the trailer wired up (I'm assuming it sends its signal through the harness in the back of the truck) when you hit the brakes in the truck it proportionally hits the brakes on the trailer?

That would be pretty nice as all the other vehicles we've owned with a trailer brake controller (1973 C20 'sub & 1975 Furd) had a box with the little slider lever and you had to reach down there to control the brakes...
 
Yes, the controller gets a brake signal from the brake switch when you apply the brakes. Once the controller gets the signal it applies the trailer brakes. The reason that people love the prodigy,intella-stop, and the P3 is that they are inertia sensitive. They sense how hard you hit the brakes by the amount of nose dive and apply more voltage as needed to your trailer brakes, effectively applying more and more braking power to them. Also with the controllers I mentioned you have a boost setting that is really nice. Once I set mine the first time, I never had to adjust it higher or lower, I just use the boost. When the trailer is empty I turn the boost off, With a light load I go to B2, etc..... The boost simply applies the brakes a little faster and harder.

Here are some decent prices on the controllers. I know it's ebay but they are dealers and boxes are new in box. Hard to beat the price too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tekonsha-P3-Brake-Control-90195-Rebate-20-00-included_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ50072QQihZ001QQitemZ110146261620QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TEKONSHA-90185-PRODIGY-TRAILER-BRAKE-CONTROLLER-NIB_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33570QQihZ009QQitemZ190127589291QQrdZ1
 
I bought my last prodigy on Ebay. no actual dealers would budge on their price.

just for the future Avery it is a Tekonsha prodigy or a Tekonsha P3. tekonsha is the manufacturer, they make a lot of different models.

your truck may be set up to plug it in under the dash or you may need additional wiring. post a vin number.
 
I was able to get the Draw-Tite Intella-Stop for about 10. less when I was looking for one. It is a Tokonsha Prodigy that is re-badged for Draw-Tite. Check it out as well. But yes, I would not go with anything other than one of those three personally.
 
ok thanks guys...as soon as my mom gets home I'll snag the vin # off the truck and post it up...

Also I'm going back and forth between building/buying/renting a trailer...for this first run to Pismo I'm thinking I would be better off renting one but I doubt somewhere like U-Haul has full blown flat beds with brakes...any other suggestions?
I was thinking about going to a place here in town that rents bobcats/tractors/etc. b/c they rent the flat beds with the equipment all the time so I figured they would be able to just rent me one of the trailers...
 
If your going to get a trailer eventually, better now that later. Every trailer will pull just a little different and your load will be positioned a little different on different trailer setups. Might as well get used to pulling your own if it's in the budget. If not, I'm not sure of anyone who has full deck trailers with electric brakes for rent. I rented a full deck aluminum with disc brakes from Ryder once. But they were mechanical brakes and they wouldn't rent me just the trailer. You had to pull their trailers with their trucks.
 
I would not build a trailer, unless you have someone who is willing to basically build it for you. With the price of steel and parts, you're going to have a hard time building one for the price you could buy one for. Building a flatbed is going to take many hours, more than just a day or two.

Good luck finding a rental trailer large enough to safely tow a fullsize truck. Most of the people who use rental trailers have to lie and say they're pulling a car, etc. It can be done, but it's not the right way to get the job done.

There are people towing their rigs with 7000 lb trailers that are 16-18' long, but that is right at the edge of overload with most fullsize rigs. You really should have at least an 18' long trailer that is rated to 10K if the trailer's main purpose is towing a fullsize rig. A 7K trailer can be had new for around $2500, but you're going to be closer to $3500 for a 10K.

Good trailer equipment may not always be the cheapest, but when you consider all of the liability involved, not to mention the risk of balling up your tow rig and trail rig at the same time, it's worth the investment.

If your CC has the factory towing package, you should be able to get the harness and make your brake controller a plug and play deal.
 
hmmm well thats not good news but I'm going to check around this weekend...the reason I'm still up in the air about it is b/c I'm not quite sure what my family has planned for school (this August)...My sister and I are going to be in Texas but she still doesn't drive and its looking like she won't so although they said I can still take both (mine as a toy while I'm there and the 2000 as the reliable daily transportation) I just don't know if its worth it....so anyways I'll look aorund this weekend and see if there is anywhere that can rent them that big to give it a whirl...

As far as building one goes I had mentioned earlier that I won't be doing it by myself...one of my friends from my church builds 1-2 trailers a week ranging from little trailers for local gardeners all the way up to his enclosed car trailer he uses for his el camino that he shows...(he has a sweet crew cab dually too :)) and he said that he'd be more than happy to help me out...
His idea was to do what he normally does and find an old trailer to steal the axles out of...rebuild them and then we can build w/e type of deck and dove-tail it for my needs...

Oh and I mentioned the controller to my dad and he said he'd be willing to split it so either way I think I'll get that P3 ordered in the next couple days...
 
Building a trailer is not necessarily difficult, assuming you have the fabrication know-how to do all of the work. It just is extremely time consuming, and I don't want you to underestimate the amount of labor involved and/or the amount of time your friend is going to have to help you. Frankly, I think it would take you the better part of a week, working at least 8-hours a day, to build a decent 10K trailer unless you had lots of help and one hell of a shop and equipment.

Carrying a truck, a dovetail is not necessary. I would build a 20-22' overall length trailer, dovetail is your choice, but I would integrate a good set of ramps and ramp storage into the thing. A 2 5/16 Coupler and minimum 5K lb axles with brakes would be mandatory, too, IMO. If building, I would also incorparate removable fenders into the scheme, too. Check out Redneck trailer supply, etc., and get an idea of pricing for the parts you're going to need.

Sounds to me like you'd be better off leaving your truck at home when you go to school, at least for awhile. You're probably not going to have a lot of time to mess with it anyway, and finding time to fix stuff may be difficult too. You'll enjoy it that much more when you return home for breaks and stuff. Besides, that CC is a pretty sweet rig.
 
bowtiepower00 said:
I would build a 20-22' overall length trailer.
Click to expand...

I'm geussing you meant a 20-22' overall deck length. if the entire trailer is 20' it will be really short. my deckovers deck is 18' and the tongue at least 4' and with my shortbed on it there isn't any room to adjust tongue weight. I basically drive it on until I have room to fold the ramps up. and I still have to use torsion bars on the hitch. my next trailer is going to have a 20' deck with 3-4' beaver tail.

You will never regret having more trailer, you will however run into situtations where you do not have a long enough trailer and you'll be pissed. I hauled a friend of mines regular cab longbed and it just fit, I had to load it backwards, same thing when I towed my dads fullsize van.
 
Ok guys help me out on this...after you suggested the P3 Brake Controller a few days later my boss at work mentioned wanting to get a brake controller for his 2500HD and asked me what I thought...I told him we had been discussing them and I had been doing some research and thought the P3 was a good overall-choice for what is currently on the market (and what we do at the shop)...so he handed me the card and said, "ok go get it and w/e else you need to install it"....

I was a little surprised but figured it'd give me some experience with it...I got it and the wiring harness...got it plugged in and mounted all nice and neat (has to be mounted so the sensors aren't out of wack) and it works beautifully....



Ok onto the problem at hand...I rented a 8x23 tandem axle car hauler for this up-coming weekend and my dad said that he'd buy the P3 just to have with the truck but also so we could start using it this weekend so I was excited about that...

We swung by the same shop I got the one for my work at, bought it as well as the wiring harness for a '99-'02 chevy pickup...I got home and there isn't anywhere to plug the wiring harness in under the dash!
I looked everywhere and can't find it...on my boss' '06 2500HD right under the dash there were three open slots and it just plugged right in...under the dash on our 2000 C2500 I can't find anything...Chas any ideas?

Here's a bunch of pics if it helps...

This is the wiring harness (the brown part plugs into the truck somewhere)...

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Thanks!
 
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