What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Future drivetrain plans, thoughts, questions.

4xcrazy

4xcrazy

3/4 ton status
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Posts
9,485
Reaction score
13
Location
Elma, Washington
I haven't done a ton of research on these ideas as of yet, been busy with a lot of house stuff at the moment, so bear with me please. :D

So here's the deal. The '05 half ton Avalanche, equipped with the stock 5.3/4L60e just is not what I feel it should be for the future plans we are seeking for this ride.

We're planning on buying a decent sized travel trailer, guessing mid 20 foot length. I really don't believe that size should be a problem with towing if setup correctly.

The issues I am having are the fact we are planning on doing ALOT of towing with it, like cross country touring with this thing, lots of miles and whatnot.

Concerns?

This engine was just rebuilt two years ago due to a failed lifter roller wheel chewing up the cam. Instead of just a cam & lifter replacement, we opted for a complete rebuild.

Even before the rebuild this engine just never seems "right" always making weird noises and idle issues, difficult to describe really, but tinkering with engines all of my adult life, and with this supposedly newer, better designed engine platform, I really don't feel this thing is running or working properly.

It's never had a piston slap issue before the rebuild, now it does pretty good. I will usually let it idle for a few minutes until it goes away before driving off with it, seems to do fine.

I call this the "Monday engine" to me, it's just not right.

The transmission? well. it too has already been rebuilt. This was caused from an overheat issue from a return trip to Arizona from SoCal area one year. We had the entire bed loaded up with luggage and the 4 of us in the truck, climbing through some of the hills, it was going in and out of converter lock up, overheated it and burnt up some clutches. Eh,, what's another $1500, right? :doah:

So I'm already certain that if we want to pull a decent sized trailer behind it, it would be beneficial to have the rear end regeared, which I had really planned on doing anyways due to it's somewhat seemingly low gears set for highway crusing. But I did have some other ideas I'm pondering and that's why I'm posting here, to get your thoughts and ideas.

SORRY !!! this is turning out to be a Fordum post... :D (just kidding Fordum)

Here are my thoughts.

This truck will be paid off later this year, we didn't really want another truck payment, so buying a truck that's more capable and easier to tow with is pretty much out of the question.

Since I don't like the engine in this thing as it is, and am getting to the point that I would just like to possibly swap it out for a brand new GM replacement, why not go with a 6.0ltr. I know the fuel mileage would drop some, but from what I have seen by other peoples trucks, they pull much better, with ease.

The transmission still runs and shifts fine and after the first one burnt out, I use that tow haul mode selection a lot more when heavy, pulling anything or just want to make sure it holds a gear a bit longer during an uphill climb.

BUT..

Seeing as it will be pulling a travel trailer, wouldn't it be better to have say a 4L80e or something better for that type of continuous work? or do ya think it'll be fine with it's current trans with a good sized trans fluid cooler installed.

I also realize all of these mods are not exactly cheap, but they are much cheaper than a new ride, and at this point in this trucks life, it's about due for some upgrades and repairs anyways.

The other idea?

The other idea I have been pondering is just to break down, acquire another vehicle payment after this one is paid off, and buy a newer/used C-class style of motor home in the 30-32ft range. But then we'd have the task of trailering the truck around with us behind that, which just seems a bit large.

I personally prefer the idea of a self propelled motorhome, no wear and tear on the Avy at all.
 
Trailer weight?

If you're contemplating a 6.0/4l80e swap I would buy a 2500HD and get all the benefits of a stronger drive train and better brakes.

Otherwise throw some bags on the avalanche with a brake controller and see how it does.
 
I don't know right off what the trailer weight is on those things, kind of why I was saying about the mid 20 ft range. I've seen other trucks pulling those. Nothing too crazy long though.

Air bags was the other thing on the list, as this thing has new springs installed that lowered it about 2 inches.

As far as buying a 2500, again, if we're going to buy something and create another monthly payment, I think we'd just go full on with the c-class rv then.
 
The ultimate plan here is to use it for random stuff here and there, family trips in and out of state until the kids graduate and head off for college. Once they leave, her and I were just gonna hit the road for a year or two, but continue to live in the rv or trailer longer term to help with getting debts and her school loans paid off quicker.

She says she doesn't want to be paying on school loans when she's 50 yrs old. :doah:
 
I am sorry to say this, but your posts are completely useless. I can't get past watching you avitar.

Now for your question. A lot of varialbes come into play. To see what it pulls like now, go rent a trailer like you are thinking of buying. Be sure to drag it over some hills. One thing you will want to spend a little money on is a weight distribution hitch with a sway control bar on it.

Your 5.3 will feel under horse powered on the hills. Flat ground it would be ok. Patience will be your best addition because getting anywhere fast will not be an option.
 
As suggested, I'd test her with a trailer and a similar load as she and see what her true capabilities are. If it won't work.......

Personally, the motor home deal sounds like the most practical option. Money aside, you're talking about some pretty extensive modification to a rig that will ultimately retain it's 1/2 ton rating, albeit with a stronger engine/trans. This requires down-time on it to get everything swapped and sorted in the hopes that the end result will be worth it.

-BUT-

Are you sure you're not willing to buy a 2500HD? I have a 2011 Duramax and the first load I pulled was 12,000 lbs. I was flatout impressed. Of course handling is a little different with that kind of load, but it was very obvious that the truck was built for exactly that. I never had any problems going/stopping/uphill/downhill(exhaust brake) and the Allison is awesome. The truck never felt like it was straining to do anything. So money....you were already going to buy a travel trailer so that's a wash. Trade in the Avy and figure ~5K for mods you were going to perform. You might owe 10-20K more for a slightly used newer crew cab 2500, but that's got to be less than the difference between a camper and a motorhome. Just a thought, there are a lot of variables there.
 
This is something I have been tossing around in my mind for the past few months. I'm really leaning more towards the motor home setup I think. Totally different vehicle, drive train and whatnot, no worries about the Avy drivetrain wearing out, already gonna be costly for the add ons and upgrades. I just keep going back to the motor home setup.

Maybe I'll just acquire my dad's Aveo, get that running and use it with a tow dolly behind the rv.
 
We bought a Used 31ft Class C Motorhome and absolutely love it! I wanted a travel trail but my wife wanted to be able to enjoy it while I was driving and use the bathroom so we wouldn't have to stop every hour. Im glad we went the rv route. We bring our dogs with us and she can watch tv, sleep or whatever while im driving. I haven't trailered with it yet but its a F**d V10 so it seems to have plenty of power.
 
Those are some of my thoughts on it at as well, having Jenn or the kids be able to move around in it, lay down comfortably, restroom, dogs and whatnot. Pretty sure I'll be going that route the more I think about it and the costs and labor of having to do all the work on the Avy, and as previously mentioned, still have it rated at half ton.

Not looking for a brand new rv, been looking around, hopefully we can get financed on an older one in the 1998-2004 range.

And it's obviously gonna be Ford based, not sure what happened with GM and the rv market, maybe not very good with engines then or something, but most of them seem to be Ford platforms.

We'll see what happens and you can bet whatever we get, it'll be posted up here. :D
 
Go motorhome, or 2500 truck.

You are going to sink money into WD hitch setups, regearing, motor swap, etc....and still be behind the capability of a 2500.

Wear and tear on 1/2 tons gets expensive. Spent a few more $$, and get a truck that is more up to the task.
 
In the realm of keeping what you have you could build a 408 with 5.3 heads on it and have a really torquey LS motor that could pull some ****. Trans wise a 4L80e or built 4L60e to back it up.



That being said if you don't want another payment then why not downgrade on the year of the truck and pick up an 8.1 avalanche if you like the avy?
 
Went to the Tacoma RV show today, walked in every single trailer there, kind of disappointed they didn't have very many C-class rigs there, but we got a better idea as to the lengths and average weights of the trailers.

I thought they were heavier than they are. Looking at some of them, we saw a few we liked and we're only in about the 4500-6000 pound range. Supposed to be within the range of this truck being able to pull fine with. Obviously I'd still need to add a big trans cooler, rear suspension help and I'd probably like new rear gears, but the trailers didn't seem to be horribly priced either and with decent credit, the payments are pretty manageable.

Still a pondering over the differences, we'll see how things work out the closer we get to getting ready to get serious with down payment cash in hand and see what we can find and who will finance.
 
I have a friend in California running a 6.0 in 3/4 ton 4x short bed. Pulls his 12000 pound 5th wheel all over the country. He is just never in a hurry.
 
Drove trucks long haul for 15 years, I've learned to not be in a hurry on hills and whatnot. Now that I'm getting older too, I still am not in a hurry anyways.

I pulled about 6000 pounds back from SoCal a couple of years back, I didn't have the tongue weight set right, but was unable to get it set right due to the load I was pulling so it was a bit heavy. I was really surprised at how well it did, obviously slower, used a bit more fuel than I thought it should, but then realized from the L.A. basin north, it's all uphill, even the straight parts that look flat.

Didn't have anything less than 45 mph up through the mountains, it really felt like it could have handled more throttle, but I tend to drive with caution and don't like over working the engines too hard.

As far as a cross country trek with a travel trailer, I think we may have decided to get a smaller trailer, about a 20ft as a starting point, to use while the kids are still around, not so much for constant cross country touring, but just for the occasional family trip here and there.

Then once the kids are heading out for their college stuff, we'd work on the motor home deal and do our touring. By then I should have all of our personal finances pretty well squared away and most debts paid off.

Jenn and Elora could also use it when there go out of town for Eloras weekend dance competitions and whatnot.
 
I've looked into motorhomes as well. Definitely go with diesel, not gas. You'll notice a huge difference in GVWR between a diesel and a gas rig. If you go gas and decide to tow a car, it drastically reduces the amount of stuff you can stow in the rig. With a diesel, it's no problem.

I'm not going to quote any specific numbers (as it differs between models), but when I was looking, I noticed about a 10,000 lb difference between the two. Meaning, in a diesel rig, you could tow a K5, and still be ahead by 4,000 lbs + over a gas rig.

This is, of course, if you were planning to full-time it. If you just want the occasional vacation rig, go with gas, because they're much cheaper. Full-timing requires an entire different perspective on GVWR and toads.
 
I think we pretty well decided on the motor home route, leaving the Avalanche home in climate controlled storage (heater inside:D like my burb to prevent mold) if we did decide to tow any vehicles, it would probably be a small Aveo I may be picking up from my dad, that needs a bit of work.

The only other thing we thought about towing would be the 20ft boat, but I'm not so sure on the task of launching a boat from the back of a 30 ft motorhome.:tongue1:

Most likely though it'd just be the rv alone.
 
If you even consider the possibility of towing anything with a motorhome, get a diesel. If you can afford it, better to have it than not.
 
We have used both a motor home and travel trailer. We much prefer the trailer, mostly for the safety seat aspect with the kids. Most motorhomes (at least in our price range) had no or poor places for car seats.

We also like to drop trailer and go explore smaller places. Tough in a motorhome and if I need to tow something, might as well be a trailer, not another truck that can fit a family of 5.

We have towed our almost 8k lb travel trailer over the coastal range and trinity alps several times in my wife's 2005 1/2 ton suburban. It did great with excellent engine braking. I always felt that I wanted more truck though. When I have towed my trailer with my buddies 1 ton Cummins, I had to constantly look back to make sure the trailer was still there. I could barely notice it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom