k5 tow rig

[buffblazer]

my uncle is in the car business and wanted to get me involved. but i gotta have my own truck, i have an 03 1500 single cab 2wd with the 4.8 in it, but i really dont want to destroy my tranny and run up the miles on my dd so i was wondering would my k5 haul cars? i have a 86 with a 350 bored .40 stock heads comp cams 4x4 cam, edelbrock performer intake and 600cfm carb with headers, msd ignition box no emissions, and true dual exhaust sm465 tranny, 208 t-case with 10bolts and 3.73's and im running 2 inch lift with 3/4 ton springs in the rear. is my k5's drive train and suspension up to handling a one car trailer with at the most a 1 ton single cab dually on it?

 

[noJeepshere]

Possibly the K5 can handle a 1-ton dually, but then again, I've seen 4-cylinder Toyotas with a bed full of people towing a bigger truck. It can be done, but it best be done right. The K5 should be faster, but if the pickup has a long bed, I'd rather drive that any day. You'll go slower, but I'm sure you'd also save yourself a bit of gas with that little 4.8, if you have 3.73 gears. And if your pickup isn't lifted, it'll be tons more stable on the road then a lifted K5. Heck, almost anything is more stable then a lifted K5. My opinion is a 3/4 ton pickup with 4.10 gears and a 6.0 V8 if it can be found, and they're cheap these days, no one wants them.

 

[buffblazer]

Possibly the K5 can handle a 1-ton dually, but then again, I've seen 4-cylinder Toyotas with a bed full of people towing a bigger truck. It can be done, but it best be done right. The K5 should be faster, but if the pickup has a long bed, I'd rather drive that any day. You'll go slower, but I'm sure you'd also save yourself a bit of gas with that little 4.8, if you have 3.73 gears. And if your pickup isn't lifted, it'll be tons more stable on the road then a lifted K5. Heck, almost anything is more stable then a lifted K5. My opinion is a 3/4 ton pickup with 4.10 gears and a 6.0 V8 if it can be found, and they're cheap these days, no one wants them.

ah i forgot to mention my 03 is a swb truck. and i have been looking for a 6.0 lately but this is just a side job with my uncle i still have to be able to drive 80 miles a day to work. and my little 03 gets 21mpg on average and i dont think i could get that out of a 6.0

 

[noJeepshere]

Between the two, with the pickup being a shortbox, I'd still take the pickup. Get a good tranny cooler, maybe a programmer, put some overload springs (airbag aren't tooo much) and drive easy. My 99 Yukon can haul 6,000 lbs all day and if I take it easy, won't even heat up. I just wish I had airbags.
I'm no towing expert, that's just what I'd do.

 

[hmatiak]

I have towed all day with my '06 Crew Cab Sierra with no issues. It has the same 4.8 and auto that you have. Its all about keeping the tranny cool. Look into a cooler, if you dont have the factory one. If you can do that you should have no issues with up to 9k behind the reg cab short bed. I do have 4.10's though, helps out quite a bit, and have some performance upgrades. I pull a 18' trailer, and it has had my previous K20 on it. It's heavy, but does just fine.

 

[buffblazer]

well i was thinkn that to, but the whole reason i was thinking about using the k5, was because i didnt want to put any money into my 03 to make it more tow capable. i basically dont have any money to buy parts with but the k5 is already finished.