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Forum
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RE: Front Wheel Drive VS All Wheel Drive
Mike,
All I can say is that I drive an Oldsmobile Silhouette that is front wheel drive and has traction control. I have only had it one winter and yes there were times the traction control would activate, but I never had a problem getting going or being concerned of getting stuck. We really didn't have the snow this winter like we usually do, so there was really only two or three times that it was really bad out.
However, we had previously owned one and I can remember several times driving it in several inches of snow and not having any problems.
My father-in-law has been driving a front wheel drive Uplander for the past four years and never had a problem. We got hammered with snow last winter and he never complained about traction. In fact, he just replaced it with a Traverse and went front wheel drive again.
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ktosv
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03/10/10 08:55pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: New PASSPORT 2910bh GT. Need advise
The good thing about the Passports (at least that specific model) is that there really aren't any options. The yellow label on ours says 5400#. The label on the front left has a GVWR of 7200#, but my axles are only rated at 3500# each, for a total of 7000#. Anyway...I don't know the ratings of your Tahoe, but I now I will be under my tow rating and axle weights, but at my GCWR.
Can you take a test tow? That is what we did. I was surprised at how well our truck towed the trailer. I really have only towed the trailer twice, the day of the test tow and the day we picked it up. However, the day we picked it up my wife had me driving all over the place to show people the trailer and to run errands. At least I now don't have to worry about how it tows around town.
Yes, you will want a weight distribution hitch and good sway control. Your Tahoe should actually handle that trailer similar to a Suburban because the ratio of the rear overhang to the length of the wheelbase is the same.
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ktosv
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03/10/10 04:46pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Replacement awning fabric from PPL?
Considering that the Shademaker brand fabric sold through JC Whitney has good reviews, I would have to beleive that the A&E and Carefree brand fabrics sold through PPL should be as good as original.
I did some investigation for a friend, and the A&E was about $100 more then the Carefree fabric and the Carefree fabric was about $50 more then the Shademaker brand.
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ktosv
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03/10/10 10:33am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Question about GM hitches bending upward
Why does it matter? bent is bent, and broke is broke, no matter what it weighes.
I think if you did a search on the forum, you would find that people who have had issues were towing much heavier loads then those of us with several years of towing 4000# trailers around.
Now, I am not saying that those who have had issues were overloaded. However, someone trying to slow down/stop while turning with a 9000# trailer in tow is going to load that hitch drastically different then someone towing half the weight in the same situation.
I recently replaced my hitch because I have gone up in weight. The thing I found interesting was that my safety chain bracket (part of the gusset piece that holds the pin box) was bent (I hadn't noticed it until the hitch was removed from the truck). I can only think of two ways that happened. The one time that our truck was stuck in a snow drift and was pulled out using the hitch and or I turned to sharp of an angle and bent it with the safety chain (hard to believe I didn't have enough slack in that type of situation). Basically, I feel my bent bracket was self inflicted. My question about the weight leads to that...was it self inflicted damage (no offense ment to the owner). If he is towing a 3000# trailer, the risk of failure is much less and in my opinion the defect might have been self inflicted. Now, if he is towing a 9000# trailer they will join the majority of the people who have had issues.
A picture of the defect could speak a thousand words.
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ktosv
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03/02/10 08:48pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: confused about GVWR
An 04 4x4 w/ 3.73 was rated to tow 7200#. Your GVWR you mention is for your truck. That is the maximum your truck should weigh with passengers and cargo(tongue weight). There is another number: GCWR (gross combined weight rating) that you need to consider. That is the weight of your total set up (truck and trailer). It most likely was 13,000#. Take the 13,000# and subtract the weight of your truck (5200#) and tongue weight and other cargo and that will be what your trailer could weigh loaded.
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ktosv
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03/02/10 07:56pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Question about GM hitches bending upward
How heavy is he towing? A 4000# hybrid or is it an HD and is he towing a 9000# bunk house?
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ktosv
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03/02/10 07:51pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: An Engineering Question
I am thinking there are way to many unknowns to answer your question. It's more complex then just a distance vs time question. If you had the distance or time the vehicle traveled in each scenerio it would be easy. But, since you don't, I would imagine that such things as the size of the brake disc, pads, friction material, force applied, radial acceleartion/deceleration or velocity of the rotors/discs would need to be known. At that point, I am guessing there are some dynamic and physics equiations that might be able to answer your original question.
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ktosv
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02/27/10 08:58pm |
Tow Vehicles
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Gear Lube/Axle Fluid questions...
I am planning to change the fluids in both my front and rear differentials sometime in the next couple of weeks. My truck calls for 85-W90 for the front and 75-W90 for the rear. I am planning on using Valvoline DuraBlend for the front and have two quarts of Mobil 1 on hand for the rear. I was looking at my left over GM bottle from the first time I changed the rear fluid and I used 75-W140. When I was at the parts store to pick up the third quart of Mobil 1 I noticed that they had Mobil 1 75-W140 and it said "Light Truck/SUV" on it. Would the 75-W140 be better for a towing application? I honestly don't remember why I used it the first time, other then I think I had a conversation with the GM dealer about towing and they sold me the 75-W140 instead of the 75-W90.
The first time I changed the fluid was after a summer or two of towing and the fluid looked good. I would now have about the same amount of miles on the 75-W140, but I haven't opened the cover to know how it looks compared to the original. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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ktosv
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02/27/10 08:43pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Chevy gear ratio change
just talked to the dealer and its 3000.00 to do the change out
As in the car dealer? They will be the most expensive. Shop around. Find a drivetrain/driveline specialist in your area. I had an axle swap done on a 94 Caprice going from a 2.56 to a 3.42. I paid right around $700 and that included the GM ring and pinion, carrier and relucter gear so that the ABS worked. I then paid $100 for someone to do a custom LT1Edit programming to calibrate the spedometer for the gear change amongst other things. I think you might be able to get away without the carrier as the 3.42, 3.73 and 4.10 supposedly use the same carrier (at least that is what I was told).
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ktosv
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02/25/10 05:30pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Infant/Toddler - need bunk conversion suggestions
What type of emergency window is it? I have seen them with an arm that props the window open, but if you push it up over a snap/latch the window is released at the bottom to push all the way out. I have also seen them with more of a normal household window latch that you pop up and then push the window out.
Are you asking the question because you are afraid your son will open it or you know he will?
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ktosv
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02/22/10 08:02pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: My official hate GMC thread!
Did you buy your truck new or used?
Yeah, I think the intermediate steering shaft is a chronic problem, but as stated, it's not a safety issue. Ours was fixed under warrenty like three years ago and knock on wood has never returned. Check out sites like the GM-Trucks.com website. Some of those places have write ups how to do the steering shaft yourself.
Maybe part of the problem is your dealer. We had a rattle that I would have sworn was in the IP or right at the base of the A pillar. Within minutes my dealer diagnosed the problem as a loose radiator support and had it fixed. This is the same dealer that fixed my steering shaft and also replaced a couple of trim items at no cost after the original bumper to bumper warrenty had expired.
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ktosv
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02/19/10 06:29pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: 2010 Suburban Towing Capacity
Have you looked at the Keystone Passport Ultra lights? Our 2910 is a quad bunk and has a U-shaped dinette. It supposedly has a dry weight of 5400#. It has a 7200# GVWR, the same as the tow rating on my Suburban.
I read your other posting. Many people freak out about towing with a 3.42 axle. They also forget that your 2009 has the 6 speed transmission (right?), which makes your 3.42 as good or better than a 3.73 with the old 4 speed.
The thing I found interesting from your other post is that you stated your truck with a full tank of gas weighed something like 6600#. You must have a ton of options on that thing as I think ours is under 6000#. That only leaves you with another 800# of cargo capacity.
I know that longevity of a 3.42 axle towing is in question, but I do plan a more aggresive maintinance plan with it. I guess I also look at it that with the deal I got on my truck, and camper, those savings easily pay for a gear swap if and when I ever need it.
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ktosv
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02/10/10 03:16pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Burb w/3.42s
From my experience, my truck alone in Tow/Haul won't shift in to 4th (OD) until above 60MPH. When I hook up the camper and tow in OD it won't shift in until well above that, and then unless it is really flat it doesn't like to stay there. However, if you do enough reading/research I think there is enough people who say that you really shouldn't be towing heavy (in my opinion over 2000#) in OD with a 4L60E transmission (regardless of axle ratio). With that being said, I do all of my towing in 3rd with the tow/haul on.
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ktosv
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02/06/10 06:59am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Burb w/3.42s
With that type of weight you should do just fine with that truck. The difference between 3.42 and 3.73 is less than 10%. That means if you are cruising down the road in 3rd at 2500RPM, your truck with 3.73's would be turning 2725RPM. Not that big of a difference when looking at a dyno curve. I would suggest doing all of your towing in 3rd though.
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ktosv
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02/05/10 11:08pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Traverse/Acadia/Enclave.. what size of hybid are you towing
campsite1,
I don't have a GM crossover but thought I would chim in with some information for you regarding weights and the potential towing ability of your Traverse.
We used to have a Trail Cruiser C22 HTT. Dry weight was something like 3351#. Loaded, pretty much ready to camp it was near 4200#. I used to tow it with an Envoy XL I6 w/3.73 axle. Our Envoy had a 5300# tow rating. Have you ever compared the specs of a Traverse to an Envoy XL? IIRC they are pretty darn close. GVWR of 6400# vs 6400#. Similar paylods, similar axle ratings. My Envoy would have had more torque, but you also have two more gears.
With that being said, I was satisfied with how our Envoy towed the HTT, but I wouldn't have wanted to be towing any more weight. It had a pretty darn flat torque curve, but all of the HP was made at some pretty high RPM's. If I wanted to move quick I had to spin the motor.
On paper, I would say your Traverse could tow about as good as our Envoy XL. Of course, it is all personal preference. I would suggest having a test tow prior to buying a camper. I think you have a double overdrive, so if possible I would recommend towing in 4th as much as possible if you are at the upper limit of your ratings.
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ktosv
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02/03/10 09:53pm |
Hybrid Travel Trailers
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RE: A Couple More Silverado Questons
I think with the weight you will be towing you should be okay with the factory receiver/hitch. I think the issues I have heard of are from people towing larger trailers with much more weight then your camper. With that being said, we just moved up from a HTT to something longer and heavier. I found a Valley hitch at Southwest Wheel at what I thought was a great price and replaced my OEM hitch. Southwest Wheel Valley Trailer Hitch
I need to check your gauge information as I had been considering doing the same thing, just hadn't gotten around to it.
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ktosv
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02/01/10 10:59am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Towing a Keystone Passport 250BH
chaomel,
You should be just fine. I actually took a Passport 2910 on a test tow with our Burban this afternoon and was pleasently surprised at how well it towed that trailer.
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ktosv
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01/20/10 08:46pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: GM TPMS Calibration?
I would say yes there is. I had a sensor replaced last year. Prior to that that TPMS matched my gauge. After the sensor replacement, the TPMS reads high for all four tires when compared with my same gauge.
I am assuming when they replaced the sensor they also had to some sort of calibration that is now slightly off from my gauge.
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ktosv
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01/20/10 10:54am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: how much weight can this Burb comfortably tow?
Is that a 2wd or 4wd Burban?
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ktosv
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01/18/10 07:45pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Avalanche
In my opinion, without specifics of the F150 and Avalanche it is hard to say. Depending on the MY/Engine/axle ratio of your F150 and MY/Engine/axle ratio of the Avalanche, I would think the Avalanche could tow just as good if not better.
It is alot of weight, but you are comparing a 1/2 ton to a 1/2 ton.
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ktosv
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01/08/10 04:40pm |
Tow Vehicles
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