RV Towing Upgrades For Your Truck
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- Опубліковано 8 сер 2018
- If you are thinking of buying or already own an RV but want to get the most out of your vehicle when towing this is the video for you. I wanted to show you what I did to my truck to really upgrade the towing experience. I didn't do any crazy modifications these are all low priced and easy to do yourself as well.
I hope this video helps you, be sure to give it a "LIKE" and "SUBSCRIBE" for more videos like this one.
Thank you!
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I've got a 04 silverado 5.3 rwd and I'm looking to tow a travel trailer 22ft or less, so I'll def be adding some of these upgrades before the end of the year. Thanks bro. I'll keep you updated.
Glad I could help, doing these things add up and will let you get the most from your truck.
I really appreciate your helpful video on towing upgrades. I have a 2004 gmc sierra which has a tow package. I now know what I need to do for my 7,000lb camping trailer. The extended mirrors, brake controller, additional leave spring and transmission cooler are the most important benefits.
USA4US You are welcome, too often people are quick to get a new truck when with a few mods your existing truck can do the job.
instablaster...
I have an 04 avalanche that I bought used, but it came with a brake controller and tow package already installed. I did take the old bump stops off, and put the timbren bump stop on which really helped. I have air bags that I'm going to install, along with tow mirrors, trans cooler and electric fan. I tow a 2017 Freedom Express
Very nice, almost the same setup!
Great additions to your truck I love all of them they would totally apply to my 2003 Tahoe thank you. But first and foremost I think Jeff Bezos loves you more! Great video!
Dennis Long LOL true. Glad it helped you out.
Gotta love Florida
Putting LT tires E rated(10 ply) vs passenger rated tires on a truck will help stabilize the truck when pulling or hauling a heavy load. I just replaced my F150 tires with LT 275/65R18 BFG K02 tires and it made a big difference reducing that soft mushy sensation when hit by cross winds or cornering.
I have heard that before.
I would also add a deeper aluminum transmission pan. It will help even more with heat issues. Good video 👍
Cameron Sizemore I considered it but I thought it would hang lower... it already almost scrapes as it is on an inclined driveway you see in the video... especially loaded.
@@luisreviews6412 lift that bad girl. Possibly helper springs?
Cameron Sizemore I have considered it but I like the low height when loading and unloading... and I am not getting any younger.
@@luisreviews6412 Airbags, can get a set for around $100 for springs and $300 for a full kit for leaf springs
Get the LoadLifter 5000 Ultimate Rear Leveling Kit, best $400 bucks I’ve ever spent. N the ride is so much softer on the body than the helper springs I had them, sold them to my bro than bought air bags, now he has the air bags also. Said I saw him coming lol.
I’ve put 3000 lbs of dense grade in my truck bed and it rode level, same truck you have but mine is a 2001 z71 4x4 long bed. You can run the 5000 ultimates empty and the truck isn’t any higher than factory. Than add air when going to tow.
I have the factory brake controller. Had the tow mirrors hated the everyday looks when I wasn’t towing. Went to a different set. I pull a 27 foot bumper pump and truck doesn’t even know it’s back there, add in a weight distribution hitch and you won’t even feel it.
Thanks buddy
You are welcome!
I'm sorry, where did you install the auxiliary fan at
Great ideas. I have a 2000 GMC Yukon 4D SLE. I’ve Added the brake controller and the timbem bump stops. Both huge improvements. I use a CURT weight distribution hitch. I must for highway driving. I’m usually hauling about 6,500 lbs towing horses. I’m definitely gonna add the additional fan for the AC. I think it gets just as hot here in South Florida as it does out there in Texas, and my truck sits idle a lot at horse shows with the A/C blasting. I’m also go to check out the transmission fluid cooler. Good stuff man. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Any suggestions on good Shock Absorbers for towing?
I tried to stick with the better version of what the auto part store offered, but nothing I can think of. Overall all the little changes added up in a big way to make the overall experience much better. Good luck!
I have a 2001 z71 long bed with the Bilstein hd 4600 shocks and they are amazing anything from them on up in they’re line is good.
I have a 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 work truck Long bed, color white, completely basic, crank roll up windows, vinyl flooring, Cost a couple dollars for a basic key, that's right no fob or key chip, just a good old fashioned metal key. The ignition is so worn out the key just comes out of the ignition even when it's on. Nowadays you couldn't do that with more modern trucks. 4.8 liter engine with almost 194,000 miles, bought it 3 years ago, used to be a motorcycle hauler at a dealership, then had 168,000 miles paid almost $2400, since then it's been a great truck. By next year it will be considered a Classic at 20 years. Good old Chevrolet !
Nice to hear you have been getting your fair use out of it.
@@luisreviews6412 Thank you, yes it's been a great truck! I'm going to drive it till it can't drive anymore. I was thinking about taking it to the classic auto show next year but I think it's still kinda too young still, give it another 5 to 10 years. Bottom line these old trucks are sturdy and strong, that's why I prefer the older generation of Chevy.
@@cl3662 Simple, easier to work on.
Series and “in-line” is the same thing fyi. Amazing video. Hands down the best so far how did you hook up the transmission temp gauge?
Been a while since that was done but I actually had a mechanic install that.
WDH properly set up should bring the sag in the rear up to pre load level and shift weight back onto front axel. May need to adjust your hitch
???
Absolutely correct!! Helper springs help truck from squat but will do nothing for distribution of weight, front end will still want to wander, properly adjusted WD hitch will even out weight across all axles including bringing front end back down and eliminating wander, but no matter what you do tongue weight is tongue weight, if it's 1000lb it will always be 1000lb no matter what you do,
Liked your video. Got a 2007 Avalanche needing to upgrade for towing. Do you have a list posted of the upgrade parts?
Unfortunately I do not. If you pause the video where I showed screenshots that may help. Let me know how it goes.
The brakes are very important, the older pre 04 chevys had vacuum assist brakes that are absolute garbage and down right suicidal while towing, upgrade to hydroboost. I added air bags on my 2003 z71 tahoe as well. But in all honesty, I am also upgrading, towing in an older vehicle is fine but for the peace of mind for me and my family its time to fork out the money, it's one thing being solo and dealing with a breakdown but not while you're out there with the family.
Brakes were great, no complaints. If aomeone is out and has one of these they can certainly make it better to get the most out of it. However trucks nowadays are more like 3/4 tons but they come with a price tag to match.
@@luisreviews6412 im about to pull the trigger on a 1500 3.0 dieseil....67k...Jesus christ
@@mozberg2191 Yeah, I will pass. If you can hold until prices come down it would be better. Or maybe you are getting top dollar for your trade.
Great information!! I have 2004 Silverado Where did you get transmission temperature gauge pod?
Amazon, I should have a link in the description. Trans temp guage is invaluable and for peace of mind.
dude awesome video, wish you would post videos on you adding all this stuff, im looking up videos like this to get ready to tow a boat with a 2018 silverado that doesn't have max tow pckg, i think its rated at like 5k towing which is depressing considering my 2017 colorado was rated at 7k towing with a v6
That is pretty low, but with some of these additions you should increase the tow capacity. What size boat?
@@luisreviews6412 thinking an 18 ft pontoon boat maybe slightly smaller
@@raulcrod Those are pretty light so you shouldn’t have an issue.
My truck is almost identical, same year, same body style, only difference is the axle ratio. Mine's a 3.73 and mine is a 4×4
Benjamin Platte I think the 3.73 would be better for towing, my truck didn’t do well in city but shine on highway towing.
My 2019 Nissan frontier King cab tow mirrors was 235 dollars a little too much but I had to get them towing a RV luckily my truck came with a transmission cooler
Nice
good video brother. i have an 2000 silverado 2wd. i am planning on getting a travel trailer soon. i wanted to ask you a couple of questions!
1st. how high or low does your tow hit sit from the ground?
2nd. what size trailer do you have and weight?
3rd. would you recommend leaf spring helper and the weight distribution hitch?
thanks brother! keep it up!
Hue Yang So I don’t recall how low it sat but I will tell you it was higher than I expected because they had to turn the hitch around and actually raise it. 2) Coachmen 257BHS - around 28ft long and roughly in the low 6k lbs range. Yes WDH is not optional... it is a must and same goes for the Helper Springs those are life savers. My favorite upgrades I did to the truck would also be the HD tow mirrors, trans temperature guage, HD trans cooler and trailer brake controller. Be sure to check out my other towing video and my rv review as well. Thank for watching and let me know if you have any other questions.
Luis Reviews hey brother; can you show me how you piggy back or paralleled your new tenant cooler to with your old one on your truck please? Thanks man!
@@hueyang8901 So on your stock unit where the coolant line goes out (cool) connect that to your new additional trans cooler, the route the line going out from that one back to your transmission. Does that help?
Luis Reviews thanks man, i bought a bigger new tranny cooler so now i’m just trying to figure out placement for it.
Hue Yang I had room upfront to install.
So if I heard you right, you re-installed your clutch fan and also installed an auxiliary fan also, when did you install the auxiliary fan at
Correct, electric fans couldn’t keep up towing in the summer in Tx. Went back to stock plus an auxiliary e-fan right against the radiator off to the right side. The e fan helped keep cool at idle, which gave me cold ac. Stock fan helped at high rpms. Hope that isn’t confusing.
Get some 3.73's or 4.10's. The weight dist hitch is great. I also did an underdrive pulley to lower the parasidic loss at low rpms. But gears would make a huge difference. The mechanical gain of 300rpm at a given speed essentially gives you 15-20fl/lb of torque and horsepower. Puts a lot less stress on the trans/motor. Also tow in 3d gear with the 4l60e. Its a 1:1 ratio and will help it run cooler and more efficient.
Yes the 3.73 would be nice, my Tundra has a 4.30 and it helps with towing... not so mich with mog.
Can you elaborate on the underdrive pulley
@@moejr14 The underdrive pulley is a smaller crank pulley that will spin your accessories at a lower speed. I got a 25% UD pulley so all of my accesories are spinning 25% less. Or 25% less parasitic draw from those accessories. AC, Power steering, Water Pump, alternator...I noticed close to 1mpg increase on the highway. Its kind of a pain to install if you've never done a harmonic balancer before.
should have done a new cluster with trans temp instead of the guage
It did the job. The truck was at the end of its time with me, so I kept that in mind.
What's the length and weight of your camper?
Shane Foret 28 & change from bumper to hitch. Roughly 5,500 lbs empty, guessing in the low 6,000 range loaded.
I have a 2011Chevy Tahoe and I wanted to get a 24BHS trailer. dry weight 5700 lbs. the dealership said my truck can’t tow it because of the gear ratio? I was like wtf!? Recommend anything besides another dealer lol change the bear ratio? I’d like to put the Tahoe to use
What ratio do you have? How much does the manufacturer say it can tow?
I’m pretty new to towing in general. Could these upgrades increase the towing capacity or is the owner stuck with the factory specs?
That is a great question! To be safe… it doesn’t. However when a manufacturer does some of these same upgrades it does some but they know those numbers better. I would just think of these upgrades as adding cushion or more confidence in to your existing setup. 👍
There is NOTHING you can do to increase towing capacity.
@@TheSoloAsylum buying a bigger newer truck will increase your towing cap. Lol
Just found this video! Do you still tow with this truck? I have an 04 Gmc Sierra SLT and just cant see buying another truck. I like the info on upgrades. It's hard to find RV videos where they use older half ton trucks.
Just sold it a month ago. I am glad you appreciate the video, my intention was to use what you have and get the most out of it and I hope I did just that. Too many think you should just spend 100k and get a 3/4 ton diesel but reality doesn’t work that way.
@@luisreviews6412 what did you end up purchasing?
@@mr.cslawncare1347 Bought a new 2018 Tundra Crew Max Limited (in 2018) I needed that bigger second row, I could feel my kids news thru the seat back... lol.
@@luisreviews6412 very nice! Good choice
@@mr.cslawncare1347 I was overdue, but really enjoyed getting the most out of my Silverado.
do you have the links to all the towing upgrades?
I apologize but I do not, I do show some screenshots of the products so you could reference that. Let me know if you have questions.
Did you have to add extra trans fluid if so how much
Yes, mechanic took care of it when he installed it.
Hello! This video is very helpful. We have a 2006 Toyota Tundra 1/2 ton. It is a 4wd with double cab. SR5 model. It says it will tow 6500Lbs. Our camper weighs 7000lbs. What can we do? The newer Tundra 1/2 tons will tow 10,000 lbs. What is the difference? We cant afford a newer truck right now. Can we make changes to our 06 Tundra to be able to tow our camper safely? Thanks.
Deborah Altizer I have a 2018 Tundra Limited Crew Max 4x4 with sun roof. Needless to say it is heavy before you add cargo to it. So my tips can the it pull it... yes! Like all Tundras your issue is payload. I added SuperSprings with a wdh pulling a 6k pound trailer. Cargo/payload management is going to be key... move as much as you can to the trailer. Just my 2 cents. Be sure to subscribe because I am going to do a Tundra towing (rv) video.
@@luisreviews6412 I did subscribe. We have the weight distribution hitch and sway bars. I just worry about the camper weight. I'm new at all of this. I worry about pulling the transmission out or worse. Our Tundra has a sunroof too. It's a heavy truck 4x4 too. I was told if it were a newer truck it would tow a lit more. Our camper is a 2007 Keystone Hornet 29 rls. It weighs 7000 empty weight. The maximum weight our trucks manufacturer says it will tow is 6500.
So all I need is to have the extra spring suspension installed? And that will help?
Thank you for the good advice! We just cant get another truck right now. I really love this camper and I want to keep it. I got real depressed when I thought our truck wouldn't be able to tow it.
Deborah Altizer My concern is not the powertrain although you want to make sure everything is maintained. My concern continues to be the payload on your suspension, keep an eye on that... plus I added helpersprings to help with the sag.
@@luisreviews6412 We are going to take the truck to Ashland Hitch and get what needs to be done as far as extra heavy duty springs. I wish our truck was a 3/4 ton. That would solve my problem.
Deborah Altizer True but like with my Silverado situation I did what I could in upgrades to the truck to get the most out of it and set it up to tow. Good luck!
Series connection
Hi sir, if you don’t mind me asking how much does your camper weight?
5,300 lbs unloaded... once loaded probably close to 6k or so.
Luis Reviews nice, I appreciate the response !
I’m looking at getting a camper and looking at what weight to go for, good video man!!
Eben Black Good luck
My 2007 classic has dual electric fans still thinking about adding another
Gilbert perez Are the fans stock or after market?
Stock,they would fit on your truck
Gilbert perez Which size radiator?
You can get electric fans for the 28 or 34 in radiator
But I opted for the bigger radiator (34in) so I could run the factory fans out of 05- 07 model which bolt right up in the 28in radiator bolt holes, you can pick those up at any junk yard, or parts store, the wiring harness, than have the fans turned on at your local tuner shop
The bigger radiator cost me like $150 but sold my 28 in for $130
The fans I got for like $80
The harness I got offline $80
Ecm flash for the fans to be turned on and temp set was $100 but I got a tune while I was there. All said I was out like $280 and have so much more space in engine bay without clutch fan and shroud. Truck runs so so much cooler and gained a little power the clutch fan was robbing.
What about for slide in campers
Slide in campers? As in the ones you put on the bed? I would watch your payload numbers.
Luis Reviews yes that kind of camper cab over will this things you mentioned be applied to it?
@@sergioknuf Yes same applies except maybe more suspension help.
I have a 2000 5.3 z7i can. I pull the same trailer without all the mods 😬
That is great! I did mine just to try to get the most of it and be more comfortable, especially the big mirrors.
@@luisreviews6412 I’m sorry it was a question 😅 can I pull the trailer without all the mods
@@2wiins705 no your trans will over heat
Did you need to upgrade your battery at all for these upgrades
No
Not saying that your wrong but you could have probably sold this truck and bought a similar year 2500 duramax and have had more towing capacity
Jac Ersk I hear what you are saying but a diesel for me is overkill and I don’t want to deal with the issues it brings like more expensive maintenance and repair.
I agree should be towing with a 2500 and go with a gas engine then if your worried maintenance of a diesel,,,plus would you have not only a higher towing capacity but also alot more payload capacity which you maybe maxed out on your truck,,subtract the trailer tongue weight of your trucks payload and see how much room you have left....your probably close..
Lol 4 spd and a tape deck. Time for a new ride.
MrSnyper360 Just like to get my money’s worth out of my rides... had it about 15 yrs now, as well as a S10 for 18. Bought a 2018 Tundra last year as my tow vehicle.
The Nissan Tundra