Anyone here tow a 9-12,000 lb tag trailer with a lift kit? Is this a problem?





Blaine

Not smart, or safe.

If you do it just make sure you get the proper length drop hitch. Make sure it is rated at the correct load. Also make sure your truck nose is not to far up in the air compared to the rear. An original Silverado is designed to sit level when under load. A little ass high when unloaded. Get some air bags if needed. Some lifts are pretty soft in the rear and squat way to much to be safe. It just changes the weight distribution around to much. Also do us all a favor and get your headlights realigned. Nothing a little tuning can't fix.

Not smart, or safe.


Please elaborate. If you have detailed information and/or experiences, I want to know. If it's just an opinion--which is okay as well, then please tell me why that opinion is the correct one.


Stock trucks do not have enough wheel well clerance to run 285s on 16x8s--like I have--and they do not have adequate clearance even with the torsion bars raised 2"--like I have done. I have also re-formed the inner fender liners and tied back the parking brake cable. I am not terribly excited about having raised the torsion bars, though I did do it with specially designed keys and the ride is excellent. I get rubbing when braking through a "dip" and turning the wheel. I might be able to get clearance by rolling back the inside aft corner of the fenders. That is where my clearance is lacking--it's about 3/4". There is no way I can run chains.


I have plenty of clearance on the front side of the wheel wells since I have a Frontier full front end replacement.


What gets me is a stock truck with 245s has about the same clearance as mine. This limited wheel well space is a bad idea from GM.


I am looking at getting the Rancho 4" kit. 4" will provide proper clearance and isn't that tall of a lift. The lift companies say it's fine to tow lifted as do the RV places. However, I want to know what the actual experiences of others are when towing a tag with such a lift.


Blaine

Bronco,


Thanks. Have you towed with a lifted rig? How is the stability?





Blaine

I have not. I do have many friends that have. Dual shocks is a huge helper. Sway bars and over load springs. You just need to incorporate some of the safety items into your new set up.

Not smart, or safe.

Please elaborate. If you have detailed information and/or experiences, I want to know. If it's just an opinion--which is okay as well, then please tell me why that opinion is the correct one.
Exactly! I have towed using my lifted truck and while I don't currently own a HD or tow 9,000 lbs it can be done safely. It just takes a little extra preperation on a lifted truck. How much extra prep is determined by how big a lift you run. Running the 4" Rancho and 33s or 35s isn't that much different from stock, just need the proper drop hitch. A 6" lift is similar although some guys choose to run 35s or 37s. In this case I would suggest a set of replacement rear springs, or air bags or possibly both. Again the propoer drop hitch is required. Anything larger and again springs combined with air bags are best. In some cases a set of support bars for the drop hitch may be required. No matter what gears are highly recommended when towing with a lifted truck. They make all the difference in the world!

The proof is in the pudding!
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/44F_travis06.JPG

I wish that was mine!

Towing a load like that with anything under a 6 inch lift is more than fine as long as you make sure to adresst he issues others have mentioned such as proper drop hitch, rear spring sag, lengthen your break-away chains, etc. I tow my dad's 30 foot Weekend Warrior with a 2,000 pound dune buggy in it plus gass, tools, etc. adding up to close to 10,000 pounds and I feel more than comfortable with it.


I dunno what kind of destinations you tow too but we tow to the desert, and with a 14 bolt and stock height you don't have much room for your tires to dig before your resting your rear end in the dirt.

Guys, thanks!





y2kboti,


Did you get the PM I sent you? Athough I see now the pics of the DMax w/Rancho isn't your truck, can you get me in touch with the truck's owner?


Blaine

apf I got it but not sure what truck you are talking about. If you post a picture I'll try and point you in tbe right direction.

It was on this thread, second post.


http://dieselplace.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2685&KW=rancho

If you click on the picture I posted it takes you to the owner's website. He goes by the name of 'tophog'.

AFP1


Do a search with for my name and you'll see I've already talked myself out. Let me look around for the picture of my buddy's lifted Silverado that killed him. Tail wagged the dog, front tire off road, over she went, flat his head became.

If you really want a solution to the 285's rubbing, do what I did and go to 265's. The D/A tows like sh*t with 285's, they are too tall. I know the 265's don't look near as good, but you won't rub and your D/A will love you for it. The 16x8 rims work good with the 265s also.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/DZ8_truck1.jpg Edited by: neverenuf

With the Jucie Attitude, my 285s are not a problem. I can spin them in third gear if I am so inclined.....................


However, if I can't come to a satisfactory solution with the lift, then going back to 265s is something I have considered. Like you said, I'll bet they are great on 8 inch rims. I wonder if I can spin 265s in 4th gear.................

The duramax will pull my 9 inch lift and 39's just fine with no load (14.18 quarter) Add 8 to 10,000 to it and it has no power and does wag a lot... 35's did the same.. I blame most of this to having stock gearing.. I'm no newbie to towing, so trust me.. It will do it, though it won't do it well or safely at highway speeds (75 plus)

Morse when towing a load like that you shouldn't be going 75 plus anyways. I admit I don't stick to 55 either but rarely anything over 70. What do you think becomes unsafe about it? I admit that with a higher center of gravity it is easier to roll, but with the added rubber on the ground and trailer brakes working properly I feel pretty confident. When my dad used to tow with his 1/2 ton suburban it felt like the rear wheels were just floating along and would wag alot but with his 02 3/4 ton he doesn't have an issue and towing with my truck doesn't feel any different than that. Maybe im just lucky and my set-up is working exceptionally well. We run 1400 pd. bars (WDH), single sway control, and but run prodigy brake controlers.


You guys are starting to make me worry a bit. If anyone else wants to chime in about their experiences with lifted trucks good and bad please do I would like to hear!

Well I had a 2500HD CC and it had a 12" lift and 38.5 Parnelli Jones tires on it and I use to pull a 31' Cigarette Bullet with it and it was not a problem at all. Had a custom made drop down hitch and it pulled like a dream on the highway even at 80mph. I think if you have the right setup you can pull anything and if you are going to pull heavy stuff then you need to think about that in advance before doing all that stuff to your truck or be prepared to slow down some for safety, yours and others on the road.

I really like my duramax.. I just know with stock gearing, large tires, and the duramax your truck isn't going to run away with a heavy trailer.. That's just the way it is.. My truck isn't exactly slow empty (14.18), though a load absolutely kills it.. My old powerstroke didn't experience the drastic change when towing the same trailer.. I use load levelers and great breaks.. As far as wag, it's not determined strictly by tire surface on the road.. It's sidewall height and stiffness.. As far as driving speed, I drive only as fast as I feel safe.. 75 is nothing on I-75.. I'm just giving actual info from my personal vehicle.. The duramax is just "tire sensitive" with factory gearing

Interesting. I haven't hauled over a ton yet, but empty my mileage improved going from 265s to 285s. Then again, a 285 is 32.8" high nominally, and that is nowhere near the gear change as going to 35s or 39s will cause. I think a 33" tire still keeps the engine in a good rpm range, but evidently 35s don't, which would have been my guess. Of course, I am assumming 125 HP Juice with all this.

I have a 4" Rancho running 315-70R17's and tow a 25' toy hauler all over Oregon (Mountains, Coast range, etc.) with zero problems. My weight distributing hitch is adjustable so I just lowered it down 2 holes ..., have Biltein 5100 series SS shocks ...hardly any sag and all and pulls like a dream.

I have a 6 inch RCD kit installed which includes Bilsteins. My trailer weighs approximately 10000lbs and I have had no trouble with the truck. The only thing I had to do was to go to a TITAN Class V because my trailer tongue weight was 1600 lbs. 400 more than advertised by the manu. Weekend Warrior. My truck rides better and the trailer tows fine. Just make sure it is set up so that there is no ride height changed after the trailer is hookep up...I also runs 315s

i have a 03 dmax/allison with 33" buckshot mudders and i pull my camaro to the track in a 22 foot car hauler enclosed, don't know what the trailer weighs but the car is 3100 and add a drum of race gas, tools and 10 n2o bottles and i'd guess it's pretty heavy, i never tried to pull with the 245's but i will this summer, will it make a difference, i mean does it lower the effective gear rario that much? how tall is a 245?

Because running significantly larger tires effectively changes your gear ratio, you will need to change rear end/front gears for a 4-wheel drive to get you back close to stock. Your 245's will change your ratio very little. When I went to 315's, I still pulled fine but the transmission shifts were changed. I went to a 4.10 ratio and was much happier with towing, power, and transmission shifts.

A 245 75/16 is nominally 30.5" tall. You will need about a 4.04 ratio to get the same rpms per mph with 33s as you get with 245s and 3.73s.





BTW, the formula to figure out your tire size is:


((Tire width x profile percent x 2) / 25.4) + wheel diameter


((245mm x .75 x 2)/25.4) + 16