01 Tahoe Towing question

[Chads93GT]

Hey guys, im getting ready to move 7 hours away from Kansas to an hour south of St Louis. This will be the first time I will be towing anything with my tahoe. Its the 5.3 2x4. Anyway, im on the uhaul website and wondering what class hitch they put on these tahoes. It says on the label by the bumper that it has a 5000 pound towing rating, and uhaul requires a class 3 hitch.

Anyway while towing my car on the trailer, i am assuming that i press in the tow/haul button on the column shifter, but do i put the truck in drive, or in overdrive?

Anyone in the know, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[JKmotorsports]

Our trucks come with a Class III hitch. While towing, you can put the shifter in D and press the tow/haul button. This will firm the shifts, keep the tranny from shifting excessively, and keep the tranny out of OD below about 55mph depending on engine load.

 

[kikbaks]

I just left U-Haul after eight years. First question is, what car do you plan on towing? Have to make sure it qualifies based on weight.

... but yeah, you will need a class 3 hitch. Luckily the hitch and wiring is cheap & easy to install. Get a couple quotes for a complete package.

... also, you were right on the tow/haul mode and being able to use over-drive depends on towing weight and terrain.

I've towed enough weight up mountain grades to demand low range and I swear it reached the top an XL : )

A couple phone calls should get you all squared away. Good luck with the move!

 

[Chads93GT]

Well my tahoe has the hitch and wiring plug on it of course, and I also have a reese hitch tongue and ball rated at.......... a lot

The car I am pulling is a 1993 mustang GT, which weighs around 3100 pounds. the only thing Im wondering is........my tahoe will be jam packed full of stuff from moving too. but I will try to put lighter stuff in the back of the truck, and not all my shop tools, im sure that would completely max out my trucks weight, for sure.

don't the uhaul trailers come with the electonics to plug directly into that big plug in on the back of the tahoe already? or will i have to buy an adaptor from...........walmart or wherever.

LIke I said, i have the factory class 3 hitch on the truck and a reese tongue and ball. so im good to go from that end. we are moving on the 22nd so i need to figure this out before then.

 

[JKmotorsports]

I had to use a car trailer from Uhaul one time for one of my camaros and the trailer harness plugged right into my 7 pin harness on my truck. This was a while back, so double check with Uhaul when you pick up the trailer. They should have the adapter there if you need it. The car weighed in at about 3170 and I had a Snap-On toolchest in the truck and three other people with me with no problems. Max trailer weight for the 5.3L with 3.42s is 6900 lbs. and 7900 lbs with 3.73s.

 

[Chads93GT]

How do I find out what gear this thing has without jacking the rearend up, putting the trasn in neutral, and spinning the driveshaft and counting tire revolutions. surely like my mustangs there has to be a tag somewhere, right?

Pardon my ignorance but im a ford mustang guy and don't know much about these trucks. Thanks!

 

[JKmotorsports]

Here ya go. You don't even have to get dirty
Look at your RPO label which should be in the glovebox.
GT4 denotes 3.73 ratio
GT5 - 4.10
GU6 - 3.42

 

[Chads93GT]

Actually i found the number chart in another towing thread about the numbers in the glvoebox. I found the following in that mess of numbers in my glove box
GU6 - 3.42 rear axle ratio
G80 - limited slip/posi traction

 

[Chads93GT]

it seems like, if i dont load too muc h heavy stuff in the back of the tahoe for the move (ie all my craftsman tool chests, and other power tools) I should be ok with hauling the car with paintings, picture frames, couple area rugs tossed in the back and other light stuff, along with boxes of...........crap in the back of the tahoe I should be ok with the tow/haul button turned on, and in Drive.........or maybe overdrive? I guess ill find out and weigh the truck after I get it loaded up in 2 weeks, as i live next to a grain coop with a weight scale.

 

[Chads93GT]

One question. Let me know if this is wrong
ON my door my GVWR is 6500 pounds
GAWR Frt - 3200
GAWR RR - 3750

on the hitch above the electrical plug it says

max Trailer Weight Tongue Weight
Weight Carrying 5000 600
Weight Distributing 12000 1500

Can you break down what all this means?

 

[kikbaks]

I checked, you DO qualify to tow a 1993 Mustang GT with an auto transport. You are right, you will need an adapter from the 7-way on your Tahoe to the 4-flat on the trailer. They can be purchased at the U-Haul location for $13.95 or elsewhere for a little less. Because of the surge brake, the tongue sits very high on an auto transport. Being a 2wd, my guess is you will need a 6-8" rise drawbar used upside down in order to keep the trailer level when loaded. Do this, or you will sway like mad and be restricted to SLOW speeds.

 

[Chads93GT]

OOh that sucks. Ill have to check. I think my drawbar/tongue whatever is only a 2 or 4" drop

 

[Rollin Thunder]

how do you manually shift in to over drive, my shifter has the P R N D 3 2 1 , no over drive button, but a tow haul button.

dude i would not worry even if i did have the tools in the back, or do your tools weigh alot more than i think. but i know how moving is, i remember moving from last may:ack: never have i seen so many boxes.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

One question. Let me know if this is wrong
ON my door my GVWR is 6500 pounds
GAWR Frt - 3200
GAWR RR - 3750

on the hitch above the electrical plug it says

max Trailer Weight Tongue Weight
Weight Carrying 5000 600
Weight Distributing 12000 1500

Can you break down what all this means?

tongue weight is the weight on the hitch, or how much is leaning on the truck, so the mustang gt weighs 3700, so the most you can have on resting on the hitch is 600 of that 3700 and it is pulling the extra 3100 pounds.

distrubeting is what you can put on the trailer because the load is on the trailer not the truck, keep in mind the hitch used on your hoe *i think* is the same one they use on the 2500 8.1l suburban, so thats where the 12k comes in, since you max is 6900 pounds towing and hauling, thats your max and since that is over 5000 pounds it REALLY needs to be distrubited better.

 

[Chads93GT]

WEll I will make sure that I have the car centered on the trailer.

As for my tools.........I have 6 craftsman chests that I THOUGHT about putting in the back, along with whatever else I can fit in, which ill be mostly hand tools (carpenter tools) in the plastic cases. etc. etc. but depending on how it starts to sit, i guess I will put some lighter things in the back of it that doesnt quite weigh as much.

My wife inherited her dad's entire wood shop when he died and we have most of it in kansas. I have a retarded amount of tools to move, lol. but if you pulled a car, with 3 guys in the truck with a tool chest in the back, you were probably pulling 900-1000 pounds of meat around right? I guess that means i can pack 1000 pounds of crap into the back of the truck and be fine.

Thanks for the info guys.