gas milage

[blazen]

just figured out my gas milage after towing a (empty) trailer down the highway at about 70. the trip was about 200 miles and I used 3rd gear (not supposed to tow in over drive) 2800 rpms. I got 13 miles per gallon thats not good for a 6 cylinder. just towed it back fully loaded havent figured out the milage for that yet but I know its worse because I use basicly the whole tank.

[20Xtreme02]

I you were doing 70 down the freeway, you could have used overdrive. At that speed and RPM you wouldn't have been lugging the engine in OD. It would kick down a gear when necessary on hills or to pass. I know, its a little late for that information now.

[blazen]

I think someone makes something so your able to tow in overdrive but i cant seem to find it. which I will need if I want to change the gears in the rear end. plus a tranny cooler. but I think 13 mpg is bad. my farther has an 1988 surburban with a 350 and i think he got 12 mpg towing the same trailer but thats a much bigger truck.

[1993blazerlt]

if you get the number of clutches changed in the 4th gear clutch you can tow in overdrive with no problem but that requires a tear down of the tranny

[bvr775]

you not supposed to tow in od if you have an R4 with 4l60 it woun't hurt anything. i forget what they put in a 93 but chances are with a 4/3 in a 93 blazer you already have a towing pagage.

[1993blazerlt]

the 700-r4 and 4l60 are the same tranny. The 4l60-E which is in all 93 and newer is a electronic version of the 700-r4. The internals are the same in both trannys.

[Blazer69]

i was always told never to tow in od always in drive....

[blazen]

i was always told never to tow in od always in drive....
I heard the same thing. its got something to do with the bands slipping and over heating but someone make a heavy duty band that will allow you to tow in over drive.

[1993blazerlt]

it is not the band that you have to worry about but the clutches. The band is used in 2nd and 4th. You need to worry about the clutch that controals 4th gear. thoses only have a few disks. you can but thinner disks so you can fit more of them in there and that will allow you to tow in overdrive. That requires a total tear down of the tranny though

[blazen]

my tranny has alot of miles so i might get it rebuilt and if i do I'll have that done while I'm in there

[Krazny]

Ok, So for review,
I am not supposed to tow in OD, Correct?
Even if you have a factory towing package?

(Hey, its Sunday, and some of us have been drinkin since noon-thirty)

[1993blazerlt]

correct the towing package is usually a hich reciver trailer wiring and a oil cooler.

[Hammer]

my father towed a 26ft hard top camping trailer with the leveling hitch and all the stuff, electric brakes on the trailer etc etc. he swore up and down that his 350 with 3.73's would have not issues in O.D. I told him over and over and over and he didn't listen, do not tow that trailer in O.D. you WILL burn up o.d. first, then the tcc, then third, and so on. did he listen NO. so they get back a day later than usual from N.C. vacation, i ask ma what took so long, she laughed and told me to ask dad about the transmission or something. man did he get pissed when i said to him, how was the drive home in 2nd and sometimes 3rd gear doing 50 TOPS. if i wasn't his kid he would've knocked me out. to this day HE WILL NOT admit i was right. he blames in on the cooler not working right, even thought the clutches, according to our buddy mechanic "were non existent" when he tore it down.

he had the extra clutches added, rebuilt the tranny for like 1000 dollars, had a shift kit put in it, and.... from what i hear.... won't tow in O.D. lol.

[blazen]

just figured what I got for milage on the return trip with a fully loaded trailer. I got 12 mpg doing about 55 to 60 mph and about 2250 to 2500 rpms. I would have went alittle faster but i think the trailer had to much weight in it cause it was swaying all over the place.

[bvr775]

your rated for a half ton(1000lbs) 1500 if you have the towing encreased capasity option(not the same as the towing package).

when they say you can tow a 5000lb trailer there not talking about the toungue weight. a properly balanced traler will only put about 400-600lbs of that weight on the hitch. what dose this mean for towing? nothing, you just won't bottom out you supention. No you can not tow a 27 foot travel traler(about 8,000-10,000lbs in od and unless you have a tranny that is bullet proof like mine I wouldn't try it even in 3rd and you need at least a 3/4 ton to tow that perferably deisel.

here's the deal the 700r4 will not last if you tow in od, but unlike what anouther post said the 700r4 is similar but is not the same as a 4l60. the 4l60 in an s-10 will handel a 5000lb load in od on the hyway without a problem. provided you have the right hitch, your trailer is well balanced and your wheels are aligned and your hubs spin freely and you have the complete towing package(not just a hitch and oil cooler,extra work is needed) trans cooler instaled post rad and an oil cooler. Even with the stock trans I never had a problem with mine, but I also broke it in properly. you can't just hookup throw it od an go. Read your owners .

an empty lowboy woun't hurt anything unless something is draging. With the milage you put up you need to take a good look at you lowboy. You have gotten atleast 15mpg
E-brakes drag so make sure you brake is working properlly

[Hammer]

my dads ride was a beauville van, 3/4 ton, i should've clarified that. 3/4 ton is a guess but it had a tranny cooler installed, oil cooler, wiring harness for e-brakes, etc etc.

and he still smoked the O.D. with everything working right on the trailer. my best friends dad did the same thing with his silverado. ok now these are like vehicles from the 90's not the new redesigned silverado's and such. from what i've heard, the 700R4 and the 4l60/E are all 3 very reliable tranny's based on the 350 turbo which could taken hellacious beatings!!

[1993blazerlt]

the 700-r4 and 4l60 are the same tranny. In the early 90's GM started to rename their trans missions in a new way. For example the 3L80(Late model 400) the first number 3 is the number of gears, the letter can be a L or T L is for RWD and T is for FWD. The last number is the torque rating. The 4l60 and 700 are the same! Only in 93 When the 4L60E came out where there differences. The E stands for electronic. This means their is not TV cable or govenor to controal shifting. The computer controals all the shifthing

[Jake Nac]

here's the deal the 700r4 will not last if you tow in od, but unlike what anouther post said the 700r4 is similar but is not the same as a 4l60.

Id like to know why the 4L60E can handle it but the 700R cannot if they are both basically the same internally?

[bvr775]

Id like to know why the 4L60E can handle it but the 700R cannot if they are both basically the same internally?


I've told it has to do with valve body and fluid pressor, but cense your the tranny guy I would still like to know why the 700r4 burns up under load.

[Jake Nac]

Operatoritus

[20Xtreme02]

If the trailor was swaying badly its usually an indication that you didn't have enough weight on the tounge, not that its overloaded. Just moving 100 pounds or so forward will stop the swaying. The clue for it being overloaded is flat tires!!

[blazen]

I'm pretty sure I had it loaded about right. It would sway on flat roads or up hill only on the down hill. some one told me it wasnt the trailer swaying it was the trailer pushing the truck. because it is only an s10 which are pretty light and have a short wheel base is what cause the problem. but that was just an eduicated guess. i dont think it helped that the truck is lowered

[Krazny]

The clue for it being overloaded is flat tires!!

Or if you bottom out the trailer's suspension and rip off the fenders. . .
(Incidentially, it is never EVER a good idea to do a Slim Pickens on a grain elevator as its being towed on said trailer)

[20Xtreme02]

Something you care to share with us Krazny? I'm picturing something right now that has me rolling on the floor.

[RickyCRX]

You can tow in OD without any problem... As long as the TCC stays locked up, there shouldn't be anything slipping. The problem comes in when you have the upshifting and downshifting when pulling up a grade. If you don't use cruise control and just LET THE VEHICLE SLOW DOWN on its own a little when going up hills instead of burying your foot deeper into the throttle, you will be fine.

I got ~15-16mpg towing a 2200lb empty car hauler trailer from Dallas to San Antonio with my '98 Blazer. That was crappy gas mileage for sure. We pulled the same trailer with my dad's 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.7l V8 WITH my Honda S2000 on it (~2800lb car; total 5000lb trailer weight) from San Antonio, Texas to Vancouver, BC, Canada and averaged 14.5 with that setup, fully loaded (We were also averaging at least 75-80mph on that entire run with GPS-verified speeds as high as 93mph)... These V6s are okay for short distance towing, but if you're going to go very far at all, they are horrible.

[T Man]

We pulled the same trailer with my dad's 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.7l V8 WITH my Honda S2000 on it


Not to nit pick, but they stopped using the 5.7 when they changed the body style from the boxy to the more rounded (99 I believe) Your dads truck has a 5.3

[Krazny]

Something you care to share with us Krazny? I'm picturing something right now that has me rolling on the floor.

Boss decides that he wants to put 1300 hay bales into his loft.
Problem is that it is 9 feet off the floor of the barn, and we cant back a trailer in due to the layout. And my ass is not going to toss 1300 haybales up there.
So, he figured it might be wise to buy an elevator.
He finds one that is '20' feet long for $100 and buys it.
well, we get there to pick it up, and it grew another 12 feet overnight. . .
(he bought some other machinery at the same time, and rather than make 2 trips we decided to load it all up at once.)We had the elevator in the back of the truck and resting on top of the trailer for support. Problem was that it wouldn't stay centered on the trailer when we turned. So I (Being the redneck engineer that I am. . . ) came up with the idea of riding it like Slim and using my legs to brace against the trailer sides when we turned. (Hey Yawl, watch this! But you gotta hang onto my beer. . .) We were doing 35-40 when we hit a small bump, and that was all it took. . .
The tires hit the fenders, (3/8 in diamond plate BTW) and basically ripped them off. This caused the one of the tires to blow, which caused the elevator to slide to the rear. Since I was on top of the elevator, this also meant I was moving to the rear. By the time my boss got the truck stopped, one end of the elevator was resting on the trailer, and the other end had been dragging on the ground for 120 feet. . .
My boss thought it was pretty funny. And in hindsight it is. But damn, no more Slim Pickens impersonations for me. . .

[blazen]

I wish i was there to see that

[XxInFaxX]

ye ha! ride that elevator!

[20Xtreme02]

I like that, an engineering degree from 6-pak U!

[Krazny]

Eh,
I prefer to think of my engineering career before I came to Purdue as studying for a Backwoods Undergraduate Degree
Largely In Technical Engineering


(Kudos to you if you get the joke)

And it is a wonder I am still alive after some of the **** I have done....

[T Man]

He he he, I get it