BlakAZss Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 Ok, so I just ordered a new boat, which will arrive some time in august. The boat weighs in around 5k lbs dry, and Im sure the trailer is good for 2k, which is going to put me within 500lbs of the theoretical tow limit of my 03 AWD SS. I am looking to get the truck beefed up before then and looking for suggestions on mods to make sure the truck is good to go. The truck is pretty much stock. Suspension - I was thinking air bags in the rear. Anything else I need to do here - swaybars, better hitch, etc? Wheels and Tires - My truck has non-stock steel 20 inch rims with 305/55's on it right now. I have heard that the original tow rating on the SS had something to do with the stock wheels/tires, but not sure if that is true or not. Engine - I would probably be willing to do a cam, and will probably add a CAI. Trans - Def going with a big cooler - preferably with fans. Any suggestions? Anything else I need to do here? Fluids - Any suggestions on fluids for the trans/diff/transfer case? Computer - I'd really like something where I could switch between tunes. Can PCMforLess give me one tune for regular driving and a different tune for towing that could be engaged when the tow button is pressed? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WI_Dave Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 My pcm was tuned for performance in reg mode and stock tow/haul settings in tow/haul mode. I would get good brake pads or something to stop that much more weight. My brakes sucked without a trailer. Have fun with the new toy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 The airbags are not much help. What you need is a weight distribution hitch with sway control. I use a Reese Dual Cam setup for my travel trailer. The Reeses tend to be sold in parts, but this is what you need: Weight Distribution hitch Dual Cam Anti-Sway Shank/Hitch Bar and a hitch ball (make sure the ball is properly rated) Here is a package of the WD hitch and Dual cam just add a shank and ball: Reese Straight Line Dual Cam Equalizer is also well regarded Equal-i-zer Hitch You will need to get some idea what your tongue weight will be before buying, as the spring bars come in different weight capacities. If your SS didn't come with the tow package, you will need to find a reciever for it as well. Not sure if there are any. In casual shopping (considering an upgrade to my stock receiver base on some reports of problems with the stocker), most seem to say they can't be used on the SS. Probably because of the rear bumper cover or size of the spare. Everything you ever wanted to know about towing RVTowingTips.com A transmission cooler is a must! Transmission cooler install Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox_forma Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 just curious but how big is this boat? A trailer weighing 2k for s boat is pretty heavy I would think. I pulled an 8x16 enclosed trailer and that only weighed 2100 dry. But yeah a WD set-up would be what you need, I used one for my pull from PA to AZ and had no issues at all. It def helped the rear from squatting a good amount Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 The airbags are not much help. What you need is a weight distribution hitch with sway control. I use a Reese Dual Cam setup for my travel trailer.The Reeses tend to be sold in parts, but this is what you need: Weight Distribution hitch Dual Cam Anti-Sway Shank/Hitch Bar and a hitch ball (make sure the ball is properly rated) Here is a package of the WD hitch and Dual cam just add a shank and ball: Reese Straight Line Dual Cam Equalizer is also well regarded Equal-i-zer Hitch You will need to get some idea what your tongue weight will be before buying, as the spring bars come in different weight capacities. If your SS didn't come with the tow package, you will need to find a reciever for it as well. Not sure if there are any. In casual shopping (considering an upgrade to my stock receiver base on some reports of problems with the stocker), most seem to say they can't be used on the SS. Probably because of the rear bumper cover or size of the spare. Everything you ever wanted to know about towing RVTowingTips.com A transmission cooler is a must! Transmission cooler install thats the same setup we use on our motorhome when we pull our toy hauler. it does help alot i must admit . but i say get your boat and trailer and have it weighed that seems heavy. but yes the 20's do limit the tow ratings. air bags will help though just depends on how much weight your pulling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagged7104ss Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 If your boat trailer has surge brakes which I am sure it does, the weight distribution hitch will not work. Most standard trailers use electric brakes, but boat trailers use surge brakes. The sway bars wont work either. I would wait to see if you have any problems towing before you invest in anything. My boat weighs around 5000 dry and about 5800 loaded and I have no problem towing. I did add a bigger trans cooler and air bags to the rear . Braking is going to suck but unless you want to put some bigger brakes there is not much you can do. I got a towing shift kit from Zippy that I am sure helped some. For now I would do a bigger trans cooler, pcm tune, shift kit and servos and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 I didn't think they used surge brakes on larger boat trailers, but I don't know much about boats. Equalizer says their system works with surge brakes, though. Trailer Compatibility The Original Equal-i-zer® Sway Control Hitch can help you achieve worry free towing for your boating adventures. In the past boat owners have been limited by their inability to use weight distribution with their surge brake trailers. Equal-i-zer®'s unique sway brackets allow total compatibility with surge brakes. Until now Sway Control has also escaped the boat towers grasp. Traditional add on sway products limit or distort the amount of front to back movement and render surge brakes useless or even dangerous. The Original Equal-i-zer® Sway Control Hitch allows anyone with surge brakes to have the benefit and comfort of 4-Point Sway Control™. I would think the Reese Dual Cam would interfere with surge brakes, but the plain weight distribution system would not, as the chains allow the forward/backward movment the surge brakes would need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelleyperformance Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 i tow (used to before the stick) like a 7k boat. stock, it was ruff. the truck was very unstable at speeds above 50, and the transmission overheated very quickly. not to mention it was hard to stop, even with the surge bakes (4x 13" rotors/s piston calipers on the trailer). after the just the maggie, the alumisports, the new suspension (lowered), built tranny with large cooler, the truck towed great. i used a duramax to compare it to, and it wasnt much stronger pulling (in comparison to after i had 500whp) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
56chevywagon Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 I've heard a lot of good things about the Roadmaster Active Susupension System...I have not used it myself but I'm thinking about it... http://www.activesuspension.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertss Posted June 17, 2007 Report Share Posted June 17, 2007 i pull a 3800 lb tent trailer and a 4000 lb boat in tandem and have no problems. both have electric brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Airbags and Roadmaster Active Suspension System can help with heavy loads in the bed of the truck, but when you are towing, the weight is being added to a point to the rear of the bumper (the ball). That is acting as a lever, trying to raise your front wheels, using the rear wheels as the pivot point. In a situation like BlakAZss is proposing, where he will be putting the maximum (or slightly more) load, the loss of steering control will be an issue. That is why weight distribution hitches exist. They add a spring that pushes the lever the other way, moving some of the weight to the front wheels, and hopefully balancing the load front to rear. I have airbags on my SS for leveling out bed loads (rarely needed, but it seemed like a cool idea at the time). The airbags really do nothing for me in towing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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