xlman Posted May 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 Just as I figured ...................... I tend to agree with you SSilverado60 - there is an argument to be made for "conservative" specs - - - but I have done a ton of trailering over the past 30 years, and once you're hooked up, you know right away if you're in good shape, or not. I'll let you know how I make out with my SS. It will be the sweetest tow vehicle in the parks this summer - and I expect lots of "lookers" when I pull by them. I anticipate LOTS of interest and plenty of compliments. Go SS ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted May 7, 2003 Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 They have different rear springs for the lowering. The '03's have different rear springs than the '99-02's have, as their payload capacity has gone up from 800lbs to 1300lbs. We will be buying some of those rear springs in the near future. While the advertised tow rating for the L is 5000lbs (with no weight distribution hitch), right on the hitch itself is printed "towing capacity with a weight distribution hitch is 8400lbs." Thus I was incorrect in my above statement. That is less than a regular F150's towing capacity. The heaviest tow we made with the L is a GCVW of 13,660 (checked on the scales in Kingman, AZ). There were no problems with that tow over 580 mountainous miles. Averaged 10mpg on the trip (running the speed limit which does go up to 75mph on hwy 40..... this is driving anywhere from an elevation of 0 (sea level), to 7500ft). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSilverado60 Posted May 7, 2003 Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 They have different rear springs for the lowering. The '03's have different rear springs than the '99-02's have, as their payload capacity has gone up from 800lbs to 1300lbs. We will be buying some of those rear springs in the near future. While the advertised tow rating for the L is 5000lbs (with no weight distribution hitch), right on the hitch itself is printed "towing capacity with a weight distribution hitch is 8400lbs." Thus I was incorrect in my above statement. That is less than a regular F150's towing capacity. The heaviest tow we made with the L is a GCVW of 13,660 (checked on the scales in Kingman, AZ). There were no problems with that tow over 580 mountainous miles. Averaged 10mpg on the trip (running the speed limit which does go up to 75mph on hwy 40..... this is driving anywhere from an elevation of 0 (sea level), to 7500ft). Yeah, thats what I thought, you guys actually have your rear springs as your limiting factor. The SS doesnt because they are the same as the other trucks. These trucks do pull very well, I pulled my 21' boat with it last weekend and it didnt even phase it. I did have to hook it up to our 28' enclosed car trailer for a little bit, that thing really loaded the poor truck down, I wouldnt even consider pulling that trailer anywhere with my truck. Luckily i only had to move it a very short distance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSilverado60 Posted May 7, 2003 Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 Extreme4x4, why dont you get some helper bags for your truck instead of replacing the springs? My dad has them on his 93 dually and they are great, If you race the truck, it will also help you preload the suspension for your launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsen Posted May 7, 2003 Report Share Posted May 7, 2003 Extreme4x4, why dont you get some helper bags for your truck instead of replacing the springs? My dad has them on his 93 dually and they are great, If you race the truck, it will also help you preload the suspension for your launch. i can also vouch for the helper bags, i had them on my 94 chevy, they were great. they were from the air lift co. , had a little compresser under the hood, switch and gauge in the ashtray, it was a cool little set-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 anytime you have to add bag's or springs to help with the load you either have the wrong truck for what your pulling or the tongue load is just too much due to an improper trailer set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSilverado60 Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 anytime you have to add bag's or springs to help with the load you either have the wrong truck for what your pulling or the tongue load is just too much due to an improper trailer set up. They are perfect for trucks that have a modified suspension. our dually has a 5/7 drop, and the only way you can still tow a heavy load, is to use these helper bags. This is why it would be perfect for a Lightning, the actual truck is rated to handle more, but the springs are not, so but using these bags, it will give you the spring rate necessary to haul somehting heavier. And it lets you fine tune your ride, as well as preload the suspension when at the track, i dont see why that isnt a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 if you bought a dually for towing, don't lower it. if you buy a lightning, don't plan to tow anything heavy with it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 if you bought a dually for towing, don't lower it. if you buy a lightning, don't plan to tow anything heavy with it either. That is a cop out. You can do anything you want with what you purchased. Since our Lightning says it has a trailer towing capacity of 8400lbs with the weight distribution hitch....... and we use a weight distribution hitch.......... why can we not tow that weight???? If the load is stable, and the truck goes down the road well, what is the problem???? It sounds all good and wonderful to say "buy this for that." However, many of us live in the real world where we can't buy a different vehicle for every different thing that we do. Thus, our vehicles often have to wear different hats....... just as we do. If something as small as using a weight distribution hitch (which is real nice to use anyway), or different wheels and tires allows our vehicle to wear those other hats easier...... why not???? From this thread, it would seem to me that if you want to do serious towing, that you shouldn't buy a Silverado SS either. However, if you have one, and find you need to tow 7000lbs........... the truck will be more than able and willing to do so as long as you use a weight distribution hitch. There is nothing wrong with that. BTW, we did not buy the Lightning to tow with........... we bought it to be a real fun truck that has the ability to tow or haul what we need, when we need to......... on top of being fun to drive. Something tells me this is the same reason someone buys the SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlman Posted May 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 I agree with you Extreme4x4, completely. I get a laugh out of some guys (who haven't been suckin air as long as I've been trailering) telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing with my vehicle(s)! I suggest those guys find better ways to spend their time - I'm not listening. Don't let 'em get your dander up - and let's hope that we find real helpful, experienced information here - - not more sideline critics who think they know more about everything than they probably do. I tow the trailer I'm speaking of, with a 1/2 Ton Chevy right now. 350 V8 with fewer horses. I get a beautiful ride, and an easy tow. The only thing I would wish for, is to not lose quite as much speed when I'm going up a really steep hill - - - but few vehicles wouldn't in those same situations. Beyond that minor issue, I've never had a problem. You can bet that I'll give the SS a try when it finally gets here - and it is supposed to be built this week. I'll be sure to post the results after we get all hitched up - I'll be wearing one of Mervz's new hats when I do ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted May 8, 2003 Report Share Posted May 8, 2003 I guess I just get tired of that "your truck is a sports truck so it can't do any real truck stuff" attitude that I get on so many sites. It just gets old. This has been a popular topic lately...... which may explain why I have gotten tired of it. Of course, we have also done a lot of heavy towing lately....... so maybe I am reading these posts more. It boils down to....... I respect your decision to buy what you want...... so please respect my decision to do the same. Now, I could understand if I was trying to tow a 40' Teton 5th wheel with it....... but I'm not. I am just having my truck do the truck things that I need done. Luckily for me, it does it very well......... even better than most people would ever imagine. It's next fun will be when we sell our shop in NV. It will then tow our '37 GMC 2.5 ton cab and chassis over........... of course that isn't really heavy........ just long (will just fit on our car trailer). BTW, power towing is never an issue with the L. The funny thing is that this truck can accelerate faster, towing 5000+ pounds, than most vehicles do on their own. Ahhhhh, the joys of torque. This power is also what allows the truck to get decent fuel economy towing. I would like to see an 8.1L 2500HD, or 6.8L F250 get 10mpg towing 8000+ pounds in the terrain we ran. Those trucks would have a hard time getting the 10mpg in that terrain....... empty. hehe, even the cruise works great....... with overdrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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