How much can I tow?

I would like to know if anyone has a pretty good idea on how much my 1997 1500, 5.7L. I would guess that I am going to be pulling a 2007 corolla on a Uhaul trailer to Oklahoma from Monatana. Do you think that my truck can do that?

Yes, you shouldn't have any problems. I've used mine to tow a 6000lb Boy Scout trailer across the state of Texas, twice. Once on a weekend trip and the other on a week long "low adventure" trip for the younger Scouts. Although there are things you should watch for...

1. Check your transmission fluid, make sure it is good before the trip. I didn't check mine on the first trip and burnt the hell out of it.
2. If your truck has a built in transmission oil cooler into the radiator you should be good to go. If not look into getting an after market one put in.
3. Make sure your brakes are good also, especially the front pads. The car hauler probably has surge brakes on it which are good, but not the best.

I used to have a 91' extra cab pick-up with a camper shell on the bed which I did a lot of towing with and she did very well. Now I have a 92' regular cab short bed and she will still tow the same amount but she gets pushed around a little more than my older truck did since she is a lighter truck.

Don't forget to stop and check out the sights along the way, America is a beautiful country. Also it will give your truck a chance to cool down, which will only help you on your journey.

Also, one more thing, I don't know how the 97' trucks are on unleaded gas fuel mangement when towing, but my older trucks are pretty crappy. My mileage would get cut from 330 miles to the tank (25 gallon tank) to about 250 per tank when towing heavy.

Thanks for the help. I did figure that it could pull it but I just wanted to make sure. Do you have any idea on about how much it would cost to get the cooler installed? I would call around but I am in Iraq and will be moving a month after I get home. thanks!

Also, one more thing, I don't know how the 97' trucks are on unleaded gas fuel mangement when towing, but my older trucks are pretty crappy. My mileage would get cut from 330 miles to the tank (25 gallon tank) to about 250 per tank when towing heavy.
Your towing 6000 lbs and you blame fuel management for poor fuel economy?

Check your radiator first, since you have a 350 V-8 you should already have the tranny cooler in the radiator. There should be two small diameter (1/4-3/16 inch) metal lines into one of the side tanks on the radiator.

As far as the price on getting one installed, I don't know, I've never looked into it. Any local auto shop could do it for you, you just have to call around.

Your towing 6000 lbs and you blame fuel management for poor fuel economy?
:biggrin:

If you buy the cooler at a local auto parts store, it runs about $60 for a good one. It's fairly simple to do it yourself, they come with round zip-ties that go straight through the radiator and condenser and have another plastic piece that slides over the end to lock it together. On the coolers I have installed on my truck, I made a very simple bracket that holds them on without those zip-ties. I know they should work, but I personally don't trust them. The bracket I made for mine is just two flat pieces of steel long enough to go between the lower and upper radiator support and about 1/2" wide and 1/8" thick. I drilled and tapped the radiator supporst, but self-tapping screws would work fine. Then I just drilled and tapped holes for the coolers to bolt onto. Again, self-tappers would work.

For the routing of the lines, run it through the additional cooler first, then back through the one in the radiator.

If you have it done at a shop, expect a couple hours labor.

And one more small detail if you're installing the cooler yourself to avoid air pockets:

Have the tranny fluid flowing from the tranny into the bottom fitting of the external cooler and out the top fitting of the external cooler, back into the bottom fitting of the rad cooler and back out the top fitting of the rad cooler back to the tranny.

Well thanks, I guess I will just have to wait until I get home before I think about getting one installed. Oh yeah on more thing. I have a Hitch on the back of my truck that I think if factory? but the old owner painted over the sticker on it. Does anyone know what the class rating on it would be? Thanks for you time!

well, if you have a square-shaped reciever for a hitch under your rear bumper, and it is about 2 inches across on the inside, you will not have any problems. you would destroy your truck before the hitch would give out. if you have a smaller one like the ones you would see on a car or small suv, those are kind of iffy. if you have just a hitch ball on your actual bumper, its probably good to look into getting the large reciever hitch installed under the bumper. it can be welded to your frame or i believe they also make models that will bolt to the frame as well.

when it comes to towing a car on a trailer, there should be no worries at all. i wouldnt even bother with getting a separate tranny cooler rather than just letting the radiator cool it. you wont need it for a dinky load like that. my dad's bone stock 1990 pickup with a 350 and 700r4 tranny used to pull the family's 8000 pound fifth wheel without too much trouble. you should still be able to keep the torque converter locked in top gear with your load. if it likes to shift down into third gear on the hills, then i would just put the selector in that gear to keep it from shifting a lot

hey thanks!! Your the person that made me feel alot better about towing my car.
I did have the tranny and T/C fluids and filters changed before I left for Iraq in Sept. and when I get home I will have the fluid changed in the front and rear end.

I have never towed anything like this before for this long. If you havent figured it out. I am stressed about about this move. So thanks guys for helping me out.

Well after some serious time online and looking through pages after pages I did find out that my truck is rated to 7500 pounds of trailer towing. If anyone out there wants to know here is the information that you are looking at. I also found out that it comes stock with 250 HP. not too bad I guess.

must be a vortec. they are pretty hefty motors. yeah as long as you dont go too fast nothing bad will happen. i saw a bunch of idiots in south dakota coming back from sturgis with huge trailers hitched to the back of v-6 explorers and things of that nature. they were dropping like flies because the idiots would try to do 100 miles an hour with the pedal mashed to the floor and they would overheat or blow a head gasket or something. good rule of thumb is if you are flooring it, you might need to slow down :-)

I've got a 98 k-1500 and I usually stack two to three cars on my trailer and haul them to the junk yard, and I've never had any trouble yet knock on wood.

I've got a 98 k-1500 and I usually stack two to three cars on my trailer and haul them to the junk yard, and I've never had any trouble yet knock on wood.


this does not compare to driving from oklahoma to montana....going up mountains for 15-20miles.... on a long trip he needs to make sure his tranny and brakes are ready for the worst.....

a very large trannsmission cooler would be smart move!!!!