What tow rating should I look for?

Well we made it back but that was not fun! I was worried about braking, but That was not the problem at all. The truck really struggled pulling up any sort of grade. When I was almost home, and stopped at an offramp, I looked down and my oil pressure went to zero. A little blip of the throttle and it would come back up and stay and then it would drop again. I did not see this until I was just a few miles from home so I went on home and pressure stayed OK most of the time. After I got everything unhooked for the truck back up and drove around for a while and it seemed perfectly normal again. Don’t know what the heck that was but not good….🙄 i’ve had this truck several years and the oil pressure was always rocksolid right square in the middle of the gauge.
 

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cyoung said:
Well we made it back but that was not fun! I was worried about braking, but That was not the problem at all. The truck really struggled pulling up any sort of grade. When I was almost home, and stopped at an offramp, I looked down and my oil pressure went to zero. A little blip of the throttle and it would come back up and stay and then it would drop again. I did not see this until I was just a few miles from home so I went on home and pressure stayed OK most of the time. After I got everything unhooked for the truck back up and drove around for a while and it seemed perfectly normal again. Don’t know what the heck that was but not good….🙄 i’ve had this truck several years and the oil pressure was always rocksolid right square in the middle of the gauge.
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It probably got the oil hot and thinned out. An oil cooler would help, but there ain’t but so much you can do about the power. Were you letting it gear down and rev high? Some people think they’re hurting an engine by revving it hard and they want to lug it but a gas engine isn’t going to make power down low. With my GM 6.0 and current 8.1 truck it’s very normal for me to pull a grade at 4,000+ RPM.
 
77GreenMachine said:
It probably got the oil hot and thinned out. An oil cooler would help, but there ain’t but so much you can do about the power. Were you letting it gear down and rev high? Some people think they’re hurting an engine by revving it hard and they want to lug it but a gas engine isn’t going to make power down low. With my GM 6.0 and current 8.1 truck it’s very normal for me to pull a grade at 4,000+ RPM.
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Exactly!!!!
 
I’m sure you guys are right, I’ve just never seen oil get hot enough to do that I guess and it kinda scared me that something worse had happened.
And yes to the above, I had down shifted it into second, and even first a time or two it was creeping along At close to 4000 RPMs. I think I’ll be looking for a suburban in my near future. If you guys know of anything available, please let me know.
 
cyoung said:
I’m sure you guys are right, I’ve just never seen oil get hot enough to do that I guess and it kinda scared me that something worse had happened.
And yes to the above, I had down shifted it into second, and even first a time or two it was creeping along At close to 4000 RPMs. I think I’ll be looking for a suburban in my near future. If you guys know of anything available, please let me know.
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I’ll let you know and post a link here. My dad and I are always looking at them. It’s a habit we can’t seem to shake.

Fwiw I run rotella full syn 5w-40 diesel oil in everything. Diesel oil still has higher zddp in it and will keep the lifters and valve guides happier during heavy use.

Zddp can clog a cat prematurely but I haven’t had that problem.

Newer stuff with roller lifters and roller tip rockers aren’t as affected by low zddp oil as pre96 and flat tappet lifters.
 
I second what Scott said. In my 8.1 I run Rotella T 4 with a quart of Lucas. The Lucas could be nothing for all I know, but since switching to Rotella I picked up much better oil pressure and the oil analysis show a happy engine.

The oil is working very hard when an engine is at high RPM under load. That’s why your newer trucks (speaking 99ish+) have oil coolers.

I do think if you got into a 6.0 powered Burb you’d be thrilled and tow at much more peace of mind. But if you can add an oil cooler to your current truck and or switch the oil up as mentioned above you can get by with what you have and not be rushed. Prices seem to be coming down a little on things.

@Van-go has an 8.1 Burb but I don’t know if he’d sell it or not.
 
77GreenMachine said:
I second what Scott said. In my 8.1 I run Rotella T 4 with a quart of Lucas. The Lucas could be nothing for all I know, but since switching to Rotella I picked up much better oil pressure and the oil analysis show a happy engine.

The oil is working very hard when an engine is at high RPM under load. That’s why your newer trucks (speaking 99ish+) have oil coolers.

I do think if you got into a 6.0 powered Burb you’d be thrilled and tow at much more peace of mind. But if you can add an oil cooler to your current truck and or switch the oil up as mentioned above you can get by with what you have and not be rushed. Prices seem to be coming down a little on things.

@Van-go has an 8.1 Burb but I don’t know if he’d sell it or not.
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Yeah and it has lots of new parts. Replaced radiator last week. Water pump this week.
AC compressor next week.
Before long it will be a new vehicle.
 
I used to tow a similar weight travel trailer with our 2004 tahoe. only issue was the gearing for 4th and 5th gear. Too low/too high at 60-65. Usually just left it in 4th and let the motor turn faster.
I upgraded to a Ram with a 5.9 and was much happier. No longer white knuckled driving. That was likely more about the short wheelbase of the Tahoe. You don't have that issue. We also went diesel as we knew we'd upgrade to a 5th wheel, which we did.

Keep the 250 as long as you can. With the price of new(er) vehicles, you could throw a LOT of money at the 250.
If you need more power, look at the air flow (air cleaner/intake, then exhaust). Perhaps some timing and spark plug gap.
 
captain said:
I used to tow a similar weight travel trailer with our 2004 tahoe. only issue was the gearing for 4th and 5th gear. Too low/too high at 60-65. Usually just left it in 4th and let the motor turn faster.
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2004 Tahoe with 5 gears?
 
cyoung said:
i’ve had this truck several years and the oil pressure was always rocksolid right square in the middle of the gauge.
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It's because it's not an oil pressure gauge. There's a switch on the side of the motor near the oil filter. If it sees a certain minimum psi, it switches closed and the "gauge" travels to the middle of its range. The fact that it never moves is the tell tale - oil pressure fluctuates with temperature and engine RPM. You got the oil hot and it dropped the pressure down below the minimum (probably 5psi, but I don't remember). Those motors don't much care about pressure so long as there's flow. It's not uncommon for them to not have much hot oil pressure once they get past 150k. You can run a heavier oil in it to help.
 
LBarr2002 said:
2004 Tahoe with 5 gears?
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You're correct. 4 forward gears. Darn torque converter lockup always made me add one. Anyhow, I often would not use overdrive.
 
I had a 7.4l vortec that would do the same thing with the oil pressure gauge, it was a cracked sender. At idle the crack was enough to make the ECU cut fuel to save the engine, with RPM, it was still bleeding pressure, BUT the ECU was happy.

Might want to heck your oil pressure sensor before condemning the motor, it might be a small leak that only present when oil viscosity and underhood temperatures are just right.

As for power.....what gears are in the axles? I had an F150 with 2.73 gears in it that (obviously) really came alive with new gears.
 
captain said:
I used to tow a similar weight travel trailer with our 2004 tahoe. only issue was the gearing for 4th and 5th gear. Too low/too high at 60-65. Usually just left it in 4th and let the motor turn faster.
I upgraded to a Ram with a 5.9 and was much happier. No longer white knuckled driving. That was likely more about the short wheelbase of the Tahoe. You don't have that issue. We also went diesel as we knew we'd upgrade to a 5th wheel, which we did.

Keep the 250 as long as you can. With the price of new(er) vehicles, you could throw a LOT of money at the 250.
If you need more power, look at the air flow (air cleaner/intake, then exhaust). Perhaps some timing and spark plug gap.
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I'd like to keep the 250 as I think it is appreciating in value but not sure it is going to make sense, see lower post. Also, I bought a 78 F150 project/play truck and the 250 may be one too many to keep up with. :)
 
shawn said:
It's because it's not an oil pressure gauge. There's a switch on the side of the motor near the oil filter. If it sees a certain minimum psi, it switches closed and the "gauge" travels to the middle of its range. The fact that it never moves is the tell tale - oil pressure fluctuates with temperature and engine RPM. You got the oil hot and it dropped the pressure down below the minimum (probably 5psi, but I don't remember). Those motors don't much care about pressure so long as there's flow. It's not uncommon for them to not have much hot oil pressure once they get past 150k. You can run a heavier oil in it to help.
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Thanks Shawn - This is great info.!
 
Well yesterday was the big car shuffle at our house. Traded my wife's 2012 Highlander for the 2013 2500 Yukon XL tow rig/hauler. She will now drive my 2015 Lexus. Also kind of fell into an opportunity to buy my 92 yo Aunt/Uncle's low miles 2007 Buick for my new DD. They are both 92 and married 71 years as of yesterday; amazing! Anyway, they just decided to quit driving and offered it for sale to family. Prob paid a little too much but it's nice and wanted them to get a good deal too! Thanks for all the input and advice.
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Good looking Burb! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts when you pull the camper with it, keep us posted.
 
cyoung said:
Wow, what 1500 has a 9400 tow rating? That surprises me...
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My 2014 Chevy 5.3L (355Hp) 2wd Double Cab had a 9600# rating with 3.42s. It pulled my Nissan on my 18" dovetail like no 3/4 ton gasser I ever had (lighter weight truck) but the chassis was soft (even with weight distribution) and the brakes were uninspiring. It really needed a rear antisway bar, LT tires, and front brake upgrade to be awesome. All the 3/4 ton gasser trucks I have had were more stable and substantial but none of them had the get up and go off that truck, even with more horsepower and lower axle gearing (my current Ram has 383Hp and 3.73s).
 
OnlyOneDR said:
My 2014 Chevy 5.3L (355Hp) 2wd Double Cab had a 9600# rating with 3.42s. It pulled my Nissan on my 18" dovetail like no 3/4 ton gasser I ever had (lighter weight truck) but the chassis was soft (even with weight distribution) and the brakes were uninspiring. It really needed a rear antisway bar, LT tires, and front brake upgrade to be awesome. All the 3/4 ton gasser trucks I have had were more stable and substantial but none of them had the get up and go off that truck, even with more horsepower and lower axle gearing (my current Ram has 383Hp and 3.73s).
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I've described the difference between my 2015 Sierra 1500 and 2005 Yukon XL 2500 as the Sierra pulled it quicker, but the yukon feels more comfortable doing it.
 
LBarr2002 said:
I've described the difference between my 2015 Sierra 1500 and 2005 Yukon XL 2500 as the Sierra pulled it quicker, but the yukon feels more comfortable doing it.
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I agree with that statement 100%.
 
Trick for checking the oil pressure... Get one of the cheaper tire gauges from the auto parts store (picture) and remote the stem. There's a 1/8" npt input! Put on a little plumber's tape. Find the sending unit ("sensor") on the motor. Take it out and put the tire gauge in. Voila, active/real pressure oil gauge to check the real pressure at the motor. (i.e. checks back to see if your sending unit is working)

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