Cam Suggestions

[Carrotop79]

I have the stock 3.73's, and 58K on the motor. I know I need to beef up the tranny but my first goal was to get more power for towing. I can't stand chugging along at 55-60 with my travel trailer (4500 lbs.). Even on a flat surface the thing stays at about 27-3000 RPM and in and out of downshifting. Basically I want it to tow better. I will contact the people you suggested in reference to the trans and see what they say. I pull the trailer about 5 times a year, but only because my Yukon annoys me while driving. If it towed easier, I would travel more. Thanks for the help and advise.

[txarkitekt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Carrotop79 &#064; Mar 26 2007, 08&#58;07 AM) [snapback]87298[/snapback]</div>

Even on a flat surface the thing stays at about 27-3000 RPM and in and out of downshifting. Basically I want it to tow better. I pull the trailer about 5 times a year, but only because my Yukon annoys me while driving. If it towed easier, I would travel more.
[/b]

Yeah, I know what you are saying. One of the biggest no-no&#39;s out there for people with our trucks is that they put more power in the motor, but neglect the rest of the driveline. The 4L60E is weak from the factory, but the motor and rearend can handle pretty heavy power increases without having to be built. You can do the motor mods now and wait to do the tranny later, but I don&#39;t want to go back and say "I told you so..."

[RedHeartbeat]

I don&#39;t know about newer model vehicles but I&#39;ve always heard to never allow the transmission to go into overdrive gear while pulling a trailer. The transmission ends up with a mechanical disadvantage and the internal leverage will shortly destroy the transmission in due time. I guess that is what the tow-haul button is all about on the late model trucks.

[txarkitekt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RedHeartbeat &#064; Mar 26 2007, 05&#58;35 PM) [snapback]87362[/snapback]</div>

I don&#39;t know about newer model vehicles but I&#39;ve always heard to never allow the transmission to go into overdrive gear while pulling a trailer. The transmission ends up with a mechanical disadvantage and the internal leverage will shortly destroy the transmission in due time. I guess that is what the tow-haul button is all about on the late model trucks.
[/b]

Yeah, that is kind of a touchy topic. I&#39;ve heard both sides of the spectrum voice their opinions, and each side has good points to support their argurements. But I am going to go with personal experience on this one:

Red is right to a point... The tow/haul button is there for a reason--freakin use it. If you have some dinky 600 lb single axle trailer, it is not needed. That is almost the same as putting 3 of your fat friends in the cab with you... But if you start getting up to 1000-1500 lbs, then use your brain and hit the button. Use it in town, in traffic on freeways, but once the freeway opens up and you are not constantly braking and accelerating, you can turn it off. Gas is expensive enough, but there is no reason to run around at 3k - 3.5k RPMs when you don&#39;t need to. But be aware of what you truck is telling you---if the terrain is hilly, keep the button pushed or manually shift the gear selector to "3." If your transmission is constantly shifting back and forth and back and forth, it going to get hot. And we all know heat( ) is the enemy here.

And when it comes to braking, do not manually shift the tranny--let it do it&#39;s thing. It&#39;s better that way. If you are having problems braking, then you probably shouldn&#39;t be--A.)Going that fast because you are pulling a freaking trailer, or B.)Pulling that much weight in the first place. At that point, either get a bigger truck or put brakes on the trailer and put a trailer brake module on your truck. Trailer brakes are a dream come true if you have never had them before. They make pulling a trailer pretty easy.