Towing capacity of a custom 93 silverado z71 short bed

[bdchief]

Thanks for any help in advance.
I have a 93 Silverado Z71 short bed, It has a new 350 engine, "the same engine that goes in a 3/4 or 1 ton. A newly rebuilt auto tranny, HD tranny cooler,and a towing shift kit in the tranny. Does anyone have a guess as what the towing cap. would be???

 

[hertig]

Re: Towing capacity of a custom 93 silverado z71 short bed

Depends on the gear ratio in the rear end. Generally a 1/2 ton pickup of that era should be able to tow 4000 to 5000 pounds, or possibly a bit more if the truck has very little weight carried in it.

 

[dr_doom]

RE: Towing capacity of a custom 93 silverado z71 short bed

I've got a 94 Z-71 Ext Cab Short-box. It has a rebuilt 5.7liter and factory GM transmission w/about 50k on both. We took our 5,400 pound (figure 6,000# with everything) Dutchmen lite 28' out on its maiden voyage this weekend and now the truck is in the shop with trans problems. This was in South GA where its pretty flat. The truck pulled the trailer ok (60-65 mph) but you could tell it had all it wanted.

These model chevy's don't have the greatest transmissions in them. After I made the trip I talked/read several posts where this particular series almost has a disposable transmission. Plus I think the z-71 is running 3.42 or similar rear-end so its not really set up for pulling big loads (imo). I knew I was taking a chance with this truck but thought the trailer was light enough and wasn't planning on going a long way from home. Apparently not.

Maybe your set-up with the trans cooler and towing shift kit will work out better. Hope this helps.