Towing Question

[drgazsi]

Hi Jim,
since you have some expertise, I was wondering if you could help me with this one.

I drive a 2008 Chevy Express 3500, extended cab passenger van. I believe in this year, the axle is further back becasue there isnt a lot of van behind the rear axle.

Book says 7400 tow, but the same vehicle in 2011 will tow 8400 or so. Has a 3000 lb payload. Tow hitch is rated at 1000/10000.

Dont recall gear ratio but the 2011 has a higher ratio (lower number) so this doenst make sense. I want to two a laredo 303tg. which is 7400 dry. We usually pull some of the seats out and the only weight in the van is my wife and I and our kids, but they are little so they dont weight much. The same van, without the extended bed and in the cargo van category will tow 10,000. I cant figure out why the tow amount drops so much. It has the 6.0 liter engine.

Guess the question is. How much and i pushing it to use it to tow what will end up being about 8400-9000 lbs.
thanks for any advice.

[Jim W]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I am sorry for the long response.

There are a couple of us on here who are name Jim. So we may all answer you. I will try to answer your questions with what I know and can find out also may ask another question to you.

1. I do not know if Chevy offers a different wheel base in vans, like they do on short bed trucks VS long bed trucks. I do know because I owned a 1986 Chevy 2500 Van customized version. That the wheel base is the same between the seven passenger van and the 12 passenger van in that year. Chevy just lengthen the van body and not the wheel base. This might be the same for yours.

2.The reason your van has a lower weight carrying ability could be many. Such as the van body weights more in 2008 then in 2011. This will include all items that are placed in the van such as seats and such. The 2011 van could have higher capacity weight rating because of springs, wheels ,tires, and drive-line components.

3. What are the size of your tires? Are they the same as the 2011 van?

4. By higher ratio number, do you mean a differential ratio of 4:10 to 1?
If this is the case, this will you to start and tow a heavier Max Trailer load. As an example the 2011, 3500HD Ram dually Regular cab truck with a 6 speed auto and 4:10 gears. Can tow a Max Trailer of 22,300 LBS but the same truck with 3:73 gears can only tow a Max trailer of 13,700 Lbs.
There are component changes with the HD 4:10 gear truck that will allow this to tow this size payload that the 3:73 gear truck does not have.

5. You can tow almost anything you like, but are you safe in doing so.
You are asking for an opinion here and this is my opinion. No! You can not tow this vehicle safely. My reasons are; you are over the max payload rating for your van. This can never be changed. The manufacture established this loading by testing and designing the components to provide the maximum payload rating on this van in 2008. Could you add helper springs and Air bags to prevent sagging? Yes, you can but this does not change the payload capacity established by the manufacture.
The components on your van are not designed to handle this much weight. You will need to upgrade the transmission oil cooler to a larger capacity unit. You will need to upgrade the rear differential to a 4:10 to 1 gear set. You may also need to upgrade the radiator for the engine. This heat exchanger may be under size to provide optimal cooling in the +90 deg days as you tow this load. You will need a weight distribution hitch installed on the van.
There are more reasons, but these are the most important ones. You may not like my answer, but you asked for my opinion.
Good luck
Jim W

[drgazsi]

Hi Jim,
Thanks so much for the answer. I apologize for not specifying which Jim. Im new at forums and I meant to reply to a particular person.

I really appreciate your honesty. I dont need to "like" your answer. I wanted your opinion and I appreciate your not sugar coating it.

Thanks again