Which is the better tow-er 5.3 or 5.4?

[Arch Hoagland]

I pulled a 27 foot Komfort trailer with a GMC 5.3 half ton. Did that for one trip and bought a 2003 3/4 ton GMC with the 8.1 gas engine. World of difference and a lot safer in an emergency panic stop.

I'd suggest a 3/4 ton diesel.

[MorganT69]

None of those engines are underpowered, they are undergeared. You towing comes from the gear ratio in the rear end period. I drove a Mack Truck pulling gravel that only had 250hp and it pulled 80,000 lbs down the road. It took forever to get her up to speed but it pulled it down the road with no probelm. Gear ratio needs to be changed but you will loose gas mileage when you do it so be prepared and your tachometer will go up in high gear so be prepared for owning a gas guzzler but it will tow tow tow.

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by lcboy

The gear in the rear has a lot to do with it. I had a 5.3 in 06 with the 323 gear and it was a dog. I had the gears switched to 373 and it would leave two black marks. It drove like a different truck. I have a new 15 model with a 5.3 with the 6 speed transmission and it's the best of both worlds. Just select a lower gear and I will gain speed up a hill or bridge. I went over the Baton Rouge bridge at 28000 rpms and kept the same speed all the way up to the top with cruise set with my 6500 lb camper.

I had a similar typo myself lately. If you were turning 28k rpm going up hill you may have too low a rear end gear!

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by MorganT69

None of those engines are underpowered, they are undergeared. You towing comes from the gear ratio in the rear end period. I drove a Mack Truck pulling gravel that only had 250hp and it pulled 80,000 lbs down the road. It took forever to get her up to speed but it pulled it down the road with no probelm. Gear ratio needs to be changed but you will loose gas mileage when you do it so be prepared and your tachometer will go up in high gear so be prepared for owning a gas guzzler but it will tow tow tow.

Several problems here. The standard engines are underpowered because the only way to get good towing capability is to change the gearing. That is expensive and you would be better off to trade it in. If you drive a new Mack with 600 hp and maybe 14-16 hundred torque you wouldn't go back. Why not just get a properly designed tow vehicle in the first place?
Compare a 6.4 gas to a 6.7 diesel. Sure you could swap out the axle to tow a 16k 5 th wheel but so what. Buy a diesel with 3.23 or 3.55 and be done with it.
I don't understand why people continue to push under sized engines and tow vehicles for heavy loads. They make multiple choices based on the load you tow. The object is to pick the right one not modify one that isn't intended for the load. Seems pretty simple to me. I bought a new truck to avoid having to change my gearing and give me the capacity I need. I'm happy and also my truck.

[dla]

Originally Posted by 09 harley

Several problems here. The standard engines are underpowered because the only way to get good towing capability is to change the gearing. That is expensive and you would be better off to trade it in. If you drive a new Mack with 600 hp and maybe 14-16 hundred torque you wouldn't go back. Why not just get a properly designed tow vehicle in the first place?
Compare a 6.4 gas to a 6.7 diesel. Sure you could swap out the axle to tow a 16k 5 th wheel but so what. Buy a diesel with 3.23 or 3.55 and be done with it.
I don't understand why people continue to push under sized engines and tow vehicles for heavy loads. They make multiple choices based on the load you tow. The object is to pick the right one not modify one that isn't intended for the load. Seems pretty simple to me. I bought a new truck to avoid having to change my gearing and give me the capacity I need. I'm happy and also my truck.

You wouldn't want that dump truck as your daily driver - seems pretty obvious to most. Well most people find a diesel pickup truck to suck as a daily driver as well.

If you're full-timing, or towing 100+ days of the year - a diesel pickup makes sense. Otherwise, a gas rig (Expedition, Tahoe,Suburban) is waaaaaay better.

[falconbro]

My Burb is the 4x4 so I won't bother getting the gears changed out. For now I'll just pull the gear selector down and let the RPMs stay up to the top of the mountain. I drove my uncles F150 with the 5.4 and it felt about the same. Great power when not towing, etc.. The Suburban is really faster than you would think a tank like that would be with the 5.3. It jumps right up to interstate speeds quick. It's not my daily driver. I have an old Honda CRV (toad) for that. It's still rigged to tow behind a motorhome. I drive the Suburban on the weekends and to tow the travel trailer. I can't afford to trade for now. Once my wife's car is paid off I plan to get the travel trailer paid off.. Then I'll trade. But, I just want enough to do the job. I know that the newer 5.3s and 5.4s have more horsepower. The Ecoboost is probably what I will explore and this year Ford's putting them in the Expeditions. If I can find a crew cab, 4x4 Ecoboost truck that would work as well.