2017 Sierra

[Sparky450]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:00 PM, RyanB said:

Add me to the list of people who have had a 23LSV pull a Yukon XL Denali down the ramp.

Add me to the list of people that has been pulled down the ramp by a 25LSV.

And I tow with a Ram 3500 long bed SRW 4wd. Loaded with tools. I now always launch in 4wd. 

Our ramp is steep and you have to back around a corner to enter it. It is not a straight shot. 

Edited December 21, 2019 by Sparky450

[burider]

We went back today so my wife could drive it. She loved it! Pricing is crazy these days. You can get into a Ram or a Silverado for about 5k more, but light on the options and no 6.2. So the question is...Do I give up options to get the 6.2 or will I be ok with the 5.3. Unfortunately no 5.3 locally has the max tow. So I’ll lose several thousand pounds of capacity.

[gorilla]

47 minutes ago, Sparky450 said:

Add me to the list of people that has been pulled down the ramp by a 25LSV.

And I tow with a Ram 3500 long bed SRW 4wd. Loaded with tools. I now always launch in 4wd. 

Our ramp is steep and you have to back around a corner to enter it. It is not a straight shot. 

Similar situation here. 25LSV and Ram 3500 Mega Cab. As soon as the truck is straight on the ramp, click it into 4WD for launching AND retrieving. Front tires were sliding the 1st time I launched it on the ramp. Luckily stopped about half way down, threw it into 4WD since the brake bias is to the front tires. Surprisingly, the EBS didn't kick in....glad it didn't since we probably would have picked up speed with the brakes pulsating. 

[burider]

I’ve been launching for 5 years with the armada and have never had a sliding situation at the ramp. I don’t put it in 4wd until I’m pulling the boat out. Is a truck going to be that much different? We don’t really have steep ramps here.

[Cole2001]

Been pulled back in a 3500 Chev. Thankfully when you reach the water it slows you down. Also couldn’t make it up once getting stuck in soft dirt on a private ramp. 

[hethj7]

51 minutes ago, burider said:

I’ve been launching for 5 years with the armada and have never had a sliding situation at the ramp. I don’t put it in 4wd until I’m pulling the boat out. Is a truck going to be that much different? We don’t really have steep ramps here.

 

I think it all depends on ramp steepness and/or surface.    On our normal ramp, I never get pulled back (25 LSV with an F150).    At a buddy's lakehouse with a poorer ramp surface - I'm sort of along for the ride until I hit he water.   

[dalt1]

48 minutes ago, burider said:

I’ve been launching for 5 years with the armada and have never had a sliding situation at the ramp. I don’t put it in 4wd until I’m pulling the boat out. Is a truck going to be that much different? We don’t really have steep ramps here.

Have been using my 05 Titan for 14 years of towing and launching. Never spin a tire on retrieval unless I want too. Seldom put it in 4 wheel drive either. Thinking our local ramps must be pretty gradual compared to some of the others. Current boat and trailer weighs in at 7250 lbs loaded for full day on water.

[Sparky450]

3 hours ago, burider said:

We don’t really have steep ramps here.

That is the key. 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Sparky450

[Sparky450]

3 hours ago, burider said:

I’ve been launching for 5 years with the armada and have never had a sliding situation at the ramp. I don’t put it in 4wd until I’m pulling the boat out. Is a truck going to be that much different? We don’t really have steep ramps here.

I never used 4wd with my 07 21LSV However one time A couple years ago I LAUNCHED that boat. My 3500 crew cab would not pull up the ramp on 2wd with an EMPTY trailer. I had to put it in 4wd with an empty trailer. 

[Nitrousbird]

21 hours ago, MLBurns said:

I guess I should have clarified better. I only had problems with the trans temps, not the engine coolant. I was seeing trans temps outrun the engine coolant so I would have to slow down to let the transmission cool back down before it started to raise coolant temps. This is why I don't agree on relying on one cooling system to cool another. If you have a transmission slipping and it caused engine coolant to heat up how can you know to downshift a gear or slow down to help the problem? Most people will just think their engine is working too hard or they have a coolant problem. When I was a mechanic we saw this all too often on the older motorhomes especially when they were towing something behind it. They would come in for overheating problems and when we checked the transmission fluid it was burned or starting to burn. Trans rebuild and external cooler and they were on their way down the road.

I was talking about trans temp as well.  Lower coolant thermostat + reprogrammed fans will lower your transmission temps.

[carguy79ta]

Our ramp is fairly steep, when I launch and retrieve, my rear tire is in maybe in 12 inches water. When I get out of the cab I am not in the water(crewcab std bed). Ram 2500 ctd 315s. Never had a prob in or out, but our ramp surface was finished with a 2 in deep corrugation  coupled with chert aggregate, makes for a very tractive surface. Always 2wd. Never 4wd

[RyanB]

Why would putting the tow vehicle in 4 wheel drive make a difference in backing down the ramp?

My old Yukon XL was full time AWD. And when the boat would pull it down the ramp (more than one time) all 4 tires on the Yukon would be locked and sliding. 
 

My primary tow vehicle never has that problem...... 
 

 

[Sparky450]

2 hours ago, RyanB said:

 

Why would putting the tow vehicle in 4 wheel drive make a difference in backing down the ramp?

 

I don’t know but it does. In 2wd the front will lock and slide. In 4wd it doesn’t. If I do happen to need to pull up to straighten up the truck holds MUCH better. The trailer wheels hit the water before my truck wheels are straight. We have to launch in a turn on a steep ramp covered with moss. 😎. 

At a very low tide is when it gets crazy. Although we have more ramp it is very slick. 

[MLBurns]

Spinning tires get more traction than skidding tires, if you are being dragged down a ramp you could put in drive and give it some throttle. Being in a panic and allowing time for 4wd to engage would probably be too late. All the videos I have seen of ramp recoveries, I have never seen one come out with all 4 tires dragging.

[hethj7]

5 hours ago, RyanB said:

Why would putting the tow vehicle in 4 wheel drive make a difference in backing down the ramp?

My old Yukon XL was full time AWD. And when the boat would pull it down the ramp (more than one time) all 4 tires on the Yukon would be locked and sliding. 
 

My primary tow vehicle never has that problem...... 
 

 

In theory, if in 4WD the front drivetrain would be locked and potentially resist the tendency to free wheel in reverse and then start sliding.  Of course, once sliding it is friction between the tires and ramp that matters.   
 

As an engineer, I feel like I should go draw up a force diagram so I could really analyze and think through this.   As a dad staring at a week off for Christmas - I will go make a drink instead and start enjoying.   

[carguy79ta]

What discipline. I am Civil PE emphasizing structures.  Yeah I get the force diagram thing

 

[mrothwell]

On 12/20/2019 at 7:58 PM, Nitrousbird said:

Can't have LED"s without cooled seats, as they were never offered as an individual option.  Had to have either a Denali, Premium Plus SLT or whatever the top Premium was for the All Terrain.  Same as it can't have lane keep assist.

On a 2017??  Not true.  I dont have cooled seats, but I do have LED lights.

[UWSkier]

23 hours ago, hethj7 said:

In theory, if in 4WD the front drivetrain would be locked and potentially resist the tendency to free wheel in reverse and then start sliding.  Of course, once sliding it is friction between the tires and ramp that matters.   
 

As an engineer, I feel like I should go draw up a force diagram so I could really analyze and think through this.   As a dad staring at a week off for Christmas - I will go make a drink instead and start enjoying.   

4WD is good for backing down once the truck is in park.  Even if you hit the parking brake, that's not usually all four wheels.  My buddy took out his door on a dock with his F150 this way a few years ago.  Backed down in 2WD.  Rear wheels got on some algae.  He put it in park, which locked the rear wheels, but the fronts, still on good concrete, were free to roll back.  His open driver's side door stopped his truck on a dock piling.  Expensive repair.

[greybeaver]

On 12/22/2019 at 2:29 PM, hethj7 said:

In theory, if in 4WD the front drivetrain would be locked and potentially resist the tendency to free wheel in reverse and then start sliding.  Of course, once sliding it is friction between the tires and ramp that matters.   
 

As an engineer, I feel like I should go draw up a force diagram so I could really analyze and think through this.   As a dad staring at a week off for Christmas - I will go make a drink instead and start enjoying.   

As an engineer you can draw all the force diagrams you want.  Unless you know the surfaces you are dealing with, ie drag coefficient, the effort would be speculative at best...Not the best way  to commence your calcs. ie garbage in garbage out.

 

WAG would be the best conclusion.

Edited December 24, 2019 by greybeaver

[spikew919]

On 12/21/2019 at 6:35 PM, burider said:

We went back today so my wife could drive it. She loved it! Pricing is crazy these days. You can get into a Ram or a Silverado for about 5k more, but light on the options and no 6.2. So the question is...Do I give up options to get the 6.2 or will I be ok with the 5.3. Unfortunately no 5.3 locally has the max tow. So I’ll lose several thousand pounds of capacity.

6.2 all the way!!! Better mpg, and better pulling power. The 5.3 is horrible. 

[UWSkier]

4 minutes ago, spikew919 said:

6.2 all the way!!! Better mpg, and better pulling power. The 5.3 is horrible. 

If I had to pull 7k regularly, 6.2 for sure.  5.3L would work for occasional towing if it had the Max Tow but that's a lot of load to get moving.

I have been pleasantly surprised though with how my 5.3L does with my Response on tandem.  Conservative throttle programming is the biggest hindrance with the previous gen 5.3L but even with that, I don't necessarily have to flog it in traffic to accelerate off the line with regular traffic or hit 75MPH by the end of a freeway on-ramp.

But it is a Response, and it sits low and doesn't drag much.  And I'm not running a lift or brodozer wheels.

[jjackkrash]

My dad just brought home a 2019 1500 LT with a 5.3L and max tow package.  The door sticker had it just shy of 2000lbs. of payload and it has a 1250 lbs. carry rating for the conventional tow hitch.  It is a nice truck.  I personally think the 5.3L is a pretty nice little engine.  I have one in my boat and it has a really snappy torque curve.  No doubt the 6.2L has more get up and go, but the direct-injected 5.3s are far from "horrible" IMO.   

[ahopkins22LSV]

The 2019+ 5.3’a can be paired with the 8 speed and 10 speed transmissions plus the throttle mapping was completely reprogrammed. It’s a completely different driving truck. I tow our vtx with my 18 with the 5.3 and 6 speed. It does more than fine in Michigan. Would the 6.2 be better? Of course. It really comes down to terrain you will be towing over more than current engine offerings in my opinion. 

[spikew919]

Maybe I should update my statement to, the 5.3 is horrible when compared to the 6.2. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[burider]

So it’s official. I bought the Sierra 1500, 6.2 max tow. Couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately it will be spring before I hook something up to it.