<<will a full size Chevy van with a 350
comfortably pull an enclosed trailer?
AS one who has spent a lot of time between a Chevy 350 and various trailers
up to a 28' tagalong with three small race cars inside, I have this to say:
BTW, my running was with a Suburban w/ a THM 350 A/T, rather than a van. I
finally retired that Suburban after nearly 500K and 4 motors. The last one
was the best and it is still pulling strong after 90K.
1. Don't force it on the hills. Use the egg on the gas pedal technique.
Smooth, steady throttle works best. Drop down to whatever gear it seems to
run best in. On hills, just get in the right lane and the truck will tell you
what speed it wants to run at. It may be only 25 or 30 mph on a steep hill
like we have in the Smokies. If you "floor it" and try to maintain your level
speed, the cylinder pressure and heat build-up on a long grade will kill the
motor in short order. Just be patient.
2. Prepare: Edelbrock and others have good cams and manifolds that help a
lot. Well worth the time and expense which really isn't much. Extra size
radiator helps. When I switched to a 3.7 gear, that made a BIG difference. My
Sub. came with a 2.7 which was not good for heavy work.
3. Stability: Equalizing hitch a must. However, I got the most stability by
going to 10" wide wheels front and rear, and big, wide, semi-off road tires.
They actually gave very good mileage service too.
4. The key is patience and momentum management. Plan ahead both uphill and
down.
Jack Woehrle
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