I have a 2010 1500 suburban 3.08 axle ration. My towing capacity is 5100
But I added a transmission cooler. Can I tow a travel trailer that is 5400 dey weight. I have weight distribution hitch. If j had the 3.42 with transmission cooler than the towing capacity jumps to 8100
But nothing is mentioned in Manuel for 3.08. Any thoughts? My GCWR is 7400 lbs. I would be well under this weight with trailer and family loaded.

 

Welcome to the forum.... the 3.08 is pretty light rear-end and is most often found in police vehicles since you can get higher speeds...but they are not the best for towing....
Im going to move your post from the new member area to the Tahoe & Suburban section where it will get more exposure, and more input from some of our experienced tow-ers

 

Depends what you mean by "Can I tow it?"

Are you going to tow it 50 miles to a local campground, or are you going to drag it out all over the country on a 5,000 mile journey?

For a short trip, sure, you can probably get away with it. But if you're talking a long road trip where you may be logging hundreds of miles a day in hilly terrain, I wouldn't do it.

I've always felt the rear end is the weak point in the powertrain on half-ton GM trucks. My half-ton '01 is on its FOURTH rear end (primarily due to dragging my trailer all over the country), and it has the 4.10 rear. The 3.08 is definitely the weakest of the weak. I'd be very careful about stressing it too much.

Also - dry weight is a misleading number. You have to weigh the trailer once it's fully loaded with all your gear. I'll bet it's at least 1000 lbs heavier than the dry weight.

 

If you were me would you consider upgrading to 3.42 and be safe or should I trlook a whole new vehicle such as 3/4 ton?

 

It all depends on your plans. Will you be towing frequently? Will you be towing long distance?

For me, the 3/4-ton made sense. I twice grenaded the rear end of my half-ton while on vacation, resulting in parts of separate vacations being spent in beautiful Youngstown, OH (instead of Washington, DC) and Mitchell, SD (instead of Rushmore and Yellowstone). Between the two trucks, we've logged about 20,000 miles towing the trailer all over the country on vacations.

First year we had the 3/4-ton, we dragged the trailer out to the Grand Canyon, Utah, and Colorado. I beat the snot out of the truck towing, 4 wheeling, Eisenhower tunnel, etc. and it took it all in stride with no issues. We logged over 5,000 miles in three weeks, with a gross combined weight just under 15,000 lbs.

The Burb is also not a daily driver, so the 12 city/15 hwy mileage doesn't bother me.

If you'll be doing a decent amount of towing, you might want to look at swapping vehicles -to at least a half-ton with a better ratio, or the 3/4 ton. My Burb has the 10.5" full floater rear axle, which is rated by AAM to 10,000 lbs. I don't think I'll be grenading that bad boy.

My current rig (trailer weighs about 6500 lbs loaded):

 

5400lbs dry is without tanks, gear/luggage, loaded fridge, etc. There is no way that is going to be your "ready to camp" weight.

I tug a 5700lb boat/trailer combo with tow package and 3.73 gears. Knowing how my 2008 half ton handles under that load, I wouldn't want to tow much more with it, at least with the frequency that I towed during last year's boating season (about 3500 miles).

 

To the op. You can swap your differential, add a cooler package. In the end, it does not matter what upgrades you add to your truck. From a inspection stand point; your max trailer weight is what it came with from factory...posted on the door jam vin sticker.
They may let this go in the praires but they won't when you drive in the Rockies. Trailers as big as the one above stand out.

 

I've been told that if you're towing over the max allowable, and are involved in a traffic incident, it becomes your fault / issue.

 

True, all the "extras" you might add would be considered added "safety features" by a DPS. You'll get a pat on the back and a smile for those, then a nice fat Ticket for being overweight.

 

Not to mention systems pushed past the 80-90% mark fail a lot more often than those not...

if the truck can tow 10,000 lbs, towing 80% of that will be a lot easier on it than towing 100%.

If you plan to tow a lot, I'd go bigger... you're just opening up yourself to more issues, troubles, and legal issues than it's worth...