Here’s how it’s done!

In today’s new and used vehicle market, people are faced with a choice when it comes to their trucks and SUVs when they need more for towing. One option is to keep what you have and build it up, while other people are buying vehicles that aren’t quite up to the job, and then adding to the towing capacity with aftermarket parts. It’s smart to use what you’ve got, or what you can get, and make it better, and here are the basics to turn your tired hauler into a towing beast.

Know Your Towing Capacity

As your vehicle ages, it actually loses towing capacity, but with some tips below, you can get it there, and then some. It’s recommended that object being towed should only weigh 75 to 80-percent of the total towing capacity to put it in a safe range. Towing capacity is often listed in the owner’s manual, but if you don’t have it, there’s another way to determine what it should be. You can get your towing capacity by subtracting subtracting its Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating (GCVWR) from its curb weight.

Upgrading Suspension

Suspension is major factor of your towing and hauling capacity. Older trucks and SUVs might be riding on totally archaic suspensions. Tuning up outdated suspensions can include reinforcing the leaf springs, adding a torsion bar, add strut braces, and getting better shocks.

Lifted Truck Owners

Most of the time, a lift will soften up your suspension simply because there is more room for the shocks and springs to bounce. This is great for off-roading, but if you’re carrying a big load, it can mean lots of sagging which will inevitably wear down your shocks and cause long-term damage to your suspension. So instead, go with an air shock or spring stiffener, which helps you carry more either on a trailer or in the vehicle itself.

Engine Modifications

Once you’ve beefed up your suspension, you’ll need to start thinking about your engine and how it makes power. While suspension will increase the amount you can carry, it is more centered around how long it can sustain a life of towing before mechanical wear starts to cause issues. The engine is a significant deal in how much you can carry as torque substantially impacts towing and carrying capacity.

COMP Cams has a dedicated camshaft towing line for Ford, GM, Dodge, and a 50 state legal line. These cams give your engine the ability to produce more power from the inside. Another option comes from Edelbrock’s supercharger line, for a boosted power adder.

Increasing Intake/Exhaust

Increasing torque will be your best advantage when carrying more oversized loads because it measures how much work you can do, whereas horsepower is how fast you can do it. To do this, you’ll need to increase airflow by upgrading the intake and exhaust. Then consider a tune; either a professional tune or a handheld tuner will do the trick, with the handheld even offering you the ability to customize the performance of your truck on your own. All of this should add up to increased horsepower and torque, meaning that you’ll be able to carry more and carry it faster. FAST offers throttle bodies and intakes to get your engine more air.

Taking Care of Your Transmission

Most understand the important of the health of the engine, but anything happening behind the engine is often overlooked. If this area is not addressed, you’re playing a dangerous game with your tow beast. TCI has heavy-duty transmissions that will stand up to towing and hauling jobs much better than stock. Once you’re feeding power into the right transmission, TCI also offers torque converters, cooling products, and fluids to optimize your drivetrain.

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