That was a very long winded way of not answering the question at all lol. Kb basically gave you the exact recepe that you need to follow if you insist on going the turbo route. He builds turbo kits and has driven across the country with a trailer in tow.

 

Yeah I'm done with this beat around the bush BS.

Homie doesnt have a truck in mind, just wants to replace his worn out 1ton, and wants to do it cheap.

Aside from that, he doesnt really know what he wants or needs, and he obviously doesnt have a motor or truck picked out to start the build.

Best of luck to you OP. Hope you build trucks better/faster than you answer direct questions about your "build"

My recipe for this would be a junkyard LY6 and bolt on an LSA and let er rip. but you do you, and you keep beating around the bush. When you post some pics, I might be back.

 

There you go.Not really sure what you are asking about,that hasn't been described well enough already for the sake of this discussion.Yes,3500 series,2005 crew cab,service body DRW,12k GVW.

 

As far as I can tell,I would consider him to be the utmost authority on this,considering it seems he put some consideration into his setup and has made what is a pretty harsh test of his equipment a couple of times,keeping it all together and not throwing in the towel.

His turbo suggestion says a lot.The way I take it,he values the reduction of back pressure and EGT above all else.He is not very interested in bringing in boost super quickly,as many people's instincts might.

Before I posted anything,I did some searches here,there,and anywhere about folks towing with a decent load with a gasoline turbo engine,actually doing it,and there is almost nothing out there.

I also get the idea,that KB said in so many words, in the nicest way possible,that diesel is a better way to go.

I am also happy to hear about towing with a supercharger,especially someone with some trips under their belt.

 

I have towed many times with my truck, car on open trailer and our 7000 lbs travel trailer we used to have. engine is 5.3 with Radix Magnacharger 7# of boost. This is a lighter load than you mentioned, I have no trouble towing 7000 lbs but fuel mileage is 5 to 7 mpg. If I where towing that much that often I think Diesel at least for me would be my choice.

 

With that kind of fuel econ., you aren't passing many gas stations! Anyone with an L86 S/C'd and N/A care to chime in on fuel econ towing 7-8K #'s?

 

Yes,I agree,when I start checking all the boxes,it makes the most sense. I have run all kinds of stuff in the past and present,a diehard GM guy. But,there is no doubt I wouldn't even have the conversation if it weren't for the Chevy LS motor.I got mine with 200k on it,thought I was nuts,it's got over 300K,and I have put next to no money it...it's crazy.Still runs good.I only bought the truck after several guys I knew were over 250k and telling me the same,I was not a believer until a year or so in,LOL.

I think I mentioned it in another thread,but when GM was doing the LSA recall 3 or 4 years ago,I bought one,turned around and ordered the lid and brick from GM,figuring they would run out,and also figuring they would put an end to letting the techs put the takeouts up on Ebay or CL. I had to search my old emails,but I have less than 800 into all of it. I haven't had the SC apart,at the time there wasn't any aftermarket yet,and all they knew was Eaton claimed that a $20 bushing would fix it. I had not heard any mention of a coupler change or upgrade.There wasn't even enough experience at the time to know if the unit was just junk or a lemon anyhow...Stuff is still up together on the shelf.

This is probably what I will put together.It looks like after the fix,it has been a trustworthy unit for folks.

I haven't totally ruled out the turbo idea,but probably too many issues to try to sort out to consider it a reliable way to go.But I would imagine some knowledge over time will be added here. I'll check back from time to time.

 

 

If I already had a LSA sitting on the shelf!!! I wouldn't even consider a turbo since it's just going to be a pulling vehicle anyway.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I think I have a halfway decent understanding now of the various things I would be up against and why.Hopefully people will continue to add to the knowledge and experience base.

Probably will get the LSA blower down,and get bushings and coupler into it. I will probably start another thread on that whole deal at some point.Don't want to get too off topic here.

....E85...LY6 or LQ9?