[glfredrick]

I towed 8000# with mine to and from off-road events all over the midwest. No big deal. The TrailVoys tow pretty well.

I would probably invest in an auxillary transmission cooler, but otherwise, you should be good.

Just remember to let it shift on hills, tow in 3 (as was mentioned above) and don't push it hard on long uphills (even if they don't seem very steep). I've had more transmission overheating issues on long steady uphill pulls than on steeper sections where it shifted down a gear or two.

 

[glfredrick]

Think it is bad with a Trailblazer, try renting any U-Haul trailer (ANY) with a Ford Explorer. They start laughing when you pull into the lot.

 

[glfredrick]

Nothing much is going to help the fuel mileage while towing. That is pure physics -- it takes X amount of horsepower to move and sustain a load at a certain speed, and it takes X amount of fuel to provide that horsepower. It gets better/more efficient if the load is "steady state" without a lot of starting and stopping, hence the efficiency of trains and over-the-road trucks compared to our vehicles, but we have to do what we have to do in order to pull or haul what we haul.

FWIW, I've pulled over 8000# and ran next to guys with Superduty Fords and we all got about the same mileage while towing, so even that amazingly compotent towing platform doesn't really offer big savings in fuel use. They and the the Chevy Duramax and the Dodge Ram will out-tow almost anything else on the road and if you really want to tow heavy for long periods of time, I recommend one of those over the TrailVoy platform.

Now, about boosting the performance of the TrailVoy... I recommend a plate-style cooler, mounted in the grill area, about an inch in front of the radiator/evaporator so that there is adequate air flow through the unit. Something along the lines of this would be good:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-13501/

Coupled with one of these (to remove passage-clogging particles that the factory-style screen/filter will never touch):
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-13091/

And, then you can strengthen the internals of the transmission with some of this stuff:
http://transmissioncenter.net/PinHole.htm

http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/m...&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=4L60E-4L65EHPkits

http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/m...&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=4L60E-4L65Esonnax

Additionally, PATC offers a free "tip sheet" for building the 4L60E. Some good info on what needs to be strengthened:
http://www.transmissioncenter.net/700r4.htm

I have one [700R4 = non-electronic version of the 4L60E built with the parts recommended on this site] in my one ton Suburban with 463 cubic inches and 455 foot pounds of torque. I pull a 5,500 pound trailer in overdrive all the time. The transmission has been in use for 4 1/2 years now with no problems. The 700R4 has a 3.06 ratio in first gear, which is 20% lower than most transmissions. The 30% overdrive will give a 30 to 40% increase in gas mileage on the road over a 3 speed transmission. This transmission is for any type high performance / heavy duty use up to 600 horse power / 450 torque (600 with Raptor Drive package) using pump gasoline.