Those are opposing things.

Swap to a 6.0 for more power.

 

how hard would the swap be I'm 17 on a budget. How much would it cost for everything

 

Depends entirely on your ability to scrounge/find the parts needed and somewhat on where you are located. Lots of online threads and videos on doing that swap, you should peruse them if you are considering doing it.

 

Looking at probably $1500-$2000 and that is doing it without giving the engine a refresh. Last LQ4 I saw was around $1000.

 

Is the lq4 the 6.0 or 5.3?

 

lq4 is a 6.0l

 

Your 4l60 trans at 227k is not going to last much longer towing regardless of what you do for power so you’d need to factor in a rebuilt trans as well, preferably one built for towing. I’d get a good tune which will help both power and shifting and call it a day until you can afford a heavier or newer truck.

 

Have it tuned and leave it alone if you want the most economical setup.

add some air bags in the rear to increase towing comfort.

Otherwise you’ll be better off putting money toward a different vehicle better suited to towing if that is your goal. Rather than trying to make what you have marginally better by spending more than you’ll ever see return on.

I’m all for modifying vehicles and getting more power but swapping an engine for what you want to use it for and maintaining any sort of budget is silly. You won’t see any better fuel economy with a 6.0L (probably worse) and you’ll still have a 1/2 ton SUV chassis handling the weight.