What do you tow with your Chevy Suburban?

[kluza2786]

For some reason, GM offers the 6 liter gas engine in the GMC Yukon Denali but not in the Chevy Suburban. Guess that they just needed something to differentiate the two?

[Shamrockthecasbah]

Originally Posted by DBplus4

We tow a 2013 V-Lite 30 WTBS with our 2010 Suburban, with the heavy duty tow package. We frequently camp in the GA mountains and haven't experienced problems with inclines. We had the car before we had the trailer, so we bought the trailer to fit the car. We have 4 kids and needed a bunkhouse and can't get a truck because of all of the kids. My husband is 6'6.5" so we also needed our bed in a slide. He didn't fit in the beds in the (lighter) front master bedroom, rear bunkhouse models. The dry weight of the trailer is 7100 lbs and some change, and the length is about 34.5 feet.

That's a long, heavy trailer for a 1/2 ton, especially carrying the whole family. Any chance you have the 2500 Suburban?

[DBplus4]

Nope. We've been doing it for almost 5 years with no problems. Starts and stops easily, accelerates decently, sits level. The tow capacity is 8100 lbs and tongue weight is fine for what we have. We travel pretty light, since we mostly do weekend trips. We are pushing the line, but no problems thus far.

[Jmkjr72]

Originally Posted by Ron045

I don't want to hijack the thread so please tell me if this is out of bounds. I believe it is related.

For Suburbans and the sister Yukon XL is there some option or something to look for that indicates the vehicle will have more passenger/cargo weight capacity?

I saw a Yukon XL 4wd yesterday and the yellow door sticker said 1,271 pounds. I stopped looking and walked away because I believe I need something with 1,500 pounds or higher.

I'm really curious how Suburban drivers are towing 6,000-7,000 pounds with 10-15% tounge weight.

Thanks
Ron

Yes even in the 1500s there are diffrent axles diffrent spring packages and diffrent brake packages. Our 99 has 2002lbs of payload

[dmdomokos]

Originally Posted by Shamrockthecasbah

Dmdomokos: In a previous thread it was established that your Suburban had no tow package and the 3.08 axle rather than the 3.42. With a tow rating of only 5300 lbs, you were towing more than 2000lbs over your limit which caused the poor performance on grades and overheating. PROPERLY EQUIPPED 5.3 6L80 3.42 Suburban/Tahoe/Silverados have tow ratings at and beyond 8000lbs and should have adequate power to pull grades with a 7500lb trailer. I'm not saying that Chevy 1/2 tons are towing beasts, but I don't want people to be misled by your experience.


http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ty-115438.html

You are correct, 3.08 gears, added the transmission cooler. If I had 3.42 and 6.0L might have been a better outcome.

[Shamrockthecasbah]

Originally Posted by kluza2786

For some reason, GM offers the 6 liter gas engine in the GMC Yukon Denali but not in the Chevy Suburban. Guess that they just needed something to differentiate the two?

It's actually it's the 6.2 that they put in the Denali, same with the Escalade. It's a derivative of the Corvette 6.2. It's never been offered in the Suburban. Most GMT-800 and all of the GMT-900 2500 Suburbans had the 6.0 (truck engine). I think certain models of the 1500 could be option with the 6.0 as well.

[dmdomokos]

Originally Posted by Shamrockthecasbah

It's actually it's the 6.2 that they put in the Denali, same with the Escalade. It's a derivative of the Corvette 6.2. It's never been offered in the Suburban. Most GMT-800 and all of the GMT-900 2500 Suburbans had the 6.0 (truck engine). I think certain models of the 1500 could be option with the 6.0 as well.

I, like the OP, really liked the idea of towing with a suburban. I wish they would offer one that really was set up for towing, maybe with a diesel even. I don't think the 2500 versions are made anymore?

[kluza2786]

Chevrolet dropped the 3/4 ton (2500 series) Suburban several years ago (at least 5 or 6 as I recall). I have long wished that they would offer the diesel and Allison transmission option, but the weight would probably become an issue.

[Ron045]

2013 were the last 2500's. I've been looking. They do make a Fleet 3500 for 2015-2016 that you can pick up used for $80,000. That's not a typo. Eight Zero.

[Windjammingnc]

Originally Posted by DBplus4

Nope. We've been doing it for almost 5 years with no problems. Starts and stops easily, accelerates decently, sits level. The tow capacity is 8100 lbs and tongue weight is fine for what we have. We travel pretty light, since we mostly do weekend trips. We are pushing the line, but no problems thus far.

You have to remember, tow capacity is with one driver and no other cargo in the Suburban. The 1500 Burb has a GCWR rating of 14,000lb, so you have to subtract the curb weight of the truck (Approx. 5800 lbs) along with the weight of any passengers and cargo in the truck. In the end, the tow capacity will be somewhat less than 8000 lbs.

Our 2500 Burb has a GCWR of 16,000 lbs (and a curb weight around 6300 lbs). With people and gear in the Burb, we are around 6700 lbs which leaves 9300 lbs.. Our new trailer has a GVWR of 9000 lbs and even though that is below the rating, it's always a concern when going downhill when your trailer weighs substantially more than your tow vehicle, especially for a non-5th Wheel. We will be going to the NC mountains this summer and the 5 mile long 6% grade near Asheville will be the big test on the return trip...

[Windjammingnc]

Originally Posted by Ron045

2013 were the last 2500's. I've been looking. They do make a Fleet 3500 for 2015-2016 that you can pick up used for $80,000. That's not a typo. Eight Zero.

When we starting thinking about the next trailer, we began to assess the ability of our 2000 Yukon XL 2500 (GCWR 14,000 lbs) and decided it was time to get a newer 2500 Burb/Yukon XL last year.

It took quite a while to find one (online searches revealed only 8 Nationwide newer than 2010). In most cases, they would sell within a week. We ended up finding a 2011 in Ohio and I put a deposit down on it and drove up to test drive and complete the purchase.

Hope this lasts quite a while until GM gets their act together and makes them again for the consumer market. I was really excited before the 2008 financial meltdown when there were rumors (and a prototype) of a 2500 Burb with a 4.5L Diesel that had more torque than the old 8.1L Gasser.

[Ron045]

Well if you have $28k lying around, these guys will turn that 2500 Suburban into a diesel.
http://duramaxsuburbans.com/