I’m considering buying a 2010 Escalade/Yukon XL Denali or a similar year Suburban 2500. I currently have a great running 2003 Suburban 1500 5.3L 285hp autoride which I’ve upgraded with stiffer z51 springs and has fresh GM autoride shocks. I recently obtained a 20 foot v-nose toy hauler, I’m guessing the weight of the loaded trailer (and people/cargo in the suburban) is 6,000 lbs. Fortunately it’s very level and stable when towing because I can’t have a WDH as the v-nose on the trailer prevents a WDH from being used. My issue is that I simply run out of power with the Suburban. I can’t use cruise control on the highway as just the slightest incline (or even the wake of a truck) will cause the Suburban to gear hunt, and even when not using cruise control it’s hard to maintain 60 mph. I’m considering either a 2010 Escalade ESV/Yukon Denali XL (both have 6.2L 402HP 1500 chassis), or a similar year Suburban 2500 which has the 6L 355HP 2500 chassis. I’m more attracted to the Escalade/Denali as they are quite a bit less expensive and exponentially easier to find (and have a bigger engine and 47 more HP), but can it tow ‘as fast’ as the Escalade/Denali despite it having 47 less HP that I should consider it. Thank you in advance for your insight.

Finding a 3/4 ton burb in good condition of that age group will be a challenge IMO.

Whatever you do make sure it has the best rear end gear ratio you can get. Most of those trucks have 3:23 gears which suck for towing. I would find something with at least 3:73 gears to make things tow better. The rear end ratio will kill you if not. Had a Tahoe years ago that had a 3:23 and I burned up the rear end as well as had very poor towing performance.Curly

Is this replacement vehicle a daily drive or just a tow vehicle? If just a tow vehicle I would go with the 2500 Suburban. I have no factual evidence that the 2010 Suburban 2500 has a 4:10 rear end. But my two 2500 Suburbans both have/had a 4.10 rear end so I'll bet it does. If a daily driver and a decent rear end (3:73 or 4:10) go with the Escalade. It's not a great tow vehicle, but it will do fine with a 6,000 lb trailer. And it will be a nice vehicle to drive around when not towing.I'm curious though why a V nose trailer would prevent you from having a weight distribution hitch? Is it a contact during turns concern? Almost all of the hitches hang under the tongue so they should not contact anything.One more thing, don't be put off or reject a Suburban with just a torn up drivers seat. You can buy new seat cover and foam as needed and install for about $500. I'm not talking about just an add on seat cover but an actual replaced seat that will look like new. I know in my search for a replacement Suburban I passed up many seemingly good Suburbans based solely on the torn up seats. Only after I finally found my current Suburban (with an already replaced bottom seat cover) that I learned that it was even possible.

Good responses thus far. You already know the Esc/Denali will handle the trailer just fine. And you are ahead of most inthat you can slap a heavier rear suspension in it if you desire. (And that’s a cheap bang for the buck towing upgrade)I’d lean towards that for power and value. BUT if you’re thinking long term, chances of getting a new HD suv, ever, in the future, are slim. So if you can get a good low mileage one now and take care of it, you’ll have the better vehicle in the long run and have your cake and eat it too for however long that one lasts. Btw, if you pick up the 2500 and it’s not enough juice, a Westers or black bear tune and set of headers will net you a little more than the Denali engine. Just headers is good for 20+Hp and around 60 with a real tune and premium gas. Not huge but noticeable.

There is an adapter kit available to use a wd hitch with a v-nose trailer.

Escalade/Denali or Suburban 2500 | Good Sam Community

cptqueeg
Explorer II
Apr 05, 2021
Burb 2500 all the way towing 6000lbs. They could be ordered w 3.73 or 4.10. It's worth the extra $$ to have the heavier running gear.
falconbrother
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2021
I tow my travel trailer with a 2000 Suburban, 5.3, Sumo SuperSprings. It's 5800 dry. I figure, without water, I'm still plenty over 6,000 Lbs. Yeah, it's slow going and I drive it easy. I have looked at 2500 series Suburbans, Avalanches, etc.. With the 8.0 they are a little cheaper but, I don't want that engine. The 6.0 versions can be quite expensive, considering year and mileage. I keep kicking myself because I saw a 1996, 2500-454 V-8, 4x4, low miles on a lot a couple of years ago reasonably cheap. And it was as shiny as a new penny. I passed on it. That 454 is a hoss and would have been a great vehicle for towing. Not much of a daily driver mind you.. I keep passively looking. And I haven't ruled out a 3/4 ton Chevy or GMC van with the 6.0.

BTW, the chassis does fine. No complaints with the WDH. And, if you could ride around at 3200+ RPMs the power would be fine..
BenK
Explorer
Apr 07, 2021
falconbrother,

Here is my 1996 GMT400, K3500, 7.4L, 4.11, Suburban's picture. Tongue-on-cheek K3500 because ordered it with the F60 option. Which is snow plow prep package, which gets the 1 ton front suspension torsion bars and since the rear end is the same as the 1 ton dully of that year... :B

Sold the boat and only occasional borrow a TT to camp with

Itching to 'have' to rebuild the engine and then an of course the tranny & rest of the drive train. Plus 4.88 or 5.xx front and rear diffs with a GearVendors 0.75 over drive to give an 8 speed setup.

If the OP doesn't mind an older Suburban, there are a few out there that were still truck like.

GMT400 has a few things that need to be addressed and improved. Mainly the brakes, but after converting mine to the same rear dually brakes...nose bleed braking. Even touchy, which is okay with me
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 07, 2021
GMT400s are still best of the breed on several accounts, IMO. Anything older will require this n that for repairs. Since "there's no demand" for HD suvs as some claim, you'd think they'd be paying you to take them gas hogs, but around here, a Burb like BenK's with low 100s for miles is a $10k rig.
IMO, the GMT 400s generally didn't have any fatal flaws (if you don't get into the 6.5 diesels...) and relatively easy to improve certain aspects, like the dually rear wheel cylinders. I did that cheap mod years ago, it was great.
Only thing better is if you could get a GMT 400 big block K2500 burb with the NV4500 that you could get in the pickups!

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