Forum Discussion

ksu_j's avatar
ksu_j
Explorer
Aug 22, 2014

1500 Yukon XL Denali vs 2500 Suburban 8.1

Hello all,

As you can see from my subject line, I'm contemplating making a change from my 2005 GMC Yukon XL Denali to a 2004 Chevy Suburban (2500). I'm looking for some real world comparisons between the two as far as gas mileage goes.

My Denali is an AWD half-ton with the 6.0 V8. I think it's getting roughly 12 around town and maybe as high as 14-15 on the highway, IF, I don't drive to fast. 75-80 it drops to mid 13's.

The Suburban I'm contemplating is a 2004 3/4 ton with the 8.1 V8 and 4:10 rear end. I know this isn't going to be pretty at the gas pump, but am wondering how much worse I should expect vs what I'm already used to.

I have a growing family of 5 right now in the Denali. With the KS Frontier we just bought (7,000 GVWR), even if I pack light and keep it around 6,000lbs (dry weight is 4900), I'm looking at over 600lbs in tongue weight. So call it 650lbs tongue weight, plus my family of 5, plus hitch, plus "Stuff" in the car, and I'm really pushing up against my 1440lbs payload in the Denali. We bought this bigger camper so that we can take some longer trips to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc.

So three questions for you all. How much worse will I feel the gas bill?

Is it worth the change to get the 10 ply tires, bigger brakes, bigger suspension, transmission, etc?

Or for a 25ft travel trailer of the size I have, should the Denali be enough? Power-wise I'm fine. Just worried about payload/safety for my family. (It's got P-rated 20" tires on it right now that were installed previous to me buying it.

P.S. I should note, I work from home 99% of the time and if my miles stay similar to what I've put on the Denali, it'll be less than 10,000/year and no daily driving requirement to speak of. And I think I can get this 2004 3/4 ton for almost a straight trade for my fully decked out Denali.
Tow Vehicles
  • Wishin's avatar
    Wishin
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    I have a 2003 2500 8.1L Suburban. I have towed nearly 4,000 miles with mine now since I bought it last fall. I've also done quite a bit of solo driving with it as well.

    When I drove it back from TN, where I bought it, to MI I calculated around 12.5-12.7 mpg driving 5 mph over the speed limit (quite a bit at 75mph).

    I think it would be difficult to get much above 13 mpg even if you drove 65 on the highway. 14 with a tail wind.

    I just went on a 3,300 mile trip with my 7,000+ lb trailer (over 11' tall) and we got 7.5 overall counting the non-towing miles. Here were my tanks.

    9.02, partly not towing before we left
    8.26
    7.72
    6.56
    7.27
    7.73
    8.42
    7.39
    9.51, mostly not towing while at Acadia National Park
    6.86
    8.39
    7.24
    6.99
    6.41
    7.19
    7.32
    5.54 (190 miles stuck in 2nd gear due to a loose wire in the fuse panel)

    I live out in the country and driving locally, I only get about 10-10.5 mpg.

    It tows great however. Lots of time spent in OD, plenty of power. Very stable, I have a dual cam sway control W/D hitch and it is very stable. I had some issues with the cams coming loose from the frame and had to run with just one side on a cam and the other side with a chain only for about 1/3 of my 3,300 mile trip and it was still very stable.
  • eluwak's avatar
    eluwak
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    ksu_j wrote:
    eluwak wrote:
    On a 6000 lbs TT you could easily go up to 900 lbs TW. My TT is lighter and I'm over 800 lbs. Don't forget the hitch can add another 100 lbs too depending which one you use.


    This camper has the rear queen bed slideout, so I'm hoping that'll offset some of the tongue weight issues of having a super heavy tongue weight. It does have a quad bunkhouse up front so I'm sure there's some weight up there.


    You're cutting it close on some optimistic hopes. I would consider going to the scales all loaded up, full tank of gas, to get some real weights. One of us will end up a bit surprised probably.
  • Dadoffourgirls's avatar
    Dadoffourgirls
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    Everyday driving was 10 mpg. Could get 14 mpg if being really careful. Never got above 7 mpg towing.
  • ksu_j's avatar
    ksu_j
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    eluwak wrote:
    On a 6000 lbs TT you could easily go up to 900 lbs TW. My TT is lighter and I'm over 800 lbs. Don't forget the hitch can add another 100 lbs too depending which one you use.


    This camper has the rear queen bed slideout, so I'm hoping that'll offset some of the tongue weight issues of having a super heavy tongue weight. It does have a quad bunkhouse up front so I'm sure there's some weight up there.
  • eluwak's avatar
    eluwak
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    On a 6000 lbs TT you could easily go up to 900 lbs TW. My TT is lighter and I'm over 800 lbs. Don't forget the hitch can add another 100 lbs too depending which one you use.
  • ksu_j's avatar
    ksu_j
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    Thanks for the replies so far. Curious what type of mileage I can expect though.

    My kids are small. 8, 5, and 3, so they will be doing some growing for sure which I know means we'll be out of payload on the Yukon within a few years anyway.

    As far as tongue weight goes, I can handle up to around 750lbs right now without being over on payload. If I keep it around 6,000lbs or so, I think we'll be ok, but RIGHT at the limit.

    Which again leads me to the question of should I just go bigger now and not worry about it and take the hit on gas, if there is much of one at all? The AWD system in the Denali does not lend itself to helping out gas mileage. I'm wondering if the fact that the 8.1 is 4WD NOT AWD, will help mitigate some of the gas mileage loss.
  • APT's avatar
    APT
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    ksu_j wrote:
    The Suburban I'm contemplating is a 2004 3/4 ton with the 8.1 V8 and 4:10 rear end.


    If you find a clean one, buy it! It's a towing beast while retaining the ride comfort all Suburbans have. I looked for about a year and ended up buying a new one almost 3 years ago instead. All I found was well used ones or $25-30k clean ones I wasn';t willing to pay so much for. Here is one lsited pretty high IMHO.
  • BenK's avatar
    BenK
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    If MPG is that high on your list of have to have's...stick with the lower
    class TV. Mainly better MPG when used as a car, but when towing...about
    the same, as to move the same trailer the laws of physics will take over

    The bodies on a half ton Sub and 3/4 ton Sub are exactly the same...even your
    non-Suburban GMC

    The world of difference is beneath the body...everything is bigger/better.
    The frame is bigger, drive train is bigger, etc

    You are figuring too light of a tongue weight. If it truly 10% then a higher
    potential of sway issues

    Have you figures how big your kids will be? Marty, our mod, has kids on the
    extreme end of the size bell curve. SUVs get into GVWR trouble way fast, as
    they can carry so much.

    The rear GAWR should be okay, as it is a couple thousand pounds more rating
    than the half ton

    The 3/4 ton Sub comes stock with E rated tires.

    As a min, change out the OEM receiver for a traditional design. About $200 bucks
    and 1 hour labor
  • the_bear_II's avatar
    the_bear_II
    Explorer
    Aug 22, 2014
    I always advise to go with the biggest truck you can afford. Safety first.

    You can expect 6 to 9 towing and 12-15 not towing depending on how you drive.

    To me gas mileage is a non-issue....the enjoyment and family time is way more valuable than dollars.

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