2004 Suburban Reality Check

RWiederhorn wrote:
I own a 2004 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 gas engine, tow package ......I'm looking to purchase a Rockwood Signature trailer with a GVW of around 10k.

Is my Burb up to the job?

In a nutshell......yes.

If it were my vehicle I'd do a couple of safety factor upgrades.

1) Change the OEM receiver.
The design of the OEM receiver in that era of truck was very poor. Basically, this hitch uses the bumper mounting hardware causing your WD hitch to get horrible transfer of weight to the front axles. Also, the metal was thin with poor welds and some members have had them fail. A well made Class V square tube receiver can be purchased for well under $200 and installed in an hour.

2) Brake Lines...
I would strongly encourage you to replace your brake lines with a stainless steel set. Your location of 'North East' tells me this truck has seen it's share of salt and that is bad JuJu for these lines. I used to have an '04 2500HD truck and the line from the master cylinder to the ABS module just ruptured one day. I knew of these issues so I purchased a complete replacement kit for all of the metal lines for about $125. It was a chore to replace them, but as I inspected each old line it was apparent more ruptures were on the way. I barely bent the old tubing and it would buckle where there was heavy corrosion.

After those safety upgrades I'd say you're all set.

KJ