How well would a 2006 Suburban 2500 with the 6.0 liter pull a 33' TT weighing 6300 lbs dry? It has the 4:10 rear end. A friend had a silverado with this motor but had 3:73 gears and it would constantly downshift/upshift on the slightest of grades. I've read the lower gears is much better. Anyone pull with one of these?

I pull with a Silverado 2500 crew cab 6.0 4:10 rear. I have the six speed trans. Can't use 6th gear, most of the time I shift it manually when towing. Does a decent job as I'm around 70K in tow miles over the last three years. Head winds are a problem though, only a diesel will cure that. I'll be posting a oil analysis a little latter on this motor. I think the 6.0 will run for ever but they are gas hounds that's for sure!

Thanks for the response. I also read that these motors like to rev so don't back off when it sounds like it's winding up pretty tight. He also warned me that I can expect 8mpg when towing, which I expected. I wish I could afford a Duramax, they just can't be beat as a tow vehicle.

I have an 03 Suburban with the 8.1, and use it to tow a 6500 pound boat. Less weight and wind resistance, more motor, and the transmission does shift down into 3rd often, and 2nd sometimes. Nothing wrong with letting a transmission work, but if you don't want to do a lot of shifting, I would keep looking.

A lower gear may make the shifting less and better per say. A 6 sp will be better than the older 4 sp frankly. BUT, as noted, with 3.73 gears, the DOD/6th will be useless unless you can get or have 4.33 or 4.56 gears. Otherwise it is too tall, you will not have enough rpm to make the HP needed to move the load. I move 6-8K with my 2000 C2500, a vortec 5.7, 255/330 hp torque spec, 4.10's and a 4 sp auto. I am usually no slower than 50 on the steeper 3-4% freeway grades, in 2nd, doing 4-4.5K rpm. I can go faster, but for what I have drivetrain wise, not sure the extra strain is worth it. I drove similarly with my 05 dmax, and 96 6.5td, and my IDI 7.3 in my navistart dumptruck. I find a gear, rpm that pulls the hill at a given speed, but not losig speed, overheating etc. I personally would pull said TT with a 6.0 sp 4.10 setupMarty

IBcarguy wrote:Thanks for the response. I also read that these motors like to rev so don't back off when it sounds like it's winding up pretty tight. He also warned me that I can expect 8mpg when towing, which I expected. I wish I could afford a Duramax, they just can't be beat as a tow vehicle.2700-3000 rpm is the sweet spot for me towing and its where it feels the torque is at. I wouldn't call these motors high reving. I rarely ever go to 4K. Not a big fan of the tow hauling mode so I rarely ever leave it in automatic when towing. Shifting in the manual mode is easy and it keeps the transmission from searching for a proper gear thus reducing trans temps.

2006 Suburban for towing? | Good Sam Community

IBcarguy
Explorer
Nov 07, 2015
Thanks for the response. I also read that these motors like to rev so don't back off when it sounds like it's winding up pretty tight. He also warned me that I can expect 8mpg when towing, which I expected. I wish I could afford a Duramax, they just can't be beat as a tow vehicle.
Carrera_man
Explorer
Nov 07, 2015
I pull with a Silverado 2500 crew cab 6.0 4:10 rear. I have the six speed trans. Can't use 6th gear, most of the time I shift it manually when towing. Does a decent job as I'm around 70K in tow miles over the last three years. Head winds are a problem though, only a diesel will cure that. I'll be posting a oil analysis a little latter on this motor. I think the 6.0 will run for ever but they are gas hounds that's for sure!

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2006 Suburban for towing?

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