Any years that we should avoid? We have a family of 7. In your experience, does this make a better tow vehicle vs, say, a 12 passenger van? Our HTT is about 4500 lbs loaded.

The Van will offer more room for 7 people to spread out than a Suburban. Properly set up for towing the Van would do amazing. The only issue with a Van is that 4x4 is somewhat harder to get. If 4x4 is a need then a Suburban is a great choice. 7 people traveling together all the time I would own a 12 passenger van for sure.JMHO...thanks!

Sorry to sound dumb, but what should I look for with the van, in terms of making sure it is properly set up for towing, aside from checking Edmunds, etc for specs? Are there certain options I should look for?

We have 7 people plus a trailer that weighs about 4500# loaded.

kdlugozi wrote:Sorry to sound dumb, but what should I look for with the van, in terms of making sure it is properly set up for towing, aside from checking Edmunds, etc for specs? Are there certain options I should look for?Not a dumb question at all; you want to look for 1) a hitch properly rated for your usage, 2) a "towing pkg," normally consisting of a transmission cooler & sometimes a specific gear ratio, and 3) properly rated tires. To state the obvious, any and all of those can be added after-the-fact, but many will already have these features.Of course this is over-and-above the normal things you'd inspect looking at a used vehicle, such as condition of the fluids, tire tread, brake wear, etc.Vans are very underrated as TVs and can often be found for literally thousands less than a comparable truck or SUV. The drawback, as Jerem noted, is the lack of factory 4x4 unless you find a jewel that's been properly converted, or have the means to drop the cash to have it done. Though you may not be able to "boondock" in winter, a 2wd van with a limited-slip rear end, snow tires, and a good driver can handle a reasonable amount of snow.Though it would be overkill for your trailer, a E250 or E350 with a V10 would manhandle your large family with the TT in tow with capacity to spare.

I have pulled trailers 10's of thousands of miles in the snow with my non-4x4 van. It does great. The balanced weight distribution makes them far better drivers in the snow than 2WD pickup. I do have limited slip, and I run good tires (Toyo M55s). I've been through waist-deep snow (miles of it) which is high enough that it was coming over the hood.

Looking at used Suburban 2500's | Good Sam Community

23 Replies

kdlugozi
Explorer
Jul 29, 2013
We have 7 people plus a trailer that weighs about 4500# loaded.
kdlugozi
Explorer
Jul 29, 2013
Sorry to sound dumb, but what should I look for with the van, in terms of making sure it is properly set up for towing, aside from checking Edmunds, etc for specs? Are there certain options I should look for?
jerem0621
Explorer II
Jul 29, 2013
The Van will offer more room for 7 people to spread out than a Suburban. Properly set up for towing the Van would do amazing.

The only issue with a Van is that 4x4 is somewhat harder to get. If 4x4 is a need then a Suburban is a great choice.

7 people traveling together all the time I would own a 12 passenger van for sure.

JMHO...thanks!

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Looking at used Suburban 2500's

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