Suburban 1500 with 6000lbs

brownieab wrote:
I have a 99 Burb K1500, 5.7, 4x4 with 373 gears. I'm also towing just under 6K. It's just me and the wife so I'm ok with payload. Add people to the other seats and it starts to get heavy. It tows fine. On the highway, the engine works to pull the unit through the air, on the back roads under 45 mph, it's very comfortable. Get a good hitch, make sure the trailer brakes are working fully and have fun. I have towed heavier with this rig, and it's alot more work. So yes it's doable as I do it routinely, but it must be set up right to be comfortable.

I have the exact same thing but Tahoe, not burb. Its a little shorter but I tow 7000lbs trailer and just me for payload. If my truck was stock, I dont think it would survive long.
I swapped pcm which added tow haul and a bunch of bolt on power mods. On these trucks it is all about keeping the trans happy by keeping the TC locked as much as possible. I retuned the trans to get lockup in 2nd for the big hills going up the rim in northern AZ.

How many people in the truck is a factor but I'm guessing not too many and not too big with that size trailer.
I'd be surprised to see anything other than 3.73 gears in that truck. And I'm presuming it's a 5.7/350. The Vortec 350 likes to rev, but not as much as the LS engines. Starts building good power around 2500 up to 3500 or so, show is pretty much over by 4500. Your generation truck does not have Tow/Haul so be sure to use 3rd gear manually. Fresh transmission fluid is essential to keep the 4L60 alive. Use regular plain old Dex/Merc, no Synthetic and especially no Dex 6 in there. Add a pint of Lube Gard Platinum to the Trans too.
One challenge with the Suburbans is they tend to be a bit saggy in the ass end as they age. Also, the trailer ball is about five feet from the rear axle which is a bunch of leverage. A Weight Distributing Hitch is a must, and a set of airbags will make your towing experience much better too.

I have a 99 Burb K1500, 5.7, 4x4 with 373 gears. I'm also towing just under 6K. It's just me and the wife so I'm ok with payload. Add people to the other seats and it starts to get heavy. It tows fine. On the highway, the engine works to pull the unit through the air, on the back roads under 45 mph, it's very comfortable. Get a good hitch, make sure the trailer brakes are working fully and have fun. I have towed heavier with this rig, and it's alot more work. So yes it's doable as I do it routinely, but it must be set up right to be comfortable.

Our 93 1/2 ton Sub was rated for 7,500. If you can pull it you will want an equalizer hitch. We towed a 4,000 lb trailer with ours.

Roman Duck wrote:
You should look at the gross vehicle combination weight rating (GVCWR) on your suburban's door post to make sure what you can safely tow that heavy. Need to figure TV loaded weight with passengers, belongings and full tank of gas. Once you the know what that is; deduct that weight from the GVCWR. Then you know what you can safely tow. Exceeding the manufactures weight ratings could effect your insurance coverage. also the actual weight on the camper is greatly effected by what you load into it, food, belongings, water, propane.

The 7500 wt rating I'm guessing would be the 2500 series and the 5300 would be the 1500. Check your door post.

You should look at the gross vehicle combination weight rating (GVCWR) on your suburban's door post to make sure what you can safely tow that heavy. Need to figure TV loaded weight with passengers, belongings and full tank of gas. Once you the know what that is; deduct that weight from the GVCWR. Then you know what you can safely tow. Exceeding the manufactures weight ratings could effect your insurance coverage. also the actual weight on the camper is greatly effected by what you load into it, food, belongings, water, propane.

We towed our trailer with an 87 Suburban with tow package and 3.42 gears and it did just fine.

Tow rating depends mostly on gear ratio. Look on your glovebox RPO codes - do you have GT3 (3.42), GT4 (3.73) or GT5 (4.10)? If you have the 3.42 axle, let's just say that's not optimal for towing.

Don't overlook the rear axle weight rating. It's remarkably easy to overload the rear axle on a half-ton Burb. If you have a large family, you might be exceeding the cargo carrying capacity (the Burb's GVWR) and the rear axle weight rating.

You're probably ok, as long as you don't have the 3.42 axle.