suv to trailer towing help

carolynjune wrote:
I don't care for the suburbans. There's not enough leg room in the 3rd seat. The expedition had the leg room, but since we'll be full timing, I'm not willing to risk the transmission burning up. As much as I'd like to stick with a vehicle with 3 rows, I think I need to suck it up and go with a truck.

Since you will be full timing why mess with a tow vehicle thats not really made to tow? I just went through this a couple of months ago and here is my experience and suggestions for what its worth.

Towed a 6000lb trailer first with a 2000 5.3 suburban. Great truck just needed a little more power. Then we steped into a 2007 denali with the big 6.2. It had the power but at higher rpms. It was a fine line of keeping engine/ tranny temps down. GM replaced my 6.2 with a fresh one and the 6.2 still kinda sucked for towing. This engine was not made to tow...the GM 6.0 is. Then I got serious about things because I was sick of my TV not performing. For me my options were these:

1. Duramax van. nobody wants to drive a van and it didn't come in 4x4.
2. Excursion I like the idea of having a diesel so the 7.3 or the 6.0(bullet proofed) was a good option. They are very expensive though. They are also very expensive to work on. The V10 is okay but it is not near as powerful as GM's 8.1.
3. 2008-2013 Suburban 2500 with the 6.0. Nice TV but expensive and I knew it was the same plastic as my denali that was falling apart.
4. 2000-2006 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1. Tons of Torque in low rpms and not made of plastic **** like the newer ones. Tons of payload and towing capacity. Easy to work on and pretty cheap. Only downside to this TV is mpg's.
5. sequoia has no payload capacity and are very expensive.
6. Expedition EL with the ecoboost. These are very expensive but I think they would be decent TV. I am not sold on the durability of the ecoboost after talking to tons of ford mechanics. Under 60K miles yep. Over 60K miles nope. If you go with one of these get a good warranty because you will be forking out a ton of money for repairs.

I ended up with a 2005 suburban 2500 8.1 and absolutely love it. It is not a daily driver so the mpg's don't really bother me. I ended up getting a 37' 8200lb dry weight camper and it still pulls it awesome. Such a comfortable truck for trips. Also The GM 8.1 is a marine grade engine. That means they torture test the **** out of these things for longevity and durability. I can't say enough good things about it.