Total newbie, towing question regarding my TV

[EnzoColorado]

We have never owned an RV before, always tent camped but now with twin 3 years old kids, it's time to get a travel trailer.

We have a 2010 Suburban 1500 4wd, single speed transfer case and 5.3L V8 with the 3.08 axle that we bought used last year. The dealer ran my VIN and came back with 5300 lbs towing capacity. I looked up the various towing capacity for this vehicle, and found that the towing capacity will go to 7900 lbs if it has transmission cooler and 3.42 axle.

I plan to install a transmission cooler, that's pretty simple to do. Upgrading the axle to 3.42 is out of question due to cost (I'm assuming it's very costly, don't know for sure). So I'm stuck with the 5300 lbs towing capacity. I figured with the only difference been the axle between the two tow capacities, the 5300 lbs is fairly conservative if I add the tranny cooler, and for going up hills, I can always use the manual gear mode to select the highest gear and not allow the tranny to gear hunting too much.

We've done some research and are down to two options for the travel trailer. Starcraft AR-One Maxx 19BHLE and 20BHLE models. Both are the bunk beds that we need. The interior is essentially the same with the 20BHLE having an extra pantry and separate fridge and freezer. The 20BHLE has tandem axles while the 19BHLE is a single axle. The 20BHLE's dry weight/GVWR is 3822/5000, while the 19BHLE's is 3373/4400.

The dealer said the 20BHLE will tow better, sway less and bounce less due to the tandem axles. I plan to get the Equalizer sway/WD hitch so I figured the swaying is not going to an issue. The question now is whether the 20BHLE when loaded to the GVWR, will be too much for my Suburban. I have weight the Suburban empty on a CAT scale and it's 5850 lbs with a full tank of gas. The GVWR of the Suburban is 7400 lbs. The tongue weight of both trailer models is 400 lbs. So I have about 1150 lbs of cargo capacity in the Suburban to play with including four of us, some gear and a couple kayaks on the roof).

I'm totally new at this so would love to hear feedbacks from people. I worry about what dealers tell me since they're biased to sell the biggest and most expensive trailer to me.

[Campfire_Time]

Pay attention to everything Old-Biscuit stated. I love Suburbans and have owned 3 of them over the years. Unfortunately due to the softer suspension of being an SUV it suffers from a low payload compared to it's PU truck counter parts with a similar drive train.

You're going from a tent. What's wrong with tenting with the kids? We tented with our daughter from about 1 yo until she was about 8. Then we got a pop-up and used that until she was out of high school. And that was because neither my wife nor I wanted to sleep in the ground anymore.

In your situation you might be best off considering a pop-up.

When you do get an aux trans cooler get a stacked plate type, not a tube and fin type. Stacked plate is more expensive but also more efficient.

EnzoColorado wrote:

The dealer said the 20BHLE will tow better, sway less and bounce less due to the tandem axles.

Your dealer is blowing smoke. I towed a single axle trailer for 10 years and our current double axle. I have noticed no difference in stability, sway, or bounce. They have both been just fine. The only time you run into trouble is when the trailer is not setup properly.

[Terryallan]

My son in law has the same Burb you have. You don't want to tow with that thing. Especially in the mountains. It barely went up a 5 mile 8 degree grade by itself. the 3.08 gear kills it for anything other than no load interstate driving. The 3.08 was put in for MPG so that GM would meet the Café standards.

Don't get me wrong. With the right gearing. It would be a good TV. But it don't have it. Hook something to it, and you will be disappointed. In fact before you buy a TT. Hook one of your friends TT to it, and see what it does. That is the only way you will know if it suit you.

SILs Burb won't get out of it's own way in the mountains.

[coolmom42]

^^^^Listen to the man, he knows what he is talking about!

[Old-Biscuit]

Transmission cooler is a good idea for the transmission but will NOT change tow capacity

You have a 1500 4X4 Suburban and PAYLOAD will be the issue

MAX Tow ratings are a mfg. marketing dept. ploy....determined by using a base model, 150# driver, 20# cargo.
That is not real world.

You weight above 150#, all passengers weight, all the stuff inside cab (backpacks, bags, stuff under seat/in floor etc) all have to be subtracted from the PAYLOAD rating.
Then what is left is amount of tongue weight your burb can carry (and not just your burb...applies to all vehicles when towing)

Open drivers door.look at stickers on door jamb
Find:
Cargo Carrying Capacity (PAYLOAD)
Axle ratings especially REAR
GVWR of your burb

And then look at sidewall MAX Load rating at Max PSI for tires ---REAR


With those real numbers you can make an informed decision as to what you can realistically safely tow with you and family aboard

Load up that Burb will everybody and everything 'camp ready' then go get it weighed....little trip for the twins
Weight ticket will tell you......Weight on each axle and total weight
Then see how that measures up to 'Ratings'

(Figure 12% to 15% of trailers GVWR for tongue weight)


GVWR......probably 7400#
Payload....roughly 1564?
RAWR.......guessing 4200#

[Haakon]

EnzoColorado wrote:

Haakon wrote:

EnzoColorado wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
You're correct in that those are the only discernible differences.
Yes replacing BOTH gearsets is expensive and not worth it IMO.
Trans cooler, limit how hard you push er up the hills and all the other stuff you're planning, a 5klb trailer will be fine. Just won't be the first to the top of the pass with that kind of load at altitude.

Thanks! Racing to the top of Independent Pass is not a priority even without towing a trailer.

While reading this forum, I found a link to a VIN decoder and found this particular bit of spec for my VIN:

Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 5000 lbs 5000.0 min 5000.0 max
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 500 lbs 500.0 min 500.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 8000, 5500 lbs 5500.0 min 8000.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 1200, 825 lbs 825.0 min 1200.0 max

So if I use a WD hitch as I planned to, my max trailer weight will go up to 8000 lbs? So really no issues then.

No, that's what the hitch is rated for not your vehicle. They use the same hitch on most if not all of the half ton Suburbans. Regardless of the hitch you still don't have the tranny cooler and have 3.08 gears.

Okay, got it. Still plan to install a HD tranny cooler.

Of course, I wasn't trying to talk you out of it. 🙂 Even if it doesn't increase your tow capacity it should make your transmission last longer, heat is the enemy for transmissions.

[EnzoColorado]

Haakon wrote:

EnzoColorado wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
You're correct in that those are the only discernible differences.
Yes replacing BOTH gearsets is expensive and not worth it IMO.
Trans cooler, limit how hard you push er up the hills and all the other stuff you're planning, a 5klb trailer will be fine. Just won't be the first to the top of the pass with that kind of load at altitude.

Thanks! Racing to the top of Independent Pass is not a priority even without towing a trailer.

While reading this forum, I found a link to a VIN decoder and found this particular bit of spec for my VIN:

Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 5000 lbs 5000.0 min 5000.0 max
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 500 lbs 500.0 min 500.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 8000, 5500 lbs 5500.0 min 8000.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 1200, 825 lbs 825.0 min 1200.0 max

So if I use a WD hitch as I planned to, my max trailer weight will go up to 8000 lbs? So really no issues then.

No, that's what the hitch is rated for not your vehicle. They use the same hitch on most if not all of the half ton Suburbans. Regardless of the hitch you still don't have the tranny cooler and have 3.08 gears.

Okay, got it. Still plan to install a HD tranny cooler.

[Haakon]

EnzoColorado wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
You're correct in that those are the only discernible differences.
Yes replacing BOTH gearsets is expensive and not worth it IMO.
Trans cooler, limit how hard you push er up the hills and all the other stuff you're planning, a 5klb trailer will be fine. Just won't be the first to the top of the pass with that kind of load at altitude.

Thanks! Racing to the top of Independent Pass is not a priority even without towing a trailer.

While reading this forum, I found a link to a VIN decoder and found this particular bit of spec for my VIN:

Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 5000 lbs 5000.0 min 5000.0 max
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 500 lbs 500.0 min 500.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 8000, 5500 lbs 5500.0 min 8000.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 1200, 825 lbs 825.0 min 1200.0 max

So if I use a WD hitch as I planned to, my max trailer weight will go up to 8000 lbs? So really no issues then.

No, that's what the hitch is rated for not your vehicle. They use the same hitch on most if not all of the half ton Suburbans. Regardless of the hitch you still don't have the tranny cooler and have 3.08 gears.

[EnzoColorado]

LadyRVer wrote:
IMHO, if the tandem axle is within your weights, I would choose that one. My reasoning is better safety if you have a blowout.

Recently I had two tire failures same trip. One each side. Tandem helped me out.

Cool, another good reason for the tandem axle. Thanks!

[LadyRVer]

IMHO, if the tandem axle is within your weights, I would choose that one. My reasoning is better safety if you have a blowout.

Recently I had two tire failures same trip. One each side. Tandem helped me out.

[EnzoColorado]

APT wrote:
Here are the tow ratings for your year Suburban:

3.08 - 5300 pounds
3.42 - 5800 pounds
3.42 w/ HD trailering Equipment (HD Trans cooler) - ~8000 pounds

The trans cooler make more of a difference than the gearing. I recommend a high capacity trans cooler if you plan to tow any high walled RV. If you install that, then you should be fine for up to about 5k pounds dry. The 6-spd with 3.08 gearing is actually better than the prior 4-spd trans with 4.10 axle. Use tow/haul mode, limit the trans gear to 4th max (M4), and keep the engine over 2000rpm, 2500rpm better.

Awesome, thank you. Will make sure I get a high capacity trans cooler.

[EnzoColorado]

Grit dog wrote:
You're correct in that those are the only discernible differences.
Yes replacing BOTH gearsets is expensive and not worth it IMO.
Trans cooler, limit how hard you push er up the hills and all the other stuff you're planning, a 5klb trailer will be fine. Just won't be the first to the top of the pass with that kind of load at altitude.

Thanks! Racing to the top of Independent Pass is not a priority even without towing a trailer.

While reading this forum, I found a link to a VIN decoder and found this particular bit of spec for my VIN:

Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 5000 lbs 5000.0 min 5000.0 max
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 500 lbs 500.0 min 500.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 8000, 5500 lbs 5500.0 min 8000.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 1200, 825 lbs 825.0 min 1200.0 max

So if I use a WD hitch as I planned to, my max trailer weight will go up to 8000 lbs? So really no issues then.

[APT]

Here are the tow ratings for your year Suburban:

3.08 - 5300 pounds
3.42 - 5800 pounds
3.42 w/ HD trailering Equipment (HD Trans cooler) - ~8000 pounds

The trans cooler make more of a difference than the gearing. I recommend a high capacity trans cooler if you plan to tow any high walled RV. If you install that, then you should be fine for up to about 5k pounds dry. The 6-spd with 3.08 gearing is actually better than the prior 4-spd trans with 4.10 axle. Use tow/haul mode, limit the trans gear to 4th max (M4), and keep the engine over 2000rpm, 2500rpm better.

[Grit_dog]

You're correct in that those are the only discernible differences.
Yes replacing BOTH gearsets is expensive and not worth it IMO.
Trans cooler, limit how hard you push er up the hills and all the other stuff you're planning, a 5klb trailer will be fine. Just won't be the first to the top of the pass with that kind of load at altitude.