6500 # toy hauler with '03 Z71 Tahoe w 5.3

[Fixed_Sight_Tra]

I know this is old hat for most of you but I thought I'd put it up because I looked for it and couldn't find it when I was buying the TH.

This summer we put on about 1700 miles pulling the camper and all but about 200 in the Colorado Rocky Mountians.

I averaged about 9.7 while pulling. I can't get exact because we spent a little of each tank driving w/o the TH and did some crawling up a pass in 4 low.

The GCVW is probably in the low to mid 12,000# range. The Tahoe came standard with a trans cooler so I didn't have to do anything for pulling and has about 110,000 mi. It runs great but the interior isn't holding up that well.

The Tahoe pulls just fine up the hills as long as I can keep the rpms up. If I shift into second on the hills and keep it at 3500 - 4000 rpms it pulls great and I don't even need to keep my foot in it. It holds 50 or so just fine unless A GD Semi or BMW gets in the way. Then I am pretty much screwed into first and 30-35 mph and I can't get going fast enough to shift into second in the power band. Kind of annoying but in the long run really not that big a deal.

I was thinking about upgrading but at this point I can't find anything I like worth the money. I'll probably just drive the Tahoe into the ground. I need an SUV for family and work but none of them are that great for towing. Maybe Ford will bring back the excursion at some point. That's what I really want.

[chaunceyL]

Hey there , we had a 04 short wheel base denali towing a 27ft 3axel fun runner at about 8500lbs did fine motor will tow it all day standard new small block ... But up graded trailer so had to get a long bed LMM to tow it and in the same boat as you , want a SUV as a tow / hauler my op would be to look at a one or 3/4 ton burb with the duramax ally combo in it ... Look up duraburb think its a well worth the money investment.

[wintersun]

With the gas engines the rear gears are very important. I purposely looked for a Tahoe with the 4.10 gears when I bought mine for towing a boat around. There is a 25% gain in towing capacity as compared to same truck with the 3.73 gears. If yours has the taller gear then swapping them out for 4.10 would help your Tahoe's performance by keeping the engine inside its peak power band when towing.

[Fixed_Sight_Tra]

That looks like a pretty good Suburban. Just got a new Subaru for the wife so no new vehicle for me unless the Tahoe decides to go tango uniform. Trying to avoid two car payments at the same time. Unfortunately the days of the big gasser as well as the diesel SUV as well as the SUV that's not camouflaged in minivan plastic are a thing of the past. Kinda depressing.

[APT]

Keep a lookout for a nice 3/4 ton 8.1L.

[JaredWPhillips]

I have a 01 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3. Did a 4000+ mile trip out west through the rockies and back. Climbed a 12000+ foot pass pulling our previous 5000k-lb travel trailer. 180,000 miles and still pulls like-new. I still miss my Cummins that I had previously, but this truck is now paid off, and like you, I'll drive it into the ground. It really tows well for a gasser.