Anyone with experience towing with a Suburban
Hi, I’d like to hear from people who have experience towing a larger travel trailer with a Suburban. I have a Suburban 1500 5.3L. I want to buy the largest travel trailer my suburban can safely tow. ...
Forum Discussion
I've been towing with the king-sized GM SUVs a long while. After my R20 'burb, I had a 98 C2500 (like the one shown wrecked) that was the most heavily equipped variant from the factory - 454, 4L80, 14-bolt full-floating rear, sway bar, HD cooling/air, aux coolers for fluids, monster brakes and so on. Do note that there were two primary variants of the 3/4-ton Suburban beyond the 2wd or 4wd that broke across GVW and signified if one was looking at the 350 or 454, semi or full floater, and brake group. Always towed with C2500 using Equal-i-zer setup on the scales whether TT or much heavier enclosed race car trailer. Never a white knuckle and I climbed some intense grades with that beast! So, pains me to see that happened to a fellow camper and his rig, and I'm glad all survived and feel for the lost family friend. However, I have to question their weight distribution both in terms of hitch and packing the TT. Don't get me wrong, I saw a 1-ton dually diesel long bed crew cab whipped around like a rag doll once towing a 35-ft TT on the ball, no WDH or sway dampening device, ignoring a crosswind warning and continuing at 45mph! Never will forget that sight, or the shock the dually driver was in when we reached him. However, there's high probability that both situations could have been different, and the Suburban is a long-established tow vehicle.
That said, I replaced the C2500 with a 2004 YukonXL 2500 2wd with the 8.1L and optioned ideally for towing. As many of said already, the 6.0L is awful regardless of gearing! The 8.1L is excellent and I still average 10.3mpg towing the new TT with loaded weight of 8300# and my heavier car trailer.
So, my real advice to you is to not seriously consider a trailer with loaded weight over 5000# for your half-ton especially thinking you'll be heading into the hills from NoCal as you'll hate the lack of power with the 5.3L. Further, use a weight distributing hitch with sway dampening characteristics - I'm sold on Equal-i-zer and have used the same hitch for 15 years on several TT's - and invest in a good inertia-based brake controller for your trailer's brakes and make sure to use/adjust it properly. The half-ton's braking system isn't as robust as it's stockier brother so may want to have the trailer brakes adjusted to "lead" just a bit as we all hate warped rotors! Finally, I applaud you for doing your homework upfront! It will save you from white-knuckle towing and we who share the road will appreciate another safe tower!
That said, I replaced the C2500 with a 2004 YukonXL 2500 2wd with the 8.1L and optioned ideally for towing. As many of said already, the 6.0L is awful regardless of gearing! The 8.1L is excellent and I still average 10.3mpg towing the new TT with loaded weight of 8300# and my heavier car trailer.
So, my real advice to you is to not seriously consider a trailer with loaded weight over 5000# for your half-ton especially thinking you'll be heading into the hills from NoCal as you'll hate the lack of power with the 5.3L. Further, use a weight distributing hitch with sway dampening characteristics - I'm sold on Equal-i-zer and have used the same hitch for 15 years on several TT's - and invest in a good inertia-based brake controller for your trailer's brakes and make sure to use/adjust it properly. The half-ton's braking system isn't as robust as it's stockier brother so may want to have the trailer brakes adjusted to "lead" just a bit as we all hate warped rotors! Finally, I applaud you for doing your homework upfront! It will save you from white-knuckle towing and we who share the road will appreciate another safe tower!
