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
burnmark wrote:
We had a 2003 Sub 1500 with the 5.3 and 3.73 rear end. Pulled a 30 foot, 6500 lb trailer. WDH and a friction sway bar. Ultimately I upgraded from P to LT tires, better shocks and GOOD maintenance. We towed in the mountains and flat. IT did OK. NOt great, OK. It revs really high, almost scary climbing, and slows down..
Pay attention to all the tips from here - tongue weight, WDH set up and stay witin your limit.
m
I agree with all the advice on here about weights, payload, etc., but want to emphasize what burnmark said regarding engine revs, etc. With the 5.3 a lot depends on the year and what transmission is in the vehicle. We pulled with a 2005 5.3 that only had the 4-speed transmission. In the mountains, we were sometimes stuck behind the 18-wheelers at 15 - 20 MPH in the climbing lane at 4,000 RPM. That was almost as hard on me as it was the tow vehicle. I also didn't like the wider spacing between the gears with the result huge jump or drop in RPM as the tranny up- or down-shifted. There also wasn't much there in the way of engine compression (even in tow-haul mode) to slow the rig down on the the downhill side. I've not towed with a newer model with the 6-speed auto - moved up to a 3/4 ton diesel... a lot more relaxed on the road, now.
