Gm 5.3 vs 6.2

[Fryer5]

So the time has come to retire my current tow vehicle. Currently I tow my TT which weighs about 6000#s with a 2005 2wd Chevy suburban with the 5.3. The sub has 230,000 miles and has towed probably about 12,000 miles all over the Midwest and southeast of the US. Only on the last trip to Branson Mo have I had power concerns.
So now that I am in the process of looking for the sub's replacement, it will be another suburban/Yukon XL My question is do I look into the Yukon XL Denali to get the 6.2 l engine, or does it not make that big of a towing difference.

Ps, the next truck needs to be 4x4 as we now live in Wisconsin

Thanks in advance for the advice

The Fryers

[jcgib81]

I had a 2007 Suburban with the 5.3. Towed my 31 TT for 3 years. I now have a 2011 Yukon xl Denali 6.2.
I can tell you the towing experience is night and day. 5 times better. The power is always there. I felt bad for my old Suburban. I travel from NY to Maine and Virginia, no problems. The auto level works awesome also. I did replace my rear shocks as they were original with 65 K miles on them.

Just my opinion.

[kw_00]

Congrats, overall you are better off with the 2500HD. The 6.0 ain't no slouch, and combined with the 6 speed it makes towing much better. Now when you hit the hills, I use the toggle switch to control the gearing. I still leave it with tow haul on, but like the ability to control the gearing. I always lock out 6th gear anyway, I mean in Florida you could pull in 6th, but it won't stay especially with my 5th wheel behind it. I generally pull in 5 th and in the hills Georgia I find 4th and 3rd at times. Only a few times in the Carolinas that I was in 2nd but you could not go fast anyway do to the road conditions. Normal interstate for my truck is 5th gear. The only mod that I have done to my truck was having it tuned by BBP. I like the new engine/ trans mapping and much less TQ management. The truck feels much lighter on its feet now and while towing the performance is noticeable. MPGs to expect empty are for me: 13-15 city, been getting 15 now since the tune, and 17 hwy both empty. Towing prior tune was 7.5-8.0 now 8.5-9.0 here in Florida. I pull generally around 65-70 and have no issues. The tires on the fifth wheel are rated at 81 miles per hour but it will never see that. Anyway great choice, it will perform very well and plus you have room to move up if you get the new camper desire. For me I'm starting with the current camper and looking for an antique camper to restore and pull with the C10 on short trips...but that's a whole nother topic when I get rich and famous enough to afford it...lol. BTW enjoy the Fort, we have been there several times for that cool experience, I only live a little over 1 hour north of there, but my daughter enjoys it.

[Fryer5]

Yes, 2008 2500 series has the 6.0 with the 6 speed trans. Tow haul mode is a new expierwnce, as it must have some kind of built in transmission retarder when in tow/haul mode. Planning a 2400 mile round trip to Florida next month (going to Fort Wilderness) excited to see how it does.

[ata3001]

See the truck & TT in my signature. TT weighs about 6K lbs in camping form. Truck tows it just fine w/o any issues. I'm sure the 6.2 would tow even better. but the difference in cost to get it required a pkg option that equalled about $10k more. It just wasn't & still isn't worth it to me. For that price difference I would have gone for a 3/4 ton with the 6.0L gas motor, but still happy with my decision tho.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Fryer5 wrote:
Well in the end I searched out and found a 2500 series suburban with only 51,000 miles

Congrats!!!

Did '08 have the 6spd or 4spd trans?

[lbrjet]

Has the 6.0L?

[Fryer5]

Well in the end I searched out and found a 2500 series suburban with only 51,000 miles

[Flyboy67]

I have the 6.2 in my Silverado 1500 High Country with 3.42. It's tow rating is just under 10,000 lbs I believe. My new Denali TT weighs 8230 lbs. I do not intend to tow it but I will move it around sometimes on my site. Ok? It does not require premium fuel only 89 octane.

[SouthpawHD]

Keep in mind the 6.2L requires premium gas. So if you are price thrifty, keep that in mind. Good luck and Go Pack!

[Fryer5]

I need the suburban for people capacity. Not uncommon for me to be toting about 7 extra people with me, and I often miss my 06 9 passenger sub (bought new and died an early death with 160,000 miles on it the 05 was bought used with 100,000 miles on it)

So I will stick with the suburban.

Like I had said, probably a 1500 with the 5.3 and 3.42 gear
I will definitely look for one with the 6 speed
And I will do my due deligence and search for a 2500 with the 6.0 and 6 speed

Thank you everyone for the advice.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Fryer,

Does it have to be another 'Burb? What about a crew cab 2500? If for just a "covered trunk" could add a truck cap/topper. Just a thought!

If a 1500, as mentioned verify it has the tow package with the 3.42 gearing if a 6spd trans. If a 2500 try to find a newer one that also had the 6spd trans. The difference between the 4spd and 6spd trans is crazy!!! A 6spd/3.42 actually had better gearing than the 4spd/4.10 combo does.

Know that as mentioned the newer 'Burb has an integrated receiver hitch that is limited to 1000lbs tw.

Good luck in your search!!!

[JIMNLIN]

If your old '00 era 5.3 burb did the job you will like the newer 5.3 engines.

My wife sold her '06 1500 chevy 4x4 crew cab 5.3 3.73 gears 4L60E and bought a '16 same 1500 4x4 crew cab 5.3 with 3.42 gears 6L80E.
Nite and day different in tow performance especially in the 2000-2500 rpm range. Lot more low end torque over the older 5.3 that needed lots of rpm.
She drove the 6.2 with the High Country package but decided on better mpg from the 5.3 LT.

The heaviest trailer I've pulled with both is a 10k car hauler with a 7500 tractor/fel/7' mower = 9460 lbs on the trailer axles. Now her new 5.3 won't tow like my Cummins but its light years ahead of the old '06 5.3 engine.

[hawkeye-08]

We had a 2008 GMC Yukon XL Denali with the 6.2 and loved the engine and power.

We moved to 2500HD after towing at capacity (sometimes over) for four years...

The 2008 Denali was AWD (all wheel drive) with no selection to run in 2WD. I was in some wet snow (very slick) once with it and almost got stuck with just one wheel spinning. Not impressed with AWD in that rig.

The hitch was part of bumper and limited to 1000lbs and limited aftermarket choice were available to change it.

The Pmetric tires had too much flex, even at max pressure.

The 4WD in the pickup meets our needs (with limited slip rearend).

[KD4UPL]

I wouldn't consider another 1500 Suburban. I'd hold out for a 2500. It will be superior in every way to what you have. Yes, they are hard to find but they're around. I searched recently on Auto trader and found several. Unfortunately there's no good way to search only for 2500 models. I just had to read thru the adds to find them. Maybe you're better at running a search than me.