MPG for a 2500 Suburban?

[KD4UPL]

With another baby on the way I'm thinking of upgrading our family sedan to a Suburban. I want to be able to use it for towing so I'm going to go for a 2500 model. I know mileage towing will be single digits and I'm fine with that.
What kind of mileage might I expect just hauling the family around as a daily driver?
If I get an early Sub with the 4 speed auto I think I'd like to have the 8.1L. Or, I may get a newer one with the 6.0 but it will have to have the 6 speed auto.
Either way, what kind of MPG are you getting just running around town or on the highway with no trailer and now big heavy payload?

Thanks,

[twxsby89]

I get 12 around town, and 7-8 towing.

[demiles]

As stated earlier, the pickups with the 8.1l had the Allision the burbs got the 4l-80e.

[deltabravo]

KD4UPL wrote:
If I get an early Sub with the 4 speed auto I think I'd like to have the 8.1L

I believe all 8.1L engines had the Allison transmission, either the 5 or 6 speed, depending on the model year.

[befu]

Have two of the 2004 - 8.1L - 3.73 4x4 burbs, both white LS models. My favorite! Had a 1994 with 5.7, still have a 1999 with 5.7 as my daily driver, just picked up a 2010 - 5.3 4x4 for the wife's daily driver.

The 8.1L burbs get 14 on the highway. Throw in wife and 7 kids, get 14 on the highway. Add rear cargo carrier and luggage carrier up top, get 14 on the highway. Town is 10 to 11 it seems, but we live in small town so mostly country driving. Tow burbs also live in front of trailers owning 4 suburbans, so mileage doesn't matter. But towing 10,000 pounds we usually get about 8 mpg in the midwest. When we went out to yellowstone, milage did drop to mid 6's with all the large grades. I am planning on putting 4.10's in one of them for future towing, I am right at the 10,000 pound tow limit and feel it with the 3.73
On the highway, I am limited to 65 mph to keep the RPM's around 2700 if I remember. OD just doesn't work there if you hit any grade and on an overpass it wants to hit second when on cruise. So I figure set the one with 70k miles on it up for serious towing with the 4.10's and keep the other one with 160k miles on it for local towing or the boat, which is only 8,500.
The 1999 definitely feels it when I tried towing the boat with it. But it gets 17 mpg on highway and 13 to 14 average driving.

The 2010 burb is what we refer to as the "eco-burb". It has the 5.3L with 3.07 gears and 6 speed. Only has a 5,500 tow rating, but got it for a glorified station wagon. Highway it can get 21 to 22 mpg. Then you go 75, add the wife, the 7 kids, luggage carrier on top and cargo carrier on back and you end up getting 17. I do not recommend these gears. The 5.3 is fine and the 6 speed, but it is not geared enough.

At the weight you are looking to tow, I would get a 2500 burb, 6.0L with 3.73 gears. I do not know the specs, but it would probably be up around 9,000 lbs, I forget if the higher number was with 4.10's or not. But my 2004 2500 burbs feel solid. Ride good, but solid. The 2010 1/2 ton is like a toy. It is lighter, thinner and feels like a station wagon. The 2500 in 2004 is a tank! If they still made the pre 2007 version, I would have bought one. Best burbs I have ever had.

Everyone I know who towed a TT over 5,000 pounds wished they had a 2500.

[Thunderbolt]

Suburbans with the 8.1 have a 4L85E transmission.

trail-explorer wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
If I get an early Sub with the 4 speed auto I think I'd like to have the 8.1L.

I don't believe such animal exists.

As far as I know, all the 8.1s had an Allison, 5 speed. I don't the the 6 speed Alli was mated to the 8.1, but maybe it was.

[ramyankee]

By my sig, depending on terrain empty it can go between 13-15 and towing our 5th Wheel depending upon terrain it will be between 6.5 and maybe 9.
I drive between 60-65 MAX.And I have just over 117000.

[krobbe]

trail-explorer wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
If I get an early Sub with the 4 speed auto I think I'd like to have the 8.1L.

I don't believe such animal exists.

As far as I know, all the 8.1s had an Allison, 5 speed. I don't the the 6 speed Alli was mated to the 8.1, but maybe it was.

For 2002+, all the 2500 8.1L Burbs/YukonXL's came with the Hydra-Matic 4L85-E and the 6.0L got the 4L80-E transmissions.
The 5 Speed Allison was an option in the 8.1L Pickups only.

[akcooper9]

I have an 05 Yukon XL 2500 with a 6.0/4L80E 4.10 on 265/75/16 tires and get 15MPG on the highway and 14 in town during the winter and 12 in the summer.

[Grit_dog]

Thought the 8.1/Alli combo was just in the pickups and the burbs got the 4L80 or whatever it was.
Same reason for no diesel in the burb because the Alli don't fit in the trans tunnel on the non HD bodies. Icbw
An Alli is the way to go behind the 8.1 but a built 4speed for will handle the 8.1 well.

[APT]

85k miles on our 6.0L/6-spd. As high as 18mpg non-towing highway, as low as 6.5MPG towing. Typically, we average 13mpg in daily driving and 8mpg towing.

[Bionic_Man]

I don't think any of the Suburbans had the Allison. I know mine didn't. Mine was the regular 4 speed.

[trail-explorer]

KD4UPL wrote:
If I get an early Sub with the 4 speed auto I think I'd like to have the 8.1L.

I don't believe such animal exists.

As far as I know, all the 8.1s had an Allison, 5 speed. I don't the the 6 speed Alli was mated to the 8.1, but maybe it was.

[ksu_j]

KD4UPL wrote:
Thanks for all the responses. Particularly ksu_i who's had both of the exact combinations I was considering. I wouldn't be towing heavy, probably just a 6,000 pound boat so I should probably be leaning toward a newer vehicle with the 6.0/6 speed.
We'll have 3 kids in car seats plus me and my wife so I may have to take the gas mileage hit just to fit everyone and everything inside.

No problem. I should point out that the reason I prefer the newer 2008 with the 6.0 is because of the amount of towing I do. I tow my camper MAYBE 10 times a year with most being short trips ~100 miles or so, and one long trip 1,000+ miles a year. If I were towing my camper long distances a lot of times a year, I'd much rather prefer the big block and 4.10. I could literally put it in 4th gear and set the cruise at 65mph and just sit back and drive. But, empty highway driving was so bad that I didn't want to take it on long road trips without the camper.

So since my wife's Honda Pilot is getting up there in age and mileage, 2005 with 163,000 miles (incredible SUV by the way), I wanted something that was good for long road trips, but could also be used to pull the camper long distances. The 2008 with the 6.0 and 6 speed is pretty much a PERFECT compromise for me. Doesn't pull the camper quite as well (by a healthy margin actually), but is immensely better driving down the highway solo, at higher speeds.

[jamesu]

I get 15-16 mpg when I am not towing. 9.5 10.5 when I am.

[KD4UPL]

Thanks for all the responses. Particularly ksu_i who's had both of the exact combinations I was considering. I wouldn't be towing heavy, probably just a 6,000 pound boat so I should probably be leaning toward a newer vehicle with the 6.0/6 speed.
We'll have 3 kids in car seats plus me and my wife so I may have to take the gas mileage hit just to fit everyone and everything inside.