Thank you all so much for weighing in. Doing the caravan isn't something that crossed my mind. It certainly might be an option for the shorter trips. I could leave early to set up camp and then they would all come out when it's done. On the flip side, riding 6 in a crew cab is bearable for shorter trips as well.
I looked a little closer at the Expedition Max (and EL). This is a half-ton, correct? It just feels scary to me to pull something substantial with a half-ton.
I found a 2012 Suburban 2500 (VIN: 1GNWKLEG0CR243634). I'm sure this isn't the most reliable way, but I put that VIN into a VIN decoder on the chevy forums website and it had pretty impressive stats (minus the mpg)
- Gross Axle Wt Rating - Front 4180 lbs 4180.0 min 4180.0 max
- Gross Axle Wt Rating - Rear 5500 lbs 5500.0 min 5500.0 max
- Curb Weight - Front 3338 lbs 3338.0 min 3338.0 max
- Curb Weight - Rear 3081 lbs 3081.0 min 3081.0 max
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Cap 8600 lbs 8600.0 min 8600.0 max
- Fuel Economy Est-Combined 12 MPG 12.0 min 12.0 max
- EPA Fuel Economy Est - City 10 MPG 10.0 min 10.0 max
- EPA Fuel Economy Est - Hwy 15 MPG 15.0 min 15.0 max
- Gross Combined Wt Rating 16,000 lbs
- Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 5000 lbs 5000.0 min 5000.0 max
- Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 500 lbs 500.0 min 500.0 max
- Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 9400 lbs 9400.0 min 9400.0 max
- Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 1410 lbs 1410.0 min 1410.0 max
If those stats are correct (and I understand them), does this mean I could tow about 8,000 lbs?
1,000 lbs of people/cargo + 1,000 lbs of hitch weight (12.5%) is 2,000 lbs of 2,181 lbs max payload.
6,419 lbs of vehicle curb weight plus 8,000 lbs of trailer weight is Gross Combined weight of 14,419 lbs of 16,000 lbs max.
