Towing with a 5.3?

[Bionic_Man]

For the last 15 years, I have towed my boat tandem behind my 5er. New boat purchased at the end of last year has me rethinking what I want to do.

Considering changing out of my 1997 Grand Cherokee that I drive during foul weather, and moving to something that could pull my 23', 6000 pound boat if I need to go that way. Since this will effectively be a 4th vehicle, I don't want to spend a fortune. Willing to spend up to around $16k, but less would be better.

I am surprised at how affordable mid 2000 Suburban's are. My concern is if the 5.3 would be adequate to tow the boat. The only time we would use it to tow would be shorter (200 mile one way) trips. I would have my RAM and 5er, so the burb would be empty other than the boat. Would the 5.3 do ok, or should I look for something more powerful?

[jerem0621]

Congrats!

The air ride light on my Town Car is always on. I swapped the air ride for coil springs (single best mod for my car ever btw)...

May want to see if yours is now running standard suspension. (Sorry, not sure about the architecture of the Subs air ride)

If it has been swapped you can easily fix the light. If it hasn't and you still have air ride it could be something simple or something really expensive. You just need to do some tinkering.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Bionic_Man]

Well, it is mine. Not as clean as I had hoped, but it will serve its purpose, and with a little TLC, shoudl be a pretty good winter driver.

Already had to change the MAF air sensor. The back wiper does not work, and the wire to the rear defroster is off (that is a terrible design - I have rented burbs with less than 300 miles and they were already popped off).

Going to clean the carpets pretty soon, rent an ozone machine and see if I can get rid of some of the odor. Probably will take it to a local mechanic to have all the fluids changed and the wiper & defrost fixed.

One last thing. The "service suspension" light comes on when I start it. Any insight on what that might mean? It seems to ride fine. I already pulled a buddies boat around 60 miles with it, and moved my boat out of the garage and back in today. The rear doesn't sag. Is the light worth checking out?

Here is a photo with my Malibu.

[mr61impala]

Bionic Man wrote:
Well, I put a deposit down on a 2003 2500 with the 8.1. It is a black, two owner LT, has autoride, sunroof, leather, looks to be pretty well loaded. I will see it on Wednesday (out of state). Hopefully everything goes well and will be taking it home.

If it turns out to be more truck than we want, I am confident that I can flip it and not lose any $.

EXCELLENT choice, we fool around withe 8.1L engines in boats and they are a BRUTE!

The Suburban is a heavy vehicle even when empty.

I would bet the "power to weight" ratio is the reason Cadillac uses much larger engines in their Escalade versions of the Suburban.

I suspect you will be very happy with your highly sought-after vehicle which should deliver excellent resale value when the time comes.

Plus you benefit from the heavier components aft of the basically "LS" big block.

Congrats!

[PAThwacker]

We have a 2002 8.1 big block 2500 avalanche at our dealership with 94k. Fun little bugger, drives smooth, and has nonstop power. cars.com/kbexpressautos

[Bionic_Man]

Well, I put a deposit down on a 2003 2500 with the 8.1. It is a black, two owner LT, has autoride, sunroof, leather, looks to be pretty well loaded. I will see it on Wednesday (out of state). Hopefully everything goes well and will be taking it home.

If it turns out to be more truck than we want, I am confident that I can flip it and not lose any $.

[Tystevens]

I see. Well, I'd guess the 8.1 is pretty bulletproof, even with higher miles. The 6.0 also seems to be a durable motor. If you want a 2500, I wouldn't shy away from the 6.0.

I wouldn't see any reason to go with the '07+ new body style Suburban unless you can get the 6 spd.

Our '05 was a great vehicle. Perfectly reliable (only repair was a mid-steering shaft that developed a pop), very comfortable and versatile vehicle. Sold it w/ about 130k miles, working perfectly; the only real reasons being that 1) I had driven my dad's '10 Sierra 1500 for a week and really became enamored with the performance of the newer drivetrain; 2) my wife wanted something a little newer and fancier, and 3) we wanted the middle row captains chairs, as we were tired of kids climbing over the middle row bench to get to the back.

Good luck!

[Bionic_Man]

Thanks Ty. I don't pull the boat with the Grand Cherokee. I use my 3500, but may need something if towing tandem doesn't work out.

I can get into an 2003-2005 model year 8.1 for around $10k. The 2007 + with the new body style seem to be at least $7k more expensive, and still have the same miles. I haven't even looked at 09 +.

Trying to keep this one on a budget. It will not be a primary vehicle.

[Tystevens]

A 5.3 Suburban, particularly with 4.10 gears, will tow that boat just fine. Especially if you're coming from a Grand Cherokee, it would be a significant upgrade. Personally, I'd think the 8.1 or Excursion V10 is overkill, but it gives you room to expand, I suppose ...

But I will say the 6 spd in the '09 and later is a significant improvement. I don't know what 8.1 Suburbans are going for, but I would think for what you'll spend to track down an 8.1 2500, you might be able to find an '09 1500 ready to go.

Good luck!

[Bionic_Man]

Think I have decided to go away from the 5.3. Found a couple interesting 8.1s, but they are not anywhere close to me. Trying to figure out which I am most interested in.

Not sure how it will go buying a 10 + year old, 100,000 + mile vehicle that is 1000 miles away. Lots of pictures and hope the seller is honest when I ask questions I guess.

Any other suggestions?

[Bionic_Man]

Thanks for the tip. I don't need something right now but don't want to wait a couple months either.

We will see what happens. That was a good price. Thanks for the tip.

[krobbe]

Bionic Man wrote:
krobbe, that would be exactly what I am looking for. I called on it, and it just sold.

Bummer. At autotrader.com, search for: chevy suburban, gmc yukon, 8.1L. Then set an alert for your email address and any new listings will come to you. I missed out on my first try, but scored on the second one. It took a couple months to find what I wanted. If the price is reasonable, they go fast.

[Bionic_Man]

krobbe, that would be exactly what I am looking for. I called on it, and it just sold.

[krobbe]

Maybe find something like this 2003 3/4 Suburban 8.1L for $9k with low miles? I had mine shipped from TX to MI for under $1K. It tows my 7200# TT without much effort or drama even thru the mountains. RPM's are a nice quiet 2200 in the flats in OD/TowHaulMode. The 4L85-E transmission will hold up much better than the 4L60 with your weights. These trucks are pretty well appointed and drive great. I don't drive mine but on summer weekends and vacation trips. It's my fav vehicle I've owned in my 38 years of driving.

[MARK_VANDERBENT]

I have a 2000 suburban 1500 5.3 2wheel drive 373 rear end. I tow a 6000 pound trailer and tow in 3rd in tow haul. My truck has 200,000 miles on it and it tows great. I am not afraid to let her rev high. The 5.3 is very strong and dependable. I have switched to 10 w 30 on my 2000 burb with 200,000 miles, and my 2000 gmc sierra with 300,000 all original miles. running 10w30 in the higher mile 5.3s is good they will not burn much oil at all. I think 5w30 is way to thin for older 5.3s GMs small block motors are made to rip at high rpms with no harm to them.