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Re: MPG for a 2500 Suburban?
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 2500.476Views0likes0CommentsRe: Continuous failure of TT wheel bearings - I am so ashamed...
The old suspension came off pretty easy and I replaced it with the Dexter E-Z flex suspension system. Really not too bad, did one side at a time and it came right off and new one right on. The old system was already shot. Besides the two shackles that had already failed, another two where egg shaped and all the plastic bushing were worn through. The steel bolts where rusted and starting to wear also. The dexter kit is not cheap, but it is well worth the price for what it fixes. First thing I noticed is how quite the trailer was backing it out of the drive, no more of the noisy squeaks and groans. Some from the hitch, but none from the suspension. first tow with it went pretty well. We went about 4 hours over two days and they warmed up, but not too bad. Still not real happy, but I ran with it. At one luch stop, I checked the tires by jacking up each wheel independently. One seemed a bit warmer, so upon jacking it up I noticed it was a bit too tight. Pulled the pin, backed the nut off one flat and closed it up. The other wheel on that side was really cool, so I jacked it up just to see how it felt and was surprised that the wheel was really loose! Like floppy loose! Only thing I can think of was I just put new cups in the drum and one must not have been seated fully. So right there I spun it and torqued it back down, then backed off two flats closing it up. Rest of the trip went well with the hubs seeming warm, but consistent. The next trip I remembered my IR temp gun. Again, hubs seemed warm to the touch and but the gun was consistently reading them around 106 to 119o F. The temps were in the low 80's and the sun was out, sun side warmer than the shade side. This does not seem bad. The first year and a half, I forgot that the hubs had those clean looking white plastic covers over them, so I was more measuring the temp of the wheel where it bolted to the hub. Third year I removed the cheap white covers because they looked dirty and it allows me to monitor the black hub of the drum directly. So while the hub is measuring above 100 but below 120, the center of the steel wheel is definitely cool. I actually have no idea what the temperature of the drum hub was those first two years as they were covered. This Wednesday we are towing just over 4 hours, so it will be a good test. But it has done just fine the past two times and you can tell the difference with the dexter kit installed. I was pleasantly surprised by that. Now I need to research tire wear and make sure mine is pretty normal. We tow a lot, at least I think so. probably 2,000 to 4,000 miles a year. Last year the trip to Yellowstone logged 5,100 on the burb alone, over 3,000 of that was towing. \Thanks for all the input, I will update again later.695Views0likes0CommentsRe: Continuous failure of TT wheel bearings - I am so ashamed...
So I found out some things. first, when putting the new drum on and replacing some of the bearings, I found a few trouble things. First, the right rear was missing the brake magnet retaining clip, which is probably not a big deal. But upon looking at the magnet that fell off, I discovered my suspension had failed. The right side, rear axle shackle had cracked and had elongated holes. This unit was 49 months old when I found this, shows just how they build them! So I put the new drum on the left rear, relubed the rest of the bearings and put new bearings on the right side. Both axles I think, but at least the front axle. I set them with the axle jacked up, torqued to 50 ish pounds while spinning. Then held the wheel still while I backed the nut off and turned it back in finger tight. Then loosed it till the cotter pin went in. The rear tires also wear so much more due to turning, so I swapped them front to rear. I was going to replace the rears next year, but figured I would swap them around, maybe run them two more years and just buy 4 new ones. At that point they are all 6 years old and need to be replaced anyways. So next thread are three pictures of the broken shackle and the rear tire off sitting next to the front tire. The corners on the rear are really rounded off.695Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rant - looking for a travel trailer
johnsoax wrote: And then I am stuck with a vehicle that gets really lousy gas mileage and is too big 75% of the year. I had this same problem! I have a 1999 1/2 ton suburban and 5 children. Burb is great, but just not the best at towing really heavy stuff. So I bought a 2004 3/4 ton burb with an 8.1L and a Puma 31dbts. Best of both worlds! 1/2 ton burb for daily driver and handle snow in winter. 3/4 Burb for towing the camper. 31dbts is right about 10,000 lbs loaded with everything! Burb eats it up and I do not drive the 3/4 ton other than towing. Worked so well I bought a third burb, another 2004 3/4 ton with 8.1L (twin to the other one) to tow the 8,000 pound Formula 272LS boat and trailer. Twin 496's in the burbs, twin 350's in the Formula! How cool. The 31dbts is a triple slide unit and has four bunk beds in the back and room for two kids on the floor if friends come along. Doesn't even touch the fold out couch or dinette in the living area or the front bedroom which is for wife and I. All these issues, it is simple. Find a trailer, buy another truck. Oh, also have a car with an LT1, so: 350, 350, 350 x 2, 496 and another 496. I need a barrel for oil changes every year. Be realistic and buy a camper. Solved, I didn't even have to read this whole thread.... LOL! I plan to buy a forth burb next year so my 15 YO can have the 1999 as his first vehicle. Gas is still cheap, it doesn't burn spring water thank goodness! Go camping!297Views0likes0CommentsRe: ? much help will 3/4 ton make for ride quality comp to 1/2?
rsaylor3 wrote: Will I still get the push pull of semis with the propride? My father in law says he doesn't feel it with his fifth wheel but I question that. He's got to feel that as well right? I will say yes. On my 2500 burb with the trailer, when I get passed by a semi moving much faster than me, you get a slight push as they meet you, then you get pulled towards them as they pass. A bit un-nerving until you get used to it. Just too much sail area not to feel that. Bigger trucks may not move as much, but that is a lot of force not to have some feedback. I have talked to a few truck drivers while unloading them, and they report the same. Not as severe, but when they are empty (only 30,000 lbs), they definitely feel passing semi's. They are just used to it and know it will only move so much, not getting sucked in. Wind does the same, especially in hills where it comes and goes. When loaded over 70,000 pounds, they say it is much more steady and harder to notice. They feel it but the truck really does not move side to side much. If a truck driver in a 70,000+ pound rig can at least feel it, how does any RV not feel it? Not saying they are getting pushed around, but they feel the wind and force on the trailer. Just my experience.431Views0likes0CommentsRe: chevy suburban
I might be unique here on my experience. I have two - 2004 k2500 8.1L Suburbans currently. Both are even white! The only difference between them is one has the lift gate, the other has the barn doors. Both will open while hooked up to my trailer. I do have an electric jack that is fairly short on my trailer. Close, but it does clear. Not sure which one I like the most. It is nice to use the barn doors because you can open only one side. I never have bumped my head on the barn doors (I am tall). It is nice to be able to pop the lift glass on the tailgate version and put stuff in the back. Or open the lift gate and be able to be out of the rain while loading groceries. It is easier to pull the burb into the garage a bit further and still be able to get in the back with the barn doors, the lift gate requires much more room to open it. Visibility with the hatch is better due to no center obstruction. hatch also has a windshield wiper, which is nice. Groceries that have shifted have never fallen out of the back when I only opened the hatch glass. I have had some 2 liters roll out when the barn door is opened up and explode. That was fun, mainly because it was my wife and not me who opened the door. they both have pros and cons. I guess if I found the burb I wanted, I would not let either option stop me from buying it. Then again, I have proved that by owning both I guess. Oh, and rust not sure. My 94 had doors, never rusted. My 99 the tailgate bottom rusted out and I had to replace it. 2004 both are rust free, one is not driven on streets in winter as it is left hooked to the camper for mobility. Good luck406Views0likes0CommentsRe: Anyone with experience towing with a Suburban
OK, that pick of the flipped 3/4 ton burb makes me add my own experience. I have owned 4 suburbans, currently own a 99 K1500 and two 2004 - k2500 with the 8.1L. I like it so much, I bought a second one and yes I drive three suburbans, I love global warming but that is for a different thread. My 3/4 ton burbs pull our 31dbts just fine. (36' overall and weighs in about 10,000 lbs loaded) Went out west past Yellowstone last summer and it did really well. had to slow down on some hills in Montana, but that is to be expected at 17,000 lbs total. I have never towed the TT with the 1/2 ton nor do I want to. I also own a 272 LS Formula offshore boat and it weighs 8,000 to 8,500 with some fuel and a steel trailer. I often tow that locally in Indiana with the 99 1/2 ton burb with the old 5.7L in it. It does fine with the boat, but you can really feel it back there. Power is OK on the motor as the local roads are only 55 and flat, but the suspension is where it is lacking. And tonque weight as it is just a plain hitch. The boat is much more aerodynamic than the trailer, so that is not so much an issue. I did lose a trailer tire on the boat at 55 mph last summer. Barely noticed it except the vibration and I saw it disintegrate in the mirror. No problem slowing down with the 1/2 ton burb and pulling off the road. Now I put that same 8500 lbs behind the k2500 burb and it is night and day. That is why I bought the second one. The 1500 will tow the 8500 lb boat, but not nearly as well as the 2500. It is not just the pulling power of the 8.1L, it is the suspension and tires themselves. It feels and controls completely different. How a 2500 suburban flipped that easily? We do not know all the information, how it was loaded, was it worn out, bad ball joints, who knows. It might have been the truck but it was not because of the truck design. Tow with your 1500, but if you can upgrade to a 2500, I highly recommend it. It is much better control and suited to getting you there safely. Just my experience, worth twice what you paid for it! Good luck.5.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Continuous failure of TT wheel bearings - I am so ashamed...
OK, so I am going to do a few things. One, I will order new bearings and cups, just start the year with all fresh stuff since they have been hot. Second, I am ordering a new drum for $50. The one I replaced in Wisconsin was slightly different and takes a different outside bearing. Nothing wrong with it, but it has a unique bearing and just means a different part to carry with us. I will keep it as a spare as it will work on boat or travel trailers. Third, I will strip the bearings down and mic the spindles. Have to look up what the dimensions and tolerances are first. make sure spindles are right. forth, while stripped I will have to look at the suspension components to see if everything looks right or moves. (frame on jack stands, use jack to move axles up and down. Forth, if everything else checks out OK, put back together and take it out for a tow I guess. Brian695Views0likes0CommentsRe: Continuous failure of TT wheel bearings - I am so ashamed...
Campin LI wrote: Don't dismiss your brake controller. Make sure it is functioning properly. Good point, have not looked into this. But when you activate the brakes, you can definately tell it! Doesn't mean they are not dragging though I have adjusted the brakes also over time. Cranked them out until you could feel them drag and then crank them in until it spun freely.204Views0likes0Comments
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