2500 Suburban

[BigOakBuilder]

I am currently towing my 294 Springdale with a 1500 Z71 Chev, it gets us there but I'm pretty stressed by the end. My wife needs a new vehicle for her and the kids and I found out Chevy makes a 3/4 ton Suburban with at 6.0 V8 engine. Has anyone here towed with one or had friends that have use one for towing a trailer that's about 9000 lbs. loaded?

[Jim W]

I do not own a Suburban, but since you have not had a response as of yet. I thought I would provide this link for you to review.
http://www.chevrolet.com/assets/pdf/en/overview/11_Trailering_Guide.pdf
Per GMC/CHEVY the 3/4 ton Suburan will tow up to 9,600 LBS if it is a 4X2. A 4X4 will tow less than a 4X2 by 200 lbs. I would also read the note on page 12 of 14 on towing with the Suburban.
Hope this helps.
Jim

[BigOakBuilder]

thanks Jim

[ktosv]

Are you looking at a new 6.0L with 6 speed or are you looking at the older with the 4 speed? When you ask about towing a 9000# trailer with a Suburban, I think that job would be best for one with the 8.1L (especially if that us unloaded weight).

I have towed my 2910 with an 04 6.0L/3.73 and it did a great job. I did all of my towing in third (drive) and didn't even think about OD.

[tribalsimba]

Specs:
2004 Chev Silverado K1500 Crew Cab 4x4 (40K miles)
5.3L, 4SPD Auto, 3.73's
At 64MPH Cruise, the 'hills' drop me to 2nd Gear running 4400RPM

2011 Suburban 1500 LT (4x4)
5.3L, 6SPD Auto, 3.42's
At 64MPH Cruise, the 'hills' dropped it to 4th Gear running 3600RPM

First off let me Thank my Chevy dealer for letting me do this side-by side comparison with my TT (2011 303TG 7500lbs dry).

I found the Suburban to be a big improvent, and I think it would show up in MPG too. The Suburban 1500 LS will only come with 3.08 Gears I've found; which I suspect would perform similar to my current truck.

I am currently opting for a 2010 Suburban 2500 4x4 which will have a 6.0L, 6SPD Auto, and 3.73's. I expect the two extra tranny gears, and larger engine to make that much more improvement over the Suburban 1500 as it was over my 1500 truck.

I'll report if I'm right, but I bet I can pull the hills in the 2500 at about 2600RPM's in 5th Gear.