3/4 suburbans Anyone tow with one

Josh C

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Wilmington NC
Doesn't matter wether it's gas or the diesel. I've wanted a CTD truck but am thinking instead of paying my Titan off and keeping it since I don't owe hardly squat on it and getting one these or either an excursion. More so the burban do to it being cheaper. Thinking of going this route so when in the campground I can have room to sleep and haul my gear w/ out having to set up a tent. Plus it'll carry more people better and be better to visit family with. Getting tired of cramming up when taking rd trips with people to go out of town to do training.

For those of you using them how do you like it. Anything to watch out for other than the typical GM trademark things for those years. Anything you would change on the truck to make it perform/handle better for towing a jeep behind it.
 
I know you asked about the Burbans but I have an Excursion and since you mentioned it I will chime in. Last time I went to URE it was cold and rainey. Friday when we went I set up a tent and it was cold in the morning on Saturday. My wife decided to listen to me and opted to sleep in the Excursion with the heat on before bed. With the 3rd row out I can set up a full size mattress. My daughter slept across the back seat and my son slept in the front. (I am going to make something for the front seats so he can lay across them). On Sunday morning I got up earlier than everyone else and started the truck and turned on the heat. When they woke up it was nice and toasty. Come to find out my tent leaked that night when it was raining. So did some others I traveled with. My wife said she will never sleep in a tent again.
As for towing I pull a trailer with my Cherokee on it and I love it. I sometimes forget it is behind me. I had a chip in it but my wife kept burning the tires off and was trying to race everyone. So my fuel milage went down. I have the 7.3 Diesel too. Once I get the motor back in the Mustang I am going to put the chip back in it.
HTH
Doug
 
I've always owned 3/4 ton Suburbans. They definitely tow better tham a pickup, short of a dually.

The older ones with the TH400 are nearly indestructible. I'm more into collector cars, and I typically tow a 3000 lb trailer and a max weight of 4500 lb car. If I'm going to one of the national conventions, I might have another 1000 lbs in the cargo area or stuffed in the car I'm towing.

I owned my 78 3/4 ton 454 Suburban for almost 20 years, and put about 170K miles on it myself. It was a Trailering Special with a 11,000 GVW and a 3.21 rear gear. The motor still runs great today, and I've towed many miles with the engine and never went into it. The original tranny went out at 180K on the speedo. That was more of a fluke, because something inside the tranny broke. The fluid was clean and unburnt, but it began acting funny, wouldn't downshift to first. When I pulled the tranny pan, I found some small needle bearings. I pulled and had it rebuilt by a friend. He said the clutches were in good shape.

My 93 and 96 have the 4L80E trannies. The one in my 93 (with 230K miles) is beginning to act a little flaky. I think the torque converter is locking and unlocking going down the highway at 70+. The fluid isn't burnt at all, so I assume it could be a torque converter. The other one was rebuilt at 100K (it has 127K miles on it) because the original owner ignored a leak and ran it low on fluid.

Mike
 
3/4 ton Subs are kinda pricy at times, but I have heard nothing bad about them. You ought to look at a road trip to get you one down in Texas, a staggering number of trucks are sold down there and thus a surplus/best prices.

I too have the Excursion with the 7.3L and have to admit, it tows like a dream. Unless your a Furd hater, I think you can get the Ex with the V10 CHEAP ?

I was thinking of selling my Ex at one pt, but thinking of redoing my interior now and keeping it if everything works out the way I want this year.

A bonus to these is no weighted tags! I can pull 11k according to the owners manual, and don't have to pay NCDMV. I do have a trailer brake wired into mine, always a good idea.

Sam
 
I have the V10 Excursion and love it. It tows my cj7 very easily. I have the 4.30 gears in the axles stock from the factory. Plus it looks pimp!! :beer:

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2001 Suburban with 4.10 gears and the 6.0L gas. Drinks gas when climbing but sails down the straights and stops great. I have to drop out of OD on steep hills but not a problem. The extra weight helps on bumpy roads, I jerk the trailer around instead of it jerking the tow vehicle around.
 
i used to pull a big (20ish feet?) trailer loaded with 6 pallets FULL of cable tv wire.... each spool weighed 33 pounds, each pallet had 64 spools.... that's just over 12,500 pounds PLUS the weight of heavy duty trailer. I was definatly overloaded but pulling it with a 7.3 excursion that a 5 stage chip, upgraded turbo and open exhaust, leveling kit, and the biggest BFG AT's i could fit i got 17 mpg on the highway (with no load i was getting 22mpg on my hwy). on the hwy i would almost forget it was back there. in town it wasn't too bad considering the weight.....

after the two years i spent pulling loads like that with that excursion, i'll NEVER pull a "real" load/trailer with anything other than a turbo diesel....

i've towed my yj with my 97 1500 suburban and it is HORRIBLE..... and that's just describing the lack of power...
 
I love my Diesel Suburban. I towed my K5 from DC to Charlotte no problems. (The trailer and the WD hitch I borrowed helped alot! Thanks bigwaylon!)
I haven't towed much since then, but plan on hauling some light loads around the southeast for a side business. I get 15+ mpg loaded or unloaded, and plan on converting it to run on veggie oil soon. PM me if you are seriously considering the Diesel Sub and I will send along a lot of links and info I have compiled.
-Mike
 
Erik said:
pulling it with a 7.3 excursion that a 5 stage chip, upgraded turbo and open exhaust, leveling kit, and the biggest BFG AT's i could fit i got 17 mpg on the highway (with no load i was getting 22mpg on my hwy). on the hwy i would almost forget it was back there...
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I'll be the first to run this flag up the pole..

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He must be using the lie-o-meter overhead console.

Iv'e got all of that done to my truck and then some.It only gets about 11-12 towing and about the same unloaded. You could drop it off the Empire State building and its fuel mileage would still not improve.
 
Not a 3/4 ton, but my dad has a '97 1500 GMC Suburban with the 5.7. No, it's not the best puller out there, but we pulled our 29' camper trailer back and forth from Augusta, GA to Myrtle Beach and only had slight problems on some of the hills. Actually got decent gas mileage too. Of course, he has now upgraded to an '04 GMC Sierra 2500HD with the 6.0L and towing package (4.10 gears). He couldn't be happier now.
 
Rich said:
I'll be the first to run this flag up the pole..
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once i had the cruise @ 60 mph it was flawless and smooth. I Pulled that load siler city to high point on 421 i would always see about 17 mpg....

i took a trip with 4 fellow co-workers from high point to atlants and it sat steady at 22mpg the whole time we were on 95.

if that display isn't accurate then my results go out the window. i just always assumed it was....
 
display is not accurate. certain chips screw it up more than others. my old powerstroke told me i was getting 25-27 after the chip. but since i was extremely capable in math class i divided my number of miles by the gallons i just put in the tank and whallla....i was getting more like 15-18 (unloaded). i know guys, that kind of math is impressive...:flipoff2:
 
pheery said:
display is not accurate. certain chips screw it up more than others. my old powerstroke told me i was getting 25-27 after the chip. but since i was extremely capable in math class i divided my number of miles by the gallons i just put in the tank and whallla....i was getting more like 15-18 (unloaded). i know guys, that kind of math is impressive...:flipoff2:
Click to expand...

well then i guess the fuel mileage i was always so proud of was a hoax. damn it. i was too lazy to ever do math with that truck bc i thought it was doing it for me... correctly. blah, that sucks... well it still pulled really great!
 
yager said:
LOL i count like that all the time, saw it done long time ago and it stuck..
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pheery said:
but since i was extremely capable in math class i divided my number of miles by the gallons i just put in the tank and whallla
Click to expand...

You guys are my heros.. When I run out of fingers and toes, I'm screwed! :bounce2:
 
RipDeLips excursion saw low 20's unloaded with a programmer. calculated, not the console. mid teens with a truck/trailer iirc.

my bohemoth with a loaded bed 24/7 will manage 18 calculated (banks kit). my console doesn't even work at all.:flipoff2: drops to 12-14 with a trailer load depending on speed.
 
i dont get how everyone can vary so much. mine was a 6 speed, best i ever got was just under 20 empty, around 12.5 towing.
 
Mine sux because I romp on it hard when its unloaded. I am also overgeared a little just for Black mountain. 4.30 gears and 35x12.50s
 
i was wondering if it had something to do with ex. cab vs 4 door vs regular cab, but these guys are claiming it with excursions. i didn't have the heaviest foot.
 
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