considering a suburban as a tow vehicle

L

Lake Erie Monster

New Member
Feb 19, 2013
94
Cleveland Ohio
Boat Info
1976 SR-V 240. Bought site unseen
Engines
302 Mercruiser
my wife and i are looking for a utility/secondary vehicle that can tow our 1976 srv 240. im not looking to drive this building with wheels on a daily basis but am still concerned with gas milage. i towed the same kind of boat home with a 1500 silverado that had a 350 in it but the boat had no engine or outdrive and it wasn't horribly happy with towing it. im wondering if i should consider a 2500 suburban with a 454, just for the extra towing power. i only plan to use this vehicle for towing once in a while as i plan to keep the srv at the marina and bring it home for stuff like the 4th of july and our airshow. i still need the suburban for our homedepot trips though and was concerned that the 454 was overkill.
 
Lake Erie Monster said:
my wife and i are looking for a utility/secondary vehicle that can tow our 1976 srv 240. im not looking to drive this building with wheels on a daily basis but am still concerned with gas milage. i towed the same kind of boat home with a 1500 silverado that had a 350 in it but the boat had no engine or outdrive and it wasn't horribly happy with towing it. im wondering if i should consider a 2500 suburban with a 454, just for the extra towing power. i only plan to use this vehicle for towing once in a while as i plan to keep the srv at the marina and bring it home for stuff like the 4th of july and our airshow. i still need the suburban for our homedepot trips though and was concerned that the 454 was overkill.
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Those two statements are about as contradictory as they come. The 454 is a beast of an engine, but it has the thirst to go along with it. Figure 10-ish mpg WITHOUT towing.

I'd go for the 350 - I've towed with that engine many times in trucks, Sub's and Tahoes. If the engine is healthy, it'll serve you well and makes a great tow vehicle/engine combo for the weight you're dealing with. Make sure you have at least the 3.73 gears, though. You can always change the intake/exhaust and ECM programming to get some more out of it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention... 1/2 ton Sub would be fine. You could grab a 3/4 ton with the 350 if you wanted - it'll will certainly feel more stable when towing - but the 1/2 ton will be just fine with the weight you have.
 
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I had a 1500 Suburban as a compny truck. It had a 350 and would go any where. I did not pay for gas but I had to fill it up a lot. It had good ground clearance and enough weight to get me out of deep mud. A 2500 would be beast to drive. The 1500 was like half ton pickup. It was good on highway. Did not drive it in city much but when I did I needed lots of room to park.
 
Hello, I have a 1997 1500 2 wheel drive Suburban with a 5.7Ltr. It gets 17+ on the highway and 15 around town. Since I have an older Suburban the max towing capacity is 6,000. My boat loaded, including gas and trailer comes in around 6,000. I do not have a problem at all but I do live in Indiana and take it to Lake Michigan therefore I tow mostly on flat land. Gas mileage towing is 10.5 MPG.

My Suburban has a 42 gallon tank and the boat has a 70 gallon tank, that's a lot of cash. We drive the Suburban like you intend to, camping, boating and to Menards. Since the end of July, including our camping trip to Michigan, I have only put 2,100 miles on her.

I intend to always have a Suburban in my garage. They are great for traveling and will haul a lot of people. With all the seats down I can put a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in. I would love to have a 2500 Diesel Suburban someday.
 
I am a Ford guy, and I will tell you to stay away from the Expedition and/or the 4.6 engine. Short wheelbase and no guts. Get an F-250 or an Excursion, with the 5.4 at a minimum, or the 10 cylinder. Trucks get crappy mileage for a reason. They are engineered for heavy labor. Cars get better mileage because they can't carry 50 concrete foundation blocks or pull a 10,000 pound trailer. Everything is a compromise.
 
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Have you thought about an Avalanche? I towed my 2002 240 DA with an Avalanche with a 350 and it worked pretty well. Having the rear lockable storeage area was also nice. When I went to the 260DA I moved up to an F250 Diesel and have been very happy with that. I get better gas milage with the F250 (12-14) than with the Avalanche (9-12) but the cost of diesel does make a difference.
 
You need a 2500 Suburban Duramax.......oops that's right, another thing GM failed to build that I would buy.
 
I have a 2006 Suburban now. I wish it had a 5.7 (350cc) engine but they no longer have the 5.7 in the 1500. They have the 5.3 and it does not seem to have the towing power I was used too. While on trips I am getting 19 mph it just does not have the get up and go. I towed buddy's 24' fishing boat last year, it sucked. I was getting about 8 mph and went through tons of gas compared to the 1996 Suburban I used to have with the 5.7. I would go for the 2500 with the 454.
 
I have been searching for a decent Suburban 2003-2006 with a 6.L that is in great shape with low miles. They're tough to come by. I have a 2500HD Chev P/U now and it tows Nehalennia great, but want the extra interior space. I'm not hauling gravel.
 
I tow a 06' 240da with a 2001 GMC Yukon, 5.3 engine 4.10 gears. It does ok, but everytime I pulled, everyone had a comment about the Yukon not being up to the task.

Sooo, I bought a 94' GMC C3500 1 ton dually with the 7.4 454 engine, 3.73 rear gear. I've never pulled with a ton truck, but everyone tells me it's the way to go.
I finally hooked up Frayed Knot to it yesterday, and pulled her down the highway.....
Well, the only difference I can tell between my Yukon and the dually is stability. The Yukons 5.3 motor has as much grunt as the 454, and with the 4.10 gear I'm sure it tows as well as the 454 with the 3.73. The transmission in the dually does a better job of shifting, much smoother, but the Yukon has tow/hual mode where as the dually doesn't. Brakes "feel" the same.

Overall, I guess the dually will live longer because it's designed to tow the weight, but for short trips the Yukon does just fine....and gets 18mpg running empty. The dually gets 10mpg unloaded and god knows what towing. I refuse to check that, ignorance is bliss there! haha

Note: Towing conditions are/were highway with rolling hills of the piedmont near Charlotte NC.
 
When I was shopping for a tow vehicle, I was told to stay away from air bag suspensions. Not sure why but I ended up finding a real nice one owner 3/4 ton V10 4x4 Excursion.....all leaf springs. Thanks to Ethanol, I lost 2mpg and now get a solid 10mpg empty. Towing my 270, I get 7mpg at best. I don't believe you need a 3/4 ton but I would try and find a 350 if possible. Just a real solid motor. My only option was an 8.1L in the Suburbans I looked at and they got 8mpg empty http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chev...4625401?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c309c2b79, Mike.
 
Be careful with lifted trucks. The bigger tires are going to drop your power and the lift/bigger tires will make the truck less stable than one that is stock. Next question... did the owner use 10-ply tires?
 
I tow my boat with a Tahoe w/ 5.3L. It tows my boat with NO PROBLEM. Last summer, I averaged 13 MPG when taking it to Lake Huron.
 
I used to tow my 250 sundancer with a 2007 Tahoe. It did a good job but the trans kept getting a little hot (220-240). I ended up selling the Tahoe and got a 2008 2500 Silverado with the 6.0L. It was much more comfortable. If you can find a Suburban with the 6.0 small block I would think you would be very happy.
 
We tow with a 95 2500 burb, been towing boats and camper with it for 18 years, 201,000 miles. Big old 7.4L, empty gets 11 mpg whether moving or not. Handles 5000 pound boat and trailer any where any time, cruise on I-40 east to Knoxville, pulls all hills 65-70 mph. Pulls 8,500 pound camper just as well. Stops when asked to. Wish they still made them like this, only a couple of water pumps and alternators since new, no engine or trany work. gonna have to replace soon, thinking F 350 with 6.7L powerstroke, 3.72 rearend.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Be careful with lifted trucks. The bigger tires are going to drop your power and the lift/bigger tires will make the truck less stable than one that is stock. Next question... did the owner use 10-ply tires?
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not sure about the tires but they are going bye bye as soon as its feasable. i work for an auto service center so tires ar not going to be a problem. i still have not heard from the owner so im still looking at other options.
 
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