tracjunkie914

looking for a new track tow vehicle, what is the real difference between a 5.3L 1500 'burb and a 6.0L 2500?. looking at 2000-2004. never really understood exactly what was difference on a 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton.

anybody towing with the 5.3L? ok for an open trailer and 3k lb car and a few tires?

0C5stein

The 5.3 is okay for a light trailer and car on level ground. If you need to go up a hill, like the entrance at Laguna Seca, you might be unloading at the bottom of the hill. And your trailer had better have really good brakes.

But seriously,
The 3/4 ton burb has a more ridgid chassis, much bigger brakes, bigger oil and trans coolers and tows much better than any 1/2 ton. Keep in mind that the 5.3 and the 6.0 are both going to get crumby gas mileage while towing, so I would suggest the 3/4 ton with the 8.1L engine. This thing is awesome. You can tow a 6000# trailer up hills down hills and hardly notice that there is a trailer back there. Sure it get crap for gas mileage, but at least you expect that right from the get go. The Yukon XL (GMC's version of a suburban), K2500 (3/4 ton 4x4), 8.1L that I just sold towed most trailers just as well as my one ton Duramax Dually. Going up to Tahoe with a 6000# boat, you could simply set the cruise control at 65mph and it wouldn't slow down climbing up to the top of Donner summit. As a matter of fact, this thing has so much torque, it never had to down shift to second gear, were my buddy towing a smaller, lighter boat behind an Avalance with 5.3 spent most of the time of the steep climb tached out in second gear. We both got about the same gas mileage that trip.

Go big or go home.

AU N EGL

Can you even find a 2500 sub?

Just go find a 3/4 ton crew cab pick up. and put a cap over the bed to make it look like a sub.

ScaryFast

I don't get it. Everybody loves to tell people on here that if you tow anything, even a little one axle tire trailer or an aluminum row boat, you better get a diesel 1 ton. Why? A 1500 truck will pull an open trailer up hills, and then stop it just fine. Most 1500's are rated to tow about 8500 - 9500 lbs. Your open trailer with a 3000 lb car should be less than 5000 lbs. That's almost half. Why get a truck that can tow 12,500 for that? Sure, all the things mentioned by MSi are there, but so is the bigger sticker price, crappy gas mileage, stiffer ride, more expensive tires, etc.

If you get into an enclosed trailer with some weight then a 2500 is a better choice.

flycastinguy

I have a 2500 with the 6.0 and it has always been a slug while trailering anything but a light load. When pulling anything heavy, I always borrow my buddy's dually with the 8.1. Wow! Just be prepared for some very bad gas mileage. I have always wished that GM would put their diesel in the Suburban. I even did some checking on converting mine. There's a company in California that does it .... for around 40K !!!!!! Yes, you can always put a cap on a diesel pickup, but loading and unloading are a PITA compared to the Burb. It's just a great all-round vehicle.

AU N EGL

I have a 1500 HD and pull a 24 foot enclosed.

11.5 mpg on the flat, up mountains or down. 11.5 mpg.

Dont drive faster then 55-60 on smooth highways and 40-45 in the mountains.

and watch for 18 wheels come flying up behind me.

a Burb is a great vehicle. and for an open trailer, go for it.

Jason

Uphill in Michigan and uphill in Tennessee are two entirely different things.

I'm currently undertrucked, and let me tell you, towing this way is work. I've borrowed bigger trucks when mine was broke down (because I was beating the hell out of it towing) and I got to the track a lot more rested and ready to race.

racerbob4

Over many years of racing I've had the 1500 and the 2500 Chevy Suburbans. The 1500 doesnt have much poop for the uphills. The 2500 has the power but the gas milage is terrible, usually around 7 to 10 with an open trailer and a Camaro. We now have a Ford crew cab turbo diesel and get much better milage even though we moved up to a 28' enclosed trailer with a car, golf cart and a huge amounts of tools and parts. The mountains are no longer a problem. I just wishe we had bought one years ago. I've also heard people say the Chevy is almost as good, but would you buy one from a company that just cancelled your warranties and killed your stock?

GettReal

I have a Yukon 5.3 and tow an open trailer. I have NO issues whatsoever towing with it. Mileage drops, but expected. I do a dozen events a year and its just fine, up long steep hills it drops a gear, no big deal. Get a trailer with good brakes and off you go.

There are 300+ other days in the year that I'm driving and not towing and I appreciate the ride of the 1/2 ton those days. If you even remotely think theres a chance of a bigger trailer or enclosed in your future, go for a 3/4 ton and dont look back.

Oh and beside me in this pic you can see my buddy with the 20' enclosed... he pulls that with a 5.3 avalanche and he has no issues either. Even though a 3/4 would be nice I'm sure.

ScaryFast

Not for an open trailer. For an enclosed, sure. Just ask Ken how the trip out west went

And possibly for the suburban specifically. But for most trucks the gasoline engine selection does not change between 1500 and 2500, so getting up a hill is a moot point.

My buddy has a 2500 suburban with the "big" motor, and my 1500 truck out pulls him all day long.

So I guess the moral of the story is this: a 1500 will have no issue with a trailer, but regardless of what you get make sure it has an adequate motor.

Falcon

No, the warrnaties are still good, amazingly.

0Randy@DRM

Really? My 2500 with a 230k 6.0 pulls my open at 85-90 mph no problem. Enclosed about 80 ish it runs real good.

Randy

davidfarmer

I had an 05 5.3, now an 07 6.0. The 6.0 pulls a lot better.......still nowhere near as good as a diesel for my enclosed trailer, but not bad. The suspension is a good bit stiffer, but as long as you are using a load-leveling hitch, you don't really need it. 95% of my upgrade was for the extra power.

flycastinguy

Yeah, I don't know what the deal is Randy. At first I thought it was my oversize wheels/tires. Changed back to stock ... no improvement. Then had Reese at MTI do a tune. He got another 50 lbs torque out of it where it lives between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm and another 40 hp. Still won't go. Then I thought it was the gearing, but had the local Chevy dealer check the ratio based on VIN. They say it's geared properly and should be a "stump puller." It's a 2001 with 200,000 miles now, but it has always been like that since new. What else to try?

The Spark

I pulled my 72 Vette on a heavy steel open trailer behind a 1500 Chevy pickup with 5.3 from Mississippi to West Texas without any problem. Barely knew it was back there. Drove highway speeds all day long.

Pulled a 26' enclosed trailer behind my 1500 Avalanche with 5.3 and had a hard time on flat ground. Always wanted to downshift from OD so I left it in D most of the time. Could barely drive 75. Kept it at 65 most of the time. I only have one big hill and my truck started to run hot after going up it. It never overheated but it would start to get warm anytime there was much strain after that.

The wind resistance is the worst for enclosed trailers (duh). I bought a F250 Ford crew cab w/ 6.4 diesel. It pulls my enclosed without any problems. I get about 11.5 w/ empty trailer and 10 with car in it.
I normall get 20 on the highway without the trailer.

davidfarmer

btw, I agree with flycastinguy that my 6.0 is a slug, but we've discussed this in other threads. After 3 big diesels, I just HATE hearing my gas engine rev to redline and shift constantly. It'll go 80mph, but it doesn't like it. I pull my 24' Featherlite (v-nose, aluminum) at the speedlimit just to keep the engine/trans happy.

Stability was never an issue with my 1/2ton...

fej

I think Ford did some diesel excursions if you must go the "burb" route. I love my 06 LBZ 2500 Duramax crew cab. Plenty of room for 3 plus my 95lb Lab, pulls my open steel trailer and vette at 70mph (or 75 or 80) all day long, uphill, downhill .. whatever. Gets 19+ mpg every tank DD'n it and between 14 and 15 towing. In about 10k I am going to throw the Bilstein's on it that I bought from Randy, but the ride is honestly better than the 05 4.6L 1500 pickup I had before it.

G'luck
Fej

Falcon

It seems like the towing issue comes up every couple of months, with all the same questions and responses.

Why doesn't a mod make this into a sticky?

0Randy@DRM

Maybe you are wanting more then the truck is producing? Don't take that wrong. Have you been in other simular setups before? Is your slower then others.

Randy

c4cruiser

I towed my 87 on a 2000lb steel trailer with my 99 Silverado Extended cab Z71 and 4.10 gears with the 5.3. The 99 motor only had 275 HP but still worked great. The Z71 4WD package in that truck had a towing capacity of 7800 lbs with the optional 4.10 gear. The car and trailer weighed 5400. All of my gear came to another 400 lbs. On relatively flat freeways, I could easily maintain 70MPH speeds and only slowed down some on grades of 4-5%. Most of the towing was in 3rd and I used the Tow/Haul mode.

I did add some AirLift rear airbags to just keep the truck level; I didn't have a real need to haul extra weight over what I had.

I now have an 08 Silverado 1500 (pretty much the same truck with the 6.0L motor with 367 HP and close to 400 ft-lbs of torque. This truck will accelerate up a 3% grade with the car and trailer in tow. It is rated to tow 8500 lbs.

Open trailers aren't bothered as much by side winds or passing 18-wheelers as an enclosed trailer will be. With my new truck, I could most likely tow a 20' enclosed trailer with a WD hitch and anti-sway bar, but I think that would about as big as I would want to go.

So a Silverado or GMC equivalent with a 5.3 motor and properly set up for towing should easily tow what you describe.