Suburban as a tow vehicle?

[Ken Ward]

Anyone towing with a Chevrolet/GMC Suburban? I'm looking at picking up
a well used one for glider trailer duty only, so I'm interested to hear
how well they tow, suggested engine size, 2wd vs 4wd, things to look out
for, etc. Replies to the newsgroup or private responses are both OK.

Didn't Charlie Spratt run his tow business with a Suburban?

Thanks,
Ken

[Ray Lovinggood]

What are you wanting to tow? A glider trailer? I
don't have a 'burb', but it probably won't know a glider
trailer is back there.

My father had two 'burb's'; one with a 350 cu. inch
and the other with the 454 cu. inch engine. Both were
two wheel drive. He towed his camping trailers with
them and really liked the way the 454 version towed
the longer and heavier trailer. The 350 towed a camping
trailer well, too, but not with as much 'ease' as the
one with the 454. Now, this is back in the 80's and
early 90's, so there have been changes to the 'burb's'
but probably won't have any deterious effects on towing
capacity since then. The larger trailer he towed was,
I think, a 26' long tandem axle camping trailer (caravan
in the King's English?). So, it's a lot heavier than
a glider trailer and the 454 'burb' towed it just fine,
even through the mountains of North Carolina. Gas
mileage sucked.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
(tow and current commuter vehicle: 2000 Honda Accord
V-6)

At 06:00 01 March 2007, Ken Ward wrote:
>Anyone towing with a Chevrolet/GMC Suburban? I'm looking
>at picking up
>a well used one for glider trailer duty only, so I'm
>interested to hear
>how well they tow, suggested engine size, 2wd vs 4wd,
>things to look out
>for, etc. Replies to the newsgroup or private responses
>are both OK.
>
>Didn't Charlie Spratt run his tow business with a Suburban?
>
>Thanks,
>Ken
>

[Nyal Williams]

I used to tow a 2 1/4ton sailboat with a 454; it was
a pleasure. Gas mileage around 13 without boat and
8 with it. You surely don't need anything that big,
but it will do a wonderful job and it is a comfortable,
roomy ride that will carry everything you need for
a two-week contest.

At 12:12 01 March 2007, Ray Lovinggood wrote:
>What are you wanting to tow? A glider trailer? I
>don't have a 'burb', but it probably won't know a glider
>trailer is back there.
>
>My father had two 'burb's'; one with a 350 cu. inch
>and the other with the 454 cu. inch engine. Both were
>two wheel drive. He towed his camping trailers with
>them and really liked the way the 454 version towed
>the longer and heavier trailer. The 350 towed a camping
>trailer well, too, but not with as much 'ease' as the
>one with the 454. Now, this is back in the 80's and
>early 90's, so there have been changes to the 'burb's'
>but probably won't have any deterious effects on towing
>capacity since then. The larger trailer he towed was,
>I think, a 26' long tandem axle camping trailer (caravan
>in the King's English?). So, it's a lot heavier than
>a glider trailer and the 454 'burb' towed it just fine,
>even through the mountains of North Carolina. Gas
>mileage sucked.
>
>Ray Lovinggood
>Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
>(tow and current commuter vehicle: 2000 Honda Accord
>V-6)
>
>At 06:00 01 March 2007, Ken Ward wrote:
>>Anyone towing with a Chevrolet/GMC Suburban? I'm looking
>>at picking up
>>a well used one for glider trailer duty only, so I'm
>>interested to hear
>>how well they tow, suggested engine size, 2wd vs 4wd,
>>things to look out
>>for, etc. Replies to the newsgroup or private responses
>>are both OK.
>>
>>Didn't Charlie Spratt run his tow business with a Suburban?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Ken
>>
>
>
>
>

[JS]

I have used a Tahoe (Suburban with one less row of seats, shorter
wheelbase, fits in standard garage) to tow. Found out that I prefer
the Subaru Outback for all but:
Visibility over trailers, something you get used to.
Starting on a hill, the Subaru has 2.5 liters and manual gearbox.
Off-field landings in difficult access areas.
Extra room to fill with rubbish.
The Tahoe uses much of it's 350 Cubic Inches to drag itself around.
The Subaru handles cross-winds and passing trucks better than the
Tahoe.
The Subaru handles better in any situation other than hill starts.
I have comfortably towed Nimbus 3 and AS-H26e, both heavy gliders,
with the Subaru, usually in the 70MPH range. 15M and Std gliders are
not an issue with most cars.
Unless you need high ground clearance and room for two to sleep in
the back, it's a bit of a waste.
Jim

[Ralph Jones[_2_]]

On Thu, 01 Mar 2007 05:57:25 GMT, Ken Ward >
wrote:

>Anyone towing with a Chevrolet/GMC Suburban? I'm looking at picking up
>a well used one for glider trailer duty only, so I'm interested to hear
>how well they tow, suggested engine size, 2wd vs 4wd, things to look out
>for, etc. Replies to the newsgroup or private responses are both OK.
>
>Didn't Charlie Spratt run his tow business with a Suburban?
>
A Suburban will TOW perfectly well, but if you have to BACK into
narrow places it can be a bit of a challenge. The difficulty of
backing goes up with the ratio of tow vehicle length to trailer
length. That's why a trucker can back an 18-wheeler into a loading
dock between two other trucks with inches to spare -- short tractor,
long trailer, easy backing.

Remember, YOUR driving skills are only part of the equation...you
have to consider every driver who gets drafted to come out and
retrieve you!

rj

[mattm]

Heck, I do fine with an old '95 Toyota Pickup with the 2.4L. I put a
cap on the back so I have room for stuff out of the weather, plus I
get much better mileage that way. I get 30mpg in normal driving, and
got something like 20-25mpg dragging a trailer last year. It is a
little slow on long uphills, though.

It seems to me that Charlie usually tows with big vans, from what he's
said. I do have a minivan, but I've heard too many horror stories
about transmission failures to tow with it at this point (130K miles).

[[email protected]]

On Mar 1, 10:30 am, "mattm" > wrote:
> Heck, I do fine with an old '95 Toyota Pickup with the 2.4L. I put a
> cap on the back so I have room for stuff out of the weather, plus I
> get much better mileage that way. I get 30mpg in normal driving, and
> got something like 20-25mpg dragging a trailer last year. It is a
> little slow on long uphills, though.
>
> It seems to me that Charlie usually tows with big vans, from what he's
> said. I do have a minivan, but I've heard too many horror stories
> about transmission failures to tow with it at this point (130K miles).

I get by pretty well using my 99 Olds Alero with a 6 cylinder engine.
I only push it to about 55 though as Ive got a big ole Gehrlein
trailer that is draggy as hell. Its way too much trailer for my
glider but oh well its what I've got. I think a suburban will work
fine.

[bumper]

If you have to back-up a trailer with precision, nothing beats a front
mounted receiver hitch. Doesn't have to be strong enough for road towing.

bumper

"Ralph Jones" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 01 Mar 2007 05:57:25 GMT, Ken Ward >
> wrote:
>
>>Anyone towing with a Chevrolet/GMC Suburban? I'm looking at picking up
>>a well used one for glider trailer duty only, so I'm interested to hear
>>how well they tow, suggested engine size, 2wd vs 4wd, things to look out
>>for, etc. Replies to the newsgroup or private responses are both OK.
>>
>>Didn't Charlie Spratt run his tow business with a Suburban?
>>
> A Suburban will TOW perfectly well, but if you have to BACK into
> narrow places it can be a bit of a challenge. The difficulty of
> backing goes up with the ratio of tow vehicle length to trailer
> length. That's why a trucker can back an 18-wheeler into a loading
> dock between two other trucks with inches to spare -- short tractor,
> long trailer, easy backing.
>
> Remember, YOUR driving skills are only part of the equation...you
> have to consider every driver who gets drafted to come out and
> retrieve you!
>
> rj

[JS]

On Mar 1, 8:47 am, "bumper" > wrote:
> If you have to back-up a trailer with precision, nothing beats a front
> mounted receiver hitch. Doesn't have to be strong enough for road towing.
>
> bumper

Incidentally, I have for sale two front mount class 2 receivers (one
for each side) that fit Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, etc. It's
actually a complete hang glider front rack, with aircraft "pip pins"
to assemble it.
Installation: Remove the two bolts for each towing hook. Bolt on the
receiver.
Jim

[Go]

Ken,
I use a Tahoe and it is a great tow vehicle.

On Feb 28, 9:57 pm, Ken Ward > wrote:
> Anyone towing with a Chevrolet/GMC Suburban? I'm looking at picking up
> a well used one for glider trailer duty only, so I'm interested to hear
> how well they tow, suggested engine size, 2wd vs 4wd, things to look out
> for, etc. Replies to the newsgroup or private responses are both OK.
>
> Didn't Charlie Spratt run his tow business with a Suburban?
>
> Thanks,
> Ken

[gfoster07k]

I have done a fair amount of crewing with tow vehicles ranging from
Suburbans to light Dodge minivans. The towing requirement included 15
meter gliders in higher profile (Minden-style) trailers as well as
Cobras and western mountain passes as well as lots of flat. My
impression is that the Suburban is overkill and there is just no need
for something with such high fuel consumption. If getting a Suburban,
I would opt for the highest mileage engine and 2wd unless you think
the retrieves will be into wilderness where 4wd is essential. The
Suburban does come with an option for an oversized fuel tank (I'm not
sure if it is limited to the 454 or not) and that does make it
convenient for some crewing in desolate areas like in northern
Nevada.

The light Dodge minivan towed a 15 meter glider in a Cobra-style
trailer very well by simply keeping the transmission out of overdrive
to minimize shifting up and down. Mountain passes were handled easily
up to about 7000 feet and speed maintained near the speed limit. The
fuel tank is smaller but the improved mileage about wiped out the
disadvantage.

I thought the Ford Explorer with the (earlier) V6 or (later) V8 was
almost an ideal tow vehicle. Inexpensive and reasonably efficient
with 2 or 4wd. I used a 4wd, V6 version with my own glider with a
Minden trailer.

The only tow vehicles I found to be deficient were a small Chevrolet
pickup with the 2.4 liter V6 and a Mercedes 300 diesel sedan without
the turbo charger. They tended to lose too much power at higher
elevations. If you are in flat country they would both work fine.

Greg100

[COLIN LAMB]

I have the 1/2 ton Chevrolet 4WD pickup with canopy. It has the same Vortec
engine as the Suburban and I think the same chassis. Get up to 20 mpg on
the highway. It does not know that a 30 foot glider trailer is even there.
The 4WD can be shifted on the fly and does not reduce fuel economy when in
2WD. It loves open country and bad terrain. I prefer driving it to
anything else and it accelerates like a sports car. I can sleep in it,
throw all my gear in it and I have 170,000 trouble free miles.

I wish it got better mileage - but I use it for Search and Rescue and it
always has my stuff in it ready to go almost anywhere.

The Vortec engine on the later models improves mileage a bit over earlier
ones. Sometimes you can get a Suburban cheap enough so that you can drive a
high mileage car to work and save the Suburban for hauling stuff.

And, politicians seem to like them.

Colin