Suburban as a tow vehicle?

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

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