How much can I tow?

[lrichards]

Hi All-

We pick up our new Sundance TT tomorrow. It weighs 5390 dry at 31'. Up until now I have only pulled an Aliner at 1500 lbs benhin a ford Explorer. My 05 Suburban Z71, 5.3L, 4WD, with 3.42 axle, is rated to pull 7200 lbs. I figure our gear at 500 lbs brings the TT to 5890. Has anyone pulled this weight and length with a Suburban? What should I expect? Thirty years ago I drove 5 Ton trucks in the army and had no problem. My concern is will my Suburban be up to the task (7200 lb capacity pulling 5890). Any input is appreciated.

LR

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

LR, Your Suburban should do just fine. Keep all the numbers in mind including the GVRW of the Suburban. Your hitch weight, truck weight and all of it's cargo including passengers and fuel are included in that. The dry weight of the TT at 5390 is probably understated a bit. You will need a weight distributing hitch and anti sway for sure and don't forget a good break controller. Good Luck and welcome to the Heartland Family. Enjoy your new Sundance and travel safe.

 

[lrichards]

Hi Ray-

You were right, it pulls just fine. I can tell it is going to be a load on mpg though. Hence we will add stainless steel exhaust, chipset, and cold air intake to the Suburban soon. BTW, we did get the weight dist hitch, sway control, and brake controller as you had suggested. This Sundance TT seems to be very good quality. We are going to head out to a State park this weekend and try it out.

LR

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

LR, Another good aftermarket add on along with the cold air intake is a Throttle Body Spacer. Our last truck was the 8.1 and it really made a noticable difference. Even more so than the exhaust. We had a Magnaflow and hated the resonance it caused in the cab. Have a good trip this weekend. Where in TX are you. We go down to Corpus for the Winter.

 

[lrichards]

Texas

We are in San Antonio. My wife and I are SE working professionals. We compete in dog sports and will use the Sundance for dog trials on weekends and to go to state parks on weekends. We feel we made a very good decision with the Heartland. The quality we thought was there when we looked at them was actually apparent the first time we used it. Have fun in CC, and thanks for the tip on the spacer. I'll add that to my plans. I really did not want a resonating exhaust system, I'm not 16 anymore!

LR

 

[snuffy]

I had an '02 Sierra with the 5.3 and 3.42 and wasn't happy pulling about 6500 lbs. although it was rated at 7500. Going to a 3.73 might give you more power than messing with the engine.

 

[lrichards]

This Suburban can actually go to 4.10, however I understand I have to do all axles as it is 4WD. I guess mpg would decrease yet pulling power would be better. I am really new at this and will consider all suggestions. Thanks.

 

[lrichards]

AFE Cold Air Intake

I added the AFE Stage 2 SIS Cold Air Intake to my Suburban 5.3L Gas Engine. My first trip with our 5300# Sundance TT I struggled at 55-62 MPH, got 10.4 MPG. This past weekend I easily pulled at 65-70 MPH (passed easily uphill at 75MPH a couple of times), and got 9.8MPG. I will happily give up the mpg for more pulling power. If only Chevy would put a diesel in a Suburban, I would buy the first one, we have to have the enclosed cargo space however, so gas it is for now.

My only complaint is that AFE's installation instructions were anemic. Its a good thing I have mechanical ability, had to do two mods to install, took me almost two hours. Had AFE been more honest I could have installed in 30 minutes. I still have to pull the box and make some changes.

Next I am thinking about adding a chip. However I am scared about the instructions that state you plug in and back up the stiock settings. What happens if you mess up and lose the stock settings?

 

[pmmjarrett]

MPG wise you're doing very well with a gasser. Rumor mill has it that there may be a diesel Suburban once again for 2010 model year.

As far as the chip / programmer. Don't do it with kids or pets in the truck. Once ready to program leave it alone and don't touch it until done unless the programmer is asking for you to perform some action.