Will a Chevy 5.3L Suburban tow an RZ4?

[talltigeguy]

How about the Toyota Sequoia?

We had a Sequoia before we bought the Excursion and I currently own a 2010 Tundra (same engine as current). It is a very nice tow vehicle. It has great power. It does suck the gas, but it performs very nicely, even on the pretty steep grades with my 247. So a Sequioa would probably fit the bill. We didn't like that the 3rd row is not good for anything beyond smaller kids. Then behind the 3rd seat, there was very little cargo space for luggage, etc. We could have remedied the storage situation by putting a roof rack on it, or if not towing, putting a tow hitch cargo doohickie on it, but once we saw the Excursion, we just traded the Sequioa in for that, in large part because we got a diesel and the 3rd row seating was better.

[MoneyPity]

I used my 08 Tahoe LT 5.3 with towing package and tow mode to haul my lite 20v from Chicago sburbs to numerous Midwest weekend locations within 300 miles with no issues. We also used same Tahoe to tow a MC Maristar 230 Sport (Brother in laws) Tandem axle dual surge to Bullshoals (flat land and Missouri Ozark hills with sufficient pulling power to go up some long grades without issue. Difference is that we only had 4 adults and 210lb of dogs. The dry weight of the RZ and the Maristar were close. I do not know what the loaded weight was unfortunately. I listed the specs farther down in the thread on the Tahoe as mine was equipped. The Tahoe dealt with the load fine. Only issue was tongue weight caused rear end sag so our trailer guy had me install a load distribution hitch and it redistributed the weight. We never had sway issues and the 5.3 Vortec had sufficient power for my needs. The weight distribution hitch allowed the Tahoe to deal with tongue weight without a significant reduction in GCWR capabilities.

The Taboe was equiped with 5.3L 4wd 4.10 axle ratio with NHT trailer package, Max trailer weight 8200lbs and GCWR of 14,000 lbs.( without NHT and 3.738 axle ratio 12,000lbs)..


The trip was about 250 miles of IL Flatland and 425 miles of Ozarkk hills of MO. We did not have rear seat option. we did use the tow haul feature in Flatland towing and monitored our trans temp and towing to Bullshoals! AR we got a whopping 12 MPG. The Maristar was my BIL's boat and his 03 Tahoe could not handle the Maristar so in 08 I towed the Maristar for 3 vacations to Bullshoals and he towed my 20V with my 4.7L Grand Cherokee. I am sure a Duramax would Tow the RZ4 eaisier but my 08 Tahoe as equipped handled the job I needed done.

[What she said]

2013 2500 Sub only comes with 6.0L.
The new 2015 Sub 5.3 (new eng with some very impressive low end TQ) Would be better, but the new 6.2 Would be even better. Not sure if the 6.2 will out in the 2015 Sub. I know it will be out in the pick ups tho.

[JohnnieMo]

I've been thinking this over for a couple days.... trying to decide what I would do in your situation. I've given it some serious thought, so I'm not just throwing out a random idea.

If I were in your shoes (and my shoes were fairly similar), this is what I would do:

Best Option:
Go out and find a really nice, new, discounted 2013 or 2014 Suburban 1500. You can save a good $10 to $15k through a variety of discounts. Get the trailer equipment, gearing and the best towing rig you can. Drive it for the winter to get it broken in, then find a really good local shop and install the Magnacharger TVS1900 supercharger kit. In the end, this combination will give you better towing power than any other option. It will beat the 6.0L, the 6.2L the Toyota 5.7 and the Ford Ecoboost. (I have the dyno sheets to back this up). Combined with the 6 speed transmission you will have a very nice tow rig that will last a long time. The money you save on the purchase can be applied to the supercharger. I'm not sure what they cost down there, but installed at a nice shop should be around $9k. Just add a transmission cooler as well and you are good.

Second Best:
If you are wary about modding a brand new vehicle, and some might be, I'd look for a 2013 2500 Suburban that meets your requirements. Given that they aren't selling them anymore, they might be worth a premium. I'm not sure. But this will be a solid rig out of the box. You'll lose the nice ride, but its not that big of a deal. You will also burn more gas than the supercharged 5.3L (true story), but that's what heavy duty gets you. Again, you'll be in a good solid truck. If you don't plan to keep this vehicle for long, this option may be better than a supercharger (i.e. superchargers depreciate badly)

Alternate:
If none of these work for you, next best would be picking up the Escalade or Yukon XL Denali. You will pay more money than the other options, but you get a rig that can handle it out of the box. I personally rank this as my last choice because I don't like the styling of either truck, nor do I want AWD. However with this option you still get your warranty, and the truck is rated to haul your boat.

Roll of the dice:
If you still aren't happy, roll the dice and hope the new 2015's come with enough grunt.


--

If you do decide to do the supercharger route, I'm happy to help out with advice, or perhaps finding a good shop.

[ericinmich]

Not to answer you question directly but I have a 2013 Denali XL and it pulls my 22Ve without a problem. I pulled it 800 miles back from where I bought it and most of the way was light traffic so I was running much faster than I probably should of... running 70+ when no one was near me. It's the 6.2L 6 speed...

I would expect that the 5.3 would be OK for flat roads but if you hit hills/mountains it would be a bit winded...

[MoneyPity]

From experience the 5.3L with tow package handled flat lands easily and easily kept up with 75 MPH rigs on I 44 through Missouri. The 6.2 would handle long grades with the proper tow package.


I may have missed it but what else is the Suburban going to be used for?

[EricU]

After towing with various Diesels which just keep getting better and better (the new Ford 6.7L is awesome, quiet and powerful) it is really hard to justify paying $65k+ (The Denali was more and the Caddy was $85k) for a truck that is going to lose it's value fast, needs additional work (blower, suspension etc.).

This truck will see some mountain towing and I am really thinking of adding the electric over hydraulic brake conversion.

• Anyone know when the 2015 models are suppose to hit the showrooms?

[JohnZ3]

Do you need an SUV for more people carrying space? Or will a 4 door truck do?

I've towed my Z3 with a F150 V6 eccoboost, an Escalade with 6.2 engine, and a F350 6.7L diesel.
Each truck handled the boat with out any issues.

However, the F150 4 door truck was a bit tight on our longer trips. Not much room for my family of 4.
Gas mileage was 8-9 mpg. This truck would get hot going up large hills in the summer as well.

The Escalade is roomier, but gas mileage is horrible and has less pulling power than the F150.
Comfortable ride, but don't pass a gas station.

My F350 is in a different class. 13-14 mpgs going @ 70mph. Plenty of room for the 4 of us and all of our gear in the bed.
Quiet and comfortable for a diesel too.

The F150 was about 40K brand new. The 2013 F350 fully loaded King Ranch was 56K new. Forget about the Escalade price. Too much money.

If you don't need a third row seat, then I would look at a 2013 diesel truck. Any of the big three should come in well below 60K and tow your boat with ease.

Also, I did convert my trailer to electric brakes. Cost $800. Best money spent for towing in hilly terrain.

[JohnnieMo]

JohnZ3 - how do you do an electric brake conversion? I got a nice brake controller then discovered I didn't need it. I'd like to convert mine.

[EricU]

My F350 is in a different class. 13-14 mpgs going @ 70mph. Plenty of room for the 4 of us and all of our gear in the bed.
Quiet and comfortable for a diesel too...

...If you don't need a third row seat, then I would look at a 2013 diesel truck.

I already have a diesel, F250 which tows the RZ4 with no problem. I do need the third row for carrying teenagers. I hadn't looked at Suburbans for quite a while, they used to be available with diesels, but now for 65k all you can get is a 5.3L (CAFE reasons I guess). I had thought you could still get the 6.2L in the Chevys, but...I was wrong.

Loaded up trucks with diesels are $57k to $63k (starting) around here. Not too long ago when I bought a new F550 work truck, I asked about a new four door loaded diesel F350 and when I asked the dealer what he would sell it for, he just pointed to the window sticker!!! The Caddy's are nice, but too much. We will see about the 2015 Denalis, as when they come out the 2014s are gonna take a huge dive.

For the electric over hydraulic brake conversion, Ragboy had a thread that explained it here

And here is etrailer's parts I think that is the correct one, but I would talk to your local trailer shop.

[JohnZ3]

JohnZ3 - how do you do an electric brake conversion? I got a nice brake controller then discovered I didn't need it. I'd like to convert mine.

Johnnie,
I went to a local trailer shop to have it done. Just to be clear, I went with straight electric brakes, not an electric over hydraulic conversion.
In cold weather areas, the electrical over hydraulic systems rust out in a season or two. Plus the electric only system was cheaper.

They basically weld your coupler, replace the rotors to disc brakes and wire it.

[ericinmich]

I didn't believe what was posted (that you can only get the 5.3L in the Suburban)... so I checked. It looks like the 2014 can only be had with the 5.3L (same with the YukonXL except Denali which is 6.2L). My hunch is that since the 2014 run is only a partial year they dropped the 6.2 as an option. You could get it in 2013 and will be able to get the new 6.2L in 2015 (see specs for pickup with 6.2). You may be able to find a new 2013 with the 6.2 on a dealers lot somewhere... or wait until spring/summer next year for the 2015.

[c_hotshot]

Look on the used market for a Denal for a relative deal - or - you should be able to get into a new one for mid-upper $40s with all of the discounts offered. I've got a '10 Denali and it pulls the 22Ve effortlessly out on the highway - and I get abound 11mpg towing at 70-75mph.

[What she said]

THE FACTS....

1500 Suburban has never had a 6.2L. (5.3 only)
2500 Suburban only comes with 6.0L. (current body style)
Yukon Denali comes with 6.2L
Escalade comes with 6.2L

[JohnnieMo]

THE FACTS....

1500 Suburban has never had a 6.2L. (5.3 only)
2500 Suburban only comes with 6.0L. (current body style)
Yukon Denali comes with 6.2L
Escalade comes with 6.2L

Ditto.