Help me improve towing on a Suburban

[RobertN]

I was at a Scout meeting a couple nights ago. Talking to another adult leader who has a Suburban, guessin similar. He hooked up to our Troop trailer, which is a 14' enclosed with two axles. Estimating 5000lb as we have it loaded.

He said it really set his Suburban down in the back.

We do not have a WD for this trailer; for the most part only a couple of us have hauled it, but with 3/4 ton pickups. I do not even know it is behind my Dodge 3/4 ton.

I'm guessing you would have to go WD hitch, or air bags... If air bags, then you'll need to have a beefier reciever hitch

But want to get to 7k.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I have a 99 Sub with the towing package. The biggest weakness on it is the brakes. It has the old 15" wheels and the brakes are really crappy. I would like to put some disc brakes on my trailer but things are tight right now.

 

[bdeboer]

Thank you all for your responses. I actually just towed a BX24 home from Indy (70 miles) for my brother. About 5K with machine and trailer, and it did ok. But want to get to 7k. So, I'm going to look into your suggestions and decide from there. It is tempting to go truck shopping, but I'm worried about the economy still. So I'll save instead.

Thanks,
J

Are you running the factory SUV type tires? Load Range C tires with the stiffer side walls can also make a difference.

 

[tulenutn2o]

I use Timbrens on my truck. What ever you choose to help with springs is good, but biggest stability is going to come from a quality LT series tire in the D or E load range. I personally always go E. Also when shopping for tires ask about tread squirm and see if they got a free trial period as some bigger names do.

 

[roadhawk]

If you're concerned with speed-o calibrations and ABS, watch out for a difference in rolling radius. A good tire dealer should have the specs available.

Here's a site that has a good calculator. Tire Size Calculator - tire & wheel plus sizing

When I got my '04 Suburban it had larger diameter tires than stock, so I used this to find out what my speed error would be due to that and went back to stock size that I have on there now.

It sounds like I have the exact same setup as you do. The best thing I ever did was to get a weight distributing hitch to use on the trailer I haul my tractor and implements around on. It was less than $300, installed. Go to an RV dealer/shop. They're hurting for business for the most part and will probably make you a heck of a deal.

 

[schmism]

the sub generally has softer springs in the rear because its a SUV designed for ride first then haul/tow second (vs a true PU)

I really dont see an airbag kit being any less expensive than a WD hitch.

either option is a good solution to your problem IMHO.

 

[wkpoor]

the sub generally has softer springs in the rear because its a SUV designed for ride first then haul/tow second (vs a true PU)

I really dont see an airbag kit being any less expensive than a WD hitch.

either option is a good solution to your problem IMHO.

Maybe not be AB's allow you to stabilize anything you hook up to. WD means you are only good for that contraption on that trailer setup.

 

[Bama67]

I would say WD hitch. I just recently bought a $800 Equalizer brand hitch of Craigslist for $150 in great condition. I use it all the time, and yeah, it can be a little difficult to set up, but since i did my set-up I haven't changed anything. It has done great with all my loads. But none of my loads are as heavy as the one I set it up with. Also, it doesn't take me but about 1 min to unhook all of it.

But you said you didn't want that, so I vote airbags. My Armada is about that same size as your Burb and i have towed up to 10k with it and it does great with the WD hitch, without it I have towed 6-7k and it was no sweat either. But my Nissan came from the factory with airbags and auto-leveling, which is why it tows as good as it does.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes you HAVE to use a WD hitch to tow 7000# with the GM hitch per the sticker. You must follow the rating on the hitch so you have no choice, you'll need to replace the hitch or get a W/D system for 7000#.

I am a big fan of W/D hitches. I have one for my EQ trailer and one for my RV trailer. When the EQ trailer is empty, the tongue weight is reduced and the WD system is just relaxed. It doesn't hurt anything to tow with it this way. That said, on long trips with an empty trailer I'll just use a regular ball hitch that is already in the receiver to avoid messing with the chains. I use an F350 to tow 7000# or less and still use the WD system since they make the whole towing experience better. I often turn my trailer until it almost hits the truck to back it in to tight places. No problems with the WD hitch unless you set it up wrong.

I have also used timbren overloads on my last truck, a 1998 chevy half ton with leaf springs and they were excellent with no moving parts, no effect on unloaded ride, and they were cheap. I don't recommend air bags unless you have no other choice. I don't recommend air springs at all, they load the shock mounts with tongue weight which were never designed to carry that load. Yes on the LT tires, even my half ton always got D rated LT tires. Much better but whatever you have on the burban should be rated highly enough to carry the rated load of the truck.

Cheapest way to legally tow the load you want, right now, is with a W/D hitch system. The last one I bought was a Robyn rated for 10,000# and 1000# tongue weight for under 250$. If you really hate WD hitches then your second cheapest route is to replace the hitch with a special stout hitch rated for over 7000# on a non-WD hitch. I can tell you that my OEM F350 hitch is not rated for 7000# without the WD system so you might need a pretty heavy duty aftermarket receiver hitch.

Your second issue is that you think you need to beef up the suspension. Why? Try towing within the ratings and see how the burban squats. 7000# trailer means about 700# tongue weight and that's like 3 or 4 fat chicks. Don't stuff the back of the burb with gear and it shouldn't bottom out much. If you need to beef it up see what timbren has for you.