Help me improve towing on a Suburban

[Boiler74]

Hello all. Thanks for your interest.

I have a 2004 1/2 ton Suburban with the 5.3L engine and 3.73 gears. I have the stock hitch, rated to 5,000 lbs or 7,000 lbs with a weight distributing hitch. I would like to increase my towing ability without having to deal with a weight distributing hitch.

I know I would need to get a heavy hitch and put it on. But what about tongue weight? Can I put airbags in the back coil springs to help out? Any other options?

I don't really need to go over the 7,000 lb threshold. I just want to get there safely and have the truck tow a little better.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[jwstewar]

Why are you opposed to a weight distribution hitch? They aren't a big deal to hook up and us. Biggest drawback is a little bit of creaking when traveling slow and they are loaded heavy.

 

[George2615]

Yes you can replace the hitch with a heavier one. They usually bolt up easily with 6 bolts to the frame. For assistance with tongue weight if you are against a WD hitch you can do one of the following.

Are you sure the suburban has rear coils? I haven't had a suburban since 88 but it had leaf springs. If you have leafs you can have a spring shop add an extra leaf to each rear spring. (I had that done to the 88 suburban I once owned). If you have coils maybe they are getting a little weak and should be replaced.
If you do have rear coil springs you can add air bags inside the coils.
Or you could buy air shocks. This would probably be the easiest to do.

 

[chevy292]

I had an 04 ram 1500 with the hemi. powerful truck but the rear sank with just my 3500lb motorcycle trailer. I put a set of airbags in it with an onboard airsystem for under $400. Made a world of difference.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Are you sure it has 3.73 gears? Not a big deal but I looked in my book for both a 2004 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive Suburban with a 5.3L engine and it shows 4:10 gears as the only option. Note: this is just a guide I have so it may be incomplete.

Anyway the 2 wheel drive version is rated at 8,400# towing and the 4 wheel drive rated at 8,200# so you are good there.

As for the hitch you could upgrade and put in air bags but why? Its a 7 year old truck that may not last much longer and this stuff is truck specific. They are also going to run you $500 or more for both. If you buy a WD hitch for a $200 you will have it for life.


Chris

 

[Raw Dodge]

Are you sure it has 3.73 gears? Not a big deal but I looked in my book for both a 2004 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive Suburban with a 5.3L engine and it shows 4:10 gears as the only option. Note: this is just a guide I have so it may be incomplete.

Anyway the 2 wheel drive version is rated at 8,400# towing and the 4 wheel drive rated at 8,200# so you are good there.

As for the hitch you could upgrade and put in air bags but why? Its a 7 year old truck that may not last much longer and this stuff is truck specific. They are also going to run you $500 or more for both. If you buy a WD hitch for a $200 you will have it for life.


Chris

A WD hitch is 400+ dollars unless you buy online,then its 300+ 100 shipping! Towing local roads,and tight city streets a WD hitch is a major pain,as they add a twisting motion to sharp turns by design.they are best used on highways,and interstates,they are not well suited for roads where steep inclines or depressions are encountered...
Id do the air bags,and get a good hitch,the stock hitch is garbage anyway and should be discarded the day you get the truck,they are weak,and thin.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I agree the GM hitches are junk but I just ordered a Curt WD hitch 10,000# unit with 1,000# tongue weight with anti sway setup to my door for $210.

I also agree they are a pain at times but a god sent at others. That being said I personally do not use them but would before buying airbags. Airbags to me are just a band aid for too small of a truck.

Chris

 

[jimainiac]

Have you ever heard on Timbren overloads? They are very easy to install. You remove the rubber bump-stops and bolt on the Timbrens in their place. You can find them on the internet or sometimes at spring shops. They kind of look like an airbag but are hollow rubber. I have used them on my last three pickups, a half ton, a one ton and a three quarter ton. They make a specific model for each truck. My trailers have heavy tongue weights but I don't use an equalizer hitch. I just make sure to rotate my tires often.

 

[Boiler74]

I don't tow everyday and when I do I'm usually hooking up and unhooking a lot. That's why I don't want to mess with a WD hitch. And I know the truck is getting a little older and if I had unlimited money I'd get a new one. But it's hard to justify a bigger truck when I don't need it everyday. And yes I'm sure of the 3.73 gears and coil shocks.

So it looks like a new hitch and airbags or the timbren things. Will do more research when I get near a real computer.

Thanks all. I appreciate all the responses.

 

[timswi]

Personally I'd go with the WD hitch. The airbags really are a band-aid. I have pulled travel trailers on some very hairy country roads and never had a problem besides the occasional "creek/pop"..Turn the radio up

WD with anti-sway is a serious improvement over nothing. Air bags won't help much with handling either.

As far as the truck being 7 years old...Please. Mine is 6 years old and will pull anything I hook up to it and showing no signs of age at 80K.

I have a 2004 1500 GMC Z71 xcab with a 5.3 and 3:73's. Pretty similar to your truck overall.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Age doesnt mean much in a truck,my brother just towed an enclosed trailer to fla and back,from NY with his 01 1500 z71 excab chevy...it has 262K miles on it,and not a whimper from it,not one single problem.my gmc pulls and plows its 9 yrs old 94K,my dodge tows 14k+ easily,and reliably with 150K miles on it...
As for the WD hitch,if you havent used one,they are a pain to set up properly,you really need a scale,many test drives,and a load that is consistantly the same.Open car trailers always vary in load depending on where the car is locked down...with the suburban he really doesnt need the WD hitch to tow 7K trailer! the truck has a 135" WB,thats plenty...if he had a 120" or less,different story altogether...same with weight,if he was towing 9000 w 1000 on the tongue he'd need a WD hicth and a 2500sub...ideally.
i tow up to 15000 without a WD hitch with the dump trailer,and flatbed trailers and it handles perfect,this is with a 150+WB truck,but i like a WD hitch when towing my 9500lb sunnybrook,as its much longer,and the truck doesnt /bob with the WD hitch at all,it isnt so much the weight,but how long the trailer and how high the center of gravity for me..

 

[timswi]

Age doesnt mean much in a truck,my brother just towed an enclosed trailer to fla and back,from NY with his 01 1500 z71 excab chevy...it has 262K miles on it,and not a whimper from it,not one single problem.my gmc pulls and plows its 9 yrs old 94K,my dodge tows 14k+ easily,and reliably with 150K miles on it...
As for the WD hitch,if you havent used one,they are a pain to set up properly,you really need a scale,many test drives,and a load that is consistantly the same.Open car trailers always vary in load depending on where the car is locked down...with the suburban he really doesnt need the WD hitch to tow 7K trailer! the truck has a 135" WB,thats plenty...if he had a 120" or less,different story altogether...same with weight,if he was towing 9000 w 1000 on the tongue he'd need a WD hicth and a 2500sub...ideally.
i tow up to 15000 without a WD hitch with the dump trailer,and flatbed trailers and it handles perfect,this is with a 150+WB truck,but i like a WD hitch when towing my 9500lb sunnybrook,as its much longer,and the truck doesnt /bob with the WD hitch at all,it isnt so much the weight,but how long the trailer and how high the center of gravity for me..

Agreed

 

[Egon]

Oh my gosh, I have to make due with a 14 year old truck.:ashamed: And no chance of replacing it soon.

Go with air bags and new hitch. Probably you will not have to add to the springs if you do. :thumbsup:

 

[mustangsallysdad]

Hello all. Thanks for your interest.

I have a 2004 1/2 ton Suburban with the 5.3L engine and 3.73 gears. I have the stock hitch, rated to 5,000 lbs or 7,000 lbs with a weight distributing hitch. I would like to increase my towing ability without having to deal with a weight distributing hitch.

I know I would need to get a heavy hitch and put it on. But what about tongue weight? Can I put airbags in the back coil springs to help out? Any other options?

I don't really need to go over the 7,000 lb threshold. I just want to get there safely and have the truck tow a little better.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

Why not use air shocks? Cheaper, easier to install, can be adjusted based on load and tongue weight...tried and true method that has been used for a long time.

 

[mojoinco]

Speaking from my experience (best learned from mistakes as they say), the usual option is add a leafs for leaf springs. Yep, will not work here. Probably not much to replace the rear springs, but I'll bet you that a new set of shocks (try the Rancho 9000 type, or the Edelbrock units, etc) will make a huge difference. Also, and I expect it might already have this, a rear sway bar. Easy to install. You can change the mounting bushings to the polymer type for a bit firmer transition (factory usually uses rubber for ride and noise). I know when I looked a few years ago that the front coil sprung trucks had an air bag for the inside of the coil springs. Looked easy to install, and weren't much $. 7000# should be no big deal for a Burb (long for stability). Go luxurious and buy the best brake controller you can afford. And a hitch that exceeds your requirements. And big enough mirrors to see around your load. Consider an adjustable height ball carrier (it makes setting your trailer level so much easier as loads vary).

 

[Ryan03]

I vote for the weight distributing hitch. Both my Father in law on his 2002 Yukon and myself on my 2003 2500 Dmax have used them for 7 years in conjunction with the "junk GM hitch" to tow a 28ft toy box all over the east coast each summer, Sometimes loaded to 10k, as of this writing, both vehicles are still faring well with 100k ish on the clocks, and we both are still alive to talk about it.

 

[Quickster2]

I would also recommend a pair of supersprings (supersprings.com)

 

[some zilch]

air shocks put alot of extra strain/stress on the shock mounts, which generally arent designed to carry that kind of weight

 

[RobertN]

On my old truck, I beefed up the springs for when I had the 11' cabover camper on it.

There is a good spring shop in Sacramento, about 40 minutes from me. Told them what I wanted to do. They matched spring stock to my needs, and made an extra leaf. Worked great! And was not bad on the checkbook.

At the same time, I upgraded/replaced spring and swaybar bushings. Also added Rancho 9000 series shocks. That worked out well. When I wanted to haul heavy, I reached in the fenderwell and turned the shock up; when empty I turned them down. The shocks had a knob on the side. For more $$$, they make a version with a control panel that goes in the cab.

 

[Boiler74]

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