Anybody Pull a Pop-up With a Suburban?

[bama_ed]

Folks,

My oldest DS has turned 16 and the DW and I are planning for him to drive himself to high school using my old car. I have a DS who is 14 so I need to add another vehicle to the household.

At the same time the tow vehicle for my pop-up, the Chrysler mini-van, has over 100k miles and given the weight of our pop-up plus all of us, bikes, etc. I am probably close to the acceptable limit for towing capacity (3800#). In fact, I don't mind towing with it south out of Birmingham (to the beach or the Fort) where the terrain is mostly flat but I don't take it into the mountains or very far north where the terrain might be hilly.

And even though DS turned 16, if anyone is getting a new-to-us vehicle it won't be him. Plus with DS soon going to college there will the dorm moving in-moving out trips, etc. So initially I was looking at a used pick up truck but in researching the Silverado I read that it shares the same frame as the Suburban. Having 5 family members in the household, a truck choice would have had to have been a full crew cab (back seat) but the Suburban would be better for comfortable seating. In fact, because we are 5 that takes us out of some SUV choices.

I've been checking out used Suburbans and see that, for example, a 2005 1500 LT model will pull close to 8000# which would be plenty for me and my pop-up. In fact, overkill. The SUV mileage situation doesn't scare me that much because my daily work commute is 9 miles one-way. Prices are down about $4k from KBB retail rates here lately so it might be a good time to make a move. Plus it would give me more space to take more "stuff" camping with us in the back of the 'Burban.

So does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on using a Suburban as a TV for my pop-up? Is it overkill? What about truck-vs-SUV as a TV? Any difference? Please let me hear from you.

TIA,

Bama ED

PS-plus having a Suburban would give me more room to haul stuff to tailgate at the Alabama football games in the fall, heheh ...

 

[mrsscooter]

Are thoughts have always been buy big so you can eventually tow big.......just in case, some day, you choose to go a little bigger than a pop up.....bigger kids, bigger space.....etc. Its always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.....Just my two cents LOL We just bought a F250 in preparation for "THE BIG ONE" in a few years.

Friends of ours have a suburban and they are always towing the boat or thier pop up somewhere. They love it.....they say you dont even really know the pop up is on the back....lol

 

[clkelley]

Most of the weight police will tell you that you can never have too much tow vehicle.

I somewhat agree.

I've been towing my 2000 lb T@B with a 4.0 V6 Explorer Sport Trac and it does great!! However, I am a firm believer in keeping it at 2500 RPMs or less cruising and having to do that has slowed me down on the interstate some.

So I upgraded to a 4.6 V8 Explorer Sport Trac. Haven't towed with it yet, but I'm hoping the extra power will help with interstate speeds, plus mine has "stabilitrac" and some type of trailer sway control built in so I'm hoping my already easy tow will become even easier

 

[njcamper95]

I also agree with the above posters overkill no the 1500 sub would be great and would allow you to upgrade to a heavier rv down the road if you choose so i would say its a good idea if you never go heavier it won't matter either the sub will barely know the popup is there good luck and let us know how it works out for you

 

[2goofycampers]

I agree, you can never have too much, just too little.

 

[BRDof3]

I agree, you can never have too much, just too little.

That's OK Frank, she loves you anyway!

 

[2goofycampers]

That's OK Frank, she loves you anyway!

He upsized to diesel. vrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooommmmmmmmmm.

 

[BRDof3]

He upsized to diesel. vrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooommmmmmmmmm.

Did major medical cover that or was there a big co-pay?

Gotta end this post now, so many responses coming that I might get banned myself.

 

[Kagoguen]

I'd go with a 3/4 ton crew cab truck, seats 5 to 6 people and just incase you want to upgrade to a 5th wheel, you'd be all set. I know this what my plan is for my next vehicle. Now I have a 23' hybrid TT and haul it with my 2002 V8 Explorer, hauls with no problem, but more horsepower is always good.

 

[AuburnJen92]

Did major medical cover that or was there a big co-pay?

Gotta end this post now, so many responses coming that I might get banned myself.

 

[stacktester]

My uncle passed away a couple years ago and somehow my mom got his 99 Suburban that he pulled his camper with.

It's a 3/4 ton, 4x4 with a 454. It also has a 40 something gallon tank lol. I used it a couple weeks ago to go to the store and saw it was a little low on fuel. I put in $10 (approx. 5 gallons) and I swear the needle hardly budged. It has the 3rd row bench too so it hauls a boatload of people. It's a nice ride but I would croke keeping up with the fuel.

If I'm not mistaken PolynesianPixie has a similar model.

 

[bama_ed]

Just an update:

Thanks to all of you (and people like Rog who started a thread or two) about towing, etc. I learned alot while I was shopping for a new TV. I got a used 2005 Suburban on Thursday (71k miles). I feel relieved and confident about using it to tow my pop-up now. My hitch may be the limiting factor - it has its own ratings depending on whether or not a weight distributing hitch is used.

So yeah it's big and a little more thirsty than the van I was using as a TV but I can take it places I wouldn't have gone before - like up into the mountains of Alabama or Tennessee which I am looking forward to. And it seems like if I ever wanted to upgrade to a smaller hybrid it would handle that too.

For you numbers guys it has a 3.42 axle ratio (I know not the best for towing but serviceable) and a tow package. Max trailer weight is 7.4k and GCTW is 13k. Plus sunroof and XM radio .

I'm not sophisticated enough like the poster thumper_ehhhhh to post a picture but when I hook up the camper for the first time I might just take a snap and see if I can do it then. I plan to use it for a trip to the beach later this month and we'll see how it goes.

Thanks again!

Bama ED

 

[PrincessNana]

I have driven a suburban for 20 years and I wouldn't drive anything else. We towed our pup and then our travel trailer. As a mom, you can get anything you could possibly dream of inside a suburban. We tried downsizing when the kids moved away from home, but we missed all the room inside. (You know, you can get a full sized sofa, 1 chair and a couple of end tables inside with all the seats folded down!) For us, it was the best all round family vehicle. I'm sure you'll enjoy yours as well.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Hey man I just noticed the thread. You cant go wrong with going big. It gives you room for moving up also. You will be happy with your burb. Here is a site you might be interested in. It's all about burb, hoes,(no not a bad word) and escies. http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/index.php Check it out. There a great bunch of people.

 

[kc5grw]

Definitely don't worry about having too much tow vehicle. The first trailer I had was a Coleman pop-up that I pulled with an F350 CC diesel. The truck never knew there was anything behind. Now I pull a 32' fifth wheel (although this is my 3rd F350). With the burb you'll be able to upgrade to a large trailer later without needing to get a new tow vehicle.