johnd393

I've been shopping for a SUV. I'm thinking of getting a camper to tow. I prefer 2wd, but there are just not enough of them for sale. I do much of my own service and would rather not deal with transfer cases and front driven axles. I've looked at 3 recently, a 2wd 2003 Suburban 1500, a 4wd 2002 Tahoe and a 2002 Suburban 4wd. There is also a 2wd Yukon xl with a bad trans that I have not seen.
I have no familiarity with 4wd. I test drove the 4wd Tahoe in the parking lot trying out the different modes and I let the owner demonstrate the 4wd functions on the Suburban one. I noticed that the 4wd select LED's took a few seconds to stop blinking on the Tahoe and only about 1 second on the Suburban. Could the quicker 4wd mode transition be just due the fact that the car had been driven and was warmed up?

All 3 have some rust, have about 135k, are around $3200.

The 2003 2wd Suburban just had too much rust on lower body areas.

The 2002 Tahoe, one owner, used for a business, a little neglected, had a 5" rust spot in the middle of the sheet metal on the rear hatch and on the top center of 1 front fender wheel well, and a little bit on the inside bottom door seams, but the lower body areas and rear wheel wells looked solid. Trans fluid is brown with a little odor (maybe just a tint of red left). The front leather seats are rough. The 2nd row seats have a couple small tears. Needs tires. A terminal is broke off the rear defogger and the power seat won't move. Has a ABS and Brake light on and the brake lines seen under the hood look very rusty. This car was the best equipped for comfort and towing. Has KNP trans cooling, L59 v8, ZW7 smooth ride, Z82 trailer provisions, G80 posi, GT4 3:73, G65 level control,VR4 weight dist hitch platform. I think I can deal with the multiple issues and I think I like this one best. Still need to drive it down the road to see how the trans goes through the gears.

The 4wd Suburban. Less well equipped. One owner seems to be a guy who cared for it meticulously, cloth seats good, red trans fluid, Worst rust is under one back door bottom seam, worse then door seams on Tahoe. Some, but minimal, other rust. ABS light on. I forgot to look at the brake lines. Has accident damage to front bumper, grill, left headlight & fender, hood.
Headlight pushed in a little. held in with duct tape.
Grill, minor break by headlight, appears to still be in its correct position.
Hood. dent along front lip of hood on same side as headlight and sits 3/4" high on left (driver side) fender. Could not see why hood was sitting high there.
Bumper, bent and dents on thick metal parts of bumper. Not pushed back much. Main point of impact appears to be in line with left bumper mount.
Fender, some dents on the side that don't look to have anything to do with the front impact. Probably repairable.
This is probably a good car but I just can't see why the hood don't sit flat on the left fender. I think the bumper took the impact, minimizing damage above it. I just don't have a way to be sure there is no frame damage.

KNERD

It depends on the camper weight. Oddly, the older the model, the more towing capacity they have. 8500 lbs. is from current models back to around 2001. 2000 model is 9000, and '99 and earlier is 10,000.

By all the rust you a describing, you living a snow area where they salt the roads. Maybe drive a little more and find one in the deeper south, or south west. I own a 94 and only has some surface rust on the roof.

intheburbs

No offense, but just about every post I've seen from you contains wrong information.

There's no difference between the 2000 and 2001 models, so there is no difference in their towing ratings.

And any 2000-2006 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 and 4.10 axles was rated to pull up to 12,000 lbs. That was the highest the Suburbans have ever been rated.

KNERD

I was referring to the 1500 series. But of course the 2500 can tow more. Since he seemed to be looking at Yukon also, it appears maybe he did not want to get a larger capacity vehicle.. Not sure about this other "wrong" information. All correct information is found through research and personal experience.

intheburbs

Highlighted in red.

Not sure where you're getting the differentiation between the 2000 and 2001 model towing capacities. They are exactly the same.

The 2001 Suburban 1500 with the 5.3 and 4.10 axle is the highest rated, at 8800 lbs. So you're wrong.
The 2000 Suburban 1500 with the 5.3 and 4.10 axle is the highest rated, at 8800 lbs. So again you're wrong.
The 1999 Suburban 1500 with the 5.7 and 4.10 axle is the highest rated at 8,000 lbs. So yet again you're wrong.
And the GMT800 platform, overall, has higher towing ratings than the GMT400, so for the FOURTH time, you're wrong.
And no GM SUV prior to 2000 had a rating of 10,000 lbs (INCLUDING the 2500s). Fifth time wrong.

Shall I keep going? You've managed to be wrong so many ways in such short posts. Impressive.

And that is why I brought up the 2500 trucks. Because no half-ton SUV, from any manufacturer, had a trailer rating of 10,000 lbs. So when you mentioned it, I assumed you were including 2500s.

Oh, and this is my SOURCE for all of this towing information. The "Bible" for RVers.

And yes, you've been wrong in the past. I think this one is my favorite:

KNERD

I guess it depends on the source used, and which one you trust more.


1500 4dr SUV
(5.7L V8 4-speed Automatic)
MAXIMUM TOWING CAPACITY** 10000 lbs.


Used 1994 Chevrolet Suburban SUV Features & Specs | Edmunds


So you were saying about " Because no half-ton SUV, from any manufacturer, had a trailer rating of 10,000 lbs. "?

intheburbs

Ooh, you read it on the internet, so it has to be true, right?

Well. let's see....GM didn't list max trailer weights in the 1994 owner's manual. They didn't start listing actual weights until 1996. The 1996 Suburban is the same platform and powertrain as the 1994. Let's look at the owners manuals from 1996 and 1997.

1996:


1997:



So, whaddya think? Maybe some wonk typist at Edmunds saw the 10,000-lb rating for the 2500 and just put that in?
Or do you think your '94 has some magic powers and that half-ton could actually pull that muich?

Also, notice how the numbers for the half tons are a lot lower than the numbers for the GMT800 and GMT900 trucks.

johnd393

Lot's of information flows when you guys disagree.
A 1500 with a 5.3l is about as big as I want to go. A 2500 with 12000lb towing capacity would see very little use. Short or long wheelbase just depends on what the best vehicle I find for sale is.
If I get a camper I will get one within the capacity of my tow vehicle.

Jettix2

I agree with intheburbs, all of these trucks seem super rusty and issue-prone. How solid are the frames? I'm betting you can find something a bit nicer for just a few bucks more $$ if you travel a bit.

intheburbs

If you're planning to do much towing, a Suburban will be a much more pleasant tow vehicle than the Tahoe. All half-ton Suburbans from 2000-2006 had the 5.3. Tahoes of similar vintage were more likely to have the 4.8, though some have the 5.3. But the longer wheelbase of the Suburban will be much more stable when towing.