suburbansr4me

Hi - new owner of a 2008 Suburban 1500 LTZ. Bought it mainly to tow our 21' boat. I want to replace my OEM hitch receiver with something that can tow my boat without using a weight distribution hitch (WDH). My current hitch is rated for 5000lb total weight and 500lb tongue but with WDH the ratings jump to 10,000/1,000. I have looked on trailer websites, ebay, etc., but cannot find any hitches for '08 suburbans that are rated higher than my current oem hitch. Haven't had any luck with GM oem parts dealers either. Has anyone had any experience with upgrading their oem hitches? Does the 2500 have a higher class hitch? If someone can look at their 2500 hitch and track down a part #, that would be great. Thanks everyone.

old dog

i think you will have to stay with weight distribution bars no body seams to offer one i think because of the weakness of the rear suspension and all the rear overhang of the body . and frame attaching point's .

BW56

How many axles does the boat trailer have. I'll never own another single axle again. Like was said its a hitch placement problem. Look at any big rig and the coupler is just in front of the axles. I know of no hitch other than a weight distribution hitch that can carry a heavier load from the rear of our suburbans.

intheburbs

The receiver on my 08 2500 is rated for 600/1000. I've seen heavier receivers installed on the GMT900 trucks (Duraburb does them), but only on 2500s.

It's because of its placement and the fact that it's part of the crumple zone that causes the low rating.

That being said, I pulled my 7,000-lb trailer on a 2,000 mile trip without my weight bars. Tongue weight of the trailer is 750-800 lbs.

suburbansr4me

Ahhh, makes sense. I've heard about the rear axle being the weakest point on a tow rig. I have a tandem axle trailer and with the boat fully gassed and with all our gear, I'm a tad under 6000 lbs with about 850 lbs in tongue weight. Sounds like the 2500 hitch would have worked just fine.

intheburbs - is there a part number on your hitch? Mine is on the sticker that lists the weight ratings of the hitch. I just wonder if it's the same part and they just switch up the ratings based on the tow vehicle itself. That will make me feel a little better about towing without a WDH until I get my WDH ordered and installed.

Thanks everyone.

-Richard

SWHouston

I don't know where you came up with that #5000. Most any Dealer will tell you that any Hoe or Burb equipped with a OEM Hitch, is rated at #7000 minimum. I have a K1500 which is rated at #8100. If the hitch on your ride is OEM, I don't see any reason why the load you described won't be safe/legal. You should adjust your Tongue weight to be 10% of the Trailer Weight.

Here's a link to Hitch Ratings if you're interested...
How To Choose The Right Hitch Class: Class I, II, III, IV & V Tow Capacity Definitions

suburbansr4me

Ahhh dealers…gotta luv 'em. They are always so knowledgable….LOL. I'm aware that my ride's tow capacity is 7100lbs with the 3.73 gear ratio (your signature says you also have the 3.73 but I'm one generation newer so maybe for your year the 3.73s were rated higher). The ratings I am referring to apply to the oem hitch receiver. It is a class III/IV hitch rated for 5000lbs/500lbs without a wdh, so as my ride sits now, I would be overloading the HITCH by pulling a 6000lb rig even though my ride can tow up to 7100lbs. With wdh, the oem hitch's rating goes to 10,000/1,000. That doesn't mean I can all of the sudden start towing 10,000lbs. I still have to stay within the 7100lb rating of my ride. It's the smaller rating that you always have to be mindful of. To throw another wrench into the equation, shanks and hitch ***** also have a weight limit rating. If any of those are lower than the hitch's or the tow vehicle's rating, then you have to stay within those limits. And to muddy the waters even more, passenger weight and cargo inside the tow vehicle affect the tow rating.

Adjusting tongue weights on a trailered boat is sometimes not that easy. The only thing I really have at the bow of my boat is my 25lb anchor and some dock fenders and lines. Unless I start unscrewing bow seats, those are the only things I can remove to lower the tongue weight. There are some trailers that have adjustable keel rollers that can raise the bow of the boat to redistribute the weight to the stern but mine does not. Tongue weight can vary between 10-15% of the rig. At 850lbs I'm at the upper limit of my 6000lb rig but still within the range.

intheburbs

Part number on my receiver sticker is 15905202. I'm currently on the road and can't post pics.

And yes, the rear axle is the weak link on the half tons. My 1500 is on its fourth unit, one of the main reasons I bought the 2500.

The RAWR is also going to be your limiting factor. That 4000-lb rating gets used up quick - long before you'd get anywhere near a 10,000-lb trailer. In fact, my first travel trailer was ~4500 lbs, but when fully loaded up for vacation, I had 3970 on the rear axle.

SWHouston

Just as a side comment...
Beyond making adjustments and having your ride equipped with sufficiently rated equipment for those higher loads, don't forget to evaluate the Tires you are using. Often times, when someone is getting rid of a vehicle, they put just anything on it to show good tread.

Get the Brand, Type and Size info for what tires you have, look that up on the internet (TireRack* is a good source) and make sure you have a stout enough (load rated) tire on your ride to keep you safely operating. Also, verify that the size tires you have, are the size that is recommended for your vehicle. "LT" type tires, with a "C" to "E" load rating, are most appropriate for our Hoes and Burbs.

* = http://www.tirerack.com/index.jsp

suburbansr4me

I think you're missing a zero somewhere in that rating. Is it 6000 total weight and 1000 tongue weight? Or is it 600 tongue weight and 10,000 total weight?

Thanks for the part #. I have the same part on my 1500.