Chevrolet Suburban 3500 Questions

Bigburb3500 said:

Marky, you seem to be asking the questions right before I get to them! I was looking online last night for new hitch units and there are none online that are made for the 3500 Suburban. I will have to upgrade it, but may need to go to the local trailer dealer and have them take a crack at it. I have been analyzing DuraburbInc’s YouTube video showing a frame tear down. I cannot tell if this is an upgraded previous gen 2500 suburban chassis or if it’s the shared chassis from the Silverado 3500.

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calsdad said:

I've spent a decent amount of time in the past analyzing what the true towing capability would be for my 2010 GMC Yukon XL 2500. I went component by component trying to see what the differences were between what was in the Yukon vs what is in the 2500/3500 GM trucks of similar vintage - and comparing the rated tow capabilities out of the GM brochures.

I think you could take a similar approach to your 2018 3500.

For instance, somewhere on Youtube is video by the guy at Duraburb about the frame used under the 3500 Suburban. He basically says: it's the same exact frame that is under the 2007-2013 2500 Yukon XL/Suburbans and the earlier generation 2500 Yukon XL/Suburbans.

The 2000-2006 2500 Suburbans had the 8.1L big block engine option - and with the right gear ratio - that truck was rated to tow 12,000 pounds. So the way I look at it is: that frame is rated to tow 12,000 pounds (at least). - with the right hitch on it.

Now look at the brakes - you can figure this out by going part number by part number and seeing what brakes are on the 2500/3500 trucks vs what is on the 3500 Suburban. I would be willing to bet that there is no difference there - so your truck's brakes are going to be good for whatever tow rating that the comparable year 2500/3500 pickups are good for.

I think the 2500/3500 gas pickups have the 6.0L engine. So look at the tow ratings in the GM brochures are for that engine - in combination with the gear ratio. If you look at the brochures they'll give the tow ratings by engine/gear ratio - and body style. The heavier body styles - have a slightly lower tow rating. Compare those weights against whatever the listed weight is of your 3500 Suburban - and you can probably get a pretty good estimate of what a "factory" tow rating would be for your truck if it wasn't designed to be up-armored.

I would also bear in mind that - you can enhance the tow rating by upgrading components. For instance: I installed a set of the Wilwood huge brakes on my truck because at one point I was commuting with it in rush hour traffic and almost rear ended people a few times.

If I had to take a wild guess - I can't see the towing capability of your truck being any less than the previous generation 2500 Yukon XL/Suburbans - which is like 9700 pounds.

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Doubeleive said:

you might try reaching out to draw-tite they only list one for a 3500 silverado but I bet they have taken measurements for a 3500 suv I used to know a guy that worked for them and his only job was to go around and measure every new vehicle so they could design a hitch

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Bigburb3500 said:

Calsdad,
I have rewatched Duraburb’s video several times and maybe I need to watch it a few more. I am going through exactly what you recommend by checking parts and comparing them to the HD pickups. I need to more closely analyze the frame section because I felt he glossed over the differences. I forget what part he was commenting on and then he said “And that’s how they get the 1ton rating.” I know ratings are based on a number of different factors but I did think the frames from 2500 to 3500 would also be different based on metal thickness.
You make a great point about using a 2500 previous-gen as a base line and going from there. The brakes on this 3500 are right off a 3500HD and same with cooling for trans and oil. The rear leafs are also 3500 not 2500 so I think we are probably past the 10k mark? How far past would be a crap-shoot. Looking at a comparable 3500 it looks like the GVWR is about 10500-10700 and the sticker on my Burb is 11k.

Your methodology is great! Thank you for the input. Do you tow with yours much and have anything you would change/recommend?

Cheers.

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Thrust said:

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/07/chevy-suburban-3500hd-heavy-duty-vs-chevrolet-suburban/

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Bigburb3500 said:

Thank your Thrust for the link! The 6585 curb weight makes a good bit of sense and I think lines up with its 1ton underpinning. Still funny how this blog says it comes with all the heavy duty tow adds but that hurts its towing capacity
Do we think anyone writes an article like this and says to themself, “ Yes, I’m making sense today.”

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15burban said:

Just a guess, but since they didn't make very many of them and only sold them new to fleet customers for "upfitting." Gm probably didn't bother going through the j2807 towing tests to determine an actual gcwr for them. They probably just used the regular (1500) suburban gcwr hence the high payload but really low towing capacity.

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