Suburban 2500 or Yukon XL Denali?

[510man]

This is actually a very disappointing topic. GM abandoned their Suburban customers. I have a '99 and looked at buying a new one. The 2500 is no longer available. Barn doors are no longer available. The flat floor is gone. You can't put a sheet of plywood in the back and close the doors anymore. And on and on... I looked at getting a low mileage 2013 or 2014 since 2014 was the last year for the 2500. GM stepped the engine down to a 6.0L that makes a few more HP than the 5.7L I have now but the torque is virtually the same. But....the 2014 truck weighs 2000lbs more! What? The same power rating in a truck that ways a ton more? Ah.....no thanks.

By the way, Ford is similar. Only one engine offered in the Expedition and it's a V6.

Ford and GM want to push all their customers who tow to a pickup. I haul drums, PA and people so a pickup doesn't get it. I pull a 24ft boat so a 2500 with a bigger frame, brakes, etc. made a lot of sense..............until I looked at the crap GM is forcing on their customers now. GM sure makes it hard to be a loyal customer.

The 2007ish version appears to be the best one. It was just older than I wanted to go when I stepped back from ordering a new 2500 Suburban. That said, I decided to keep the '99 truck I have until GM goes back to building trucks that make sense instead of grocery getters. I can do a lot of repairs and upgrades on the 1999 for the $25K I would have paid for the low mileage 2013 I located

 

[intheburbs]

This is actually a very disappointing topic. GM abandoned their Suburban customers. I have a '99 and looked at buying a new one. The 2500 is no longer available. Barn doors are no longer available. The flat floor is gone. You can't put a sheet of plywood in the back and close the doors anymore. And on and on... I looked at getting a low mileage 2013 or 2014 since 2014 was the last year for the 2500. GM stepped the engine down to a 6.0L that makes a few more HP than the 5.7L I have now but the torque is virtually the same. But....the 2014 truck weighs 2000lbs more! What? The same power rating in a truck that ways a ton more? Ah.....no thanks.

By the way, Ford is similar. Only one engine offered in the Expedition and it's a V6.

Ford and GM want to push all their customers who tow to a pickup. I haul drums, PA and people so a pickup doesn't get it. I pull a 24ft boat so a 2500 with a bigger frame, brakes, etc. made a lot of sense..............until I looked at the crap GM is forcing on their customers now. GM sure makes it hard to be a loyal customer.

The 2007ish version appears to be the best one. It was just older than I wanted to go when I stepped back from ordering a new 2500 Suburban. That said, I decided to keep the '99 truck I have until GM goes back to building trucks that make sense instead of grocery getters. I can do a lot of repairs and upgrades on the 1999 for the $25K I would have paid for the low mileage 2013 I located

A 4X8 sheet of plywood does indeed fit in the GMT900 trucks. You just stack them on top of the folded middle and third row seats. I've never had more than 10 sheets in mine, you can probably do at least 20 and still close the tailgate.

With regards to the 6.0 engine vs the 5.7 - I have to suppress a chuckle. Are you really comparing an ancient 5.7 to a VVT 6.0? Right here, right now, I challenge you to a drag race for $100, and I promise all you'll see is my tailgate as I walk away from you. The 6.0 has no redline - it revs happily right up to 6000 RPM, and that's exactly what happens if you hold your foot down all the way. The further you push your foot, the faster it goes. I have mine tuned with the speed governor removed, and I've pegged the speedometer at 120 MPH. With the 6-speed transmission, it pulls like a freight train.

I tow an 8600-lb, 35-ft travel trailer with my '08 2500. I've had it all over the country, including the Eisenhower tunnel at over 11,000 feet of altitude. The ONLY SUV/truck more badass than my Suburban is the GMT800 2500 Suburban with the 8.1 L.

Take a look at your owners manual - the weight ratings for your '99 vs the weight ratings for the GMT900 trucks. The GMT900 are more capable in every possible way, and they also have creature comforts like remote start, quad heated seats, power/remote tailgate, backup camera, etc.

ETA: Yes, Ford and GM have abandoned folks who need a three-row SUV for heavy towing. But the sales numbers just didn't make sense. For 2008, for example, GM built/sold over 50,000 half-ton Suburbans. Want to guess how many 2500 trucks were built? 5,678. I have it right on my build sheet. I doubt the ratio got any better through 2013. The sales just weren't there to support continuing to build them.

 

[swathdiver]

A '99 C2500 has a tow rating of 6,000 pounds with a 3.73 gear and 7,500 with a 4.10 gear when powered by the 5.7. It's not much better with the old 6.5 Diesel but is 10,000 pounds with the 454 and 4.10s. The K2500 with 4.10s and the 5.7 is limited to 7,000 pounds. And those old motors MUST have an engine oil cooler if towing more than 2,000 pounds per the owner's manual. Even our 5.3s with 3.08 gears can pull 5,000 pounds with their standard cooling system. That being said, they are great trucks, the new ones are even better.

I had a buddy lift my truck (1500) off the ground from the rear of the frame, going barely past the rear bumper underneath and the truck did not buckle or bend a millimeter. They are tougher than the heavy halfs that GM used to make.

 

[Derick]

You can always consider an excursion. Bummer those went the way of the dodo too.

 

[thompsoj22]

We tow a loaded weight 4800 lb TT, Used to do it with a 03 tahoe with the 4.8! It was a white knuckle experience as to whether it would make it up the hil, blow up at 4k rpm or be able to stop at the bottom of the hill! And if there was a headwind just pull over and tell the family "were here" and camp on the shoulder of where ever lol! Traded it in on a 08 denali xl1500 with 125k miles and paid $17k. wow what a fantastic vehicle! It tows beautifully and it's truly a "road limo". My opinion is get the denali, im not quite sure what towing safety factors weigh into a 1500 vs 2500 other than tounge weight? Towing requires ability/focus to avoid emergenciy situations. By the time your fishtailing, to fast for the turn, to fast to stop in time, I question if a 2500 chasis will correct driver error.

 

[intheburbs]

My opinion is get the denali, im not quite sure what towing safety factors weigh into a 1500 vs 2500 other than tounge weight? Towing requires ability/focus to avoid emergenciy situations. By the time your fishtailing, to fast for the turn, to fast to stop in time, I question if a 2500 chasis will correct driver error.

A 2500 truck weighs about 1000 lbs more than a 1500 truck. That extra weight means more control, more stability and reduced tendency for the tail to wag the dog.

The 2500 has a heavier-duty braking system. This means less brake fade on long descents, and better stopping power in a panic situation.

The 2500 has stiffer springs/suspension so that means less squat and less porpoising, again improving visibility and stability.

And the 2500, by inherent design, has more-durable components that are better-suited to towing - axles, springs, bearings, steering etc.

When I first bought my 2500 Suburban I still had the same 7,000-lb trailer that had broken my 1500 '01 Burb. I towed the trailer with both trucks for comparison and the difference was stark. I will never tow a large trailer with a half ton SUV again.

Now, my Sierra Denali does quite well, to my surprise. Two things working for it over the '01 half ton - better engine with more gears, and longer wheelbase. I was surprised how big of a difference that 14" makes. But again, if I towed regularly with it, I'd expect it to need more maintenance than a 3/4-ton, and more component replacements.

 

[510man]

[QUOTE="I tow an 8600-lb, 35-ft travel trailer with my '08 2500. [/QUOTE]

I think you read too quickly. The HP/torque comparison I made was to the 2013 and 2014 model. I seem to recall quite a step down from earlier years. As I further stated a 2007-2008 is not a consideration when stepping back from ordering a new truck. If I want an antique truck, I can keep what I have.

 

[swathdiver]

[QUOTE="I tow an 8600-lb, 35-ft travel trailer with my '08 2500.

I think you read too quickly. The HP/torque comparison I made was to the 2013 and 2014 model. I seem to recall quite a step down from earlier years. As I further stated a 2007-2008 is not a consideration when stepping back from ordering a new truck. If I want an antique truck, I can keep what I have.[/QUOTE]

The GMT900 2500s were last offered to the public in 2013, even though the platform continued for one more year. Same with the Avalanche and Escalade EXT. The 6.0 liter engines the original Gen IV LY6 (2007-2009) and FlexFuel L96 (2010-2013) essentially make the same horsepower and torque.

GM does still make the SUV in 2500 and 3500 chassis for fleet and government and they come up for sale infrequently.

 

[Derick]

GM does still make the SUV in 2500 and 3500 chassis for fleet and government and they come up for sale infrequently.

Canada is selling some. Armored no less. Along with a bunch of Chrysler 300s. Was from some sort of public event a couple years ago...cant remember what.

Source https://www.google.com/amp/s/jalopn...undreds-of-nearly-new-chrysler-1830343840/amp

But it doesn't specify 2500s..hrm

 

[intheburbs]

I think you read too quickly. The HP/torque comparison I made was to the 2013 and 2014 model. I seem to recall quite a step down from earlier years. As I further stated a 2007-2008 is not a consideration when stepping back from ordering a new truck. If I want an antique truck, I can keep what I have.

My reading comprehension is just fine.

The GMT900 platform remained pretty much unchanged between 2007 and 2013. No major changes, just small things like Bluetooth and adding an integrated trailer brake controller. The 2007 2500 trucks still had the carry-over 4-speed transmission, but starting in 2008 they got the 6L90.

So if you looked at a spec sheet for a 2008 2500 Suburban and a 2013 2500 Suburban - horsepower, torque, fuel economy, payload, towing rating, engine, transmission, etc - they'd be identical.

And as Jim mentioned, 2013 was the last year for the 2500, not 2014.

And I have no idea what you mean by "quite a step down from earlier years." Each successive generation has gotten more horsepower, better gas mileage, and more hauling capability. The only exception is the GMT800 2500 trucks, which had slightly more payload and higher towing because the GMT900 hitch was moved higher and had to be part of the crumple zone and not as strong. But still, I'll take the tradeoff to get the newer goodies - remote start, power tailgate, backup camera (great for hitching up without a spotter), etc.