Towing with the Chevy Avalanche

[nickster60]

Has anyone ever towed with a Chevy Avalanche? Or had One

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by nickster60

Has anyone ever towed with a Chevy Avalanche? Or had One

To the exact Avalanche, no. Bbut I have with the Suburban. Same 130” wheel base and pending the year, can get the same engine/rear end and suspension combo’s

I have over 15,000 towing miles on 2003 K2500 with the 6.0 liter and 4.10 rear end pulling 6,500# of T2499 Sunline TT around towing at max of 60 MPH. That combination worked very well on the east coast. Never took it west.

I use to have the 1500 Tahoe, 5.3 liter with 3.73 rear end. Good engine but the ½ ton SUV suspension was an issue in my case on that same TT. However had used this on 6,000# cargo trailer and totally different results, a lot better. Less wind drag on the cargo trailer.

What year truck are you looking at and in the 1500 or the 2500? Engine size/rear axle ratio?

How much weight are you pulling? And what size trailer?

Pending TV cargo loading and trailer size there are a lot of options open to you.

I know the 1500 and 2500 Suburban’s well. May be able to give you at lesat a perspective on the drive train and suspension.

Hope this helps

John

[nickster60]

I have always used Ford trucks. I have a Dodge 2500 V10 that pulls just about anything you can put behind it. I have my F150 that pulls ok also but I would like to consolitate to 1 truck or SUV with 4 wheel drive. I was looking at the F150 with 5.4l but they like to spit out spark plugs and Ford isnt standing behind them. So I am looking for a Chevy option that would be the most versitile. The wife likes the Avalanche. I really dont want a 3/4 ton to just drive around in. I would prefer a 1/2 ton since I am only pulling the T-1950. And the mileage would be better when not towing. So I am just looking for options at this point.

[rich2500]

Nick are you looking to buy new or used,I don't know how you feel about buying(quote on quote) imports,but I would recommend checking out a Nissan Titan,My best friend/coworker/camping partners have a Titan he pulls a forest river salem with a dry wieght of 6200 lbs and tugs that thing around no problem.I have driven in the truck many times and it is very nice,As a matter of fact if I would not have to haul 2000lbs of wood pellets and corn around every year for heating my house I would have bought a Titan when I got rid of my Dodge.bang for your buck the titan is probably the best deal on a 1/2 ton truck especially if buying new.Also if your looking new my understanding is that when ford went to the 3v 5.4 the plug spitting issue was solved,I know this applies to the v-10 and I'm almost positive the 4.6 and 5.4 also.With all that being said and in no defense to any GM owners but I'm in the Autobody industry I see over 500 vehicles of every make,shape and size come through our shop a year and almost every gm that comes through our doors has some kind of a squeek,rattle,sloppy steering,marginal braking.on a good note I also see alot of gms with high milage on them and they run like a clock,It appears the engines are excellent I just have to question the rest of the vehicle,Now I have never owned a GM product nor will I ever unless I start seeing improvements,these are just my observations when working on vehicles for a living.Just my 2 cents worth exactly what you paid for it

[nickster60]

I really dont know what we are going to get at this time. I dont dislike the Jap cars and trucks it is the Amercan stuff that seems to be slipping. It may be a new vehicile, it depends on the deals the new car dealers have in the upcoming year. There is one vehicle that was brought up in this thread and I had never even thought of, the Chevy Subruban. I am going to guess with the ressesion word being kicked around that the car dealer inventories will be high. And with fuel high the big stuff is going to be sitting around for awhile.

[donreitz]

We've had two Suburbans over the years and pulled a variety of trailers and boats with them. As a combination family car and tow vehicle, you can't beat them. When we bought our first one they were barely disguised commercial trucks (bits of cheap plastic placed over metal panels to hide the fact). Now Suburbans qualify as genuine limousines. We purchased Suburbans because we needed both a vehicle for carting the kids around and a substantial tow vehicle. The usefulness of the Chevy plus the utility of having a combination family car and tow vehicle (i.e., not having to have two vehicles) balanced out the terrible gas mileage.

Being fussy about keeping my vehicles clean, the one downside to a Suburban (to my way of thinking anyway) is the fact that you have to store your dirty, muddy, and sometimes wet camping equipment in that nice carpeted back end. It's even worse now that the Suburban's interior is so fancy. Once our kids flew away we bought a truck so we could store our dirty equipment in the bed without worrying about introducing dirt into a carpeted interior.
Don

[nickster60]

I already have bad mileage with the Dodge 10.5 around town and 14.0 on the highway if I really baby it. Towing I get 9.5 at 55 mph.I do love trucks you just throw your stuff in the back and off you go. They are very conveniant. We are going to have to check out some differant models. But it will have to wait going camping this weekend the Dodge will have to do.

[JohnB]

Nick

If your thinking Suburban, they sell Husky or other after market liners that go in the back of the Burb. We had them. They have a deep allmost 2" dished edge. It is not a PU truck bed, but it helps keep dirt and wet rugs off the pretty carpet under it. And whan I came home from camping, I just unloaded and slid it out and dumped all the dirt on the ground and put it back in. Worked good.

Good luck in your search.

John

[Mooney]

Originally Posted by rich2500

marginal braking.on a good note I also see alot of gms with high milage on them and they run like a clock,It appears the engines are excellent

Marginal braking? Are you kidding me? Where can I (diehard GM guy) get the upgrade????? Why was I not informed?

I look forward to towing so my trailer brakes actually improve my stock ones. Then again, I don't really use the brakes too much, my compression is really good in my 5.0 (1998 Vortec). My rear shoes and drums are factory. From '98. With 160,000 miles (yes, they are adjusted properly). I do the front pads every 40K just because....

As for running like a clock, if you don't mind putting in a few parts now and then (typical) it'll go forever. I can still pull uphill at 60-70 (with the new camper) without a problem. I do have a K&N FIPK intake, and a high flow Magnaflow Cat and 3 chamber Flowmaster to help her breathe, but with normal repair and maintenance, she's been great.

[Trailblazer]

nickster60, Yes I do tow with an Avalanche. In fact I am now on my second Avalanche. My first one was a 2005 Avalanche with a 5.3 litre engine and the 3:42 rear end. I towed my Sunline over 10,000 miles with that truck with no problems. I generally found that once I go the truck over 60 mph it felt like the trailer was not there.

I now have a 2007 Avalanche with the 5.3L engine and the 3:73 rear end. With this unit I have towed the Sunline only about 1,000 miles. With the higher rear end ratio, I have noticed the truck accelerates faster. In addition the fuel mileage is about 3 mpg less than when I had the 3:42 gear ratio.

Hope this information helps.

[marc.massey]

I know this is five years slow to respond but I have a Chevy Avalanche! Like Trailblazer I have had an 05' Avalanche 1500 LT special edition for some time now. I am in the same boat as Trailblazer. As long as you have the proper equipment pulling is nothing. I pull my 86' Seville which is old, but very reliable with no problems. The only problem that I have is my truck guzzles gas, but that is more because of the weight that I am hauling.

[EMD_Driver]

Hey Marc, welcome to the SOC!

FYI: trailblazer now has a Sunline fifth wheel and pulls it with a Ford F250... On another note, I saw a 26-28' TT today and it was being towed by a Dodge Durango! Scary setup!

[Trailblazer]

Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

Hey Marc, welcome to the SOC!

X2

FYI: trailblazer now has a Sunline fifth wheel and pulls it with a Ford F250...

Yup, and getting better mpg numbers than I did with the Avalanche towing the T2753.

[Digmenow]

Jumping into an old thread cuz that's just how I roll. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

So, last week after my very first ever outing that involved towing a camper (several years of loading it up to the gills for tent camping, previously), the '94 V6 Silverado gave up the ghost with a loud rod knocking in the engine. I have been casting about, looking for an inexpensive replacement in the $5K range. I have already lusted after V10 Excursions and 2500 Yukon XL/Suburbans as well as 2500HD GM trucks and Ford F250's. I'm good with either brand but a little shy on Mopars.

Anyhow...

Yesterday, we were cruising home in the Luxobeater V.3 (black on black '05 Mercedes S500 4Matic) and parked in a local diner parking lot where used cars are frequently sold from, I spy a dark metallic blue '02 Avalanche and point it out to SWMBO who tells me to check it out so today, I stopped by for a closer look.

The white marker on the windshield says "Inspected $5,500" ... right in my wheelhouse.

As fate would have it, the seller is coming out of the diner on his way to his daily driver and sees me looking at it. He tells me he buys and sells them, one owner, yada but it has over 200K on the odometer. 210K to be exact.

I look it over and it is stunningly nice for its age and miles and I really mean it. The paint is glossy and the clearcoat is intact, no stupid dents or rust (even on the frame), a few small scratches, headlights are fog free and the plastic roll bar over the bed needs a color redo but is in fine shape. He fires it up with no weird noises so I hop behind the wheel and we go for a spin. No issues other than a small groaning noise in the left front suspension and the steering feels very light but not at all loose.

The cloth interior has a few stains but no rips or any visible signs of wear. It's obvious that this truck was well taken care of for all of its life.

It's a 4WD, 5.3 V8, tow package (as much as you could expect from the factory in '02 with no tow mirrors or brake controller) with the off road suspension and fairly glitzed up in the cabin, again, for the era. It even has side air bags (Takata, no doubt).

Maximum Towing Capacity is 8100 lbs and the wheelbase is 130 inches.

I was concerned about the miles but there is high praise for the engine and the overall reliability of the truck in general so maybe that's not much of an issue. More of a bargaining chip, I'd say.

The wheelbase is a full 12" shorter than the Silverado it would be replacing. Is this an issue for pulling a 2003 T-1950? What I've read here via several searches suggest that it will not but maybe someone will weigh in with an opinion.

I really wanted a 3/4 ton vehicle but this just looks like manna from heaven so I'm seriously considering it.

Other than that...it's an Avalanche. It, along with the Honda Ridgeline have always seemed to me to be the ultimate in useless trucks until recently. I found that I rarely needed the full bed capacity of the Silverado over the years that I owned it except when I loaded it up for the aforementioned tent camping trips. I've come to realize that my days of needing to REGULARLY haul 4X8 sheets of plywood have passed. If the occasional need arises once every two years or so, the silly thing converts to an 8 foot enclosed bed so I'm not really giving anything up,

OTOH, the daughters were not keen on putting their kids in the back seat of the Silverado. The Avalanche, however, seems to be tailor made for that sort of usage.

And the styling has grown on me over the years.

So what do you think?

[Digmenow]

Well...never mind. I talked to several of the local mechanics that I deal with (different guys for different vehicles) and they all said "too many miles" unless it could be verified that the transmission/timing chain/etc. had been replaced.

Like one guy said, "When you go camping, you're out for a good time. You don't want to be dealing with a smoking trans or a knocking engine."

I told the seller that I'd pass and it's probably for the best as he has someone coming to look at it later today.

[enormiss]

I have an excursion and love it, mines a 7.3 diesel but I've not heard many complaints about the v10 except for fuel milage.

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by enormiss

I have an excursion and love it, mines a 7.3 diesel but I've not heard many complaints about the v10 except for fuel milage.

The V10 does love to rev, but for towing a large load, it needs the proper gearing. My 3.73 does struggle with my 286. I'd much prefer diesel if given the choice.

On the other hand, it's a beautiful combo for my 2653.

[BenB]

I personally love the Avalanche as my camping tow vehicle. Its great to put all the firewood, chairs and other sometimes dirty camping stuff in the bed and still have a full 4 door cab for people or other stuff. Comes with heavy duty bed mat, hard cover, and locking tailgate and side tool boxes from the factory. Most had a roof rack which was a factory option, which I needed or would have to add to a truck for our kayak. And when I'm not camping I can pickup 4x8 sheets of plywood that are transported out of the elements (Im usually buying high grade plywood for cabinets)

I do have a 3/4 ton version and they all came with the 8.1L so I never have a lack of power and it pulls our T264SR or anything else I put back there great. That being said a 1/2 ton with your T1950 and a probably setup hitch should be no problem. I would probably have passed on one with 210k miles as well not knowing the history. As with any older some maintenance may (probably will) be required, trust me I know.

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