Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

[aheusel]

The Suburban has the tow package and is rated to tow up to 7700 lbs. The boats dry weight is 6700 lbs and loaded with fuel and water will add another 1000 lbs. The trailer w/ surge brakes is most likely 1200 lbs putting the whole package over 9000 lbs. I only plan on towing no more than 3 miles each way and probably no faster than 40 mph on relatively flat roads. Any opinions, will this cause and damage?

 

[tommays]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

IT will be fine except for burning up your transmission AND the complete lack of ability to STOP when somebody else does something STUPID<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[burp]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Why the..."AND the complete lack of ability to STOP"??? He states the trailer has surge brakes.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

I'm with Tom,.......<br /><br />You Need a Bigger Truck.......

 

[JB]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Ditto Tom and Bondo.<br /><br />Towing that rig only 3 miles and 40mph is like trying to be just a little bit pregnant.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

And most auto accidents occur within that range of home.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

it's time for a 4 door dually, 4 wheel drive.

 

[milkyway]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

You are exceeding the towing capacity of your truck. You won't be covered by the factory warranty if you break anything, you know that. And if something happens on the road, your vehicle and liability insurance will not pay up. It will cost you a lot if a third party gets injured. Worth the risk?

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Is that trailer weight and estimate or a fact? Just asking because a EZ Loader 7000# capacity trailer weighs in at over 2000#.

 

[brine]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

The road being relatively flat is good.....but I have never yet seen a flat boat ramp. Good luck sucking that rig out of the water!!

 

[anyfishlldo]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Way too much for that 'burban IMHO.<br /><br />The 7,700 tow limit is the MAX (not what the vehicle is "comfortable" towing), and I prefer not to max out a vehicle towing, 9,000 puts you almost 40% over the max. It could make for a very scary tow experience, and a high pucker factor.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

From your Suburban rating, it sounds like you have a 3/4T with a 3.73 rear end.<br /><br />I would think you are fine for how you are going to be towing. If you had the 4.1 rear end you would be rated for 9500#. You would still have the same brakes and same transmission so stopping is not the issue.

 

[Speedwagon]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Wow. A lot of factors go into a tow rating. And the last time I was looking for brakes on my truck, they didn't ask me if it had a tow package. So as best I know, they don't upgrade brakes in a tow package.<br /><br />Which would mean a Suburban's brakes are the same, regardless of options on them. And since a Suburban is NOT a small vehicle, it shouldn't have a hard time stopping a boat that heavy. A 2500 Suburban can tow UP TO 12,000 LBS! 9,000 is 1.5 tons less than that, so if it is a 2500, it should stop that 9000 lb load just fine!<br /><br />C'mon guys. Let's not jump down his throat without knowing the whole equation. If it's rated to to 7700lbs, then the ONLY given, is that it won't like getting 9,000lbs rolling.<br /><br />

From Edmunds.com, for 2004:<br />With 8,400 pounds of tow capacity, the half-ton Suburban 1500 isn't the baddest on the block when it comes to pulling trailers, but its combination of reasonably stout towing capacity and tons of passenger/cargo space make it a "go to" vehicle for families on the tow. If you're willing to step up to the burlier, three-quarter-ton 2500 model, you'll be able to pull loads of up to 12,000 pounds.

 

[tommays]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

You cant have ever seen a BIG Searay or Glastron geting towed and say that <br /><br />The wind resistance is huge compared to anyting else you might tow and the abilty to pack the extra weight of all the stuff your going to bring for all the people adds up to a lot more than people think <br /><br /><br />Bruce i am fairly sure that he does NOT have the state of the art brake system that you have<br /><br />

<br /><br />tommays

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Have towed a 27 foot bayliner with a 3/4T suburban 4.1 axle. And that was in and out of Tahoe!<br /><br />Not a problem!<br /><br />Remember...he is going 3 miles!

 

[anyfishlldo]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

You're right. No way he will ever take that boat to another lake.<br /><br /><br />And I still haven't heard him confirm that's a 3/4 ton, if it's a 1/2 ton that's still the 5.3L as opposed to the 6.0L. The tow rating for a 1/2 ton burb is approx. 8K which is closer to what he says he is rated for as well.<br /><br /><br />He asked for opinions and got them, I don't think anyone was rude. The bottom line is it's his boat and his truck and he can do whatever he likes with them.<br /><br />That being said; were I in his shoes I would look for a bigger tow rig. But then again, I bought a friggin Duramax to tow a 19 ft. boat.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

The specs that GM puts on towing have always been a little strange. Do you realize that a 1/2T Suburban has a lower towing rating than a Tahoe with the same engine and gear ratio?<br /><br />They calculate a gross combined vehicle weight based on axle ratio.

 

[Speedwagon]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Originally posted by anyfishlldo:<br /> You're right. No way he will ever take that boat to another lake.<br /><br /><br />And I still haven't heard him confirm that's a 3/4 ton, if it's a 1/2 ton that's still the 5.3L as opposed to the 6.0L. The tow rating for a 1/2 ton burb is approx. 8K which is closer to what he says he is rated for as well.<br /><br /><br />He asked for opinions and got them, I don't think anyone was rude. The bottom line is it's his boat and his truck and he can do whatever he likes with them.<br /><br />That being said; were I in his shoes I would look for a bigger tow rig. But then again, I bought a friggin Duramax to tow a 19 ft. boat.

No, not rude. But almost everyone is telling him he needs a bigger truck. And you really don't get much bigger than a Suburban.<br /><br />And all he might need, is a new rear end. A lot cheaper than a whole new truck, and can make a world of difference. IMHO, too many variables in a GM vehicle to make an accurate opinion on what he needs, without knowing what he has.

 

[anyfishlldo]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

Agreed. I will stick by my statement that a half ton is pushing it though, if it is a 3/4 ton, then that 9K lb. limit makes all the difference in the world.<br /><br /><br />As far as "big", the physical size of the vehicle is irrelevant (long wheelbase helps), its the frame strength, HP, torque, gearing and braking ability. A Nissan Titan will smoke a 1/2 ton suburban as far as towing and it's much smaller with a smaller displacement engine.<br /><br /><br />At any rate it all is going to boil down to what he's comfortable with. In my opinion just because you can tow it doesn't mean you should tow it, but I don't live at sea level nor do I have any flat land close by.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Towing 270 Sea Ray with 2004 Suburban?

A Nissan Titan will smoke a 1/2 ton suburban as far as towing and it's much smaller with a smaller displacement engine.

Uumm, I thought Titans had 5.6 liter engines? 1/2 Burbs have 5.3. So that's not smaller.<br />Oh, and Nissan Titan King cab has a 139.8 wheelbase, a 2006 Sub 1500 has 130. King cab is 228 inches long, Burb is 219. <br />So in math terms we have:<br />Titan versus Suburban<br />5.6 greater than 5.3<br />139 greater than 130<br />228 greater than 219<br /><br />So how is a Titan smaller than a Burb??? <br /><br />google is a wonderful way to check facts before making erroneous statements, don't you think?<br /><br />If the original poster knows the true specs of his truck and the boat on the trailer, it would be nice if he shared them with us. I would think a 3/4 ton Burb would handle the job, I might be a little concerned about a 1/2 ton. But I'd have to see/feel it tow for myself.