Looking for opinions on Suburban 2500 4x4

[Critter]

Anybody own a 2007+ Suburban/Yukon XL 2500 4x4? What is the get-up-and-go like with a 6000# load? Thinking about getting one for pulling our boat and being an in general "family vehicle". I really wish the 6.2L from the Escalade/Denali was available in the 2500 but it's not (or even better the Duramax!). It's sad, but nowadays 352hp/382ft*lbs doesn't sound like all that much in a 6500# vehicle. Anybody used one of these to tow with?

[ARAMP1]

Originally Posted by Critter

Anybody own a 2007+ Suburban/Yukon XL 2500 4x4? What is the get-up-and-go like with a 6000# load? Thinking about getting one for pulling our boat and being an in general "family vehicle". I really wish the 6.2L from the Escalade/Denali was available in the 2500 but it's not (or even better the Duramax!). It's sad, but nowadays 352hp/382ft*lbs doesn't sound like all that much in a 6500# vehicle. Anybody used one of these to tow with?

I picked up a 2011 3/4 ton, 4x4 Yukon XL two months ago. Had to special order it, so I checked off ever option except for roof clearance lights and 1-ton tow mirrors (it's the wife's daily driver and she didn't want them.) If we could have gotten it in Denali, I would have. But, it's loaded, so I'm not worried about it. We just had twins, so we needed something to haul around not just the kids, but their boatload of stuff. I got the 3/4 ton mostly for the heavier duty aspect of it, but when I move next, I'll be towing that GTO that's behind it in the picture. As of right now, I've got 2000 miles on it with three 12 hour long trips in it and it's great. I haven't towed anything with it. I definitely wish we could have gotten a Dmax in it.

[Critter]

Sounds like you're in about the same boat as my group. We just had a little boy and we have 2 boxer dogs that go a lot of places with us. We would actually be ordering basically the identical vehicle that you have there, fully loaded GMC either black or maybe silver. We currently have a 2008 Escalade (regular body, same size as a tahoe) and we can't get all our crap in it including dogs without a hitch basket. With it's engine and rear air bag setup the escalade pulls our wake board boat no problem, but it's 2wd and slips sometimes on slick boatramps. We could probably get by with a GMC Denali XL 4wd/Awd, but I REALLY want the 3/4 ton suspension.

I'm scared to ask, have you checked your mpg yet? I'm guessing 12-14???

[ARAMP1]

Originally Posted by Critter

I'm scared to ask, have you checked your mpg yet? I'm guessing 12-14???

I'm getting around 12-14 in town. On the long trips, I was getting mid 16s. That's running 80-90 mph and stopping 3 times for an hour each to feed the boys where the engine was running for a lot of that hour. I suspect that if I did the speed limit and didn't stop, I'd be well into the 17s maybe even low 18s.

[Critter]

That's encouraging! Thanks for the info.

[ARAMP1]

No worries man, if anything else comes up or you have any more questions, PM me.