Towing with lifted burban?????

[Chaz]

Dont kno where to post this question but can I SAFELY tow with my lifted 1989 Suburban,,,V2500 5.7 TH400 4.88gears 35in tires,,,its got blocks on the rear,,no rear sway bar,,,,about a 6 inch suspension lift only,,,,

Id like to get a travel trailer for camping,,,,not a huge one,,,,under 20 feet,,,,

I know it was built for off road wheelin,,,,which it does extremely well,,,

Im strongly considering a th400 to 4L80E swap to get the overdrive gear for the highway but before I go ahead with that I need to know if im gonna be able to tow with this monster,,,,,,

 

[jake wells]

tow as is just nothing over 18 ft

 

[bucket]

Mine's a 4 inch and 33's, it tows wonderful (other than the lack of a big block). A slightly higher lift and slightly bigger tire shouldn't matter.

 

[skysurfer]

I was surprised at how much farther I have to bury my foot in the accelerator when I'm towing the pontoon. The 5.7 works really hard pushing a barn door shaped truck through the air while pulling a barn door shaped boat.

Even if you had an od trans, I doubt you would see 4th gear while towing.

 

[X-cabsquarebody]

Bet careful when going into corners with a bigger, heavy, trailer. Towing with a lifted truck is ok but handles a little different. I tow my tractor on a 16 foot trailer, with a Full size Jeep, 4" lift on 35s. 60 and 70 mph, no problem. I pile it into a corner at speed,,,, hand full! Be careful you'll be fine.

 

[Chaz]

Cool,,,,I heard some horror stories bout lifted trucks rollin over while towin,,,,always thought I could to with it,,,,

With the gears i have now it screams down the hwy at 65,,,like 3k rpms,,,I really need that 4th gear

 

[shiftpro]

Put 33's on for towing. This is by far the very best thing you can do followed by lowering your suspension. You could remove or reduce those lift blocks too... if you towed through
anything soft like sand or snow or loam there would be axle wrap issues. By the looks of your rig and where it's parked I would venture to imagine you yarding your trailer through all kinds of hell and back so I urge you to think about your setup.

 

[bucket]

There are a LOT of variables, it's not fair to label all lifts as unstable for use while towing. My lifted 4x4 Burb is actually MORE stable while towing than my low to the ground 2wd Burb.

I think the biggest factor is tires. Not the size, but more the construction and their width in relation to the width of the rim.

 

[shiftpro]

I think with a moderately lifted truck it would be more stable than a stock truck. As Mr. Bucket said it's the tires but also aftermarket lift springs and decent shocks give a much more stable (ok, stiff!) ride with less body sway than stock original suspension. Then factor in wide tires and even with a higher center of gravity we end up with a more stable platform.
My concern with Chaz's truck is the big lift and lift blocks in the rear. Axle wrap is bad enough but put some weight in the show like a trailer and watch out!

 

[bucket]

Mine has 4 inch lift blocks and is stable. Most 6 inch kits usually have a 4 inch block too, they just include an add-a-leaf to get the full 6 inches.