What is the towing capacity for a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500?

Answer 1

For a 1500 2wd w/ 3.73 gearing-7800lbs, w/ 4.10 gears-8800lbs. If it is a 4wd w/ 3.73 gears-7600lbs, 4wd w/ 4.10 gears-8600lbs. Vehicle gearing is indicated by vehicle RPO codes, which are on a sticker in the glove box. It is a sticker with many 3 digit codes. If you see a GT4 you have 3.73 gears. If you see a GT5 you have 4.10 gears. But you cannot just go hook up to one of the above numbers and start pulling. You must also watch GVWR. Gross vehicle weight rating. It is on a sticker in the drivers door jamb. If your truck is rated for 6600 lbs GVWR, then the weight of the truck, plus passengers, luggage, and the tongue weight added by the trailer must not exceed this number. You should figure 10-12 percent of trailer weight as tongue weight. So a 4000 lbs trailer yields 400-480 lbs of tongue weight. If your truck has a weight of 5000 lbs (with fuel) and you put 1000 lbs of people and luggage in it, and have a 4000 lb trailer with a tongue weight of 480 lbs. You will total 6480 lbs GVW. So pulling the 4000 lbs is fine. But if you tried to pull 6200 lbs (which would put 620 lbs minimum on the hitch of the Suburban) you would exceed the 6600 lbs GVWR and the capacity of the Suburban. You also need to ensure the trailer has functioning brakes.