10K possible with a 4.3 and NV3500?

[L29Sub]

How so is the Suburban stronger than a pickup? Are you saying the frame is stronger? Or the body makes the frame stronger?

You got it. The body "boxes" the frame. Pickups have a lot of flex behind the cab. Most pickups are not overloaded so no problem. The worst load for breaking pickups are slide-in campers. Heavy service bodies often have expert mods to the frame.
'Burbs have lower tow ratings, by a little, due to the body weight. As for actually pulling something, 'burb is same as pickup.
And, I'm not saying frames can't be modified. They can, but should be engineered. Welding on frames is specific to the application.
Start getting into 9 or 10k plus tag along and even 3/4 ton turns into a butt puckering, white knuckle ride. No fun.
The load matters. My 12k toy hauler has 1200 lb tongue and 12' 7" height. It pulls hard. A 10k car hauler is an easy pull comparatively.
Big loads on small trucks are downright dangerous on wet streets. My truck has a jake brake that can cause problems on slippery roads. Trailer brakes will skid on wet streets. Hi level contol boosters should be on lowest boost, or no boost on wet roads. You have to have the normal level electric brakes functioning.
8k plus and SRW trucks begin to get complicated. Most manufacturers are overstating their tow ratings. Ram 1/2 t for sure. Ford and their tiny turbo crap is another.
Most thinking people who drive something described as overloaded will sense that it's dangerous. Some few must find out the hard way.
BTW, 454 L29 was found in a few spec Suburban 800s in 2000. Some fleet owners didn't want 8.1s. Unsure why.
One of the friendliest tow engines (IMHO) and great for daily driver was the 6.0 with Allison or 4l80. Allison is slick.
Cheers.


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[alpinecrick]

Body over frame adds rigidity to the overall structure. Like building a roll cage the 3rd dimension(height) adds strength by triangulating and tying it all together along its length. Pickup with a cab and box is not tied together and less rigid. Most times you can see the frame twist and the cab mis-align with the bed just from jacking up one corner.

But......the Suburban body is sitting on rubber body mounts. Any increase in strength from a full length rigid body will be mostly negated (but not entirely) by the rubber flexing. Bent frames bend only slightly from loads (as opposed to impact). If there is any increase in rigidity with a Suburban, it's going to be a very small increase.

The bed of a pickup is bolted directly to the frame, making the back half of the frame quite rigid--which means if the frame is going to bend on a pickup it will be in the "weak link" between the cab and bed--which is where bent frames usually happen on trucks. A pickup is a lot more likely to be overloaded, or a very heavy load dropped into the bed, than a Suburban encounters.

As far as towing something heavy the small difference in the frame rigidity between the two is unlikely to make a difference.

 

[alpinecrick]

There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.

Will Rogers

Growing up on a ranch, I was well aware of electric fences. We used to convince any new kids to pee on the fence......it was hysterical.

Another trick was us kids would hold hands and tell the new kid at the end to push his finger into the ground, while the kid at the other end grabbed the electric wire......that was hysterical too.......

 

[L29Sub]

There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.

Will Rogers

By God they'll only pee on the fence once...[emoji33]
Short learning curve.

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[Supercharged111]

^^ This

Light 2500's, 3.5 in height frame, 7200GVWR
Hd 2500, 5 inch height frame, 8600GVWR

You must be talking about the front most section of frame, right? The difference in the mid section and rear is 3/16" vs 1/4" on an ECSB. All that said, I've been pulling a ~8500# enclosed trailer behind my 1500 for many years. While it still has a 1500 frame, make no mistake that the rest of the truck is NOT 1500 material. It out brakes my dually. I recently got my flipper crew cab dually road worthy. It's a 454/4L80 truck. It's a TURD. I thought it was broke, so I let a fellow GMT400 owner drive it. He has TBI and Vortec trucks in 1500 and 2500 configuration. He said that truck had more power than any of his. I tossed him the keys to my 1500 and he couldn't believe how it performed. When my truck was stock, not only was it gutless AF but also super sketchy with anything more than 5000# hooked to it. Such is not the case with how it sits now, but it didn't get there overnight and I would have preferred to have started with a 2500. I couldn't find an 8 lug ECSB to save my life so I nabbed a 1500 and have been upgrading ever since. That said, my dually with a 5000# camper in the bed and 4 foot hitch extension wobbles less than the beefed up 1500. Good luck with building the slowest tow rig ever.

 

[Hipster]

But......the Suburban body is sitting on rubber body mounts. Any increase in strength from a full length rigid body will be mostly negated (but not entirely) by the rubber flexing. Bent frames bend only slightly from loads (as opposed to impact). If there is any increase in rigidity with a Suburban, it's going to be a very small increase.

The bed of a pickup is bolted directly to the frame, making the back half of the frame quite rigid--which means if the frame is going to bend on a pickup it will be in the "weak link" between the cab and bed--which is where bent frames usually happen on trucks. A pickup is a lot more likely to be overloaded, or a very heavy load dropped into the bed, than a Suburban encounters.

As far as towing something heavy the small difference in the frame rigidity between the two is unlikely to make a difference.

It might be a small amount but it's definitely noticeable even when jacking them up or putting them on a lift. The rubber mounted the bushings are located and the body smoked down so it's not a free for all slip and slide.

In a collision with a pickup the bed will almost always hit the cab and I've seen more then just a few with buckled bed floors and frame rails. A burb has unisides and floor pans through the kick up area where the pick up has nothing so the damage usually stays further back on a burb. Put a 1500 on a post lift and the cab/box gap open up. Burbs don't flex near as much.

 

[Supercharged111]

It might be a small amount but it's definitely noticeable even when jacking them up or putting them on a lift. The rubber mounted the bushings are located and the body smoked down so it's not a free for all slip and slide.

In a collision with a pickup the bed will almost always hit the cab and I've seen more then just a few with buckled bed floors and frame rails. A burb has unisides and floor pans through the kick up area where the pick up has nothing so the damage usually stays further back on a burb. Put a 1500 on a post lift and the cab/box gap open up. It doesn't happen with a burbs don't flex near as much.

Not to mention that it's all 1 piece with an SUV. I imagine they must ride so much nicer even with the shorter leaf packs. My crew cabs ride way better than my 1500 on 2500 springs. I can't decide if it's cab rigidity or frame rigidity that's to blame. The crew cabs have 5/16" thick frames, the thickest the GMT400 trucks got not counting the HD.

 

[Hipster]

Good luck with building the slowest tow rig ever.

I'm not the one trying to build a 1500,4.3. 10k puller but it sure sounds like your trying to talk me out of it. lol

 

[Supercharged111]

I'm not the one trying to build a 1500,4.3. 10k puller but it sure sounds like your trying to talk me out of it. lol

LOL naw, just kinda mashed 2 posts into 1.

 

[Hipster]

LOL naw, just kinda mashed 2 posts into 1.

I'll drink to that. lol