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AV 1500 vs 2500

D

donh

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May 20, 2004
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I currently have a 1999 Suburban 1500 and I am considering a 2004 Avalanche instead of another Suburban. I tow a 31' Airstream with my 1999 Suburban and have traveled from coast to coast and up to higher elevations such as Flagstaff and Durango with no problems. Will I notice a huge difference in towing performance with the 2500. What about when I am not pulling a trailer.

Thanks Don
 
A 2500 with the 8.1L will pull almost anything, anywhere. You will definitely see a difference/gain in acceleration, braking. When you are pulling anything you will also see a big difference/gain in acceleration. The ride should be the same if not better from my experience. Hope this helps and welcome aboard!
 
just remember the sacrifice is the mileage... I'm getting 10.7 around town on the average.

I wouldn't trade it for nuttin'
 
donh said:
Will I notice a huge difference in towing performance with the 2500.

Thanks Don
Click to expand...
I had a 1500 AV before that I towed with, get the 2500 (y)

Terry
 
Although I have a 1500 without regret, I rarely tow and if so, likely a light weight load.

What you have simply justifies a 2500. Even though a 1500 with 4:10's would work, several owners here have had both and speak well of the 2500's capabilities.

BTW, Welcome!
 
Since gas mileage was mentioned, thought I'd chime in with my .02. I have gotten as high as in the 14's in my 2500 and nothing lower than 10 even pulling 8000 pounds. Only mod related to performance I've made is changing to performance (loud!) muffler with dual all the way out. The time I got over 14 mpg was on a trip to Colorado going through mountains. Whenever I see 1500 owners mention getting as high as 20+, I question myself a little about choosing the 2500, but I think I've seen just as many if not more 1500 owners mention getting around 15 mpg. Then I'm ecstatic about my choice!
 
Here is my .01 (uncle sam has the other half).

Before my Av I had a 98 Z71 Silverado, 1500. I towed a 25 ft fifth wheel, I think it was somewhere between 5600 and 7000 lbs....anyway. The 1500 did a decent job hauling it from Portland to the coast however, when we went from here to Colorado it was way underpowered for the trip, there were times when I hit a headwind and with it floored I was barely able to go 55. If you tow, you owe it to yourself to have the HP to pull it no matter the circumstances. As far as gas mileage, speaking from experience, in a 1500 you get worse gas mileage when towing, that is one of the benefits of a 2500. I have a 1500 now, but no longer tow anything other than a utility trailer, even though I love it, if I decided to get a travel trailer I wouldn't consider anything less than a 2500.

Robert
 
your milage will probably be better when towing with the 2500 rather than the 1500 when you have a load because the 2500 won't have to work as hard. You could also get the 3:73 gear ratio and have a better cruising speed. In the end you will be better off with the 2500.

gslim
 
fly nAVy said:
first off, welcome donh (y)

secondly...YES! I pulled a 7500# trailer of wood with the truck loaded to 7960# going up a 8% grade...I was using the passing lane to go around slower traffic and still had plenty of pedal left >:D
Click to expand...

Guess, were not to "stuffy" now :rolleyes:
 
if you are pulling something that large i would go with the 2500 as well. as mentioned before you will notice a difference in performance. as far as ride goes from my expereince i would say the ride will not be as smooth as the Subs' ride. however, when you load your trailer onto that 2500 it will smooth the ride out something nice.
 
If you can afford to buy an Avalanche in the fist place go for the 2500 regardless. The power difference is big. I had in the past a 98' Tahoe and now a 2500 Avy, and the power is unbelievably different. I pull my 8000 pound boat all the time and can hardly feel it back there.

Some people will argue that the gas mileage is clost to or even the same on the GM's 5.3's, 6.1's and the 8.1's, but like I said, if you can afford to purchase a 40k truck in the fist place, then gas shouldn?t be a concern.

You can't beat the power off the line at a light when you get on it too. The truck keeps pulling until you let of the gas, and the stock sound is better.

Overall, if they made the Z71 in a 6.1 it would be better, but since your only options are 5.3 and 8.1, go for the 8.1

JT
 
One thing you must do when you buy the 2500 if you live where there will be snow seasons or like to go off road, is invest in the correct track spacers for the rear tires. The stock 2500 truck has the rear axels 2.5inches shorter on each side. This makes the truck handle like an old Ford in the snow and mud, and even on the street in rain. get the spacers and the truck will track evenly and handle better. its around 300-350 for a set. its a must Mod (after the ambers of course)
 
Go for the 2500 with the 3.73 axle.

The 99 Suburban had the 350 (5.7) engine.
The new 5.3 is a higher revving but has lees torque where you need it -2400-2800 rpm.

I know, I also have a 2000 Yukon XL 1500 w/ 5.3 and a 3.73 axle;I had to put a Volant air box and HPP3 to get the power back up to an ACCEPTABLE level for towing.

avalon
 
avalonandl said:
Go for the 2500 with the 3.73 axle.

avalon
Click to expand...

Go with the 4.10's and gain 2000# in towing capacity. If not towing heavy, you will have a lot more reserve capacity and a very negligible difference in MPG, if any at all.
IMHO ;)

Have been there and done that (y)
 
We tow a 32 1/2 FT Jayco. Had a 1/2 ton sububan before & hated pulling. Have a 2500 now & pulls like a breeze. No more white knuckles.
Traz
 
I have a 1500 that I use more for commuting 70miles round trip for work and secondly for towing. I had a 3/4 Dodge that was getting 10mpg and had the option of buying my brother in laws 2500 HD quad cab Chevy w/ the 8.1 before the AV. The Chevy was loaded and had only 20K miles and he would have let me have it for his lease payoff, which was tad bit less than I paid for the AV. But I couldn't justify the extra gas consumption (especially at today's prices) for the extra towing capacity that I would use a couple of times during the year. If I was traveling coast to coast and was going to pack on the miles pulling a large travel trailer - then I would have opted for a larger truck. Considering the 1500 and 2500 would be roughly getting the same gas mileage towing (Although I was getting 14.4 pulling the travel trailer last week). The most I do is tow the travel trailer to the beach for 10 days at a time and drag the quads / sleds around. But it?s that extra 5-7 mpg when going to work that swayed me towards the 1500. $45-50 a week for gas opposed to $70-80 a week.
 
2500 w/ 4.10s!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Airwolf said "Since gas mileage was mentioned, thought I'd chime in with my .02. I have gotten as high as in the 14's in my 2500 and nothing lower than 10 even pulling 8000 pounds. " How the #$@%%&^% do you manage that? My TT goes around 8000 pounds, I tow at 72 mph, and get 6 mpg. I'm not complaining about my mpg at all; I'm just curious how you manage that (actually, I even have a hard time believing it).
 
Having the fortune of owning both the ?02 1500 and a ?04 2500 when it comes to towing the big boy has it all over the 5.3.

The ? ton AVY is the way to go if you?re towing anything over 5K lbs. While pulling my 8500 lbs RV trailer, both vehicles got about the same gas mileage but OH! the power remaining in the 8.1.

8.1 mucho pull. nina mileage. Mega grins :love:

2-me
 
The Av 2500 is one of the best trucks I have ever driven. If you don't need to run a gooseneck setup then buy an Av 2500, otherwise go spend some extra dough and pick up one of those Duramax K2500's for the goosey. nothing looks cooler than an Avalanche towing anything. and when that honda civic sitting next to you going up an 6.5% grade decides to try and floor it to look neat, and you floor it while towing 8000 pounds and pass him... ;D seriously, I wish there was a laughing smiley cause I did this the other day with some old guy in a taurus that though he was somehting. 80 - 100 going up a 6.5% grade!!! >:D
 
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