A very gracious sister has offered me a 2007 Suburban, with no strings attached. I will be evaluating my retirement plan of towing a RV trailer with it. At some point, I may decide I would rather have a Class A for $4 million, but for a while, I'm thinking I can get by renting a trailer on www.outdoorsy.com.

Anyway, for those with some RV and Suburban experience, what would you check, change, maintain, refine, update...on a gift horse?

I will need to replace a few radio knobs, and possibly a few climate control buttons, but they have spent thousands on the truck recently to keep it updated.

How many miles and is it a half-ton or 3/4 ton suburban? Does it have a trailer tow package? You’ll probably want to use the tow/haul mode on the transmission, and if the transmission hasn’t been serviced, you might want to have that done. If it doesn’t have a trailer tow package, I’d consider having a transmission cooler installed.

Looks like it has trailer package (waiting on list of RPO). Transmission has been serviced, based on receipts I have seen. Also recent tires, interior leather refinished, and a few other major expenses that Engineer 4MUL8R would likely have declined at the service writer desk. But, probably these are somewhat beneficial maintenance items.

07 should be the 4AT trans (4L60) & pre-AFM (cylinder deactivation), I can't recall the part that tends to wear out on the AFM motors. So one less problem to worry about.

How are the brakes and tires? Was it used for towing by your sister? If so, what is the hitch rated for and what kind of electrical connection? The tires not so much for tread but for weight carrying capacity. Here in upstate New York where a lot of salt is dumped on the roads, a lot of GM light trucks have brake lines rust away. Mileage doesn't seem to matter as much as time.

Hasn’t been a 3/4 suburban for years.
But, yeah, a tow package would be nice. Usually that gets you a bigger radiator, bigger trans cooler, receiver hitch, and a heavy duty flasher. Heck, I’d want those options even I weren’t going to tow with it.
2 wheel or 4 wheel drive?

OK first a suburban is one of the most simple vehicles. So Make sure the one you have is OK for the load you want to tow. If that's fine any good mechanic can evaluate the basic issues. Most likely someone who kept it updated will not have the classic issues. For towing the things to specifically ask about are brakes including pads, rotors, lines etc. Suspension parts specifically in the front end, idlers, ball joints, etc.
These trucks have other issues, but I would not consider doing anything about those in advance.
There is not much to fear here.

Actually a GMT900 3/4 ton is still a possibility. They built them for the public until 2013 and they can still be purchased as a fleet vehicle.

Now that we have that out of the way. Even a 1/2 ton will do pretty well. Make sure the heater core connectors are replaced as they like to let go at really inconvenient times.

How many miles are on it? I wouldn’t tow at the limits of its rating as they don’t like it very much. Our 2008 tows pretty well up to about 6k anything above that and we use the diesel excursion. Our suburban has 319k relatively trouble free miles on it and we like it very much.

Add the VIN and see the window sticker with the factory options:

https://removeandreplace.com/2...ndow-sticker-online/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sunburn,

I would highly suggest upgrading your shocks and struts to Bilstein 4600s

It's in Ft Myers. No salt from day one. Original owner. One crash reported with damage to the Suburban bumper.

Looking at the various VIN decoding sites, there is a lot of confusion. Some say it is an LS, when it is badged and optioned as LT. Some say it has 16 inch tires, when it has 20 inch tires and option QSS. It was sold to my sister by a dealer client and has all sorts of options, based on the extensive RPO list. No question from RPO that it is LT, with RPO SLT.

The RPO list I have shows that it does have AFM, option LC9, but I know how to deactivate this "feature" as we do it all the time at work for our test vehicles.

I like the idea of Bilstein 4600HD shocks. I put those on my 2002 Silverado.

I'm thinking that it is tow-rated for 7K, with option VR4 as a clue. I plan to tow smaller trailers. First, I will rent trailer for mulch. Then, an enclosed box trailer and practice in the parking lot. Then, a small camper trailer (maybe a popup). Then, a short camper, say, 21 feet. I will max out at 5K, I think, to avoid stress.

 
I towed a 24ft travel trailer (bumper hitch) from MD to AZ when we first started our move out here. It definitely needs the load-leveling type of hitch. Made it just fine, but it was a bit anemic going up steep grades. And in Southern NM, the heavy winds made me feel like I was towing a sail. I could barely maintain 50mph. 2003 4wd 1/2 ton Suburban with towing package. I suppose it depends on your intended use, but that was my experience.

quote:

Hasn’t been a 3/4 suburban for years.

Here’s a long list of used 2500 Series Suburbans for sale:


https://www.autoblog.com/cars-...model1-Suburban+2500

There was definitely a 2500 Suburban offered in 2007, which was the year the OP is asking about. I have an 03 1500 with the tow package, and it has been an excellent vehicle, and has close to 380,000 miles on it now. I've owned that one for about 6 years, and also an '01 Silverado for the last 10 years.

Most of the issues with these trucks have already been discussed in this thread, but I'll summarize what I've seen on mine and other similar-age Chevy Trucks.

1. Water pumps. I've had to replace them in both my '01 Silverado and my '03 Suburban. The LS motors didn't change much between '03 and '07, so I imagine this would be something to watch for. It's not a terrible job...I did my truck in about an hour in my garage, and the Suburban in an autozone parking lot mid-roadtrip in Oregon. Parts were less than $200, including new hoses and thermostat, IIRC.

2. Brake Line Rust. If you're from anywhere they use salt check for this. My Suburban came from Houston, TX, so it's still pretty clean underneath, but my '01 Silverado and my Brother's '99 both needed all the lines replaced. I did it myself for less than $100 in parts, but it sucked, and would likely cost a LOT more to have a shop do it. A common place for them to go bad is along the frame rail right below the firewall, and back along the frame by the gas tank.


3. Dash Clusters. Backlights go out so you can't read the gear indicator. I replaced that one with a Doorman reman from O'Reileys, and then that one started freaking out, switching through languages and displays. Thankfully the Doorman had a lifetime warranty, so they replaced it for a free about a month back...we'll see how long this one lasts.

4. Heater Core Connectors. The quick-couplers that connect the heater core to the hoses right at the firewall are plastic. This gets brittle and breaks at really inopportune times. The ones on my truck blew out pulling into my driveway one day...I just cut them off and hose clamped the rubber straight to the metal plumbing of the heater core. That has worked fine for years. I bought some replacement fittings for the Suburban and keep them in the vehicle just in case.

5. HVAC blend doors. Had to replace a couple of these...kind of a PITA, but only took an hour or two and some scraped up forearms. I managed to do it without pulling the dash. IMO the fancy automated HVAC system is overcomplicated, and I prefer the basic system in my truck. Wife likes being able to set her own temps, as I apparently like it too cold.

6. Heated seats stopped working. I just left them not working. Wife complains. I don't care.

Other than my wife driving it into things and blowing a transmission line (improperly clamped by a previous owner), then driving it until it stopped...effectively destroying a perfectly good transmission, I've not had any other issues with the Suburban over that least 150,000 miles.

I will say that while the LS motor is very reliable, it's no powerhouse, especially the 5.3. If you're going to be towing a trailer, you'd probably be happier with the 6.0L or the 8.1L if you can get it. We've pulled a 2500Lb trailer all over the country with the Suburban, and while does ok on the flats, it struggled in the Rockies, and downshifts a lot on hills.

My truck has the 6.0L with a 4.10 rear-end, and tows better than the Suburban, but gets about 10mpg whether you're towing or not. I hear the 8.1, back when they offered it, got similar mpg to the 6.0L, but with way more torque. The Suburban, with a 5.3L and 3.73 rear-end, gets 18mpg highway unloaded, and 12mpg pulling a 6x12 enclosed trailer.

I just traded off my 2010 LT with 112K miles on it. Has been a good vehicle overall. But, about a year and a half ago (at about 103K miles) I had an issue with a valve lifter (cylinder deactivation) that ended up cratering my camshaft. I elected to have it fixed at the time to the tune of about 5K figuring I could get at least another year out of it and defer writing a 50K+ check for a new vehicle. Lately it has been "spooky" so I went ahead and got rid of it.

Had the tow package and my current boat/trailer and related load probably hits 12K boat 8K, trailer 2K, eq est 2K). I don't have to tow this load very often and not very far. I have a "weight distributing" hitch which allowed it to pull that much. It would tow it but, that load was "all it wanted" for sure. Under 10K with a weight dist hitch, you should be OK IMO. W/O the weight dist hitch, the rear suspension would bottom out.

Previous boat/trailer/ancillary equipment was about 6K and the truck would pull that with a full crew in the vehicle 80 MPH all day long (towed as much as 7K miles a year on the regatta circuit). Never an issue.

Depending on mileage, you may want to have the 4WD (if 4WD) and front end inspected for wear.

I liked mine but replaced it with a PU with more towing capacity as the Suburban was maxed out on what I have to tow. And, I was afraid the repaired motor was going to puke any day on me.

Thank you all for continuing the flow of info. It is a 1/2 ton.
1. Definitely will disable the AFM or DOD feature. I have a connection who can directly access the PCM and turn that off.
2. Will be replacing axle fluids front and rear at my employer shop. Will use a new fluid I formulated that is bulletproof.
3. Will be doing a series of drains and refills on the transmission with the new DEX IX formulation at the proper viscosity for the 2007.
4. Will be replacing the T-Case fluid.
5. Likely to recondition the missing radio and climate control button covers, as I hear these are available. Also will replace the missing radio control knobs.
6. I'll begin my Mobil 1 regimen in the crankcase.

My biggest "problem" if you can call it that will be what to do with a very fine 2006 Buick LaCrosse CXS with the DOHC 3.6L. 115K miles, and ready for more.

I believe AFM/DOD came in 09 or so, so it shouldn't be an issue for you.

quote:

Originally posted by sunburn:
Add the VIN and see the window sticker with the factory options:

https://removeandreplace.com/2...ndow-sticker-online/

I tried the link on 2 different vehicles and all I got was the opportunity to buy a window sticker for $8.95. No thanks.

I have the 8.1L 2500 with 4.10 gearing and I absolutely love it. Massive power. I'll never sell it.

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:
I have the 8.1L 2500 with 4.10 gearing and I absolutely love it. Massive power. I'll never sell it.

The guy I worked with at the local Chevrolet dealer in college mentioned that people were scared of the 8.1, assuming it'd be a guzzler.
Paired with the Allison trans, he said they did better than you'd expect for the size.

Don't think it was offered in the Suburban, though.