Well, my Suburban looks awesome now (at least to me it does, you all may disagree if you wish :D). Today I did about a 450 mile trip to New York and back to pick up a car I bought off of eBay. Overall, it was a decent trip. The car is exactly what I want and the transaction went smoothly. I got complimented on my truck and trailer. :) But I have come up with the following things:

1) This truck is not all that steady towing my 20' enclosed trailer, especially with a car in it. I want to upgrade the suspension as needed to improve its stability. I am wondering what is possible here. This trailer is probably about the biggest thing I will ever tow with it, but there were some parts where I was outright uncomfortable with how it was behaving. 68 mph was the comfortable limit empty and 62 mph was the comfortable limit loaded. I have about 120,000 miles of towing experience (all within the past 5 years) with trailers that are at least this size if not larger, so I am not exactly new at this. I am wondering if I can simply bolt up some 3500 series components (like leaf springs and anti-roll bars?) for an improvement. Also, what is a good shock to use with heavy towing? Right now I have some ProComp ES9000s and I have been tremendously unimpressed with them in this truck completely, so a good recommendation would be appreciated.

2) My transfer case is annoying me again! My truck has a transfer case that was purchased brand new from GM and installed about a year ago, right before the previous owner stopped driving it and then sold it to me a few months later. A about a month ago when driving to New York the transfer case started popping into neutral on downhills. I crawled underneath and found out that the bolts holding the transfer case to the transmission had come loose. One of them had fallen out. I removed the bolts, put LocTite on them, and put them back in the truck. Problem went away, and then today it started doing the same thing when I was about 75 miles from home, consistently. I haven't crawled underneath the truck yet to see if they've come loose again (that won't happen until tomorrow), but here I would like to know what the recommended torque spec is for those bolts if it turns out they are loose, and what is a good way to keep them from coming loose. I would also like to know what else I can do that would cause this? This is outright dangerous if I lose power on a mountainous road, and with a GCW of around 13,000 lbs (what I had today) that is NOT a good time to have something like this happen! Next weekend I am planning on taking it to a family reunion down in Virginia in an area that is extremely mountainous, and I am sure this will happen again if I don't find a solution.

If you are not using it, weight distribution hitch and anti sway works great.

:exactly: Even a simple WD + sway control setup will work wonders.

On the trasfer case, those bolts should be very tight. Don't know the exact torque specs, but basicly as tight as you can get them with a normal wrench.

I have never used a WD/anti sway setup before. I towed a 28' enclosed with my 3/4-ton Dodge, packed with my Lincoln Town Car and all my stuff from college, and the setup was significantly steadier than this. I am disappointed with the shocks, so I want to change those anyways, and if the 1-ton springs are different and it's just a bolt-out, bolt-in procedure, that would be worth doing as well, I think. I'd somewhat like to do those things first before attacking trailer specific items, especially since I don't know how long I will keep this trailer for. Another thing is that my truck is sagging a bit in the back. I don't like that, my Dodge didn't even sag when it had the 28' attached.

Rttoys, I may not have tightened the bolts enough. A mechanic friend had advised me not to overtighten them because of the aluminum case, so I may have been a bit too cautious. I will crawl underneath tomorrow after work and examine, and probably retighten. Man this gets old really fast. :)

A 20fter should pull like nothing behind the 2500 burb.Any chance you are tongue light? I think your trailer is probably more the problem than the truck.You need 10-12% tongue weight,I like 12+,esp,once you get WD bars.My 2500 Ram and 2500 GMC both pull my 34ft TT with great stability.I have made a few short trips betwen work and home with it,and even without the WD bars,and sway hooked up they both pull great and stable.

If you haven't put a weight distribution and anti sway set up, you don't know what you are missing out on. I wouldn't even bother with springs and such because when the Suburban is empty you will just ruin the ride quality. Put on the weight distribution and anti sway and you won't need to do anything else. Also what may factor too is the trailer axles and tires. How many pound axles are on there? I've pulled 10-12K in a 30ft v-nose enclosed car hauler with a pair of 6k axles and 10 ply tires on the trailer with a 3/4 ton Suburban with the weight distribution and anti sway and it rode and handled better with the trailer full than empty. Also consider this, if don't have the setup, you are asking for trouble if you need to make an evasive maneuver.

My Suburban is squatting with this trailer loaded, so I think I need more spring there. If anything I have too much tongue weight. Total weight of the trailer was about 6500-7000 lbs. Maybe I need some helper springs?

Ted, I have the weight dist hitch and it helps. Mine also has a spring helper, but doubt it does much. Without the weight bars the back of my truck sunk a lot, with the bars it sits level. I have a 28ft race trailer that tips the scales around 10K.

If anything I'd add an air bag to help level the load, and check to see if you have a rear sway bar, mine didn't and it has the HD towing pkg from the factory.

This is a terrible picture, but it gives you an idea...

If you have a 3/4 ton Suburban, you don't need anymore spring, you need weight distribution. Also with weight distribution you can add more tounge weight.

I agree. I think you should try the wt dist hitch and not the extra springs. Because when you not towing, you don't need that extra spring. I can tell you from someone who owns a 1ton. It rides harsh empty. I like the air bag idea as well.
What gear do you have it that truck?

It has 3.42 gears. That, combiend with the fact that I don't have the thing running at 100% power made my off-the-line acceleration a bit slow once I had the thing loaded yesterday. :) That said, it did a fine job.

Based on what you all have said, I will definitely go for the WD hitch. Dave, thanks especially for your input, having the same truck as I do and having gone through the same symptoms. Are there any suggestions for which one I should get? Also, having never used one before, how does it mount? Does it require that I remove my pintle ball setup from the receiver? If so, that will be a bit of a problem as this is pretty well rusted in place. I can take a picture of my setup if it helps.

I will check to see if I have a rear sway bar, I honestly can't remember. If I don't, would you all agree this be a good excuse for me to go buy the Addco bars that I have been eyeing anyways? :)

Thanks guys, you all are great!

I use the setup from Drawtite. But you will have to find out what the tounge weight of the trailer is. As there are a few to choose from based on tounge weight.

Also with the weight distrobution, it will level out your truck and transfer some of the weight back onto the front wheels.

I have a Draw tite as well, (1200/ 12K) shop around as prices will vary a great amount.

This is a great write up about WD bars.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/14265335.cfm

It also removed about 90% of the sway I had, now the only time the trailer moves is when an 18 wheeler passes me.

Alright, I just crawled underneath the Suburban. The bolts holding the transfer case to the transmission were really not loose. I tightened them up a bit anyway, but they really weren't loose. I noticed two things, though.

1) One of the nuts holding the transmission mount to the crossmember was missing (!!!). Gotta love whoever put this thing in.

2) I noticed when pushing on the transfer case, I could cause some twist at the mount. Not a whole lot, per se, but in my experience rubber mounts still don't allow for a any noticeable flex under forces that a standard human (or a scrawny human such as myself) can provide. How tight is this mount supposed to be, and should I consider getting a replacement? I could certainly see flex in it allowing a movement that might cause it to pop out of gear.

I also notice the shifter for the transfer case move significantly while I'm driving as torque loads change.

Advice please? :)

If it's moving that much, check your motor mounts too, maybe one of those are broken. Hood open, put it in drive, hold brake very tight, and stab the throttle. See if the engine almost jumps out of the engine compartment. Then try it in reverse for the same thing, but going downward to much.

Those trans mounts are very solid, so it shouldn't move much at all.

On the WD thing; if you have surge brakes, only some WD setups will work like a www.equal-i-zer.com if not then you can go as simple as the old chain type wd/friction sway control, Reese dual cam setup or just go for the gusto and get a Hensley-Arrow. There are many decisions to make on a WD/sway setup.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. I think I'll just order new motor mounts a new transmission mount and replace them all, then. The transmission mount being the first order of business. I'll see if that curse the problem, I have a feeling it should.

Now as to the weight distributing hitch. I've looked around and it looks like they all work with a standard ball-type hitch. I need a pintle ball, see here:

http://dallasdrivers.org/gallery/d/16382-2/hitch.JPG

Does anyone know of one that will work with this?

:eek: I thought you said pindle. Ya for a WD hitch, you'll need a standerd ball either 2 or 2 5/16 ball.

Just by looking at your picture, is the trailer level??? If so, the height of the trailer to truck is way off and will cause major control issues. Make sure, when towing, your trailer is level to 1-2" tongue down. That makes a big difference too.

Nah, the trailer is not level, but it's also not on the truck. :) I had to remove the trailer from the truck when I pulled the truck in the garage to have a look underneath. When I hook the two up to eachother, the trailer is level. The reason that my truck's pintle is at its top setting and the pintle ring on the trailer is at its bottom setting is just due to height differences between the two.

Alright, I think today I'm going to order myself a new transmission mount as well as new motor mounts and change those out. May as well, they're cheap enough and it will probably improve my ride.

So, back to my trailer. The WD hitches available use balls rather than pintles, but I don't see why the concept wouldn't work with a pintle. What about the concept of me making my own? I'd basically need chain and some heavy spring steel. I could mount it to the bottom four holes on my pintle hook mount. What say ye? :)

Get a standard 2 5/16" receiver put on the nose of the trailer ,and run WD bars. I have experiemented with my setup,and my trucks seem to handle best when you transfer enough weight to the front end to keep it within 50 lbs of the Front axle weight without the trailer.So you effectively add all the tongue weight to the rear axle,and trailer axles.I have nose heavy pickups though,a suburban may like a little added to the nose as well. Whatever you do,dont transfer too much weight,the W/D books all say 40/40/20 distribution.I tried this on my truck,and almost lost control of it,as the trailer nose was able to push the light rear truck axle around.I would spin the tires taking off at light throttle,they would chirp on the 1-2 shift easily,light throttle.I say its dangerous in most cases,as the rear axle of the truck is what controls and guides the entire weight of the trailer.If you have to swerve or make a hard transition ,the trailer can push the rear axle and make it loose traction putting you into a jackknife.Most front axles of today tow rigs are already close to there max GAWR with either big block or diesel engines,they do not need any more weight transfered to them.You want plenty of weight on the truck rear axle,without lightening the front axle.

I'm not particularly enthused with the prospect of having to remove my pintle ball from my truck. As I said before, it's pretty well stuck in there and I actually like using the pintle. I think I like the idea of making my own WD setup, as that will give me some experimenting I can do. I really would like to see if there's some way to make my own setup. I wonder if I can find something on eBay that I can buy cheap and then hack up to make something that would work for me. I've got the welder and fabrication abilities, that seems to me like it would be more logical. Let's see what the magic of eBay has to say...

Why not try air bags in the rear so you dont lose the ride quality when it is empty? Check your tires for the correct load rating for what you are towing. If all you engine mounts are tight and the tranny mount is tight then you may have a bent shift fork in the transfer causing it to jump out of gear.

Air bags are another idea, although I also am liking the idea of making myself a weight distribution hitch for it. I've checked around at what's available, and it looks to me like there is no reason why I couldn't simply fab up some brackets to connect the WD bit to the bottom half of my pintle mount, and then hook the chains up to my trailer. The WD components with sway control are still cheaper than air bags, and I think even with fabrication work it would still be cheaper and easier to do. What say ye? :)

The tranny mount seemed loose to me, and Rttoys seemed to agree, so I'm going to replace it at least. I'm going to try to get the motor mounts and tranny mount and probably just replace them all, but hopefully I will be able to solve the problem with just the tranny mount. The transfer case itself is maybe a year old and has maybe 15,000 miles on it. I really hope/doubt it is actually broken itself (other than this stuff happening to it, which I'm sure hasn't helped any.

Did the trans mount, and it was definitely toast! Thing was ripped pretty badly. Not badly enough that I could actually take it apart with my hands, but you could see the rips. The motor mounts are bad as well, I power-braked the truck and watched the engine try to hope out of the bay - I could see the alternator move about 6". I don't feel like doing that today, no time tomorrow, and probably no time Thursday, so I guess I'm taking the Range Rover on my trip this weekend and changing the motor mounts next week.

Pulled the motor mounts. The driver's side mount was completely shot. I can easily move the rubber around with my fingers. Passenger side one was shot as well, although not quite as bad. Now comes the fun task of bolting the new ones in. These bolts really suck to get at!

):h When you said you were just going to replace them all, I just shook my head and said 'better you than me':lol:

):h When you said you were just going to replace them all, I just shook my head and said 'better you than me':lol:

That's why you're my friend! :D

Unfortunately, they all needed to be done. Both motor mounts were ripped up (the driver's side worse than passenger), and I believe the motor torquing as it did destroyed the trans mount, because it was in quite bad shape, too. The end result is that the engine and transmission were able to float around more or less as they desired. Not exactly what you want your drivetrain doing. I am hoping that this will solve my transfer case issue, it seems probable that it will.

The guy at GM who came up with this design ought to be kicked in the face. It's way easier on a Jaguar, and that should never be said about anything comparing a Jaguar to an American car! ;)

Well, I changed the motor and transmission mounts. The good news is the thing is significantly smoother, so I'm happy about that. The bad news is the transmission still pops out of gear. The transfer case is only a year old or so, supposedly bought new from GM. It's certainly shiny enough for it. Anyone have any other ideas besides replacing the transfer case?

Maybe adjust the shift rod. Detach the shift rod, get it into a solid gear by the lever on the t-case (something like N or 2wd) then adjust the rod to accomodate the position in the cab and the t-case itself.

Possible, especially if the mounts were letting the setup move around. I'll give that a shot.

I just really don't want to go buy a transfer case. :(

Yup, I would try some adjustments now. Also check to make sure that nothing got bent due to the ability for everything to float around that much.

I would hate to imagine how much that assembly moved if you mashed on the gas or were pulling a heavy load. I could see it possibly being able to bend something in the process.

Yeah. I figure one test I can do is try driving it with the linkage disconnected. If it doesn't do it that way, then that would be a good indication of my linkage being bad.

I will try to play with that tonight if I have time.

Well, I think I've exhausted about every option. I changed the fluid, adjusted the linkage, and it still does it. It really seems to be inside the transfer case. The old fluid that came out was black and smelled burnt. So, I think that the transfer case is toast at this point, and I need to get a new one. :(

Oh, and my front CV axles are clicking as well...

Does it ever end?

Does it ever end?

Once you get all of this repaired, it will be good for quite some time.

Once you get all of this repaired, it will be good for quite some time.

That's the hope. I keep on saying to myself "Ok, I've got this done... there can't be anything else for a while!" Then something else breaks.