Owner Review: 2005 Chevy Suburban HD 2500 – They Don’t Make Them This Way Anymore

The HD Suburban is WAY better than the Ford Excursion.

2005 chevy suburban hd 2500 moabn utah towing trailer boat camper
images by Trevor J.

We are in a process of looking for a GMT-800 Chevy Suburban HD 2500 for an upcoming video series – “Go Big! No Payment Needed”. It just so happens that a TFLtruck viewer, Trevor J, has a heavy-duty 2005 Chevy Suburban 2500 that he has utilized to its fullest potential! He uses it to tow his large boat, tow a camping trailer, and go off-road with the family. Here is his review.

Chevy Suburban HD

Trevor J. writes:

“I wanted to share with you my 2005 Suburban 2500. I purchased it in 2009. I have taken it on the entire White Rim trail, and a ton of other places around the western US from Montana to LA (mostly while towing). My Suburban has the 8.1L V8 with 335 HP, 445 lb/ft torque, a 4-speed automatic, and a 4.10 rear axle gear ratio. It’s rated from the factory to tow up to 12,000 lbs. I often tow a 9000 lbs camping trailer or a 7000 lbs boat. While it’s not a rocket ship when towing, it is a very solid platform and has comfortably handled everything I’ve ever towed with it. I live in Salt Lake City, we have quite a few mountain passes we are frequently crossing to go camping or boating. It currently has 190,000 miles on it, but it is still in great shape and we have no plans to get rid of it, despite the 11 MPG empty and 6.5 MPG when towing heavy.”

“You could say I am a little biased towards the 2500 Suburban/Yukon XL than to the Ford Excursion you just purchased, my uncle had a truck with the same Triton V10 that was a complete dog. The V10 was Ford’s attempt to take it to GM’s big blocks, and it didn’t work well in my opinion. It is literally the 5.4L Triton with two extra cylinders on the end, didn’t make the HP or Torque of the GM 8.1, got worse MPG, and had a lower tow rating. The only thing Ford did right that I always wish GM did was offer the Excursion with the Deisel.”

“Good luck with your series, I am excited to see what you do! Hopefully, you can find an 8.1L Suburban to take on the Excursion!”

Here are several pictures that Trevor sent in.

Here is the 2000 Ford Excursion that we recently purchased.