so it's time for me to get a tow rig. I found one i think i really like . ..

1988 chevy suburban 2wd
3/4 ton 454
auto trans
2wd
power EVERYTHInG
clean paint, very very minimal surface rust
109,000 miles
everything is clean inside, front/rear air needs new line, other than that everything works.

1,900ish, and not a bad looking ride

what do you guys think? i wasn't looking on spending much $ on a tow rig, and i'll probably drive it once or twice a week (i'll alternate with the wrangler).

any input would be greatly appreciated!

here's a pichttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/flyry110/sub.jpg

holy shit thats clean. must not originally be from this area. sounds (and looks) like a good deal to me.

Man with a 454 for 1900ish I would buy it! It make one hell of a tow rig!

Get it..........

I had an 86 and it was a great ride.........

My windows went slow untill I cleaned some of the contacts at the window motor and then it was golden.

Hows the head liner? most of them fall...........


edit: IMO they look alot better with a 1 1/2" rear block to level the "wheel wells"

I have an 86 4 wheel drive 2500 and frankly, it suits my needs perfectly as a tow rig. The wheelbase makes my trailer virtually un-noticable and there is plenty of room to sleep inside the rig. While it always towed fine, it wasn't until I airbagged the rear that I was able to really enjoy the ride. I also swapped the 454 out for a built 350 once the big block took a dump. The small block runs cooler, gets better milage and pulls the pass about the same.

Now as far as Burbs go, the power windows (especially the rear) are a PITA, the rear air is a PITA and the doors like to sag. Otherwise, most of what I have repaired is simply due to the age of the vehicle. Damn price of gas has really taken the startch out of the value of these things though.

While it always towed fine, it wasn't until I airbagged the rear that I was able to really enjoy the ride.

Airbags are a good idea. I put them on my 97 3/4 ton tow rig, it rides level and like a caddy when loaded!

do you guys think i'd be better off buying a 4wd smallblock instead? they're around the same price but normally not as clean (at least around here)

I'd be more concerned about the general condition of the vehicle and whether it had the right equipment to put up with towing. Eventually, you will need a motor and thats the time you will want to consider your power options and frankly, you should know right now if you need 4 wheel drive or not to get into your campsites.

I guess what I am also saying is that buying a used older vehicle for a tow rig is something of a crap shoot because some of the reliability is already gone and towing is no picnic for a vehicle - it puts alot of stress on the frame, suspension and drivetrain and you will have maintenance issues to address that you won't find in a test drive. BTDT. Buy the best truck you can for the money is my advice.

do you guys think i'd be better off buying a 4wd smallblock instead? they're around the same price but normally not as clean (at least around here)

what are you planning on towing?

something like a tandem axle 16' with my TJ on it... 4wd isn't a problem to get into the camp sites. my TJ is still street legal. BUT i'm thinking about driving it around a lot lol. pittsburgh=snow . . . i dunno. should be ok with some snow tires. and i have the TJ for if it gets real bad.

I have an 89 burb that is virtually the same other than I swaped the 454 out for a 502. I plan on converting it to 4x4 though. AS far as the truck being used fo ra towk rig, I pull a 38" pull along trailer that has a pop out. a 1/2 ton burb with a 350 would barely pull it and it didnt; feel real good tow wise either. the 3/4 pulls the trailer like it is nothing. No air bags. I belive they would make the ride a little nicer but I am goign to be lifting my burb so I guess no air bags for me. That looks liek a clean burb. I liek the red/black combo. I have grey/black. With that truck you won't even notice your jeep behind you. If your woried about snow get some chains for it. Ihave chains used for when i go up into the mountains and it snows. Works fine.

it'll pass anything but a gas station.:(

something like a tandem axle 16' with my TJ on it... 4wd isn't a problem to get into the camp sites. my TJ is still street legal. BUT i'm thinking about driving it around a lot lol. pittsburgh=snow . . . i dunno. should be ok with some snow tires. and i have the TJ for if it gets real bad.

As far as fuel economy with a BBC vs SBC Suburban towing there isnt a huge difference. The SB will get better mileage without a load though. I guess if you are going to primarily tow with it a BBC would be best, if it will see only occasional towing (with a light load like you've got) a SBC will be more economical. Either way it isnt going to get great fuel economy :D

I also like the red/blk, good looking rig

This burb is really making me want to paint my grey color to red. I keep lookign at my burb then commign back to this pick. That is such a sharp looking burb. I just finished painting too. I was about to start on the black.

dont even worry about the 2wd if you get stuck just pull off the wrangler and muscle that shit up the rest of the way.

If 2wd is not an issue then jump on it :D

No air bags. I belive they would make the ride a little nicer but I am goign to be lifting my burb so I guess no air bags for me.

FWIW, not sure if you are planning on more but I have a 2.5" spring lift front and rear (no blocks) on my Burb and the bags work just fine. I'm running 32's (265/75/16's) but I could clear a set of 35's if I wanted with that lift.

FWIW, not sure if you are planning on more but I have a 2.5" spring lift front and rear (no blocks) on my Burb and the bags work just fine. I'm running 32's (265/75/16's) but I could clear a set of 35's if I wanted with that lift.

I am going 4 " with rear shackle flip and front springs. I am going to use 285/75/16 whch are 33's. I really wanted 35's but I am basically buying one tire and getting 3 for free. These are brand new tires being shipped to me from the manufacturer. So I guess 33's it is. From some research I have done I don't think the bags and the 4" of lift will work to well as far as felxing while wheeling. Although my burb has the main purpose of a tow rig, I am gonna have some fun with it too. I live in the desert right next to mountains. it is not uncommon for me to launch this thing off a jump while running through some of the desert trails we have here. And that's just so I can goto work with touching pavement. :) So far I have only been stuck once, Course the front tires were dangling 6 feet in the air, the ass end buried in sand. I needed to take pics. I wasn't 6 feet from the highway lol.

well i bought it :)

the interior is PERFECT. the only thing wrong with it is the typical dash crack. the dash paint is awesome! i love the old metal lower dashes! Even teh old stereo sounds good and the tape deck still works great! how crazy is that!

it runs great, has a brand new exhaust, brakes, radiator, etc.

Came with an extra set (2) of snow tires and rims, everything works except the rear air and power locks. He originally wanted like 28 for it, then lowered it to 2k then i talked him into 1800. 109k miles, it does have the 3spd (i believe that's a 400r?) trans and i'm looking at converting it to the 4spd (700?) or a manual. If i go through all the BS of converting it to a stick, i'm going to go with a 4x4 swap as well.

i'm really happy with it! the thing's a tank!

First off, a big block Chevy would in a truck/tow rig is the equivalent of 20 pounds of marijuana stuffed into a 5 pound bag....good stuff.
Second, I personally would rather tow with an auto than a manual, especially since the most common manual, the SM465, has such suck ass wide ratios between gears.
But thats just me...:) :smokin:

well i bought it :)


Congrats! 454/400 is a great combo

8 have that same crack in my dash. I just bouht a dash pad to cover ity and it looks good. I love my 454.400 combo, although it is acually a 502/400 combo now. I am pushing a little over 500hp. I love it being an suto, I just slide my big ol captains chair back recline it,pull down both armrests and relax while cruising down the road. Adter reading another thread I am going to use lift springs to raise my truck and not do the shackle flip. My trailer is pretty heavy, it is 38" long with a huge pop out. I had problems with the rear airt working as well. you need to figure ut if the blower back there is blowing or not. if not see if you are getting power to the high/low/off switch. If yu are then see if the power goes throught teh switch, if so then check at teh fan in the rear. If the front air gets cold then the rear should as well, they both feed off teh same system and use the same compressor. So in short if the front gets cold then you have a short in teh wiring to the rear fan or a bad relay or bad fan. I had a bad fan. I got one from a salvage yard. Took a recharable jump starter with me to hook up to the fans to find the one that sounded the best. I think they charged me $5 for the fan. If you have neither high or low it is probably a bad fan. Winter is a good time to fix it as in teh summer these thing get hot as all can be inside. I am thinking of painting teh middle of my roof white where you can't see it to help keep the heat out a bit.

ya, the fan blows, the guy that i bought it from said it had a kink in the line that runs to the rear, and it was messing with the front. I'm not sure yet. I'll know when i pull the headliner down (i'm going to redo it).

I'm planning on making it my ultimate tow vehicle. There's a list of stuff i want to do. As far as towing wise, i'll probably do a small lift to the rear (need to figure out if i'll need it, i'm shopping for a trailer) and do a larger trans cooler. Also need to install the electric brake controller for the trailer.

inside i want to add dual sunroofs, a tv/vcr/dvd, possibly a PS2 or something like that, Maybe a mini-fridge or cooler, power inverter so i can run appliances and stuff, and possibly som heavy carpet in the back (for when i sleep in it at jeep events). Oh, and i even considered some shades or something for the rear (for when i camp in it) but it does have tinted windows so we'll see. shades look kinda ghey.

i really like this thing :)

Congrats! 454/400 is a great combo

is it? i was thinking the 700R would be better since it has an OD . . .

is it? i was thinking the 700R would be better since it has an OD . . .
Nah, you want the early 4l80 trans, that's the turbo 400 with an overdrive! They also make a better first gear for it to convert to the same 1st 3.06 ratio as the 700R vs the 80's 1st gear ratio of 2.43, Plus it way beefier than a stock 700! With the 80 you can run lower diff. gear ratio's with the OD! It's pretty much a bolt in swap, you may have to mod the rear crossmember though.
Trans ratio's (http://www.maliburacing.com/auto_tranny_id.htm)

Congrats on the burbin':D

is it? i was thinking the 700R would be better since it has an OD . . .

The TH400 is very reliable and practically bullet proof, especially for what you are using it for. True, a 700R4 would give you another gear but the gas mileage difference isnt going to be dramatic and in my opinion isnt worth the trouble to swap. Also remember that a stock 700R4 has reliability issues. If you do run a 700r4 use a huge cooler.

well i think you guys just talked me outa that idea lol.

i think i'm still going to add a larger cooler to my rig though.

I had problems with the rear airt working as well. you need to figure ut if the blower back there is blowing or not. if not see if you are getting power to the high/low/off switch. If yu are then see if the power goes throught teh switch, if so then check at teh fan in the rear. If the front air gets cold then the rear should as well, they both feed off teh same system and use the same compressor. So in short if the front gets cold then you have a short in teh wiring to the rear fan or a bad relay or bad fan. I had a bad fan. I got one from a salvage yard. Took a recharable jump starter with me to hook up to the fans to find the one that sounded the best. I think they charged me $5 for the fan. If you have neither high or low it is probably a bad fan. Winter is a good time to fix it as in teh summer these thing get hot as all can be inside. I am thinking of painting teh middle of my roof white where you can't see it to help keep the heat out a bit.


Might also want to look at the expansion valve for the rear air - thats what mine needed.