I have an '11 LTZ Tahoe, which is the same as the "10 Avalanche drivetrain. The Tahoe has air shocks in the back, self adjusting. The LTZ Avalanche does as well. Very nice-until they fail$$. Mine have not, but they all do in time. The motor is a 5.3, with engine management(Drops to running on four jugs when no load on engine, trans) The motor is very good is most applications, but the trans will continually shift down when towing under average loads. The mileage, even when towing, is very good, way better than the 5.4 Ford motor trans I had prior. Make no mistake, the Avalanche is not a 1/2 ton truck. Frame, trans, etc. It is a four seat SUV with a bed. The LTZ ride is awesome. I tow my four place and bigger equipment with a 3/4 ton diesel, tow boats with Tahoe so I really cant say how well it would do pulling over three tons.