Tires and Towing

What tires are you all running on your tow vehicles?

Which Travel Trailer/Camper tows well with these trucks?

swathdiver said:

Which Travel Trailer/Camper tows well with these trucks?

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Looking at the spec's from your other post a 2009 5.3L Yukon XL 4WD w/ 3.42 rear has a max tow capacity of 7,900lbs. That info was found in this towing guide (pg 19).

Some people tow right up to the max, but I would personally keep the trailer below 6,500lbs to leave room for people and cargo in the Yukon. You can also look at your RPO sticker and see if your's came equipped with a trans cooler or any other towing options. If not it is highly recommended to install a transmission cooler if you will be doing any extended towing. Also a trailer brake controller is a must, but is simple to install without cutting into any wires via the upfitters plug under the dash. You'll just need to get the correct harness from the brake controller manufacturer.

As for tires, I'm still running the ones that were on my Yukon when I bought it last year. You'd just want to make sure whatever tires you select have the proper load rating for the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of your Yukon. When towing properly configured and weight distributed, you shouldn't exceed the GVWR of the Yukon, so that's not really a factor.

Thanks for the info. Yes, it came with the JL1 trailer brake controls and the K5L enhanced cooling package. It's got BFG Rugged Trail tires and thinking of 6-Ply BFG KO2s. Any KO2 or the Michelin LT LTXs exceed the maximum axle ratings which in this truck's case for the rear is 4200lbs.

Do you think I'll get some MPG back by switching from the Load Range E Rugged Trails (50lbs each) compared with the 6-Ply KO2 (48lbs each)? The stock Wrangler HPs (the spare) weighs 38lbs each.

Called BFG this morning and they said the sidewalls on both KO2s are the same so should ride the same. Hmm.

I honestly have done no research into tires at this point. The only thing I did was to verify that the Walmart specials (Dextero DHT2 P275/55R20 111T) tires that came on my Yukon were in good condition, had an acceptable DOT date code, and met the max axle weight ratings for both axles. Their 111 load rating (2403 lbs each) was plenty of capacity beyond my 4,000lb rear axle max and 7,000lb GVWR.

I'm sure when it comes time to replace them I will be deep into the minutia of trying to figure out what will tow the best, be the quietest, and increase my MPG. I'll be happy to see what you end up with, and the suggestions you get on this thread.

Well, I decided on the 6-ply KO2s and found the best deal for them on Amazon.