New Here Towing trailer with my 11 Yukon XL

[JEndsley]

My wife and I bought a 2011 Yukon XL SLT a few months ago. Lots of miles, and of course not sure of the history. Seems solid. No rust underneath, etc. Put new Tires on it as it had worn out Mud tires on it when we bought it. Tried pulling the 8X16 Box trailer with it, and 65 MPH was about the limit. With my Ram 1500, no problems. At speed, it wanted to sway. Empty. I installed trailer brake controller and it works as it should. Trailer loaded, same as empty. Fine until about 55, or 60, then tries to sway. Before the tires, I pulled a slightly smaller stock trailer with no problems. When I had the tires put on, they mentioned the sway bar end link was broken. I replaced both with new GM parts and thought this would help. I can't hardly believe they made it worse. When cruising around without the trailer, it seems to steer quite loose. I thought this was just the way these were, our 99 suburban was loose like this one. I plan to look over all of the suspension tomorrow, but not sure where to go if everything looks normal. I did check the left front ball joint due to a clunk from left front that wasn't solved by the end link, and it seems OK, clunk is the drivers side motor mount which I will replace soon also. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Mechanic421]

Put more weight on the tongue till it stops swaying. Usually works for me,sometimes I have had to move weight forward.

 

[PG01]

Does it droop with trailer on.... That many miles I’d be looking at Rear springs and shocks. Slt you should have straight up shocks no air stuff. Front end loose because rear taking weight. Make sure you have a big enough drop hitch.

 

[avalonandl]

Trailer height adjustment with the proper hitch is key. You want the trailer level and with some tongue weight. Also pump your rear tires to max about 45 psi.

 

[Geotrash]

Check the tire wear on the trailer - if they're worn on one edge, or cupped, it could be a problem with the axle alignment, and even slight problems there can lead to sway. And a weight-distribution hitch with a sway bar will make a huge difference. I haul a 4500 lb camper with our XL Denali, and there is no sway.

Also, it's very common for these trucks to need a front suspension rebuild by the time they make it to 200K. My '07 had loose steering and felt tired when I bought it with 196K. I put on new front and lower control arms that included new balljoints, new tie rod ends, and new stabilizer bar bushings and links (which you've already done), and it made a huge difference - drives like a new truck now. Finally, it's common for the bushings that hold the steering rack to the crossmember to harden and wear out over time. Some people loosen the mounting bolts and slide either a rubber gasket from a victaulic coupler, or a rubber coil spring support disk behind it and then torque the bolts back down. It's ghetto, but it stops the side-to-side play. On mine, I pulled the rack and replaced the mount bushings.

Dave