What do you tow? How big? How far?

[afishinado]

I'm getting a lot of posters on the RV forums telling me my Tahoe can't handle a 21-22' toy hauler. I haven't had the 12 long enough to hook anything behind it but a 6x10 utility trailer with two Harleys on it... Of course it's like the guys on a boating forum I frequent that have 1 ton duallys, as far as they're concerned you can't pull a canoe with anything less...
I have towed 5000lbs with my previous two Tahoes between NJ and FL every year, yeah I knew it was back there, but no big deal.

The trailers I am interested in weigh in at 7500 max loaded with two bikes. Empty 4300.... Empty tongue weight is 700ish, less with the bikes on board. To be exact.... http://www.forestriverinc.com/ToyHaulerTravelTrailers/GreyWolf/default.aspx?page=floorplandetails&floorplanid=4270&RVType=THT

So what do you pull behind your Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade?
If you maxed it out, do you have any tips you want to throw out there?

 

[livingez_123]

I tow a 31' RV. dry weight is 7600lb. I'm currently doing a remodel on the bathroom and bedroom. I know I have taken out 375lbs of material, and I'm trying to keep it light. The trailer is rated for 12k max. I never travel with full tanks.

 

[TowGMC]

I know others will disagree with me but here's my thoughts based on more than 75,000 miles of towing race car trailers over the past couple of decades....

FWIW, I have 3 friends who tow 6500 lb race car trailers that have all gotten rid of their 5.3 NNBS Tahoes and Yukons because they were horrible for towing any further than 30 or 40 miles to a race. Two moved to 3/4 ton GMC Duramax turbodiesels, one moved to a '12 Yukon Denali. But the friends who tow lighter open deck race trailers with less than 5000 towed weight love their Tahoes, and they do great.

The friend who moved to the Denali had an '09 Tahoe with the 6 speed auto. Even on the flat highways of the midwest, pulling 6500 lbs, he only got a best of 8mpg. It's not just the weight but also the significant wind resistance of the enclosed trailer that really put a strain on the 5.3. He never pulled more than 65 mph even in 70 mph zones because the fuel economy went down and his trans temps would hit 230-240. And even on modest inclines on the highway it would drop to 4th and 3rd to maintain 65. We did one tow to the east coast together and he borrowed another truck because he didn't want to even try with the Tahoe.

I tow a 24' race car trailer that when fully loaded is in the 6600-6800 lb range with my Denali and it's barely able to handle the pull. Sure it's a great stable platform and with my Reese DualCam WD Sway control you wouldn't know the trailer was back there from a control and sway standpoint. But even the big 6.2 can barely handle the weight on more mountainous highways. I've never gotten better than 8.5 mpg, and on one recent 350 mile tow into a headwind I got 6 and never got out of 4th gear on flat level highway at 65 mph. In the hills of eastern Ohio and western PA I'm pulling hills in 4th and 3rd when loaded. Can't imagine trying the same thing with a 5.3 and a half ton more weight than I'm pulling. And my trailer is a v-nose so I have less wind resistance than most trailers.

So can it do it? Probably. And I bet it would be fine to tow a toy hauler short distances on fairly level ground. But for long highway pulls? I wouldn't do it. Heck I wouldn't try it with my 6.2 Denali for long distances. You're gonna need a really big second trans cooler too.

One final thought- check your towed weight very carefully. If you think you're close to 7500 lbs, you're getting dangerously close to the truck's limit. Go over that, or get checked at scales by the police, and you'll be fined if over. I've found it's very easy to underestimate the weight of what you're towing. With an enclosed trailer it's too easy to just keep tossing things in because you can. I know because I've done it myself. With my previous trailer (18' v-nose) the manufacturer said it was 2600 lbs empty. I put it on certified scales and it was actually 3100 lbs. Fortunately with my current trailer when I picked it up from the manufacturer they put it on their own CAT certified scales for me, showed me the 3200 lb empty weight with 350 lb tongue weight. And the race car has to be weighed at impound after a race so I know exactly what it weighs too.

 

[livingez_123]

The gassers just don't have the torque. I came from towing for a living with my Dodge 1ton dually with the Cummins diesel. (had 2 of them) Head wind is a killer for sure. If I were to snowbird and drive 1-2k miles per trip, I would have a diesel again. The 6.0-6.2 just don't have the needed torque to keep them moving without having to drop 2-3 gears just to go over a small hill. The first time I tow the in-laws 25' lite weight trailer I knew I was going to hate the trip over the coast range to the beach. 2nd gear was it. my Dodge would have gone over in 6th. But I love how my Denali rides and I don't tow very far anymore so I just tolerate it and plan for the extra time.

 

[ChevyKin41]

I've been researching how to raise the towing limit on my 09 tahoe hybrid because 6200lbs behind a 6.0L just doesn't make any sense to me when the new tahoes can tow over 8000lbs with a 5.3L.

For what it's worth, I made a short 20 mile trial run with my hybrid towing my 27' toy hauler. It weighs 7200lbs empty. That's 1000lbs over what GM says I can tow and it pulled like a champ. Almost as easy as my old ecoboost f150. This short loop was mostly on flat ground. The engine temp didn't budge at all and the transmission temp only reached 178.

I say go for it afishinado. Don't forget you will need the wd hitch, trailer brakes, and so on...

 

[afishinado]

I am going to tow it around the flat lands of FLorida a few times I think. If I get uncomfortable I'll just have friend I know that's a wholesaler find me something I can do it with before the summer trip, use it for the two month trip and dump it. Get a different one next year. Not the end of the world or a big deal for me really.

 

[20Tahoe12LT]

I have towed a 6x12 & a 5x8 U-Haul trailer. I was moving. The 6x12, went from CT. to Eastern WA. State.

 

[DontPokeTheBear]

I have an '07 Yukon Denali and towed my '08 Kodiak toy hauler at 7K loaded from Homer, AK up through the Yukon down the Cassiar highway in BC to Seattle, then east on I-90 to Boston. All in all, we went 5800 mi in 1 trip. At the time I only had a K&N FIPK and a Fitch fuel catalyst. I got between 9.5 - 10 MPG through those mountain passes. After installing a Magnaflow, Bully Dog, AMSOIL trans fluid, and Flex-a-lite 4-pass tranny cooler, it pulls a lot better, shifts way better, and I got 11MPG over 1 tank. The trans temp coming from AK only got to 201, and that was at the top of Snoqualmie pass east of Seattle. Now, with an ambient air temp of about 75-80 F, the temps stay around 175 or so with the bigger cooler. When it's hot an humid out with a heat index at 100F+, the trans stays closer to 190-195F - does concern me, but its not even close to the red zone.

As for the drivability towing, I agree that the 6.2L does feel a bit empty at highway speeds. I keep the truck in Tow/Haul and in M set to 5 - it would constantly shift out of 6, so I omitted using that gear only when towing. With about 25K towing miles so far, my trans still shifts great, doesn't slip, and the fluid looks like the day I put it in.

Hope that helps!