Anyone tow HEAVY with a Yukon XL Denali?

[Toby McElravey]

We had a 2007 Denali XL that we loved and towed a Centurion wakesurf boat that came in close to 8k lbs. It did fine for short trips, but we had problems on long trips when we were more loaded with gear and going over hills/elevation. We over heated more than once. We ended up selling it and getting a Ford Expedition EL. It has more towing capacity and gets better gas mileage. My wife thinks the ride is smoother too.


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[thompsoj22]

I don't have the XL, but I have a 2016 Denali shorty and I tow a 32' TT that weighs 8500lbs with no issues

Yikes, will it go uphill with a headwind?

 

[Heidencbr]

Yikes, will it go uphill with a headwind?

The only issues I’ve had, have been the awful fuel gas mileage. It pulls fine otherwise. Granted, I’ve never been in any mountainous terrain yet and not sure I’d want to be lol.


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[swathdiver]

We had a 2007 Denali XL that we loved and towed a Centurion wakesurf boat that came in close to 8k lbs. It did fine for short trips, but we had problems on long trips when we were more loaded with gear and going over hills/elevation. We over heated more than once. We ended up selling it and getting a Ford Expedition EL. It has more towing capacity and gets better gas mileage. My wife thinks the ride is smoother too.

What year Expedition EL did y'all get?

 

[Toby McElravey]

2017


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[gooffeyguy]

My 2012 rides so much better than my 2001

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon Denali XL
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18

 

[swathdiver]

2017

Yeah, those tow 9,200 pounds with the tow package. I wonder how enduring that little twin turbo V6 will be doing all that work under load compared with a naturally aspirated V8 with more cubic inches? Keep us posted.

 

[Toby McElravey]

So far it’s been super solid. Same motor they run in the F150. Our big test will be later in July when we tow to Tahoe.


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[thompsoj22]

Yeah, those tow 9,200 pounds with the tow package. I wonder how enduring that little twin turbo V6 will be doing all that work under load compared with a naturally aspirated V8 with more cubic inches? Keep us posted.

a guy at work tows a 9k lb travel trailer with one of those twin turbo v6's in a quad cab 150. I have seen all the test's and they do pull like a mother f'er. It uses a really effective 10 spd trans to do it. when he is boosted/climbing/headwind he is at 7.5 mpg, he claims he can do 65 mph in any situation but im just waiting for the "hey man it blew up" story. i just dont see it as being long lived. Our denali gets 8 mpg towing 5,200 tt. I swear RV'ing is the most expensive way of having fun because of fuel prices.

 

[fireboat]

I have a 28' center console boat with twin 200 outboards. The boat and trailer with fuel are about 7500lbs.
My 2008 Yukon XL Denali 2WD does fine with it on the flat lands of South Florida and the Keys. It sags just slightly.
But, I think 9K would be pushing it for regular towing. Twice a year for short trips may be okay if you have good trailer brakes, but the rear will probably be sagging.

 

[avalonandl]

I have looked at 3 2500 Yukon XL- All complete rusty POS- Look good in pics....

Last one was a 2011 that had MORE rust than any onther. Corner of the rear tailgate was GONE, AC didnt work, and they wanted 15k....... It needed 5k of work minimum.

Looked at a 2008 Denali That an OCD owner kept mint..... but they had an pending offer on it already :-(

 

[mang213]

I didn't have a Denali XL, but my old 2008 Tahoe Z71 had to tow my buddy's 29 ft Regal and we encountered some big hills to go up. The distance wasn't that far, it was within 20 miles. But the hills were a *****. Still, even though we exceeded the tow rating by more than a thousand pounds, I never felt unsafe. I was very careful and didn't let myself get into a situation where I was getting the brakes too hot. But the longer wheelbase of the XL should clean up the handling issues that I was having in the Tahoe. I didn't have a weight distributing hitch or anything, and I didn't have trailer brakes either. To the original poster, you seem careful and thoughtful enough to make a Denali XL work just fine. Do the appropriate brake and suspension upgrades, add a Tru-cool 40k trans cooler, and get a tune. That Denali XL will work for you

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