norcalboon
Member
I had been looking for a 2003-2006 3/4 ton, and since I’m in CA I preferred to find a local 1 owner low mileage option to use as a primary tow vehicle for our 28ft, 6,700lb (loaded) travel trailer. As anyone on this page can attest, the market really exploded for these things in the last year or so - I called 2nd on a few, and the prices have increased almost 50-100% in some cases. But I held out and finally called first on a dealer option they were planning to send to auction.
2005 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4WD with 6.0L and 4.10 rear axle ratio with 90,595 miles. Was a CA Bay Area vehicle, traded in at a SoCal GM dealer. This was my preferred set up, although I would have seriously considered an 8.1L in GT4/GT5 – but for my application I was actually hoping to find the LQ4/GT5 combo.
Decent maintenance history showing frequent oil changes, tires, some other fluid replacements and no major red flags. Good condition, but evident it had been parked outside.
As part of sale, had the following repairs completed at the GM dealer: replace valve cover, timing cover and oil pan gaskets, new oil pan, replace radiator, hoses and connections, new engine and trans cooling lines, differential seal, new rear shocks, new driver side window switch, engine and cabin air filters, wipers, bulbs (as needed), all new fluids (coolant, trans, brake, power steering, differential, transfer case), replace windshield, new cluster, and replace airbag PPS Module and sensors.
Drove it home ~350 miles, it ran great, all temps normal, cruised at 75-80 around 2500-2700 RPM and calculated 15.2 MPG. In limited sample sizes, around town seeing 9.2MPG and one quick tow (50 miles) was 9.7MPG. Seems about what I expected. Towing up a moderate incline it did what I bought it for – held speed and RPM with ease. However, it was a little bouncy. I will play with my WDH – I had to swap back to a shorter drop hitch to get it level but kept it at 3 links which I used before.
I have Timbren SES for the rear on the way, already got the smaller front jounce stop replacements, and will be putting new tires on it very soon. I’m going with General Grabber AT/X tires, but I’m really noodling on whether to keep the OEM size LT245/75R 16E or moving up to a 265/75/16E. I prefer to keep it stock, but these wheel wells are HUGE so I’d also like to fill those a bit more. However, I’m loath to reduce ANY rear axle ratio and this would effectively take it from the current 4.10 to 3.96. The 265’s also are spec’d for a minimum 7” wheel versus the 6.5” OEM. Considering it will only be driven 4-6KL miles a year, and 75% of it will be towing, I want full towing capability and max safety.
Any real-world feedback on running these tire sizes – is it a negligible difference or would I be able to tell? Targeting Yellowstone for 3 weeks in 2022 and will do spark plugs, wires and O2 sensors some point before then. Most other tow trips are few hundred miles mostly within CA.
Any other maintenance items I’ve overlooked or should consider? TIA
2005 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4WD with 6.0L and 4.10 rear axle ratio with 90,595 miles. Was a CA Bay Area vehicle, traded in at a SoCal GM dealer. This was my preferred set up, although I would have seriously considered an 8.1L in GT4/GT5 – but for my application I was actually hoping to find the LQ4/GT5 combo.
Decent maintenance history showing frequent oil changes, tires, some other fluid replacements and no major red flags. Good condition, but evident it had been parked outside.
As part of sale, had the following repairs completed at the GM dealer: replace valve cover, timing cover and oil pan gaskets, new oil pan, replace radiator, hoses and connections, new engine and trans cooling lines, differential seal, new rear shocks, new driver side window switch, engine and cabin air filters, wipers, bulbs (as needed), all new fluids (coolant, trans, brake, power steering, differential, transfer case), replace windshield, new cluster, and replace airbag PPS Module and sensors.
Drove it home ~350 miles, it ran great, all temps normal, cruised at 75-80 around 2500-2700 RPM and calculated 15.2 MPG. In limited sample sizes, around town seeing 9.2MPG and one quick tow (50 miles) was 9.7MPG. Seems about what I expected. Towing up a moderate incline it did what I bought it for – held speed and RPM with ease. However, it was a little bouncy. I will play with my WDH – I had to swap back to a shorter drop hitch to get it level but kept it at 3 links which I used before.
I have Timbren SES for the rear on the way, already got the smaller front jounce stop replacements, and will be putting new tires on it very soon. I’m going with General Grabber AT/X tires, but I’m really noodling on whether to keep the OEM size LT245/75R 16E or moving up to a 265/75/16E. I prefer to keep it stock, but these wheel wells are HUGE so I’d also like to fill those a bit more. However, I’m loath to reduce ANY rear axle ratio and this would effectively take it from the current 4.10 to 3.96. The 265’s also are spec’d for a minimum 7” wheel versus the 6.5” OEM. Considering it will only be driven 4-6KL miles a year, and 75% of it will be towing, I want full towing capability and max safety.
Any real-world feedback on running these tire sizes – is it a negligible difference or would I be able to tell? Targeting Yellowstone for 3 weeks in 2022 and will do spark plugs, wires and O2 sensors some point before then. Most other tow trips are few hundred miles mostly within CA.
Any other maintenance items I’ve overlooked or should consider? TIA
