Suburban 2500 or Yukon XL Denali?

thompsoj22 said:

To the original post, You mention using the carfax to contact dealers to get complete vehicle history? If the carfax say's replace rear brakes/rotors will the dealer have a more detailed report? I have a carfax report also with all the maint done exclusively by one dealer, If i call them they can give a better breakdown of what they did?

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I did. They emailed me the receipts with all the work that was done which included part numbers too.

Aside from my personal Denali leanings, the alum 6.2L in the Denali is a better fit for towing. Bagged ride is insane, self leveling for towing and the drive line is overbuilt with stainless exhaust components.

All bag maint and service issues are cured w/ direct replacement part orders from Arnott in FL, at 1/2 the price. Do NOT purch Arnott from retailers as the lifetime warr is venerable when tied to anyone except factory.

The steering is rack and pinion vs older recirculating ball steering system. The rack will make driving more enjoyable. Heated seats and maybe integrated BT, trailer brake, DVD, flex fuel or blind zone alert. The elect folding mirrors are great for protecting them. Mileage on a 2WD w/ afm will be higher along with lower Ann service and maint cost by losing the AWD.

Lastly the 6SP Man shift Auto is a treat compared to the previous 4SP when gearing down a hill towing. Brakes are the best in class and unrivaled. If not already equipped, factory remote start is only $ 1.5-$2H. Pre warming or cooling of the interior is damn nice when you have kids.

Things that make u go hmmmm


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jsoltren said:

Bear in mind that the Denalis and Escalades, with the aluminum 6.2L V8, recommend premium gas for maximum fun. At least around here premium gas commands a premium price.

I got my 2500 because I plan on keeping it forever. Test drive both and see.

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or E30 fuel at 81 octane prices (flex fuel only)

My jaw dropped the first time I filled our 6.2L and saw 91 min octane on the gas door flap. The pain is gone now. With a Costco around the corner and gas price apps for the phone, we plan fill ups accordingly.

With 20-30 cent a gal less available by plan’g fill ups, it saves up to 34 cents a gal when using the Costco credit card w/ 4¢ rebate. So, up to $10 per fill up savings and still running 91. My buddy cracked a cylinder on his Lexus RX300 running 87 oct 24/7 and up to 6k feet elev. He balked at the Dlr trade in price offering to fix his Alt bearings until he discovered it was the cracked piston. He shoulda taken the trade in if he was going to run that 3.0L V6 on 87 like a Toyota rental car.


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norcalboon said:

Thanks - can you interpret what am I looking at in your picture? I only received a Gross Only weight - it was a quick stop so I can definitely go back, but would like to better understand what your post means from a practical interpretation standpoint.

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Ok, so let's put on a little clinic. I'm feeling verbose today. Commence drinking from fire hose.....

Here are the numbers we need to know:

Weigh slip, no trailer on the left, with trailer on the right. Family and gear loaded into the truck:


Sticker inside driver's door:


The numbers on the weigh slips:

.........................No trailer....With trailer

Steer axle..............3740..........3220
Drive Axle..............3980..........5620
Trailer Axle...............0.............7500
Gross weight..........7720.........16340

And the numbers on the sticker:

Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) 8600
Gross Axle Weight rating front (GAWR FRT) 4180
Gross Axle Weight rating rear(GAWR RR) 5500

And from my owner's manual (2013 manual, page 9-67)

Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) 16000

That's a lot of numbers. What do we do with this information?

Notice I make no mention, until now, of the "trailer tow rating." Honestly, by itself, it's a meaningless number. It's a marketing tool to make the truck sound more badass. I'll explain a little later.

Axle ratings should be self-explantory. Maximum weight each axle can/should carry.
GVWR is the total weight on the two vehicle axles, in other words, the sum of the two axle weights.
GCWR is the weight of your entire rig - the sum of front, rear and trailer axle weights.

Looking at each of my ratings and comparing to the actual weights:

1) Front axle - max load is 4180, I'm not higher than 3740. I'm good. Notice also that with the trailer attached, I have 500 lbs LESS on the front axle. I wasn't using a weight-distributing hitch here.
2) Rear axle - max load is 5500. With the trailer attached, I'm at 5620. I'm over. In this instance I wasn't using weight distribution, so WD would help push weight from the rear to the front axle. Also, this is the number you should pay particular attention to if you own a half-ton (1500) SUV. This is the one most likely to be exceeded first.
3) Trailer axle - 7500 lbs. Ok. We'll use this number in a minute.
4) GVWR - my rating is 8600. As I mentioned, GVW is the sum of front and rear axles. 3220+5620=8840. I'm over. I guess we have to leave some people or gear behind. ;-)
5) GCWR - my rating is 16,000, and I'm at 16,340. Again, I'm over. Remove some stuff.

Now, we can find out some other numbers that are handy.

Tongue weight - this is important because the tongue weight is the amount of weight the trailer puts on the wheels of the tow vehicle. Subtract this number from your payload, and that's how much weight is left for your hitch, people and gear.

Here's what your payload sticker looks like:


In my case, my payload is 2088 lbs. To calculate the tongue weight of the trailer, I subract the sum of my vehicle axles with the trailer (my GVW) from the sum of the axles without the trailer:
(5620+3220)-(3740+3980)=1,120

The trailer tongue weight is 1,120, and looking at the sticker on my hitch, my max tongue weight is 1,000, using weight distribution. So again, I'm over.

That also means my remaining payload is 2088-1120=968 lbs for people and gear. People and gear in this case weigh more than 968, because I'm over on my GVW. I know that's true because my family of 5, with my fat butt and two teenage boys both 200 lbs, weighs almost 1000 lbs, and then we also had a bunch of gear in the back, plus the weight of the hitch in the receiver.

I can also figure out the total weight of the trailer (hint: it's not 7500 lbs), by subtracting the two totals:
16340-7720=8620
Trailer weighs 8,620 lbs. This checks, because my trailer tires have 7500 lbs on them, and I already know my tongue weight is 1120, so 7500+1120=8620.

Now, if I look in my owner's manual, it says my truck can tow a trailer up to 9,400 lbs. So this is only an 8600-lb trailer, and I'm over on most of my ratings. What gives? This is why it's a meaningless number. Sure, I might be able to tow a 9400-lb trailer if it was just me in the truck, no family, and no extra gear. And maybe if I lost some weight. No one ever pulls their trailer solo, so that's why I say this is a worthless number.

Now, I'm over on a lot of my weights, but I know my vehicle, and the 3/4-ton trucks can take a lot more abuse than the half-tons. For example, the rear axle in my truck is the American Axle 10.5" freefloater. AA rates this axle to a max of 8600 lbs. So why does my sticker say 5500? The TIRES are the limiting factor. The E-load tires on my truck are rated to 3,000 lbs max load, and I guess GM wants a safety margin, so they lower it to 5500. So I'm not worried about the 5620 number, because I'm not overloading the weakest link - the tires. 2x3000=6000 lbs max load on the rear tires.

However, on a half-ton, those trucks have a much weaker semi-floater axle, and don't like it much when they're overloaded. Ask me how I know. My 2001 Suburban has gone through THREE rear axles, and I had it break several times while on a vacation road trip.

The bottom line to using all of this information is to make sure you stay within the limits of your vehicle's cababilities, and that you keep your family safe, and the others on the road, and that you don't break anything on your vehicle. It's a lot more than, "How much trailer can I pull?"

Any questions?

intheburbs said:

Ok, so let's put on a little clinic. I'm feeling verbose today. Commence drinking from fire hose.....

Here are the numbers we need to know:

Weigh slip, no trailer on the left, with trailer on the right. Family and gear loaded into the truck:

Sticker inside driver's door:


The numbers on the weigh slips:

.........................No trailer....With trailer

Steer axle..............3740..........3220
Drive Axle..............3980..........5620
Trailer Axle...............0.............7500
Gross weight..........7720.........16340

And the numbers on the sticker:

Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) 8600
Gross Axle Weight rating front (GAWR FRT) 4180
Gross Axle Weight rating rear(GAWR RR) 5500

And from my owner's manual (2013 manual, page 9-67)

Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) 16000

That's a lot of numbers. What do we do with this information?

Notice I make no mention, until now, of the "trailer tow rating." Honestly, by itself, it's a meaningless number. It's a marketing tool to make the truck sound more badass. I'll explain a little later.

Axle ratings should be self-explantory. Maximum weight each axle can/should carry.
GVWR is the total weight on the two vehicle axles, in other words, the sum of the two axle weights.
GCWR is the weight of your entire rig - the sum of front, rear and trailer axle weights.

Looking at each of my ratings and comparing to the actual weights:

1) Front axle - max load is 4180, I'm not higher than 3740. I'm good. Notice also that with the trailer attached, I have 500 lbs LESS on the front axle. I wasn't using a weight-distributing hitch here.
2) Rear axle - max load is 5500. With the trailer attached, I'm at 5620. I'm over. In this instance I wasn't using weight distribution, so WD would help push weight from the rear to the front axle. Also, this is the number you should pay particular attention to if you own a half-ton (1500) SUV. This is the one most likely to be exceeded first.
3) Trailer axle - 7500 lbs. Ok. We'll use this number in a minute.
4) GVWR - my rating is 8600. As I mentioned, GVW is the sum of front and rear axles. 3220+5620=8840. I'm over. I guess we have to leave some people or gear behind. ;-)
5) GCWR - my rating is 16,000, and I'm at 16,340. Again, I'm over. Remove some stuff.

Now, we can find out some other numbers that are handy.

Tongue weight - this is important because the tongue weight is the amount of weight the trailer puts on the wheels of the tow vehicle. Subtract this number from your payload, and that's how much weight is left for your hitch, people and gear.

Here's what your payload sticker looks like:


In my case, my payload is 2088 lbs. To calculate the tongue weight of the trailer, I subract the sum of my vehicle axles with the trailer (my GVW) from the sum of the axles without the trailer:
(5620+3220)-(3740+3980)=1,120

The trailer tongue weight is 1,120, and looking at the sticker on my hitch, my max tongue weight is 1,000, using weight distribution. So again, I'm over.

That also means my remaining payload is 2088-1120=968 lbs for people and gear. People and gear in this case weigh more than 968, because I'm over on my GVW. I know that's true because my family of 5, with my fat butt and two teenage boys both 200 lbs, weighs almost 1000 lbs, and then we also had a bunch of gear in the back, plus the weight of the hitch in the receiver.

I can also figure out the total weight of the trailer (hint: it's not 7500 lbs), by subtracting the two totals:
16340-7720=8620
Trailer weighs 8,620 lbs. This checks, because my trailer tires have 7500 lbs on them, and I already know my tongue weight is 1120, so 7500+1120=8620.

Now, if I look in my owner's manual, it says my truck can tow a trailer up to 9,400 lbs. So this is only an 8600-lb trailer, and I'm over on most of my ratings. What gives? This is why it's a meaningless number. Sure, I might be able to tow a 9400-lb trailer if it was just me in the truck, no family, and no extra gear. And maybe if I lost some weight. No one ever pulls their trailer solo, so that's why I say this is a worthless number.

Now, I'm over on a lot of my weights, but I know my vehicle, and the 3/4-ton trucks can take a lot more abuse than the half-tons. For example, the rear axle in my truck is the American Axle 10.5" freefloater. AA rates this axle to a max of 8600 lbs. So why does my sticker say 5500? The TIRES are the limiting factor. The E-load tires on my truck are rated to 3,000 lbs max load, and I guess GM wants a safety margin, so they lower it to 5500. So I'm not worried about the 5620 number, because I'm not overloading the weakest link - the tires. 2x3000=6000 lbs max load on the rear tires.

However, on a half-ton, those trucks have a much weaker semi-floater axle, and don't like it much when they're overloaded. Ask me how I know. My 2001 Suburban has gone through THREE rear axles, and I had it break several times while on a vacation road trip.

The bottom line to using all of this information is to make sure you stay within the limits of your vehicle's cababilities, and that you keep your family safe, and the others on the road, and that you don't break anything on your vehicle. It's a lot more than, "How much trailer can I pull?"

Any questions?

Click to expand...

Why is your trailer overloaded also? It's axle rating is 7500 and it weighs 8620. Is this a single axle or tandem axle trailer?

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

gooffeyguy said:

Why is your trailer overloaded also? It's axle rating is 7500 and it weighs 8620. Is this a single axle or tandem axle trailer?

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Probably has a freezer full of steaks and bacon aboard!

The trailer's weight can exceed the combined axle rating as that other portion, the tongue, is either attached to the tow vehicle or on its landing gear.

I have seen plenty of travel trailers with a GVWR of 7500 with a combined GAWR of 7000.

swathdiver said:

Probably has a freezer full of steaks and bacon aboard!

The trailer's weight can exceed the combined axle rating as that other portion, the tongue, is either attached to the tow vehicle or on its landing gear.

I have seen plenty of travel trailers with a GVWR of 7500 with a combined GAWR of 7000.

Click to expand...

Tongue weight makes sense and something I didn't think about.

I have an 18' tandem axle car hauler. I don't know what the max weight it can carry but always assumed it was 7000lbs due to it having two 3500lb axles (with brakes). Guess it's more if you include 500-600lbs at the tongue

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

gooffeyguy said:

Tongue weight makes sense and something I didn't think about.

I have an 18' tandem axle car hauler. I don't know what the max weight it can carry but always assumed it was 7000lbs due to it having two 3500lb axles (with brakes). Guess it's more if you include 500-600lbs at the tongue

Click to expand...

Maybe, have to check the manufacturer. The Snapper trailer we borrow has 3500 lb axles but a max of 7000 lbs. The floor probably couldn't handle more than 2-1/2 tons and know they offer stronger ones.

The 7500 lbs is not the trailer axle/weight rating. It's the actual weight on the trailer wheels. The trailer has 5000-lb axles, so it's well within its limits and not overloaded.

The yellow weigh slips are all actual weights, not ratings.