I miss my 3/4 ton duramax (sigh), but that size truck will not fit in my office garage. For practical purposes, I bought a 2018 Denali with the 6.2L and, I guess, it tows okay. I do not tow more than 5,000 lbs, but as folks know, towing with a diesel is a much different towing experience that towing with a gasoline motor. I’m looking for real world experience of someone who has towed with the 6.2L set up and the 3.0 diesel set up and a quick compare/contrast. Preferably someone who had the most recent body style 6.2L and the current body style diesel. The current model has a little less towing capacity, but did the suspension change enhance the towing experience? Anyway, I am contemplating upgrading to the new body style with the diesel, but trying to figure out if it is worth it and the biggest factor for me is towing experience. Thanks in advance for folks that can relay their experience.
2022 diesel towing experience vs. 2018 Denali 6.2 gasser
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Seamus
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Well, I have had all 3 of the vehicles in question and tow a bit --same weight a 5200 lb trailer with race car.
Presently have a 2022 Denali 2500HD CC here in the family. 6.6 Duramax is a beast and complete overkill for anything I do. But a beast, that can pull anything. Not user friendly in local settings...BIG.
Owned for 2 years the 6.2 in a 2017 Yukon Denali XL. Towed great, 8 speeed was flawless, better fuel mileage than todays 6.2 Rear airbags worked great with 5200 lbs.
Rented the new 2021 Yukon XL for a month, cross country trip. 5.3 motor. New platform is a fantastic ride. Its big, needs surround view camera for parking. Rear suspension change is a game changer. Great truck, we love it.
Daily driver is a Sierra Denali CC 3.0 Duramax. Our holdover vehicle awaiting a Yukon Denali XL 3.0. This truck is my favorite and does everything well. Have done interstate towing of 5200 lbs. It is incredible. I love the truck and the motor more everytime I drive it. 24 mpg average. Have gotten 31, but will do 26-28 MPG on the highway if your nice. Torque off the line, very peppy and a pleasure in town. 15 MPG towing!!! Love this truck and motor.
My opinion is a 2022 Yukon Denali XL with the 3.0 Duramax will be my next truck if the new Zo6 doesnt get in the way!! That would be the ultimate truck IMHO. The Denali with the 3.0 is the way to go.
The 6.2 is a rocket ship, but fuel mileage is terrible. Yes its fast. Unreliable motor. The 3.0 is torque off the line and a real cruiser with fantastic fuel mileage. Surpisingly the 3.0 has been around since 2018 and has proven very reliable.
Unfortunately a Yukon Denali XL with the 3.0 is an impossible find. Good luck
Presently have a 2022 Denali 2500HD CC here in the family. 6.6 Duramax is a beast and complete overkill for anything I do. But a beast, that can pull anything. Not user friendly in local settings...BIG.
Owned for 2 years the 6.2 in a 2017 Yukon Denali XL. Towed great, 8 speeed was flawless, better fuel mileage than todays 6.2 Rear airbags worked great with 5200 lbs.
Rented the new 2021 Yukon XL for a month, cross country trip. 5.3 motor. New platform is a fantastic ride. Its big, needs surround view camera for parking. Rear suspension change is a game changer. Great truck, we love it.
Daily driver is a Sierra Denali CC 3.0 Duramax. Our holdover vehicle awaiting a Yukon Denali XL 3.0. This truck is my favorite and does everything well. Have done interstate towing of 5200 lbs. It is incredible. I love the truck and the motor more everytime I drive it. 24 mpg average. Have gotten 31, but will do 26-28 MPG on the highway if your nice. Torque off the line, very peppy and a pleasure in town. 15 MPG towing!!! Love this truck and motor.
My opinion is a 2022 Yukon Denali XL with the 3.0 Duramax will be my next truck if the new Zo6 doesnt get in the way!! That would be the ultimate truck IMHO. The Denali with the 3.0 is the way to go.
The 6.2 is a rocket ship, but fuel mileage is terrible. Yes its fast. Unreliable motor. The 3.0 is torque off the line and a real cruiser with fantastic fuel mileage. Surpisingly the 3.0 has been around since 2018 and has proven very reliable.
Unfortunately a Yukon Denali XL with the 3.0 is an impossible find. Good luck
Stbentoak
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I kept my Ram Cummins Specifically for these reasons. My tritoon is 6200# and behind the 3.0.. you KNOW its back there. It does pull it well though. I have no gas experience as I refuse to pay the premium for premium. (No pun intended...). Premium is higher than Diesel in my area...
While the Denali is good, I appreciate and rely on the bigger brakes and the overall heft of the truck to wrangle it on the roads. It is long and heavy...
Overall though, we love the 3.0 in the Yukon. It is by far the best combination offered in the Tahoe/Yukon format....
While the Denali is good, I appreciate and rely on the bigger brakes and the overall heft of the truck to wrangle it on the roads. It is long and heavy...
Overall though, we love the 3.0 in the Yukon. It is by far the best combination offered in the Tahoe/Yukon format....
WalleyeMikeIII
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Well, I can chime in a bit. 22 Denali w/ 6.2L gasser, tow a 4500lb boat on often. Previous vehicle was a 2013 Suburban LTZ w/ the 5.3L.
I use weight carrying hitch, not distributing. Air ride keeps the squat out, tow totally level, both in my 2013 and in the new 22 Denali. It was a must have option for me.
Now, the 6.2 Denali w the 10 spd is a whole different, way better experience than the 5.3/6spd in my 2013.
Literally, never even feel the boat back there w/ this 6.2/10sp. Great power, smooth trans, very capable.
My Summer, normal city driving w/ the 6.2 does about 15 MPG. Highway, last couple trips, driving sane (70-75 interstate, 60-65 on 2 lane roads), I averaged 20.7 MPG over 470 miles.
Towing, seems to be more like 15-16 in same driving pattern. I have my first long towing trip (500 miles each way) coming next week, will advise after that on fuel economy on that trip.
Someone commented above that the 6.2 is an "unreliable" motor. I don't know if that is completely true...GM has had its issues w/ the AFM/DFM on the gassers, but I believe the bulk of the recent issues were attributed to a bad batch of lifters (although, there have been reports of lifter issues outside the recalled range). That said, I had the same AFM lifters in my 2013 5.3L, and it gave me 115k trouble free miles...I don't think the 6.2 is inherently unreliable, its pretty proven, but the lifter thing turns some off..I bought it knowing this, because for my daily driver needs (short trips) in cold climate, I didn't think the diesel was a good fit (I am in Minnesota).
I use weight carrying hitch, not distributing. Air ride keeps the squat out, tow totally level, both in my 2013 and in the new 22 Denali. It was a must have option for me.
Now, the 6.2 Denali w the 10 spd is a whole different, way better experience than the 5.3/6spd in my 2013.
Literally, never even feel the boat back there w/ this 6.2/10sp. Great power, smooth trans, very capable.
My Summer, normal city driving w/ the 6.2 does about 15 MPG. Highway, last couple trips, driving sane (70-75 interstate, 60-65 on 2 lane roads), I averaged 20.7 MPG over 470 miles.
Towing, seems to be more like 15-16 in same driving pattern. I have my first long towing trip (500 miles each way) coming next week, will advise after that on fuel economy on that trip.
Someone commented above that the 6.2 is an "unreliable" motor. I don't know if that is completely true...GM has had its issues w/ the AFM/DFM on the gassers, but I believe the bulk of the recent issues were attributed to a bad batch of lifters (although, there have been reports of lifter issues outside the recalled range). That said, I had the same AFM lifters in my 2013 5.3L, and it gave me 115k trouble free miles...I don't think the 6.2 is inherently unreliable, its pretty proven, but the lifter thing turns some off..I bought it knowing this, because for my daily driver needs (short trips) in cold climate, I didn't think the diesel was a good fit (I am in Minnesota).
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How much rear sag would be reduced with a properly adjusted weight distribution hitch? I understand on some types of trailers, it may not be practical to use a WDH.
If the weight is distributed properly, I would think it would reduce the rear end sag. The other problem with rear end sag is that the vehicle would hit hit bump stops more often because rear suspension travel would be reduced.
I would like to not have air suspension if it's not absolutely necessary because when the air suspension fails, it can leave the vehicle stranded if the primary suspension is not coil spring or leaf pack based.
WalleyeMikeIII
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Not sure, my boat tongue weight is only about 350 lbs, so not really a need I have
Understood. Air suspension can't hurt, but I'm not sure if a 350 lbs tongue weight would cause too much sag.
One question I do have for you is how high does the hitch receiver sit above the ground with the vehicle unloaded? The reason I ask is because I'm planning on purchasing a Weigh Safe hitch but wanted to know if there was a drop measurement that would work with both the GM full size SUVs as well as a pickup I'm using in a few weeks to trailer a car.
altona
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My Yukon 4wd needed a 2" lower drop than my 2wd pickup with Max Tow Pkg to keep the same cargo trailer level.
WalleyeMikeIII
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Top of the ball mount (where the ball attaches to the mount) using a 6” drop is 16.5” off the ground unloaded, but I have Air ride. Drops about 2-2.5 in after the boat tongue load goes on and then comes back up as the vehicle levels iiself. I’ll measure the receiver to the ground unloaded later today, but should be about 22.5” based on the 6” drop
WalleyeMikeIII
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clogan2
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I've got a 6" drop hitch on my Tahoe, and would need at least another 4" drop to get my 6'x 10' utility trailer level. That thing is HIGH!! I'd much rather tow with my F150, no drop needed.
Seamus
Full Access Member
Oh it's true. There are thousands of posts and cases, that they cant even stock parts for the repairs. There is no comparison to your old LS based AFM system. They had some issues but nothing like todays truck. Different lifter and system and most people had the issue from poor maintenance on the LS. I had a 2013 Suburban for 118K with not one issue also. Mobile one oil changes every 5k. FYI it was only 4 lifters in that LS system. Your odds were low. This truck has 16 of them, AFM, DOD, DI and auto stop. The results are what we are seeing. They also used a substandard lifter. Its a huge mess for Gm and its customers. But to have these issues so early on indicates they will all have the issue. Jeeze, we were standing in the rental lot awaiting our suburban for the summer road trip and a lifter went just as they pulled up!! 7500 miles on it. Had to wait for another one, and the guy said they had several of them at Enterprise! Thats saying a lot. We were concerned the whole trip out in the middle of nowhere. We are awaiting a Denali XL 3.0 and came across a few 6.2 gassers...would never consider it with the info we now know. But I truly understand being in a cold climate and short trips, gas is a better choice and you have a warranty.
Nice lookin ride!
I have a 22 Denali that makes a shit tow vehicle but I don’t have air ride. Apparently doesn’t have rear load leveling at all compared to the three previous generations. Don’t need to tow anyways because it’s an unreliable, rattling pos.
WalleyeMikeIII
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Thanks. I and that rig just spent a week in Ontario fishing…was a nice way to travel that 1100 miles round trip. Boat weighs about 4200 lbs full of fuel. Averaged 13.4 MPG with most of it at 74MPH on the interstate/4 lane divided highways, and about 250 miles of 55-60MPH on Canada’s 2 lane highways.
Seamus
Full Access Member
This new Yukon has to be one of the best road trip tow vehicles out there right now. They really stepped up the interior and ride quality. This is why they cant keep up with the demand. I like both the Land rover and GLS550, and both ride beautiful, but would never own out of warranty. So it cost more, does less, and have to get out if it when warranty is up. The GMC is a winner. And it can be serviced anywhere in the country.
DenaliCountry
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I have an Anderson Rapid Hitch with a 10" drop. I couldn't unhitch my boat when I first towed with it and couldn't even get my enclosed snowmobile trailer hooked up to my 2019 and the 2022 is a hair taller so even though the hitch was stupid expensive, I'll never need another one regardless of the truck I am driving. I'd say go with a 10" adjustable drop hitch otherwise you'll need a couple of them if you have different trailers.
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