5.3 Max Tow or Denali 6.2

[Jmcgriff19]

I am new to this forum and have searched but didn’t come up with any info to answer my questions. I am in the market for a new Yukon but I’m torn on what to get. I don’t need all the bells and whistles the Denali offers but I am concerned about towing with the 5.3. I currently have a 2009 Silverado Vortec Max 6.0 with 4.88 gears and 35” tires so I can tow anything I want without any problem. My wife and I recently had our 4th child so I need something with a 3rd row, but I still want to be able to tow without it feeling sluggish. My wife has a 2016 Suburban with 3.08 gears and I am not happy with the way it tows with my 16’ trailer and side-by-side, which is about 3,500-4,000 lbs.

Looking at the tow ratings the Denali with the 6.2 is rated at 8,100lbs and the 5.3L with the Max Tow package is rated at 8,200lbs. I expected the 6.2 would rate higher than the 5.3 so this surprised me. I am assuming that the 6.2 will handle the load better than the 5.3 though. Normally I Tow around 3,500-4,000lbs, but occassionally it is around 7,000lbs. For those of you with experience on these, is the 5.3 Max Tow going to be sluggish towing this kind of a load?

I just can’t see spending the extra money to go to the Denali and pay for all the bells and whistles I don’t need just to get the 6.2L if the 5.3L do what I need, but on the other hand I don’t want to get the 5.3L and regret not stepping up to the 6.2L the first time I tow with it. So I figured I would ask the experts! Thanks in advance!

 

[DWTahoe]

I'm not an expert and I don't tow anything in the 7000lbs range. I do have the 5.3 with the max trailering pkg. I think you might be trying to lump trailer weight and how well the engine will pull together with your decision, and my feeling is they are separate.

The max trailering pkg just allows it to tow more weight because of the rear suspension, load leveling system, and gear ratio. I think if you compared the same trailer, that fit within the specs, you would find the engine of the 6.2 will pull better because it has more power. However, the gear ratio of the 5.3 may off-set the differences.

Hopefully someone with a similar weight trailer will chime in for you but I'm not sure the 5.3 to the 6.2 is an apples to apples comparison. If all things were equal the 6.2 should tow better and not feel as sluggish as the 5.3. With all that being said, I think the 5.3 tows very well with the max trailer pkg. but I haven't towed with a 6.2. Hopefully that helps a little.

 

[Da90]

Not a Yukon but I went from a 08 Sierra Denali 6.2 to a 2014 Sierra 5.3 Z71. First time I locked on to my 20’ car hauler I thought to myself oh crap I made a mistake buying a 5.3. Fast forward to now. That 2014 5.3 got totaled out. I didn’t even consider another 5.3. I ended up buying a 2014 Denali 6.2.


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[Jmcgriff19]

That’s what I’m afraid of that I am going to regret it as soon as I try to tow the first time if I don’t get a Denali 6.2. Its just hard to justify the extra cost of the Denali to get the 6.2 when that is the only option on the upgrade to the Denali I am interested in. If they offered the 6.2 on an SLT it would be a no brainer!

 

[Jmcgriff19]

I'm not an expert and I don't tow anything in the 7000lbs range. I do have the 5.3 with the max trailering pkg. I think you might be trying to lump trailer weight and how well the engine will pull together with your decision, and my feeling is they are separate.

The max trailering pkg just allows it to tow more weight because of the rear suspension, load leveling system, and gear ratio. I think if you compared the same trailer, that fit within the specs, you would find the engine of the 6.2 will pull better because it has more power. However, the gear ratio of the 5.3 may off-set the differences.

Hopefully someone with a similar weight trailer will chime in for you but I'm not sure the 5.3 to the 6.2 is an apples to apples comparison. If all things were equal the 6.2 should tow better and not feel as sluggish as the 5.3. With all that being said, I think the 5.3 tows very well with the max trailer pkg. but I haven't towed with a 6.2. Hopefully that helps a little.

Thanks for the feedback! The main thing I was looking at on the max tow package was the gear ratio. When I went from 3.73 gears to 4.88 on my current truck it made a huge difference. It actually pulls a lot better with the 4.88s and heavy 35” tires on 20” wheels than it did with the 3.73s on the stock 31” tires. So I figured the 3.42 gearing with the tow package would make a pretty noticeable difference over the 3.08 that I am used to towing with in my wife’s Suburban. No doubt in my mind that the 6.2 is going to pull better than the 5.3, but if the 5.3 will do what I need without being real sluggish, I don’t want to spend the extra chunk of cash to move up to the Denali.

 

[Big Mama]

Test drive both of them with your 7k lb trailer. If you’re buying from s dealer they won’t mind a bit. Towing performance is subjective sometimes. How I think my Denali toes may be different than you. I pull my 4K lb boat with no trouble and rarely use tow mode.

 

[Boatguy272]

No questions. Get the 6.2

 

[DWTahoe]

That’s what I’m afraid of that I am going to regret it as soon as I try to tow the first time if I don’t get a Denali 6.2. Its just hard to justify the extra cost of the Denali to get the 6.2 when that is the only option on the upgrade to the Denali I am interested in. If they offered the 6.2 on an SLT it would be a no brainer!

For some reason I thought you can get the Yukons with the 6.2 in the lower models such as the SLT (they are more rare though). You can also order or get the Tahoe now with the 6.2 but I'm pretty sure it might as well be the same price as a Denali. ;-)

edit: Nevermind, I just looked and I think I'm wrong about the 6.2 in the lower model Yukons. It looks like I was thinking of the pickup trucks...sorry.

 

[swathdiver]

IMO the direct injection Gen V 5.3s make plenty of power for towing. I am pleased towing 5-6K pounds with my truck and its Gen IV, 310 horsepower 5.3L. Would the extra horsepower and torque be nice? Yeah, but not at the cost to acquire it.

 

[Garandman]

Agree with swathdiver.

Been towing racing sailboats for many years. They are very heavy due to lead keels, and often have a lot of wind resistance, and we towed anywhere from 50 to 1,500 miles (one-way) per regatta.

Our chosen tow vehicles were cargo vans. We had a Chevrolet Express with 3.73 and 4.8L V8, and a Transit with 3.5 EcoBoost.

We bought a 2016 Tahoe with max towing to bring a 6,000 lbs trailer from Ontario to Boston, and to move it around to boatyards and such. Our other boat is only about 3,600 so I could tow it with our 6 Cylinder Outback - But the Tahoe would do that better. Believe our rear axle is 3.42: like your experience with the Suburban, we’ve found 3.08 to be unsuitable for heavy towing.

We found the Tahoe 5.3 to tow extremely well. We did not lack for power and only downshifted for some of the steep hills as we traversed the Appalachian Chain (highest point on I 90 is in W Mass at 1,740 feet).

This trailer was very old and the braking system was not working well. We tried some test stops with trailer brakes completely disconnected and found the Tahoe able to stop without worry. At least on level ground at highway speeds we were able to use cruise control without issue.

I am not at all a fan of body on frame SUV’s. Their space utilization is inferior to Crossovers, you lose a lot of cargo space to the rear axle box, their ride and handling feels like you are driving a pickup, they’re slow and thirsty. But they kick ass when it comes to towing and regatta parking lots look like a Chevy dealer’s.

More is always better when towing - and always worse the rest of the time. We are perfectly happy with the 5.3 Tahoe.

https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2015/chevrolet/equinox/CH-CAT-10217126_MY15 US Trailering Guide_122215.pdf

 

[Yukon John]

Get the SLE 5.3 with Max Tow 3.42 gears and leveling rear suspension. I pull a 7500# 26 ft with 750#~800# tongue weight Formula boat with mine and it is great. Add a Katzkin leather upgrade kit and you will be in for about $50K A-Z.

I have mine tuned with a Diablo tune for 93 octane...my Yukon sprints around town like it weighs 1000# less than it does. I have driven it without towing on 6: 3500 mile round trips from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl to Dallas, TX...averaged 21~22 MPG running 80 with the cruise control most of the time.

I moved up from an LQ9 6.0 Escalade with 3.73s....it ran great but the 5.3 Yukon with 3.42s will run circles around it. I was tempted to get the Denali....just couldn't justify the extra $25K....and I paid cash...could have gone either way. I haven't checked recently but the 5.3's might be available with the 8 speed transmission now which really would be sweet.

For way less $$ you will pay for the SLE...you might justify another $8- $10K and put a Magnuson blower on that 5.3 an still be at$60K or less...with 450 plus Horsepower while maintaining your drive train warranty if a certified dealer does it!!!

 

[dwkehoss]

I am new to this forum and have searched but didn’t come up with any info to answer my questions. I am in the market for a new Yukon but I’m torn on what to get. I don’t need all the bells and whistles the Denali offers but I am concerned about towing with the 5.3. I currently have a 2009 Silverado Vortec Max 6.0 with 4.88 gears and 35” tires so I can tow anything I want without any problem. My wife and I recently had our 4th child so I need something with a 3rd row, but I still want to be able to tow without it feeling sluggish. My wife has a 2016 Suburban with 3.08 gears and I am not happy with the way it tows with my 16’ trailer and side-by-side, which is about 3,500-4,000 lbs.

Looking at the tow ratings the Denali with the 6.2 is rated at 8,100lbs and the 5.3L with the Max Tow package is rated at 8,200lbs. I expected the 6.2 would rate higher than the 5.3 so this surprised me. I am assuming that the 6.2 will handle the load better than the 5.3 though. Normally I Tow around 3,500-4,000lbs, but occassionally it is around 7,000lbs. For those of you with experience on these, is the 5.3 Max Tow going to be sluggish towing this kind of a load?

I just can’t see spending the extra money to go to the Denali and pay for all the bells and whistles I don’t need just to get the 6.2L if the 5.3L do what I need, but on the other hand I don’t want to get the 5.3L and regret not stepping up to the 6.2L the first time I tow with it. So I figured I would ask the experts! Thanks in advance!

Last year I bought a used 2016 Tahoe LT 5.3 with max tow package which allows me to haul up to 8500 lb trailer although my trailer is 4,700 lbs. Finding a tow package in an LT vs the way more expensive LTZ took some searching. Just returned from a 1700 (one way) mile camping trip , new england to texas. The max tow package with the 3.43 rear end does well in my opinion and keeps up with the 75 mph speed zones in southern states. Gas mileage is usually around 10 but drops to 8 at 75 mph. I have never towed with the larger V8 so can't comment.

 

[jimlucier]

For what it's worth, I occasionally tow a 6,000 pound boat. I went from a 2007 Suburban 5.3/tow to a 2017 Denali 6.2/tow. The 5.3 really struggled towing the boat uphill. The 6.2 is far better at it, pulls easily in 6th gear (8 speed). The extra low end torque and 8 speed tranny really make a difference.

 

[jamoody]

I have a 2017 Yukon SLT with 5.3L engine and 3.08 rear gear, bought specifically to tow 17' 3700 lb camper through the Rockies. It worked like a charm, up and down long 6% grades (max on interstate highway system) with occasional 7% and 8% grades on the US highway system. I do not have the max tow package and so added an auxiliary transmission cooler just to make sure I didn't overheat the transmission. Used the slow lane on long 6% climbs as I couldn't quite keep up with cars but did quite a bit better than the 18-wheelers. No problems keeping up with traffic on the flat and gradual hills. Kept it in tow mode most of the time but I didn't see much of a difference except on those long grades (both up and down). I don't have any experience with 7000 lb towing.

 

[BMPNUGLS]

I had a 2015 Suburban with 5.3 and max tow and currently have a 2016 Denali XL w 6.2 AND max tow..no question if your towing that much weight you need to go with the 6.2. Although with the new 10spd transmissions the 5.3 would probably be ‘better’ than my old Suburban...

A note.. my Denali also gets better gas mileage w the 6.2 and AFM Disabler plugged in than my 5.3 Suburban did!

 

[Avalanchediver]

Sold my 5.3 Suburban and bought a 6.2 Yukon Denali for exactly this reason. Will never go back.

 

[Basics]

I have a 5.3L and 4.10’s. No problem here. With that said if I wanted to tow big time and go fast with a 3rd seat and no regrets. Diesel.. Excursion 7.3L in great shape. If Gm only, then disregard

 

[swathdiver]

Current generation trucks with 5.3s are mated with the 6-speed still. It's the 6.2s that got the 8-speed and then the 10-speed for 2018 and 2019 thus far.

 

[Jmcgriff19]

Thanks for all of the responses. A lot of you are towing a lot further than I do. With the ~7k lb load that I talked about it is only about 100 miles one way that I am going.

 

[Dlayne]

IMO, it all depends on the weight, amount of tow time, and elevation gain or lack there of it. But, after just putting 900 miles on a ‘18 5.3L burb. I am not sure I would want it as my primary tow vehicle, but I tow approx. 6,400+ and climb around 3,000 feet over a 6,000ft pass. Still not that high, but elevation does make a difference. That said, it is either a 6.2 or duramax for me for any towing chores. Also, got the same mpg. as my 6.2 in those 900 miles.