Anyone towing a travel trailer with 2021 Yukon or Tahoe?

[SAdude]

Curious if anyone is currently or plans to tow a TT with the 2021 short wheel base? Long wheel base owners feel free to chime in too. I have the 8,400lb towing capacity Tahoe with trailer brake controller and wondering if a TT around 23 to 24ft and 5,500lbs gross weight is reasonable. I have never towed anything in my life and I realize these SUVs don't tow like a truck, so just wondering if this would be a comfortable tow for a first timer? Plan to use an affordable WD hitch with integrated sway control. Payload is reasonable...me, wife and 2 young kids. All other cargo would be in TT and factored into the 5,500lb GVW.

I would also be interested in seeing others door stickers with towing specs, thanks!

 

[SAdude]

Didn't mean to post under "interior" category, oops.

 

[ytechie]

Curious if anyone is currently or plans to tow a TT with the 2021 short wheel base? Long wheel base owners feel free to chime in too. I have the 8,400lb towing capacity Tahoe with trailer brake controller and wondering if a TT around 23 to 24ft and 5,500lbs gross weight is reasonable. I have never towed anything in my life and I realize these SUVs don't tow like a truck, so just wondering if this would be a comfortable tow for a first timer? Plan to use an affordable WD hitch with integrated sway control. Payload is reasonable...me, wife and 2 young kids. All other cargo would be in TT and factored into the 5,500lb GVW.

I would also be interested in seeing others door stickers with towing specs, thanks!

View attachment 261777

I'm in almost the exact same situation, and I've been going over the numbers repeatedly.

Based on your numbers, you should be in good shape. I'm looking at a 21ft trailer that will be around 5,500lbs, and I basically have the same Yukon as you. I'll be right at my limits with my wife and 3 kids in the car.

Payload is clearly the limit on these vehicles.

In addition to weekend trips, we like to take 1-2 long trips per year (2 weeks long), and I like to be comfortable. We used to have a 5th wheel trailer and an F-350, so I know what a good tow experience is like. My plan with the Yukon is to get a ProPride hitch. They're super expensive ($3000), but they completely change the towing dynamics and behave like a 5th wheel. 99% of the time, any weight distribution and sway control will be fine, but I'm willing to pay the money for safety and comfort.

You'll gets lots of internet people and sales people telling you to load it up and send it. Most of them don't realize how bad their sway is, or they have never experienced what it's like to not have to think about the trailer and the wind.

In short, don't cheap out on the hitch, try not to put much weight in the Yukon, and enjoy!

 

[SAdude]

I'm in almost the exact same situation, and I've been going over the numbers repeatedly.

Based on your numbers, you should be in good shape. I'm looking at a 21ft trailer that will be around 5,500lbs, and I basically have the same Yukon as you. I'll be right at my limits with my wife and 3 kids in the car.

Payload is clearly the limit on these vehicles.

In addition to weekend trips, we like to take 1-2 long trips per year (2 weeks long), and I like to be comfortable. We used to have a 5th wheel trailer and an F-350, so I know what a good tow experience is like. My plan with the Yukon is to get a ProPride hitch. They're super expensive ($3000), but they completely change the towing dynamics and behave like a 5th wheel. 99% of the time, any weight distribution and sway control will be fine, but I'm willing to pay the money for safety and comfort.

You'll gets lots of internet people and sales people telling you to load it up and send it. Most of them don't realize how bad their sway is, or they have never experienced what it's like to not have to think about the trailer and the wind.

In short, don't cheap out on the hitch, try not to put much weight in the Yukon, and enjoy!

Thanks for the response! I have read that the ProPride or Hensley are worth the money for the best towing experience but they weigh alot. Any idea what the ProPride weighs? If I understand correctly, the weight of the WD hitch itself must be included into both the the tongue weight and payload Capacities of the tow vehicle, which as mentioned are very limited on the tahoe and yukon. So the heavier the WD hitch the less remaining tongue weight and payload capacity. Maybe I'm wrong about this, still reading up on it.

 

[ytechie]

Sorry for the delay. I'm also very concerned with the extra weight, and I've asked around to a lot of ProPride owners. Because it extends the hitch roughly 1ft, it ends up not creating as much extra hitch weight as you might think. (picture it as longer handles on a wheelbarrow).

This hitch design also allows loading farther back in the RV (or more over the axles) without risk of sway.

I'm 99.9% sure I'm going with ProPride.

 

[ProfessionalDad]

Curious if anyone is currently or plans to tow a TT with the 2021 short wheel base? Long wheel base owners feel free to chime in too. I have the 8,400lb towing capacity Tahoe with trailer brake controller and wondering if a TT around 23 to 24ft and 5,500lbs gross weight is reasonable. I have never towed anything in my life and I realize these SUVs don't tow like a truck, so just wondering if this would be a comfortable tow for a first timer? Plan to use an affordable WD hitch with integrated sway control. Payload is reasonable...me, wife and 2 young kids. All other cargo would be in TT and factored into the 5,500lb GVW.

I would also be interested in seeing others door stickers with towing specs, thanks!

View attachment 261777

I just purchased a 2022 Grand Deaign 23BHE. The next day, I hooked it up to the back of my 2021 Tahoe Z71 and towed it 10 hours to the Grand Canyon. I have a blue ox sway pro hitch.

Trailer weighs 5300 dry, so with all of our things it was around 5800 pounds. Didn’t put water or bring drinks, just clothes and toiletries.

Towed like a champ. Lots of people would be weary of the weight, but not I. If the numbers bump, tow it. I will however think about adding airbag suspension at a later date. My Z71 didn’t have the air bag option. Slim pickings!

Anyways, here’s my rig! Happy trails

 

[ProfessionalDad]

I'm in almost the exact same situation, and I've been going over the numbers repeatedly.

Based on your numbers, you should be in good shape. I'm looking at a 21ft trailer that will be around 5,500lbs, and I basically have the same Yukon as you. I'll be right at my limits with my wife and 3 kids in the car.

Payload is clearly the limit on these vehicles.

In addition to weekend trips, we like to take 1-2 long trips per year (2 weeks long), and I like to be comfortable. We used to have a 5th wheel trailer and an F-350, so I know what a good tow experience is like. My plan with the Yukon is to get a ProPride hitch. They're super expensive ($3000), but they completely change the towing dynamics and behave like a 5th wheel. 99% of the time, any weight distribution and sway control will be fine, but I'm willing to pay the money for safety and comfort.

You'll gets lots of internet people and sales people telling you to load it up and send it. Most of them don't realize how bad their sway is, or they have never experienced what it's like to not have to think about the trailer and the wind.

In short, don't cheap out on the hitch, try not to put much weight in the Yukon, and enjoy!

Valid points about WD hitch and sway. Always get the best especially when you’re towing precious cargo like family.

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks for the response! I have read that the ProPride or Hensley are worth the money for the best towing experience but they weigh alot. Any idea what the ProPride weighs? If I understand correctly, the weight of the WD hitch itself must be included into both the the tongue weight and payload Capacities of the tow vehicle, which as mentioned are very limited on the tahoe and yukon. So the heavier the WD hitch the less remaining tongue weight and payload capacity. Maybe I'm wrong about this, still reading up on it.

Payload on these new wagons rivals many pick up trucks! The Hensley Arrow is 190 pounds. Well worth it according to the testimonials. 5500 pounds is nothing, but you do need to mind the sail area of the trailer and the effects wind has on it.

 

[dicepoint]

2021 Tahoe LT 5.3 with Max trailer package, Equalizer 1200 WDH. I am pulling a 30' Bullet 250BHS, 6500lbs fully loaded, bikes, generator which is stored over axels inside trailer using propane so no gas smell, food, clothes, ready for a week of camping but with only about a 1/4 tank of fresh water during travel. Tongue weight is at 840lbs. Tahoe with occupants and snack cooler brings my payload to about 300lbs under max which is 1760lbs. Weighed at a CAT scale three different ways, with WDH, without WDH bars connected, and just the Tahoe. I have pulled it for about 3000 miles so far on several trips. Up steep grades and through desert wind tunnels, about 10 to 30 MPH gusts and the Tahoe performed great no sway at all and trans temp never went above 200, barely knew it was behind me. Going down steep grades, the engine and trans seemed to keep at a steady RPM that only required minimal braking, trailer brake gain was set at 3.0. I did have to pull for a couple of miles on city streets to get to a dump station, because the one at campground was closed, with nearly full tanks which brought weight up to about 7500lbs. I felt that weight behind me and drove real slow and won't make a habit of doing this.
I have read about trailer length and wheelbase and I believe that is outdated info. I have pulled in some semi-extreme situations and feel my rig is setup properly and not pushing the limits, but believe I'm at the limit I want to be at with a little bit of wiggle room left. The new Tahoe is a great design and has incredible handling and pulls my trailer so well I have to remind myself I'm pulling it. I do feel the hurt of getting 9mpg but that's the cost of enjoying life I guess. Overall I don't think going to the extremes for an expensive hitch is necessary. Payload is the issue with the Tahoe but can be dealt with.

 

[Wantmoe68]

I just purchased a 2022 Grand Deaign 23BHE. The next day, I hooked it up to the back of my 2021 Tahoe Z71 and towed it 10 hours to the Grand Canyon. I have a blue ox sway pro hitch.

Trailer weighs 5300 dry, so with all of our things it was around 5800 pounds. Didn’t put water or bring drinks, just clothes and toiletries.

Towed like a champ. Lots of people would be weary of the weight, but not I. If the numbers bump, tow it. I will however think about adding airbag suspension at a later date. My Z71 didn’t have the air bag option. Slim pickings!

Anyways, here’s my rig! Happy trails

Hello just checking if you continue to have a good experience pulling that trailer with your Tahoe. We have a 2022 Tahoe Z71 5.3 with the regular tow package no air bags and are looking to upgrade our current trailer to a 2022 Palomino SolAire Ultra LIte 243BHS which is very similar in spec to your Grand Design. Any issues it’s power going up mountains or windy conditions? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

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