Real World Towing

[NoLand]

Hey guys, looking at a 6.2 RST Tahoe or Denali that will be capable of pulling our travel trailer. The trailer is well within the capacity of the Tahoe/Yukon and I’m currently pulling with my 5.3 Silverado.

However, I’m wondering about real world towing experience. Am I going to regret not having the extra 18-20” of the longer version? Will this thing have crazy hitch bounce? I see so few of these actually on the road towing, so I’m hoping you guys can provide some insight.


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[coupdevill]

1st Question, NO!
2nd Question, NO!

 

[WillCO]

Not sure my experience qualifies as I only tow my little 1500 pound pop-up camper. But, the Tahoe doesn't even seem to know it's there. Very little impact on mileage, even.

 

[Big Mama]

The difference between your truck and the others is the chassis. The engine can pull it all day. How heavy is your trailer and how far will you tow it? I can tell you I pull a 4K lbs boat no problem no bounce.

 

[Lyon]

It’ll be great. The RST has (I think) the same air bag leveling that the Denali gets. Does a good job of load leveling. If you use weight distribution, I’d get that set up and then turn the truck on and let the airbags work.

 

[mtocrs1]

Your truck will feel more stable compared to the shorter wheelbase of the Tahoe/Yukon. I have a 2015 Yukon and recently purchased a 2018 Silverado. I won’t tow with the Yukon anymore.
Keep in mind I am pulling an 8k 30’ boat.


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[Lyon]

Your truck will feel more stable compared to the shorter wheelbase of the Tahoe/Yukon. I have a 2015 Yukon and recently purchased a 2018 Silverado. I won’t tow with the Yukon anymore.
Keep in mind I am pulling an 8k 30’ boat.


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That’s a use case that definitely calls for a pickup if you’re doing it regularly. I mean, if you put in during the spring/summer and left it in until you were done for the season you could get away with a Tahoe with max tow. If it were an every weekend kind of trip I’d want a more dedicated tow rig.

 

[NoLand]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Trailer is about 25’ hitch to bumper and weights about 5500 fully loaded and I will be using a WD system.


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[Lyon]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Trailer is about 25’ hitch to bumper and weights about 5500 fully loaded and I will be using a WD system.


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With that set up you should be just fine with the RST Tahoe. You might even prefer it. The new 10 Speed transmission is really nice.

 

[NoLand]

With that set up you should be just fine with the RST Tahoe. You might even prefer it. The new 10 Speed transmission is really nice.

Thanks Lyon, good to hear.


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[CND17 BURBAN]

You might prefer the longer wheel base of a Suburban or Yukon XL.
Also the 5.3L with the Max Towing package is a really good at towing.
I know its not the same as the 6.2L, but it feels really strong.

 

[Tylus]

My 2015 Tahoe LS yanked a 8k trailer/f250 across CT quite easily. Motor and transmission did phenomenally to get the load going. And Tow/Haul mode was quite nice at keeping it under control and stopped easily.

The factory tires are utter POS. I installed Load Range E tires and at 50 psi it's a completely different animal. Towing was so much easier and better with those tires vice the original P rated crap.

 

[Jason101]

My 2017 Tahoe LT Towing 26 ft, 6,500 pound travel trailer. The LT's built in self-leveling does a great job at keeping everything level. With Max-Tow package features, the transmission runs nice and cool (about 195F) and the hill engine breaking is a life saver on the brakes.

 

[4OFFSHR]

I think the Suburban/Yukon XL pulls pretty good, I think the extra weight in the rear seems to help grip better pulling a boat up the ramp etc vs a truck with an empty bed.
Never had any issues pulling my boat which boat and trailer were probably around 9k lbs.
With my old Suburban I pulled a couple 38 footers just local around town, definitely relied on the trailer brakes working properly for those moves! The silver Formula in the pics attached was a 38 Fastech with Arneson Drives and the thing probably weighed 16k lbs boat and trailer. Was a heavy you know what! Sub actually pulled it fine, however stopping was relying on good trailer brakes and a good amount of distance.

 

[2011SSVHOE]

I purchased a brand new 26ft travel trailer in January, the dry weight is 4600 hundred lbs, I towed it home with my Hoe with a 8k rating I didn't like it I think maybe because of the short wheelbase, and I still wanted the ability to haul my Harleys, So I bought a used U-Haul 2007 E-450 I can tow my camper and haul my bikes, with the V10 it has plenty of power and with the Dual rear wheels, you can't even tell you have a trailer behind you. My buddies and I went to Daytona bike week with it in March the only complaint is the U-Haul is a gas hog.

 

[NoLand]

Thanks for the pics guys. Like I said, for as much as I hear about how well these tow, I’ve seen very few on the road with a sizeable load.


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[LT1ZOB]

No need to worry. My 3.6 Traverse did the job, the 5.3 Tahoe doesn’t even feel like it’s pulling anything. My trailer is about 1900 lbs, camaro is about 3,900 lbs and the vette is about 3,400. Tahoe went through the PA mountains last August, fully loaded and towing, AC blasting, no sweat.

 

[Ruger4141]

I have a 2016 Tahoe LT with the max tow package. I have a 7x12 enclosed v-nose trailer that is 7ft tall. Loaded down it weights about 3600lbs. On the interstate it is a nightmare to tow with the tahoe. It wonders back and forth across the road and works the heck out of the 5.3. I also have a 2016 Ram Laramie crew cab with a 6.4 bed, hemi/8 speed. The Ram tows it like a dream. I purchased the Tahoe to help take miles off my Ram but I guess not.

 

[Jorge1313]

Go for it I see them pullsmhuge boats all day long without an issue at the marina