Towing question Yukon XL SLT

[mountie]

I am planning to tow a U-Haul 12'x6' / double axle, enclosed trailer. About 175 miles.... all flat roads, no hills.
( Florida - what do you expect Hills?? Not here...)... Ha....
Going to Palm Beach from Tampa area.
The 1,900lb. Trailer will not have heavy stuff inside it. Do I need to select the 'Tow Mode' ??

I am betting my Yukon may not even know the trailer is behind it. But, I want to treat my transmission right.

My thought is maybe use the tow selection in town, then turn it off on the easy freeway?

 

[Scottydoggs]

you can try turning it off once at hwy speed. you'll feel it start to struggle if you really need the tow haul on. it raises the rpm's when on.

 

[mountie]

Thanks !!

 

[swathdiver]

I am planning to tow a U-Haul 12'x6' / double axle, enclosed trailer. About 175 miles.... all flat roads, no hills.
( Florida - what do you expect Hills?? Not here...)... Ha....
Going to Palm Beach from Tampa area.
The 1,900lb. Trailer will not have heavy stuff inside it. Do I need to select the 'Tow Mode' ??

I am betting my Yukon may not even know the trailer is behind it. But, I want to treat my transmission right.

My thought is maybe use the tow selection in town, then turn it off on the easy freeway?

Pete, with that light a load the shifting will probably feel funny and you'll want to just leave it off. I'll be down in Palm Beach tomorrow, if you run into any problems give me a holler. Are you coming across via 60, 70 or 80? My manual says Tow/Haul is effective at or above 75% of GCWR.

 

[mountie]

Pete, with that light a load the shifting will probably feel funny and you'll want to just leave it off. I'll be down in Palm Beach tomorrow, if you run into any problems give me a holler. Are you coming across via 60, 70 or 80? My manual says Tow/Haul is effective at or above 75% of GCWR.

Thanks..... I plan to trailer to Wellington at the end of May. .... Taking I- 75 down to 80 from Ft Meyers.
Just hauling mattresses and stuff to a storage. We'll be moving there before end of year.

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks..... I plan to trailer to Wellington at the end of May. .... Taking I- 75 down to 80 from Ft Meyers.
Just hauling mattresses and stuff to a storage. We'll be moving there before end of year.

Cool, well then we hope to see you at Palm Beach International Raceway (Moroso) at one of our meetups.

 

[mountie]

Cool, well then we hope to see you at Palm Beach International Raceway (Moroso) at one of our meetups.

Are you kidding???? I may be working there (maybe).......
I do have plans to work for Orbit Racing ( Porsches, etc )..... located near the track....
Plus I have friends who are pro-Drag Racers who play there!
( Kyle Bush has a house in Wellington )

So, yup... I'll be at PBIR.

 

[swathdiver]

Are you kidding???? I may be working there (maybe).......
I do have plans to work for Orbit Racing ( Porsches, etc )..... located near the track....
Plus I have friends who are pro-Drag Racers who play there!
( Kyle Bush has a house in Wellington )

So, yup... I'll be at PBIR.

Awesome, Randy is at the track quite frequently, either running or hanging out, I'm more of an annual visitor now. Twenty some years ago I was there several nights a week at that one and others around the country! Drag racing was in my blood, still a little bit left!

 

[mountie]

Awesome, Randy is at the track quite frequently, either running or hanging out, I'm more of an annual visitor now. Twenty some years ago I was there several nights a week at that one and others around the country! Drag racing was in my blood, still a little bit left!

Cool !! The most I do with Nitro Funny Cars is wash parts at engine teardown, and raise the body at the starting line.

( Man, those suckers are loud and you get a hundred pieces of rubber bits on your clothes at launches!! )

I help at Nostalgic races now.. ( yea-yea-yea...... another picture )

 

[swathdiver]

Cool !! The most I do with Nitro Funny Cars is wash parts at engine teardown, and raise the body at the starting line.

( Man, those suckers are loud and you get a hundred pieces of rubber bits on your clothes at launches!! )

I help at Nostalgic races now.. ( yea-yea-yea...... another picture )

View attachment 242169

Love it, reminds me of a John Force funny car model I built as a kid. Still have to get up to Don Garlit's museum of drag racing. Every single time I'm up that way it's been after hours, too early, too late, a holiday or the middle of the night, for decades!

 

[mountie]

Give yourself a full day there..... Plus, Don's residence is just inside the entry gate.

 

[rockola1971]

On flat level ground you should be alright in OD AND Tow/Haul Model (which just keeps tranny from hunting between 3rd and 4th plus it changes shift points). You start getting into some hills and I would not tow out of 3rd unless you want to take a chance on nuking your 2-4 band. Get the corvette servo installed and you will just about eliminate this problem with our tranny.

 

[mountie]

Towing will be a rare occasion, nothing heavy, and in central-south Florida it is all flat. ( Except for Ft. Meyers, an overpass - over water)...... (A 5 minute hill?)
Thanks for the suggestions..... My wonder was about using the Tow option on flat, which is not necessary for the most part.

 

[rockola1971]

Towing will be a rare occasion, nothing heavy, and in central-south Florida it is all flat. ( Except for Ft. Meyers, an overpass - over water)...... (A 5 minute hill?)
Thanks for the suggestions..... My wonder was about using the Tow option on flat, which is not necessary for the most part.

The Tow mode is necessary. even when on flat ground. This mode keeps your transmission from hunting back and forth between 3rd and 4th gear when you are right on the fence of loading the engine down in 4th which will cause the transmission to shift back and forth from 3 to 4 depending on engine load especially when passing another vehicle. This is bad for the 2-4 band and causes premature wear. When the 2-4 band goes you lose 2nd and 4th gear.

 

[mountie]

Thank you..... The answer works for me. Hit the tow switch when you tow.....

( reason for my original question was , I never owned a truck with that option before)
And when I was towing, it was with a Dually or Kenworth or similar.

 

[BigDogYJ]

hoenstly your not hurting anything by leaving it on the entire trip.
The trans computer is smart enough to adjust its shift behavior based on driving style and other factors (such as load, temp, etc).

If you notice the trans having to shift or downshift occasionally, then I'd leave it on. As mentioned above, you might notice some delayed or firmer shifting at times but Tow/Haul its designed to alter the shift pattern/behavior to reduce heat in the trans when additional load is present. Any time the trans has to shift to a different gear it generates heat. So by reducing the number of shifts it helps. Plus it allows better use of engine RPM when needed. especially with todays powertrains being tuned for maximum mpg (upshifting much sooner than ideal and then having to downshift to allow the engine rpm to come up to make more power when needed). you might as well avoid the unnecessary up/down shifts if you can.

Just something to consider. Take care.

 

[mountie]

This forum is awesome.... Thanks, all !!

BigDogYJ...... I hope to see more posts from you.....

 

[Scottydoggs]

if your just driving along at say 35 mph, and hit tow/haul, you'll see and feel the rpm's jump up a 1000 rpm.

once at hwy speed the rpm's no longer run that 1000 extra rpm. but you can feel the pedal and the od holds better. it also makes the brakes work better ive noticed. i used to tow a 4,000 lb boat with my 03 2500 hd pick up. i had 410 gears so it was like towing nothing most of the time. but tow haul def made it tow even easier.

im a landscaper, so the work trucks are both mason dumps, the new 15 silverado 3500 crew cab with a 9 foot dump we got needs to be in tow haul all the damn time or you can feel it being bogged down by the dumps weight. and thats got a 6l80e aka 6 sp auto. add a load in the back and the trailer and hitting that tow haul button is just second nature at this point. both trucks run in t/h mode all the time.

 

[rockola1971]

if your just driving along at say 35 mph, and hit tow/haul, you'll see and feel the rpm's jump up a 1000 rpm.

once at hwy speed the rpm's no longer run that 1000 extra rpm. but you can feel the pedal and the od holds better. it also makes the brakes work better ive noticed. i used to tow a 4,000 lb boat with my 03 2500 hd pick up. i had 410 gears so it was like towing nothing most of the time. but tow haul def made it tow even easier.

im a landscaper, so the work trucks are both mason dumps, the new 15 silverado 3500 crew cab with a 9 foot dump we got needs to be in tow haul all the damn time or you can feel it being bogged down by the dumps weight. and thats got a 6l80e aka 6 sp auto. add a load in the back and the trailer and hitting that tow haul button is just second nature at this point. both trucks run in t/h mode all the time.

Rpms jump +1000 at 35mph because you arent in 4th gear. 4th Gear will come in around 45-50mph roughly. It drops to around 1700rpm at 65mph (roughly) once 4th gear shift happens.

 

[GreyStone]

Hey Pete ~ what is the Tongue weight rating on your hitch?