Towing question

[jake calvin]

The wife and I are looking to purchase a travel trailer weighing 6,400 lbs within the next few months and wanted to know if anyone is towing a comparable trailer or boat etc. any issues with your towing experience? Did you do any mods like install transmission cooler, re gear etc to accommodate the trailer? I have a 2016 Tahoe Z71 with the 3.42 rear end and from what it looks like, no tranny cooler that I can see at quick glance. Any info is appreciated.

 

[Burby]

You might want to check at the thehulltruth.com or equivalent trailer/camper forum for feedback as they do tons of heavy trailering in those forums.

 

[jake calvin]

You might want to check at the thehulltruth.com or equivalent trailer/camper forum for feedback as they do tons of heavy trailering in those forums.

Right on thanks Burby I'll check that out.

 

[mals]

The wife and I are looking to purchase a travel trailer weighing 6,400 lbs within the next few months and wanted to know if anyone is towing a comparable trailer or boat etc. any issues with your towing experience? Did you do any mods like install transmission cooler, re gear etc to accommodate the trailer? I have a 2016 Tahoe Z71 with the 3.42 rear end and from what it looks like, no tranny cooler that I can see at quick glance. Any info is appreciated.

A good resource to check the towing capacity of your setup is here:

http://rvbonus.com/towing/2016/chev/​

With your 3.42 and assuming you are 4wd your rated to tow a max of 8,400lbs.

Is 6,400 lbs the manufacturers dry weight of the travel trailer, the current equipped curb weight, or the max gross weight of the trailer / axle limit?

We had a similar thread last month in the NBS section of the forum. Your numbers will be a little different, but the advice from those of us that use ours to tow travel trailers will apply to your 2016 just the same.

 

[jake calvin]

A good resource to check the towing capacity of your setup is here:

http://rvbonus.com/towing/2016/chev/​

With your 3.42 and assuming you are 4wd your rated to tow a max of 8,400lbs.

Is 6,400 lbs the manufacturers dry weight of the travel trailer, the current equipped curb weight, or the max gross weight of the trailer / axle limit?

We had a similar thread last month in the NBS section of the forum. Your numbers will be a little different, but the advice from those of us that use ours to tow travel trailers will apply to your 2016 just the same.

Yes 6,400 lbs is the trailers "dry weight". And yes my Tahoe is 4x4. I'll also look at that thread, thanks for the help.

 

[YukonCpt]

I am I the same boat. Looking at a similar trailer by weight.

 

[DennisT]

Some good info can be found on http://www.rv.net/

I towed a 36 ft travel trailer with my 2009 6.2L Tahoe with full trailer package. I was grossly overloaded, about 1600 lbs over the tow capacity and about 200 lbs over the rear axle load capacity. I only pulled it about 200 miles 2 times a year and couldn't justify a heavier truck for two times a year. I was pulling in Florida and it was on relatively level ground. I towed slow and easy because of being overloaded. Pay close attention to the load on the hitch and the load on the rear axle. With a tow capacity of 8400 lbs, a properly set up hitch will likely exceed your max tongue weight. Also, you will probably have a 1500 lb or so load capacity. The tongue weight gets subtracted from load capacity and what you are left with is for passengers, fuel and any other cargo. So if you have 800 to 900 lbs on the hitch you don't have much left for family.

You'll want to make sure you have a good transmission cooler and invest in a good load equalizing hitch with sway control. Also, the 6400 lb trailer will quickly go to 7400 lbs once you start loading it up with all of the stuff you'll need. And if you're boondocking don't forget the weight of the water tanks.

Good luck.

 

[BK76]

The wife and I are looking to purchase a travel trailer weighing 6,400 lbs within the next few months and wanted to know if anyone is towing a comparable trailer or boat etc. any issues with your towing experience? Did you do any mods like install transmission cooler, re gear etc to accommodate the trailer? I have a 2016 Tahoe Z71 with the 3.42 rear end and from what it looks like, no tranny cooler that I can see at quick glance. Any info is appreciated.

If you know what Trailer you are getting, i would suggest going on their Forums to ask around as well. Maybe someone there has a similar Vehicle and can let you know how it rides. I own a 2014 Jayco Jayflight 32RLDS and I am on the Jayco forums all the time. I pull it with a 2013 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel, so no worries on the 12,000lb trailer and cargo, but still got a lot of good info from the jayco forum.

Happy Trails!!

 

[jake calvin]

If you know what Trailer you are getting, i would suggest going on their Forums to ask around as well. Maybe someone there has a similar Vehicle and can let you know how it rides. I own a 2014 Jayco Jayflight 32RLDS and I am on the Jayco forums all the time. I pull it with a 2013 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel, so no worries on the 12,000lb trailer and cargo, but still got a lot of good info from the jayco forum.

Happy Trails!!

Great idea I will do that.

 

[Yukon John]

I tow a 7500# 26' Formula Boat with my '16 Yukon Max Tow 3.42 gear 2 Wheel Drive. I am set up with a 600# tongue weight and have no issues what so ever. The total package works very well. My previous vehicle that I used was a 6.0 LQ9 Escalade with 3.73 gears...surprisingly the Yukon does a better job !!

 

[Shadow17]

I tow a 24' Chaparral (7500 GVWR) on a trailer with no problems whatsoever.
Truck handles it nicely; never a concern.

 

[TowinTahoe11]

The wife and I are looking to purchase a travel trailer weighing 6,400 lbs within the next few months and wanted to know if anyone is towing a comparable trailer or boat etc. any issues with your towing experience? Did you do any mods like install transmission cooler, re gear etc to accommodate the trailer? I have a 2016 Tahoe Z71 with the 3.42 rear end and from what it looks like, no tranny cooler that I can see at quick glance. Any info is appreciated.

Do you have a 5.3 or a larger engine. I've got 4 years of expereince towing a similar tailer. A few important suggestions. First, if your dry starting weight is 6,400 you want to be careful to weigh it fully loaded with everything you'll be taking, then be sure you are only at 80% of your vehicles rated towing capacity. GM always overrates the towing capacity so this will give you the required 'wiggle room' for towing your rig. Second, purchase and install a load leveling bar system between your trailer and the tow hitch, this helps control some of the sway you'll feel as larger vehicles pass you. CAUTION: someone may want to talk you into an anti-sway bar. If you decide to do this be sure to get special instructions about how to drive with one installed. Third, be sure that your hitch is rated high enough for the weight of your trailer hooked up. My hitch weight capacity is 800lbs, careful to stayi well below that rating. Third, Have a qualified dealer install and adjust the height of a stinger hitch to be sure that your trailer rides level on the road, neither tipping up or town when connected. I have an LTZ 2009 Tahoe which has a load leveling package (air assisted shocks) check to see if you have this. Such a system does help the handling characteristics while towing. FYI, I just replaced the main compressor for this system ($550), but well worth it for the benefit towing. Finally, after overheating the transmission on one trip I had my mechanic install a larger transmissiosn cooler which I purchased as aftermarket online. It's been the best addition to my vehcile. The one GM installs just is not enough surface area to do the job on a long hill on hot days (over 90 degrees). Looking back I'd put one on before the first trip. It's taken me awhile to learn all of this from friends and experience. Hope it's helpful to you.

 

[snaward]

The wife and I are looking to purchase a travel trailer weighing 6,400 lbs within the next few months and wanted to know if anyone is towing a comparable trailer or boat etc. any issues with your towing experience? Did you do any mods like install transmission cooler, re gear etc to accommodate the trailer? I have a 2016 Tahoe Z71 with the 3.42 rear end and from what it looks like, no tranny cooler that I can see at quick glance. Any info is appreciated.

Don't forget wind load. Boats are not a big deal, but a travel trailer is different. I towed a 28' trailer with a 5400 pound empty payload (~6500 loaded) using a yukon denali, 6.2L engine and 6-speed transmission with factory transmission cooler. The vehicle had the HP to haul the trailer with stuff and family with one issue. If the outside temp was above about 85 deg F, I could do 65 mph for about 2 hours before I would have to slow down because the transmission and engine temp would start climb. I was looking at getting a bigger transmission cooler (the factory one is not real big) or adding an oil cooler, but ended up trading for a diesel truck.

Tow ratings on vehicles by manufactures just means the frame, suspension, transmission can handle the weight, but DOES NOT take in to account that you want to be able to least drive near the speed limit to get to your destination. Get as much HP/torque as you can afford!

 

[06 Yukon XL]

Do you have 3:08 or 3:42 gear ratio?

 

[jake calvin]

Do you have 3:08 or 3:42 gear ratio?

3.42 ratio currently but already got a quote to change both front and back to a 3.73...

Lastly,I'm buying/installing an aftermarket tranny cooler. This past weekend I just installed a K & N intake to help out a little...