Anyone have a Suburban or Yukon XL w/Diesel?

[sbacon]

Years ago we had a diesel 4x4 Suburban we used to pull our trailer; it had lots
of expensive problems. Now I have ordered the Tesla Cybertruck with 500 mile
range (without a trailer ) to pull a 30' Airstream. Times are changing !
PS : Tesla has lots of charging stations, take a look online. Or, home charge.
Get rid of fuel, tank, big motor, transmission & driveline, and headaches.
I think that electric trucks under $80K get a $7,500 tax credit to boot.
The only problem is that Tesla has already got LOTS of orders for this truck.
Tesla should be starting production of the Cybertruck soon, and it's
not going to be at all like your Grandpa's pickup. Read about it online.

[Tcitruck]

I have a 2011 suburban 2500 with the 6.6 duramax. We pull a 27fb and it does great. Ive heard that the diesel in the 1500 is underpowered.

Originally Posted by blacklab

I'm looking for feedback on how the 3.0 L Duramax Diesel performs in either a Suburban or Yukon XL 4 x 4 as a TV pulling an AS, preferably 27' or longer.

We'll be getting a 27' GT FBT and I'm evaluating a range of TV options.

We live in the Pacific NW, so much of our travel will be in mountains in the Western U.S. and Canada.

Note: The Max Payload as per GMC may be around 1,475 lbs., which could be an issue!!

Thank you.

Cheers,

Bryan

[nhaas]

The only issue with a Cybertruck is, it is UGLY! if it didn't look so bad, I would get one!

Originally Posted by sbacon

Years ago we had a diesel 4x4 Suburban we used to pull our trailer; it had lots
of expensive problems. Now I have ordered the Tesla Cybertruck with 500 mile
range (without a trailer ) to pull a 30' Airstream. Times are changing !
PS : Tesla has lots of charging stations, take a look online. Or, home charge.
Get rid of fuel, tank, big motor, transmission & driveline, and headaches.
I think that electric trucks under $80K get a $7,500 tax credit to boot.
The only problem is that Tesla has already got LOTS of orders for this truck.
Tesla should be starting production of the Cybertruck soon, and it's
not going to be at all like your Grandpa's pickup. Read about it online.

[ETroup]

Started working on setting up my Curt TruTrack WD hitch with this rig. No weight distribution used in this photo. 2023 Yukon Denali DuraMax 3.0 with Air Suspension leveled itself. First trip to CAT Scale reveals I need to move a couple hundred pounds off rear axle with WD on.

Coming from 2020 Ram EcoDiesel with Air Suspension with very similar payload and GV Axle rating specs. It towed well.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by ETroup

Attachment 428810
Started working on setting up my Curt TruTrack WD hitch with this rig. No weight distribution used in this photo. 2023 Yukon Denali DuraMax 3.0 with Air Suspension leveled itself. First trip to CAT Scale reveals I need to move a couple hundred pounds off rear axle with WD on.

Coming from 2020 Ram EcoDiesel with Air Suspension with very similar payload and GV Axle rating specs. It towed well.

Is the surface flat, the Yukon appears level the AS a bit low in the bum.

The WD should remedy that.

Bob
🇺🇸

[ETroup]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Is the surface flat, the Yukon appears level the AS a bit low in the bum.

The WD should remedy that.

Bob
🇺🇸

In this photo I had moved over the Curt WD Hitch without any changes and had not hooked up the torsion bars. I need to go through setup process but, I was pleased to see it level up nicely without doing anything.

[Merlintiaga]

Setting up the Yukon (or Tahoe or Escalade) equipped with air suspension is a bit tricky with WD. If you set it up with 1.5” of sag in the rear while the engine is off, the air ride will raise it back to level once the engine is on. That effectively removes some WD by raising the rear. The only way I have found to dial in the WD is by doing a couple CAT scale runs. Be sure to have your engine running when you’re on the scales so the the air ride is operating. You’ll love the way the air ride tows! Some people disconnect the air ride when towing by pulling the fuse. I don’t like that b/c the suspension was designed to have the airspring in addition to the mechanical springs. Disabling the air ride lowers the spring rate (k) of the rear suspension which is not a great idea.

[ETroup]

Per the extract below from the 2023 GMC Yukon Owner's Manual vicinity Page 224, the Air Suspension can be put into "Service Mode" to turn it off. Recommend you select "Normal Mode" first to let the Yukon adjust to its normal height before putting the Air Suspension in Service Mode.

Setup a WD Hitch when the Air Suspension is in Service Mode so that it will not interfere with the WD Hitch setup process. After the WD Hitch has been adjusted according to its instruction manual, the Air Suspension can be turned back on. It will now have less work to do to level the vehicle.

[ETroup]

Originally Posted by Merlintiaga

Setting up the Yukon (or Tahoe or Escalade) equipped with air suspension is a bit tricky with WD. If you set it up with 1.5” of sag in the rear while the engine is off, the air ride will raise it back to level once the engine is on. That effectively removes some WD by raising the rear. The only way I have found to dial in the WD is by doing a couple CAT scale runs. Be sure to have your engine running when you’re on the scales so the the air ride is operating. You’ll love the way the air ride tows! Some people disconnect the air ride when towing by pulling the fuse. I don’t like that b/c the suspension was designed to have the airspring in addition to the mechanical springs. Disabling the air ride lowers the spring rate (k) of the rear suspension which is not a great idea.

Good point about the Yukon Air Suspension lifting the rear end and effectively negating some weight distribution.

I have switched to a ProPride 3P hitch. Wanted to separate anti-sway function from weight distribution.

Set it up with air suspension in “Service Mode” (i.e., off) but when I switched it back on and switched to “Tow Mode”, the Yukon lifted the rear another two inches more. I had to lower the stinger to the -7.5 to -8.5 settings to get the Airstream level.

I weighed on CAT scale, then cranked up WD another 1 1/2 inches and reweighed on CAT scale. Better now.

[ETroup]

Another item of note is that although the Yukon has a higher Rear Axle Weight Rating than my Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and similar Payload it is constrained by an also higher Curb Weight.

I can reduce the hitch weight by avoiding storing heavy items up front in the Airstream and not carrying spare tire but, then I run into GCWR apparently because of the 900 lbs additional Yukon Curb curb weight vs the 1500.

[Merlintiaga]

@Etroup, is the 780 tongue weight for non-WD with a higher rating with WD? My 27’ Globetrotter has about 950 pounds of tongue weight when fully loaded and WD applied.

[kbmckay]

Originally Posted by Merlintiaga

@Etroup, is the 780 tongue weight for non-WD with a higher rating with WD? My 27’ Globetrotter has about 950 pounds of tongue weight when fully loaded and WD applied.

I have this same vehicle and have either overlooked literature from GM that contains separate tongue weight values (WD vs. Non WD), or it's not given.

Mine is rated at 770# Max tongue weight according to the door panel sticker.


Kent

[ETroup]

Originally Posted by Merlintiaga

@Etroup, is the 780 tongue weight for non-WD with a higher rating with WD? My 27’ Globetrotter has about 950 pounds of tongue weight when fully loaded and WD applied.

The GMC documentation does not seem to break out separately non-WD hitch load and WD hitch load. Given that the stated load exceeds a Class III hitch rating, I would expect the hitch is at least a Class IV.

We never approach the GVWR of our Airstream even when we are fully loaded. We just do not pack that heavy.

Here is our hitch sticker.



I decided to send an inquiry to CanAm RV as they seem to be the expert on towing with something other than a 3/4 ton truck. I emailed CanAm RV this question:

"Wanted to know whether you have opinion about the strength of 2021-2023 GMC Yukon's 2-inch receiver. Is it strong enough to fully dial in my WD hitch or does it need to be reinforced?"

I received this reply:

"Hi Eric, The new Yukon is a much better hitch than they did two generations ago. My hitch guy is pretty confident it would fine. If you were coming here to get a trailer, we’d probably reinforce it to be safe. If you’re not in our area then I’d say try it without. I doubt you’ll ever have an issue, but if you do it will happen slowly over time and you can see it starting to flex. If that happens, bring it to us before it gets bad and we can fix it for the same price it would have cost to do it in the first place.

Marshall McLean
Can Am RV Centre"

Having switched to a ProPride hitch, I know sway should not be a problem. My load-plan for the 27 foot AS will avoid putting heavy items up front in an effort to keep the dead weight of the hitch (before WD bars are cranked up) near 800 lbs and the rear axle load under its specifications.

An issue with the Yukon is that its curb weight is higher than the corresponding GMC 1500 Sierra. So even though the RAWR on the Yukon is higher than the Sierra 1500 and the payload seems workable at 1500 lbs, I will bump into the GCWR if I attempt to load the Airstream to its max GVWR.

[kbmckay]

[QUOTE=ETroup;2666247]The GMC documentation does not seem to break out separately non-WD hitch load and WD hitch load. Given that the stated load exceeds a Class III hitch rating, I would expect the hitch is at least a Class IV.

We never approach the GVWR of our Airstream even when we are fully loaded. We just do not pack that heavy.

Here is our hitch sticker.

Attachment 429287

Etroup,
I took the hitch sticker to just indicate GM's hitch used for the vehicle, not the weight that's rated for the Yukon. I'll bet it's the same hitch they use on a 1500 truck as well but I don't know that for sure.

I have the same hitch, but my vehicle (Yukon XL) is only rated to handle 770 lbs. tongue weight which is less that the tongue weight the hitch is rated for.

Am I reading that wrong?

Kent

[ETroup]

[QUOTE=kbmckay;2666270]

Originally Posted by ETroup

The GMC documentation does not seem to break out separately non-WD hitch load and WD hitch load. Given that the stated load exceeds a Class III hitch rating, I would expect the hitch is at least a Class IV.



We never approach the GVWR of our Airstream even when we are fully loaded. We just do not pack that heavy.



Here is our hitch sticker.



Attachment 429287



Etroup,

I took the hitch sticker to just indicate GM's hitch used for the vehicle, not the weight that's rated for the Yukon. I'll bet it's the same hitch they use on a 1500 truck as well but I don't know that for sure.



I have the same hitch, but my vehicle (Yukon XL) is only rated to handle 770 lbs. tongue weight which is less that the tongue weight the hitch is rated for.



Am I reading that wrong?



Kent

I think that is probably correct given the definition of GM T1 platform common to 1500s and Yukon/Tahoes.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-platforms/t1/

[lemley]

Originally Posted by lemley

FWIW, I’ve had a Suburban diesel 4wd on order for 6 months. My trailer is a 29’ 1988 Excella. I’ve never towed her with anything but a Yukon or Yukon XL. Im going with the diesel for the mileage and a little more power and braking in the mountains. This will be my first 4wd, but every other one I’ve had I’ve ended up wanting it. My trailer weighs 6700 pounds fully loaded for travel. At least that’s what it weighed day 1 of our last long trip.

We received our Suburban a couple of months ago. And wow are we happy. About every ten minutes I turn to my wife and say “boy, this thing tows good”. We’ve only been on a couple of trips with the trailer-maybe 700 miles total and no towing in the mountains yet, but, boy, am I delighted. 16.6 mpg towing, 28-30 highway. The trailering features are great. The vehicle detects sway and will automatically apply the trailer brake when it does. I’m not sure if this has happened to me or not…

We made a trip to Winter Park, CO last week without the trailer. About 10” of new snow. The diesel and 4wd were perfect. On the trip home we got about 34 mpg, but that includes a lot of downhill.

For us, we feel like this is the perfect vehicle.

[Starlight Mike]

Originally Posted by lemley

We received our Suburban a couple of months ago. And wow are we happy. About every ten minutes I turn to my wife and say “boy, this thing tows good”. We’ve only been on a couple of trips with the trailer-maybe 700 miles total and no towing in the mountains yet, but, boy, am I delighted. 16.6 mpg towing, 28-30 highway. The trailering features are great. The vehicle detects sway and will automatically apply the trailer brake when it does. I’m not sure if this has happened to me or not…

We made a trip to Winter Park, CO last week without the trailer. About 10” of new snow. The diesel and 4wd were perfect. On the trip home we got about 34 mpg, but that includes a lot of downhill.

For us, we feel like this is the perfect vehicle.

You are missing one important item as you have mentioned, you haven’t towed in the mountains. You have a large Suburban, large trailer and small engine. I really want to know how that works in the mountains. Thanks

[ETroup]

Originally Posted by m rafferty

You are missing one important item as you have mentioned, you haven’t towed in the mountains. You have a large Suburban, large trailer and small engine. I really want to know how that works in the mountains. Thanks

Just finished a short (several hundred miles along Florida I95) camping trip with 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Duramax with Air Suspension towing an AS International 27FB using ProPride hitch.

Yukon towed beautifully. “One hand on the wheel / steady as a rock” driving experience. Got buffeted by some moderate crosswinds but no sway. Quickly forgot (almost) the trailer was there. Perfectly level. In a construction zone, there was a zig zag traffic pattern. Went through it like a slalom; rig tracked great but collision alarms freaked out over seeing the narrow twisting lane marker poles.

Had to watch out keeping under 80mph. Noticed that oil and water temperatures did not budge whereas on my EcoDiesel the temperatures could rise 10-20 degrees when under towing load. Air Temperatures were in mid to high 80s.

Definitely a different ride than the stiff jiggles of a solid axle 2500 with the Yukon’s four wheel independent air suspension. It floated over bumps and bridge joints but never a sense of poor control.

Acceleration was perfectly adequate off the line or coming onto the interstate. Braking was ok - like a truck.

Heavy duty pickups DO NOT brake or shalom as well as cars even when not towing. This one of the overlooked realities of the “you need a bigger truck crowd”. Probably not needed, but I am installing the oversized GMC Brembo Performance Brakes kit (larger rotors and calibers) this weekend. Would need larger surface patch tires to take full advantage but the much larger brakes and six pads will never overheat.

Interestingly, the Yukon trailering mode systems can sense overloaded conditions including exceeding GCWR.

One other difference I noted is apparent air turbulence between the Yukon tailgate and the Airstream. I can hear the flow through ventilation damper being buffeted by the fluctuating air pressure from the turbulence.

Overall, pretty happy with the experience of Yukon towing 7,200 lbs Airstream. Averaged 12.8 mpg 70-80mph.

[lemley]

Well said. I was towing in the Texas hill country yesterday. A few steep grades. The diesel handles it way better. I took the Airstream out to the ranch and brought the tractor home on a 16’ trailer I found it interesting that I got almost the same mileage both ways…. 15 both ways.

I’m not sure if I’ve seen it on this forum, but the Suburban uses more DEF when towing. I’m not complaining though. Since January I’ve put 7000 miles on the diesel, about 800 towing. I put in the second jug of DEF last night.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by lemley

Well said. I was towing in the Texas hill country yesterday. A few steep grades. The diesel handles it way better. I took the Airstream out to the ranch and brought the tractor home on a 16’ trailer I found it interesting that I got almost the same mileage both ways…. 15 both ways.

I’m not sure if I’ve seen it on this forum, but the Suburban uses more DEF when towing. I’m not complaining though. Since January I’ve put 7000 miles on the diesel, about 800 towing. I put in the second jug of DEF last night.

DEF consumption is a function of fuel consumption. All diesels will use more as fuel mileage goes down with a load.