Towing 30' International with 2017 Yukon XL Denali

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by trumpetguy

My 2016Ram Laramie 2500 tows like a dream with a ride comparable to SUV. And the Cummins 6.7 TBD doesn’t even know it’s there. Maybe it’s the Rams air suspension. I upgraded from a 1500 Ram because the payload was so low. Just saying there may be another truck option for you that is a safer tug.

How 'bout the driver, does he know it's there? 🤔

If I read the 1st post correctly the OP has already tried a 'truck' and is looking to upgrade for more interior room and a better ride.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[Bgibbs]

Bilsteins will make the ride even more firm. I love Bilsteins and I love a firm ride. My 2500 Duramax is my daily driver and I like the ride. I previously had an ‘06 Duramax and the new truck rides much smoother. The ‘06 had Bilsteins on it almost since new.
I owned a German car repair shop for 40+ years and sold a lot of Bilsteins.

[winfahl]

We bought a diesel Excursion, good low mileage ones go for around $20,000. They ride great for a ¾ ton super duty. We’ve towed a 10,000 lb travel trailer a with 7 people on board without any issue.

[jcl]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

If I read the 1st post correctly the OP has already tried a 'truck' and is looking to upgrade for more interior room and a better ride.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

Exactly. But it even more than that, the OP has already purchased the replacement. Seems to me that it isn’t in very good form to tell him what he should do if he has already considered the options, and then done it. Time to congratulate him on his choice. I am sure it will work great.

[SDP 28 FC]

I know your dilemma very well and I felt compelled to comment on your posting.

As you know by now, this TV topic is extremely subjective and is certainly influenced by one's car-maker of choice. Over my many years in the car world owning Corvettes, Mustangs, Suburbans, and on and on, I have chosen to indulge in some impulse buying along the way. However, in 2015 we took the plunge and got into a new 28' AS FC with a listed tongue weight approaching 1,000 lb.

All was well the day we drove it home from the dealership for a short 77 mile drive home in a 2014 GMC half-ton PU - I say all was well for the first 758 feet or so. I knew after about 2 miles down the road some additional consideration had to be made for me to feel comfortable towing without the TV red-lining the tach and laboring up the small hills found here locally. The half-ton was the 5.2L, auto, and something like a 3.18 rear end.

Next step was a gas 3/4 Chevy HD - 6.0L, 6 speed auto, and a 4.10 rear end. Much better but still not to my satisfaction. The torque curve was somewhere in the 3400 RPM range.

Now with all this said, you must know that I did a fair amount of research. Called the GM dealer, called GM, read everything published by GM and it all looked acceptable on paper - on paper!

Then off to the mountains. Long story short is it was very disappointing to say the least. The gas 3/4 ton and torque curve was very limiting. I recently bought a new 2018 3/4 ton Chevy HD with the new version of the Duramax and problem solved.

Towing = 28' AS Flying Cloud
2 bicycles
A big Yeti
Wife's entire wardrobe including 219 pairs of shoes & much needed beauty supplies
5 weenie dogs and portable fencing
2 grandkids on occasion

Good luck to you.

[LetsGetLivin]

We have a 2017 GMC 2500 diesel and it tows our 33’ Classic like a dream. It rode a bit rough when not hitched up so we added a topper to the bed. It now rides significantly smoother with the added weight and gives us some added dry storage.

[journeydog]

Originally Posted by dustent

My current TV is a '15 2500HD with Duramax, arguably one of the best TVs on the market. When we purchased our plan was to full-time out west, thus the best truck we could buy.

Plans change, and now I'm looking at traveling a bit less, just a couple trips a year and shorter trips in the midwest. In the meantime, the 2500HD is an absolute PITA to drive when not towing, I'm afraid my teeth are going to fall out. We don't drive it when my 6 month old daughter is with because she cries due to the jarring ride (yes, I've tried lowering PSI to 50 all around, helps but doesn't do enough). In addition, the crew cab is at full space capacity with 2 adults, 2 car seats and the dog.

Try changing your shocks...the Bilsteins are great shocks but, they may ride a little stiffer than the original stock-shocks. I have an '08 Ford F350 Harley-Davidson Edition, CC, 4x4, 6.4L Diesel and replaced the "whatever-OEM types" with Bilsteins and got a very harsh ride as a result. Wished I'd left good enough as-was. Now, have an '18 GMC Sierra 2500HD, 4x4, CC, 6.6L Duramax and the last thing I'll ever do is swap the stocks out for Bilsteins.

[dustent]

Just a follow up for everyone that helped with comments on this thread - we’re doing good with this combo, but want to make a few notes for anyone in the same situation:
- I wouldn’t want to drive this combo without the ProPride. I have it set with 7” on the jack. I’m waiting on the extended length (12” shank) from Shawn to get perfect level, right now I’m 1.5” high in the front.
- I’m able to tell effective weight distribution by watching tire pressure, probably because of the 22” tires. All tires should increase in PSI at the same rate if equally loaded. I still need to get to the scales.
- we aren’t carrying anything inside the truck. Basically just the kids and the dog, anything with weight goes in the RV.
- the Denali Yukon XL is SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE 2500HD. I can’t emphasize this enough, in terms of family happiness it’s 1000% better.
- the 6.2l under load sounds like a corvette and that makes me happy
- I’m sure mountains aren’t going to be amazing with an N/A rig, but having lived in the mountains for many years, I’ve seen much worse combos make it over the Rockies, not worried.

[wulfraat]

Sweet! Nice ride and setup. Propride was an excellent move.

Make sure to inspect your hitch receiver every 1,000 miles of towing or so - just give it a good once over looking for cracks at the welds. Should be fine but a good practice.

[ekbruster]

Yeah I should have indicated I had the extended shank on a husky centerline hitch. Interesting on the tire pressure as I've not seen any issues there but I do have a lot of tension on my bars taking the weight out of the rear end.

[HunterC]

Nice tip on watching the psi before/after in the vehicle tires (haven't tried that one yet) -HC

[dustent]

Just another update, I got the extended drop shank on and it’s perfect. At 7.5” on the ProPride it feels AWESOME.

[dwe8922]

I bought a 2017 Yukon XL Denal 2wd for my wife to be our family car that could hold 3 car seats and be able to tow our Airstream. I went for the Denali to get the bigger motor and transmission, thinking it would be the best TV over a 5.3 suburban. I drove them back to back and liked the mag ride shocks better too. I had an '01 suburban that I towed a 24' featherlite enclosed w/ race car for years without ever needing WD, so I thought the Denali would be even better than that was.

The first trip out was with my parent's 28' classic (and no WD), and the thing was almost undriveable! It floated all over the place, and was unsafe above 50 mph. I tried a second time, and used my Dad's Anderson WD hitch with the chains and it improved some, but was still unsafe to me. Not long after, we bought our ownn 30' bunkhouse, I've never attempted to tow with the Denali again. I have a 3500 GMC dually that I tow my 48' race car hauler, so we squeeze the kids in that, and it tows it like it's not there, even without WD.

What causes the Denali's to tow so poorly? I thought it was going to be the cat's meow. It even came standard with the towing package. Is it the air leveler or the mag shocks? The dealer can't seem to answer me, and calling GMC directly was a waste of time.

I also didn't realize the 6.2L was aluminum, and some of the previous posters are probably right that that is probably not the best for heavy towing. Just as a data point, the denali developed a knock, and is at the dealer having the lifter s and the cam replaced. I was told its the same motor as in the corvette, and that they had a vette in for the same exact same thing, and we're both waiting for backordered parts.

[wulfraat]

I bet a 9,000lb GVWR 28’ trailer probably generating 1,200 #s + of dead weight on the ball with no weight distribution would drive like crap with an SUV - you probably unloaded 4-500 lbs from the front axle while overloading the rear axle. A little light and loose on the steering was it? [emoji4]

Why does a Denali not tow well? Same reason as for any SUV - a poorly configured weight distribution setup compounded by a crappy hitch compounded by a trailer that is at or over the limit of the tow vehicle capability. Correct those issues and it will tow much better.

The fact that you latched up a trailer that size and weight on the hitch ball of a soft sprung suv with no weight distribution or sway control and took it out on the highway is worrisome. Glad you have access to a 3,500. Please consider using anti-sway bars on the HD truck even if you forgo weight distribution.

Be safe out there.

[dustent]

Originally Posted by dwe8922

What causes the Denali's to tow so poorly? I thought it was going to be the cat's meow. It even came standard with the towing package. Is it the air leveler or the mag shocks? The dealer can't seem to answer me, and calling GMC directly was a waste of time.

I've found the Denali to be a great tow vehicle, combined with a properly dialed in WD hitch (propride w/1400lb bars). We've done many thousands of miles without issues. I think your issue is no or poorly setup WD hitch.

A 2500 and certainly a 3500 will hide a poorly setup WD hitch. Maybe it doesn't matter on a truck that size, but I'm realizing now that my 2500HD hid my improper hitch setup.

[dwe8922]

[QUOTE=wulfraat;2279851]I bet a 9,000lb GVWR 28’ trailer probably generating 1,200 #s + of dead weight on the ball with no weight distribution would drive like crap with an SUV - you probably unloaded 4-500 lbs from the front axle while overloading the rear axle. A little light and loose on the steering was it? [emoji4]


Even with the weight distributing hitch, it still towed like crap...... It's an Andersen, so it's not a cheap one, and it was set up to the instructions. I think my parent's 28' weighs 6,000 lbs, with 850 lb tongue weight, so that shouldn't be too taxing for an 8,500 lb capacity long wheelbase suv.....

I do find it interesting that an earlier poster had good luck towing after going to heavier tow bars. Maybe I could have tried tightening the Andersen more.

I got an update on our Denali's engine work today and the advisor said I might try disabling the load leveler. He said there should be an off button by the rear hatch. He said they have to disable it whenever they lift those trucks and they're running. He thought turning it off might improve towing.

David

[pteck]

wulfraat answered it.

With any rig, it's important to read the manual and get it dialed in. It would be no surprise that it calls for a WD setup for tongue weights your 28' AS is at. I bet it would tow like the cats meow with the right configuration.

Anderson hitches, while awesome for lighter weight rigs, don't have the right geometry to adequately transfer enough weight to the front steering axle for larger trailers.

Set her up with a proper weight distribution setup, transferring enough weight to the front axle to restore caster and stability, will do the trick. Leave the load leveler on. But one should understand that it's important to dial in WD tension after the it's had a chance to level the rig. Otherwise, it can work to counteract and reduce WD tension (much like using the tongue jack to lift the hitch and to reduce WD tension before disconnecting), which is exactly the opposite one wants.

[Specsalot]

I'm debating TV upgrade to pull my 25' AS RB. I met someone last year who claimed over 1 million miles towing his 27' AS FB exclusively with Yukon Denali 6.2. He trades the TV when it hits 350k miles and was just on his 4th Yukon when we discussed towing. He never tow's over 60 MPH. I didn't look at his set up so I have no idea what hitch he ran. I'm sure it was WD and no doubt dialled in.

My TV (07 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD) is marginal. I run a Blue Ox with 1000# bars. The rig would bottom out horribly on small bumps until I finally added helper airbags. That was a significant improvement, but I want to move to a better TV out in time. This is an interesting thread.

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by dustent

My current TV is a '15 2500HD with Duramax, arguably one of the best TVs on the market. When we purchased our plan was to full-time out west, thus the best truck we could buy.

Plans change, and now I'm looking at traveling a bit less, just a couple trips a year and shorter trips in the midwest. In the meantime, the 2500HD is an absolute PITA to drive when not towing, I'm afraid my teeth are going to fall out. We don't drive it when my 6 month old daughter is with because she cries due to the jarring ride (yes, I've tried lowering PSI to 50 all around, helps but doesn't do enough). In addition, the crew cab is at full space capacity with 2 adults, 2 car seats and the dog.

I'm considering getting a 2017 Yukon XL Denali w/6.2L, 10 speed and 3.23 gearing. It comes with the "trailering package". I figure the 1/2 ton SUV frame and other luxury features will make for a better daily vehicle, which is it's job 75% of the time, while being able to perform as a capable tow vehicle as needed.

Looking for any feedback for those that have actually used a 6.2L Yukon XL with a larger AS.

...

We thought the same as you did and traded off our 3/4 T Duramax ...
...thinking that our Yukon 4wd / tow package (but w/o max tow; not XL model) would perform the same as a 1/2 T truck for towing the AS.

Well, not QUITE!

We just returned from two very unsettling (read that white-knuckles over mountain passes in the rain) trips towing a 25' AS behind the 2017 Yukon. It was meticulously set up with the EQ hitch properly "dialed-in" (even bought a different drop shank) but the tail wagged the dog too frequently. A little light on the power end with the 5.3 engine, but adequate for all but the steepest mountain passes.
Our local GM dealer was right ... about shorter wheel based vehicles;we don't feel that it compares to towing with the 3/4 Ton with three different AS set ups - as far as safety. YMMV but that was our experience with coil springs vs leaf springs.

We loved our Yukon for many reasons - but towing an AS is not one of the reasons.
Yukon gone ...new Silverado 1/2 T in the garage ... stay tuned for updates...