2001 Yukon 5.3 Towing

[Jmoga]

Hello,

I'm new here, thanks for having me.

I have a 2001 Yukon SLT
5.3L
4WD
3.73 gears
Autoride
Factory HD Towing Packege
w/ aux trans cooler

I'm wondering how it will do with a 25' travel trailer @ 7200lb loaded plus 700lb of passengers. We are taking a tour of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
I've never done any towing with this rig, all of my heavy towing was always done with a F450 diesel so I never gave it much thought...

Anything I should know or do to be prepared for this trip?

 

[The 'ER]

Hello,

I'm new here, thanks for having me.

I have a 2001 Yukon SLT
5.3L
4WD
3.73 gears
Autoride
Factory HD Towing Packege
w/ aux trans cooler

I'm wondering how it will do with a 25' travel trailer @ 7200lb loaded plus 700lb of passengers. We are taking a tour of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
I've never done any towing with this rig, all of my heavy towing was always done with a F450 diesel so I never gave it much thought...

Anything I should know or do to be prepared for this trip?

I am assuming that your 25 foot trailers GVWR is 7200lbs..... What is the dry weight? You want a good break controller, weight distributing hitch and sway control and have you ever pulled this trailer behind your Yukon? Your truck can handle it but based on how you load it will affect how it handles. What kind of tires are on the Yukon? Make sure they can handle the weight of adding that much gear and tongue weight on the trailer. A lot of p-metric tires cannot handle the weight of a trailer. Also check wheel bearings and brakes on the trailer and a general tune up on the Yukon would be helpful. If you do not know how to check bearings and brakes let me know I can explain how. Is this a toy hauler?

 

[livingez_123]

It should have no problem, my Father inlaw has a 01 Tahoe with the 5.3 and he tows about the same trailer, maybe just a bit lighter and he has no problems at all. I have towed his trailer many times with my Denali and it handles it with 0 issues. just make sure to check all of the items as stated above.

 

[Jmoga]

The trailer is a rental travel trailer we are picking up in Idaho. It's 6200lb dry, plus full water tanks and gear I figure about 7200lb tops. We are driving from Cali to Idaho with only what will fit in the Yukon, so gear will be minimum.

I have a lot of heavy towing experience with the F450 so load balancing and such won't be an issue.

The Yukon is my girlfriends and I've only driven it a few times so I just don't really what they are capable of...

We are driving about 3000 miles total, about 1000 of those with the trailer.

We will be using a load dist hitch.

It has Cooper Discovery LSX tires w/ a 2468lb load rating - should be fine?

I want to update/upgrade the brake controller - any recommendations on type/brand? My F450 had it built in...

ah yes, I forgot all about checking the wheel bearing, I'll do those when I change the diff oil.

Just had the tranny serviced and probably gonna do plugs and wires just to be safe.

Thx!

 

[The 'ER]

The trailer is a rental travel trailer we are picking up in Idaho. It's 6200lb dry, plus full water tanks and gear I figure about 7200lb tops. We are driving from Cali to Idaho with only what will fit in the Yukon, so gear will be minimum.

I have a lot of heavy towing experience with the F450 so load balancing and such won't be an issue.

The Yukon is my girlfriends and I've only driven it a few times so I just don't really what they are capable of...

We are driving about 3000 miles total, about 1000 of those with the trailer.

We will be using a load dist hitch.

It has Cooper Discovery LSX tires w/ a 2468lb load rating - should be fine?

I want to update/upgrade the brake controller - any recommendations on type/brand? My F450 had it built in...

ah yes, I forgot all about checking the wheel bearing, I'll do those when I change the diff oil.

Just had the tranny serviced and probably gonna do plugs and wires just to be safe.

Thx!

Add the weight of the truck and add gear and tongue weight and see if that equals what your tires can carry. Your total capacity is less than 10,000 lbs which is not a lot. Make sure the hitch you get is a good quality one that is set up by the people you pick it up from. Otherwise if you are setting it up PM me your email and I can get you the basics on how to install or go to the towing thread where I have explained how to set one up. As far as brake controllers go Tekonsha. Best in the industry by far and the only one we sell where I work. (I work for the largest RV dealer in the upper Midwest). As far as bearings check truck and trailer. We are on interstate 35 and have people drop a bearing all the time. Trust me a lot places don't give a rip about bearings and never check them. Just some tips from my 5 years in the RV industry.

 

[Stein2088]

The trailer is a rental travel trailer we are picking up in Idaho. It's 6200lb dry, plus full water tanks and gear I figure about 7200lb tops. We are driving from Cali to Idaho with only what will fit in the Yukon, so gear will be minimum.

I have a lot of heavy towing experience with the F450 so load balancing and such won't be an issue.

The Yukon is my girlfriends and I've only driven it a few times so I just don't really what they are capable of...

We are driving about 3000 miles total, about 1000 of those with the trailer.

We will be using a load dist hitch.

It has Cooper Discovery LSX tires w/ a 2468lb load rating - should be fine?

I want to update/upgrade the brake controller - any recommendations on type/brand? My F450 had it built in...

ah yes, I forgot all about checking the wheel bearing, I'll do those when I change the diff oil.

Just had the tranny serviced and probably gonna do plugs and wires just to be safe.

Thx!

If you can try not to fill your fresh water tanks and drain your gray water any chance you get... Water weighs about 7.5 lbs. So i'd check with where every your staying if they have hook ups. Thats a lot of weight to haul if you dont have to.

 

[Jewel or Jalopy]

We just towed our 6000 lb trailer 1000 miles with no issues. We used a WD hitch, Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller and simple sway control. Put most of the extra stuff over the axles in the trailer to keep the weight out of the truck.

I had no issues at all. I flushed the trans fluid before we left. Bring oil with you, ours burns more oil when towing.

Have fun!