Towing with GMC Yukon

[Paul Mixa]

I am looking for a hybrid camper and want to tow with a 2005 GMC Yukon 2W drive, says tow weight is 7,000 lbs and is 127 inches between the axels. Can anyone suggest what I can safely and easily tow, would like to take around US and mountain areas. Would a trailer 23 feet and around 4,000 lbs be safe to tow. I was looking at 17 feet but want more options. What else do I need to look at, height? I want to keep the family safe and not kill the car. Thank you! Paul

[Homersimpson]

it depends (it always depends), how big is the family? How much room do you need?

[dbledan]

Congrats for looking before you buy. Smart move and could save you from needing a quick upgrade later.

Look at you cargo carrying capacity. This almost always runs out first. It's the tire sticker on the drivers door and should provide the weight you can handle in the TV passengers hitch, tongue etc. It is only an estimation so know this and you will likely want a buffer.

Total up passengers gear in Yukon hitch weight. Subtract that from the CCC on that yellow sticker. That should give you an idea of how much tongue weight your TV can handle. Note that a better way here is to weigh your Yukon with everything including full tank of gas. You then know how much more weight your axles can take.

For tongue weight I go with dry weight plus trailer cargo carrying capacity of the trailer or gross max weight. Figure 10-15% and that is your tongue weight. Don't just use the dry weight as no trailer weighs that once it reaches a dealer. If you don't want to fully load figure you will likely add about 1000lbs to dry weight and do the percentage from there.

I figure 15% for units with front storage and 10% for rear storage. Split it as 12.5. Know that my trailer has all storage in the front and is about 16%.

With not a large family I am guessing that with 4000lbs you will likely be ok but adding a few teens will change that estimate quickly.

Best of luck and keep asking questions until you are comfortable but be ready for lots of opnions.

[rsdata]

I have a 183 hybrid, 3 bunks, no slides. Dry weight is 3,700# loaded I am closer to 4,800#. 19 feet long.

The 3 bunks plus the dinette will allow me to sleep 4, each with their own bed... obviously more can sleep than that.

The hybrid is great i that it puts a lot of trailer in a small package... bathroom, fridge, range, microwave. Without slides to make it even heavier, it pulls easily and has a tongue weight of about 550#.

Your payload capacity of your TV is going to be your limiting factor. Look for a yellow sticker on drivers door jamb which will give you the payload of your vehicle. Don't confuse tow capability with payload. Your payload will decrease by your tongue weight and add any more cargo and people weight inside your TV.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Paul Mixa

I am looking for a hybrid camper and want to tow with a 2005 GMC Yukon 2W drive, says tow weight is 7,000 lbs and is 127 inches between the axels. Can anyone suggest what I can safely and easily tow, would like to take around US and mountain areas. Would a trailer 23 feet and around 4,000 lbs be safe to tow. I was looking at 17 feet but want more options. What else do I need to look at, height? I want to keep the family safe and not kill the car. Thank you! Paul

Does your Yukon have the factory tow package?
Does it have the 5.3 v-8?
What rear end ratio does it have?
What hybrid are you looking at?

[Paul Mixa]

It does have a factory tow package and is 5.3 V8. 3.42 gear axel ratio. I am not sure what I am getting yet, just trying to find out what I can tow safely with out killing the car. Is 23 feet and 4000 lbs too much?

[Paul Mixa]

We have 2 kids 9 and 6. We do not need much room just wondering if I can go up to 23 feet or if I should stay between 17 and 19 feet.

[Paul Mixa]

Originally Posted by rsdata

I have a 183 hybrid, 3 bunks, no slides. Dry weight is 3,700# loaded I am closer to 4,800#. 19 feet long.

The 3 bunks plus the dinette will allow me to sleep 4, each with their own bed... obviously more can sleep than that.

The hybrid is great i that it puts a lot of trailer in a small package... bathroom, fridge, range, microwave. Without slides to make it even heavier, it pulls easily and has a tongue weight of about 550#.

Your payload capacity of your TV is going to be your limiting factor. Look for a yellow sticker on drivers door jamb which will give you the payload of your vehicle. Don't confuse tow capability with payload. Your payload will decrease by your tongue weight and add any more cargo and people weight inside your TV.

What is TV, sorry new to this. Should the total weight include everything and everybody in the car as well as the trailer?

[Paul Mixa]

Originally Posted by dbledan

Congrats for looking before you buy. Smart move and could save you from needing a quick upgrade later.

Look at you cargo carrying capacity. This almost always runs out first. It's the tire sticker on the drivers door and should provide the weight you can handle in the TV passengers hitch, tongue etc. It is only an estimation so know this and you will likely want a buffer.

Total up passengers gear in Yukon hitch weight. Subtract that from the CCC on that yellow sticker. That should give you an idea of how much tongue weight your TV can handle. Note that a better way here is to weigh your Yukon with everything including full tank of gas. You then know how much more weight your axles can take.

For tongue weight I go with dry weight plus trailer cargo carrying capacity of the trailer or gross max weight. Figure 10-15% and that is your tongue weight. Don't just use the dry weight as no trailer weighs that once it reaches a dealer. If you don't want to fully load figure you will likely add about 1000lbs to dry weight and do the percentage from there.

I figure 15% for units with front storage and 10% for rear storage. Split it as 12.5. Know that my trailer has all storage in the front and is about 16%.

With not a large family I am guessing that with 4000lbs you will likely be ok but adding a few teens will change that estimate quickly.

Best of luck and keep asking questions until you are comfortable but be ready for lots of opnions.

So the cargo carrying capacity would be the tongue weight and everything inside the car including people? Not sure what TV is, and what is CCC. The sticker on my car says the combined weight of occupants not to exceed 1545 and the GVWR is 7000 lbs, GAWR frt 3200 lbs and GAWR RR 4000 lbs. Is the GAWR frt the hitch weight? and GVWR the total weight of everything in the car and what I tow? Thank you for helping out so much, just trying to figure it out.

[MT Biker]

TV = tow vehicle

[Chief T]

TV = tow vehicle (your Yukon)

Your owner's manual should describe all the acronyms; GCWR, GCVWR, GAWR, etc. Manual should also have an in-depth towing section to read up on.

The payload capacity includes the actual tongue weight (not dry weight) + weight of WDH (weight distribution hitch) + weight of all occupants + weight of any baggage/gear you have in the TV.

I have a 03 GMC Sierra regular cab, short bed, with 4.8l engine and 3.73 gears. Max tow rating is 7,400 lbs. I have a 25ft TT (travel trailer). 25ft bumper to hitch. My TV tows the TT ok, but get pushed around on the highways by semis and others due to the short wheel base. You're not going to break any land speed records, so enjoy the scenery.

You mentioned Yukon has tow package, does it have the external transmission cooler? You'll need the external cooler when going up grades to keep the temps down.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

[DieselDrax]

Originally Posted by Paul Mixa

So the cargo carrying capacity would be the tongue weight and everything inside the car including people? Not sure what TV is, and what is CCC. The sticker on my car says the combined weight of occupants not to exceed 1545 and the GVWR is 7000 lbs, GAWR frt 3200 lbs and GAWR RR 4000 lbs. Is the GAWR frt the hitch weight? and GVWR the total weight of everything in the car and what I tow? Thank you for helping out so much, just trying to figure it out.

OK, so a quick run-down...

• TV = Tow Vehicle (Your SUV)
• CCC = Cargo Carrying Capacity (The 1,545 number on the Yukon's sticker is the SUV's CCC)
• GVWR = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, the maximum weight allowed by the manufacturer and includes hitch weight, occupants, and all gear in and on the SUV. The trailer will also have a GVWR.
• GAWR = Gross Axle Weight Rating, FRT and RR are Front axle and Rear axle. For example, if you put too much weight in/on the back of the SUV then you can exceed the rear GAWR but still be within GVWR.
• GCWR = Gross Combined Weight Rating, the maximum weight of both the SUV and the trailer combined. Your tow rating basically comes from GCWR minus GVWR of the SUV.

Some tips to help you know what trailers you can look at...

If you have CAT scales nearby then have everyone hop in your SUV, get a full tank of gas, and get your SUV weighed with you all in it. This will give you an idea of how much capacity is left for hitch weight and gear in the SUV.

That 1,545 number is likely with a full tank of gas and a 175lb driver, so if you don't have CAT scales nearby then you can get a rough idea of remaining capacity by...

Your weight - 175LB = Additional driver weight to subtract from the 1545 number.
Add up the weight of all your family members and subtract that total calculated above.
Subtract around 100lb for hitch gear from that number.
Think about how much gear you'll want to bring in the SUV; Chairs, toys, coolers, etc. and subtract estimated weights for those from the number.

The number that remains is the approximate hitch weight that you will be allowed. Let's say you end up with 1545 - 50 - 350 (wife and 2 kids) - 100 - 150 = 895lb hitch weight.

You want 10-15% of the trailer's weight on the hitch, so we'll go with the higher number of 15%.

895 / .15 = 5,966lb max trailer weight.

To help know at a glance if a trailer should fall within that limit you can look at the trailer's GVWR and if it's under that weight then you should be fine. If you're looking online and don't see the GVWR but you see "UVW" (Unlaiden Vehicle Weight) and "CCC" (Cargo Carrying Capacity) you can add those together to get what the GVWR should be.

Something else to keep in mind is that the WDH (Weight Distributing Hitch) will transfer around 33% of the hitch weight back to the trailer. Some people will tell you that it's OK to exceed your payload rating by 33% because the WDH will shift that weight off you tow vehicle, but I find that to be too close for comfort. Towing at or over the limit is not fun, so I find it best to make sure you're within the limits without accounting for what the WDH will shift back to the trailer's axles.

This may sound like a lot and overwhelming, but the hardest part is determining what your REAL capacities are and then just making sure the trailers you're looking at don't exceed any of your available capacities.

Good luck!

[JimChow]

I have an 07 Tahoe, 5.3L, 3.73 rear end, 4WD, trans cooler pulling an 08 SV 233T at 4100 lbs dry. The truck does well in Michigan but not sure I would tackle mountains. The Tahoe is rated at 7200 lbs tow capacity, but I wouldn't try anything that heavy.

[bikendan]

Well, your 4 speed trans coupled with the 3.42 rear end, means you won't have the higher towing capacity, compared to if you had the 3.73 rear end.

But as along as you stay within the Yukon's payload capacity, you should be able to pull most of the bigger hybrids.

[dbledan]

Originally Posted by DieselDrax

OK, so a quick run-down...

• TV = Tow Vehicle (Your SUV)
• CCC = Cargo Carrying Capacity (The 1,545 number on the Yukon's sticker is the SUV's CCC)
• GVWR = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, the maximum weight allowed by the manufacturer and includes hitch weight, occupants, and all gear in and on the SUV. The trailer will also have a GVWR.
• GAWR = Gross Axle Weight Rating, FRT and RR are Front axle and Rear axle. For example, if you put too much weight in/on the back of the SUV then you can exceed the rear GAWR but still be within GVWR.
• GCWR = Gross Combined Weight Rating, the maximum weight of both the SUV and the trailer combined. Your tow rating basically comes from GCWR minus GVWR of the SUV.

Some tips to help you know what trailers you can look at...

If you have CAT scales nearby then have everyone hop in your SUV, get a full tank of gas, and get your SUV weighed with you all in it. This will give you an idea of how much capacity is left for hitch weight and gear in the SUV.

That 1,545 number is likely with a full tank of gas and a 175lb driver, so if you don't have CAT scales nearby then you can get a rough idea of remaining capacity by...

Your weight - 175LB = Additional driver weight to subtract from the 1545 number.
Add up the weight of all your family members and subtract that total calculated above.
Subtract around 100lb for hitch gear from that number.
Think about how much gear you'll want to bring in the SUV; Chairs, toys, coolers, etc. and subtract estimated weights for those from the number.

The number that remains is the approximate hitch weight that you will be allowed. Let's say you end up with 1545 - 50 - 350 (wife and 2 kids) - 100 - 150 = 895lb hitch weight.

You want 10-15% of the trailer's weight on the hitch, so we'll go with the higher number of 15%.

895 / .15 = 5,966lb max trailer weight.

To help know at a glance if a trailer should fall within that limit you can look at the trailer's GVWR and if it's under that weight then you should be fine. If you're looking online and don't see the GVWR but you see "UVW" (Unlaiden Vehicle Weight) and "CCC" (Cargo Carrying Capacity) you can add those together to get what the GVWR should be.

Something else to keep in mind is that the WDH (Weight Distributing Hitch) will transfer around 33% of the hitch weight back to the trailer. Some people will tell you that it's OK to exceed your payload rating by 33% because the WDH will shift that weight off you tow vehicle, but I find that to be too close for comfort. Towing at or over the limit is not fun, so I find it best to make sure you're within the limits without accounting for what the WDH will shift back to the trailer's axles.

This may sound like a lot and overwhelming, but the hardest part is determining what your REAL capacities are and then just making sure the trailers you're looking at don't exceed any of your available capacities.

Good luck!

Much better explination than mine...nice work.

[Paul Mixa]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Does your Yukon have the factory tow package?
Does it have the 5.3 v-8?
What rear end ratio does it have?
What hybrid are you looking at?

It does have a factory tow package and is 5.3 V8. 3.42 gear axel ratio. I am not sure what I am getting yet, just trying to find out what I can tow safely with out killing the car. Is 23 feet and 4000 lbs too much?

[Paul Mixa]

Thank you for all this information, this is great!

[Paul Mixa]

Thank you! By bigger do you mean a 23 foot hybrid?

[Paul Mixa]

I am not sure about the external cooling, but I will check. Thank you for the info!

[Paul Mixa]

Thank you!