--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hail totaled our 2011 Jayco 26BH last summer, then oldest daughter decided to go to nursing school so good old Dad got rid of his 2011 Silverado 2500HD crew cab 4x4 6 liter, (gosh I miss that truck) to help her through school. Daughter quits school, Dad out tuition and his truck. My wife on the other hand faired pretty well with the whole ordeal. Traded her new Camry in on a 2012 Tahoe LTZ 4x4 (she loves it). That all being said, we are now expecting our first grandchild and looking for a replacement camper. Common sense says we should find something our Tahoe will pull comfortably with 3 adults, 2 Golden Retrievers, and a carseat with cargo in it. I on the other hand drove a 2015 Silverado 3500HD crew cab 4x4 6 liter long bed the other day, fell in love with it. Before I go and drop $45K on a new truck (wife will be keeping her Tahoe) is there anyone out there towing with a similar Tahoe and what are your experiences/thoughts with your rig and camper?I loved how my HD towed with ease and confidence and know I will not have that same level with the Tahoe. Thanks in advance and looking forward to the experiences of bringing my grandchild camping!

Keep your towing weight under 7000 pounds and your length under about 22-23 feet. The short wheel base of the Tahoe can create a squirrely situation with much longer trailers or heavier loads.

I have 2 Tahoes now (just traded the 3rd one). Pull trailers with all of them. For a 2012 model I would recommend the following:- Factory HD Tow Equipped keep the loaded TT below 7k#- non HD Tow Equipped stay below 5k# loaded

Defiantly stay below 6,000 pounds MAX!! The lower the better. Trust me on this I went over this on my 2011 Yukon XL Denali and it was bad, so bad that after 2 camping trips I had a bigger truck to tow it with.

Our family is close to yours, 3 adults and a lil one (soon to be 9), except we have a 3.8lb dog. My hybrid is doing OK for me until I get the funds for a bigger TV. Hybrids are not for everyone.

First, find out that Tahoe has the HD trailing package and 3.42 axle. If not, the tow rating is in the 5000 pound range. Check the RPO sticker in the glove box for GU6 and K5L. If you have GU4, I'm sorry. :(Ok, so let's say she has the HD towing package: 3 adults, dogs, an infant in a loaded (LTZ) half ton will run out of payload before the 1000 pound receiver limit or the 8000-ish pound tow rating. Check driver's door for the Tire and Loading sticker listing max combined weight of occupants and cargo. Subtract estimated weight of your three adults and dogs and baby plus another 200 pounds of diaper bag, stroller, toys, etc. :) Then multiply by 6 for a good dry weight to stay under.

Tahoe Tow Vehicle, Trailer Recommendations | Good Sam Community

turtypointbuck
Explorer
Apr 14, 2014
Kordog wrote:
Defiantly stay below 6,000 pounds MAX!! The lower the better. Trust me on this I went over this on my 2011 Yukon XL Denali and it was bad, so bad that after 2 camping trips I had a bigger truck to tow it with.

Kordog,
Can you elaborate on the problems you had with your Yukon XL/camper combination? I don't want to make the same mistake.
Kordog
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
turty, the trailer was all over the place, I needed to have both hands clamped on the steering wheel, but also needed one on the brake controller to control the sway, I had an Equal-i-zer set-up that I had changed around some trying to dial it in. I eventually bought the Pro-Pride hitch and it made the journey better, but after only 3 trips with the Equal-i-zer and 4-5 with the Pro-Pride, I bought a bigger truck, used the Pro-Pride until I bought a new trailer then went back to the Equal-I-zer.

Now as I was trying to control that trailer, my wife was holding onto the oh-s**t bar with both hands yelling "We're gonna die!!!"

Like I stated I have a 2011 Yukon XL Denali, and I was towing a 2011 Evergreen Ever-lite 33qb. Dry was 5730 and load cap of 1363. Tow cap is 7800. So even at 100% load the trailer should have left 800lbs to the truck, which we don't carry gear in the truck, just us 3 and the dog, so that probably put us at the max.

The suspension of the SUV's is just so soft, people with pick-ups seem to not notice being overweight as much with the leaf spring rear vs the coil spring of the SUV's.
APT
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
A Denali Yukon XL has about 1300 pounds of payload. At 7500 pounds loaded with 900-1000 pounds of TW, you were probably overweight (GVWR, maybe rear axle too) with family onboard. But it should still tow just fine with a properly loaded WDH. If the Denali has air load leveling suspension, then adjusting the WDH usually requires an actual scale.

Spend $14 at a CAT scale before $$10-$50k on a replacement vehicle!
Fordlover
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
The Tahoe should be able to easily outperform my Explorer as a TV, and our trailer is 23 ft overall length. With a great hitch (Equal-i-zer) we've never had a sway issue in 6+ years and about 10K towing miles.
Kordog
Explorer
Apr 17, 2014
APT, the Yukon towed my trailer great after I bought the Pro-Pride. Not one single problem, but I needed that hitch to tow safely. My point is mute now since I have a 5'er now. I also set the hitch up with the air suspension shut off so it was not in the equation. The hitch set-up was changed a few times to try to solve the problem to no avail. So a Pro-Pride was purchased.

Forum Discussion

Tahoe Tow Vehicle, Trailer Recommendations

About RV Tips & Tricks

Related Content

Travel Trailer Tow Vehicle

Travel trailer / tow vehicle combo question

Recommendations for new Travel Trailer

Couple's trailer, tow vehicle, garage size

Finding Towing Vehicle for Horse Trailer