2001 yukon xl

I would say based on my experiences that 7000 max loaded trailer is about all you will want to tow.

Towing or not, you're probably going to be putting a transmission in it in about 20-30K miles. Other than that, if the heads haven't cracked by now, you're in good shape for many more miles. The 5.3's in this year range had an issue with cracking heads, but most likely it would have happened by now and it was only on certain castings.

What do you mean by 6400 pounds? What does 8000 pound tow rating mean?

If it's a half ton 5.3L/4.10 I think 6500 pounds loaded (of closer to 5k dry) is appropriate.

If its a 3/4 ton 6.0L/3.73, then 6400 pounds dry/7500-8000 loaded is fine but a bit slow.

Budget $200 for a replacement receiver if it still has the factory round tube design.

It's a 5.3 with a 3.73 and a HD towing package.
Called GM told me it had a 8000 lb capacity but for safety reasons would like to
Keep the TT to 5500?? Lbs and about 1000 load for a total of about 6500lbs to tow or maybe a little more but not 7000. Just don't want to strain the ole buggy.

I pulled a 7700# KZ3102 with a 99 1500 plenty of miles, truck had 150,00 when I got it and 190,000 when I sold it. Factory hitch, I would change the fluid and filter in the transmission/DO NOT FLUSH it, only change; the old girl should have another 100,000 left in her if maintained

You'll be fine. I wouldn't hesitate to tow with that truck. 108k is not all that much. I towed cross country with a '95 'Burb that had 126k on it when I left for the trip.

Regarding the heads, do some research. As already said, if it was a problem, it would have been long ago.

For the trans, you say it was well maintained? I'd still get it checked out if you don't know what you are looking for yourself. If the trans was properly maintained and not over heated it will last forever. Do you have maintenance records? Fluid/filter should have been changed every 50k. Change it anyway and use Dex VI, not Dex III. If you are handy, do it yourself. Dex VI is full synthetic, is backward compatible, and the trans will run much cooler. My old '03 Trailblazer has the same trans (4L60E) with 160k on it and its as strong as ever. The trick is to keep them from over heating. I used Dex VI and didn't allow it drop gears at the drop of a hat.

On the subject of replacing the hitch, there were a few threads here some years back where a couple of members had some issues with failed hitches. These were all 2002 and an investigation was issued by the NHTSA. (PE07025). As far as I have ever been able to determine only 4 complaints were ever actually made about this. And if it was an issue, you know the guy at dangeroustrailer.org would have been all over it. Its not even mentioned on his site.

As of now have never towed with this vehicle. I don't think the tranny has ever overheated , it has been mostly around town driving but before I tow anything I will have it drained and use the Dex VI with a new filter.

Thanks to all .

Itchn2go wrote:
It's a 5.3 with a 3.73 and a HD towing package.
Called GM told me it had a 8000 lb capacity but for safety reasons would like to
Keep the TT to 5500?? Lbs and about 1000 load for a total of about 6500lbs to tow or maybe a little more but not 7000. Just don't want to strain the ole buggy.

Don't forget that 8000# tow rating (if that is the real number) is for an empty truck with a 150# driver.
More than that in the truck has to be subtracted from the tow rating.
That is why others are suggesting 7000# as a reasonable max for a loaded trailer.

THEN you have to figure out how you fit with the vehicle's payload rating - everything in the truck (including the driver) plus the hitch plus the trailer tongue weight should be below that payload rating number.

OR, you load the truck as if you were heading out camping and get it weighed. Subtract that weight from your GVWR (door label number) and what you have left is the allowable hitch plus tongue weight.

Heck my trans made it to 145k before I lost reverse, LOL! As KDJ pointed out you need to consider how many people in the burb. 8000 is the max tow rating , and each passenger subtracts from that. Also factoring into the payload limit of the burb is the tongue weight of the trailer. A 6500 lb loaded trailer with 13% tongue weight will add 845 lbs to the burb on the hitch. If you are a family of 4, I would stay around 4500-5000 dry weight, that will keep you in the 5500-6000 loaded weight range and you should be OK.

Regarding the receiver, the design on the 00-07 GM trucks is awful, mine was one that broke. It seems that the failures were limited to those towing heavy with HD weight distribution hitch. Most of the HD trucks tow 5ers so it was never an issue. My TT at 8500-9000 lbs (depending on how it's loaded) put too much stress on the receiver and it twisted off. At your weight you should be fine. One symptom of it starting to fail is not being able to level the traiuler with the same WD settings on the hitch. The receiver takes the "wind up" on the WD instead of using the torsion in the hitch to level the truck and trailer.

Over all these are good machines...if yours has spent any time by the seashore keep an eye on the brake lines for corrosion.

Thanks for all your replies and advice.