Comments towing with a recent Yukon 6.2L?

txcraig wrote:

it may be worth revisiting the 3/4 van or truck option.
How far are you planning on going on camping trips? What percentage of the time are you going to be pulling?

I've got at least 7 more years of 4 kids and the wife hates having a kid crammed between us in the front seat. I hate the thought of the airbag decapitating a kid should it go off, so trucks are not an option.

It will be a combination of multi-thousand mile trips and shorter (few hundred miles) trips. Probably 5-7 trips per year. Some of those will be in the mountains. The rest of the year the vehicle (we are now focused on Expedition EL not Yukon) will be used as a daily driver. That is why a full size van is out of the question for the wife - too unwieldy for daily use. So we seem to be stuck with an SUV. The main task now is selecting the right size trailer that has enough room and the right features but still safe for the SUV TV. In my experience once you start shopping below 28 feet and 5,000 lbs for 6 people, the trailers become very spartan and cramped.

swerve or brake hard. This is where things tend to go to hell with too light a truck

OK swerve I can definitely see how a bigger trailer would be bad news with a smaller TV. However I've seen the "hard braking" scenario mentioned a lot in the discussion about 1/2 ton TVs. This might be a silly question, but with modern electric brakes and a properly adjusted brake controller shouldn't the trailer handle a large percentage of its own braking needs? My first serious towing experience was a 10,000 lb 35 foot offshore fishing boat cross-country Donzi 35ZF and that thing was on a triple axle trailer with only surge brakes. You really had to be careful braking with that. Next up was a 3800 lb slide-in camper in the F250, so again the truck had to do all the braking for the whole 12K rig. When I did finally tow an 11K lb (wet) travel trailer with electric brakes, I was amazed how easy and stable it was to come to a quick stop. I never felt unsafe or out of control with the boat or truck camper, but I was diligent about keeping lots of room and not speeding.

Now this is not to say that I expect the 6,000 lb Expedition to handle an 11K trailer as well as the F250 did. Only that it seems like hard braking a 6,500 lb trailer with a 1/2 ton TV should not be something I should be concerned about.

I went to Holiday World today and looked at several Keystone Passport Ultra-lights and they had "Load Equalization spread axle design" which is alleged to help with sway and overall control along with reducing tongue weight. I can find very little information online about this feature (just this ) so I'm not sure if it is the real deal or not:

Passports seem ... light when it comes to hitch weights (about 10%, and I've seen up to 15% in things such as the Jay Feather). Does anyone know what is different about these trailers that makes the hitch weight so much less?

From the Keystone site:

"Load Equalization Axles are a Passport towability feature. By spreading the axles an additional 10-inches, the extra wide stance equalizes weight and provide superior towability over the competition."

My current thinking is if I can keep my wet trailer weight around 6500 lbs and with the following mitigations I think I have a good shot at having a safe, comfortable and reliable towing experience:

• 6500 loaded vs 9200 rated capacity
• High quality WDH
• Load Equalization Axles
• Rear Load Leveling option on Expedition
• 365HP/420 ft lbs torque (more than my F250)
• Drive conservatively

From someone who has 'been there done that' w/ a half ton and similarly sized trailer, I think you are right on track. My trailer maxes out at about 6500 lbs wet, and we've towed with with 3 different half tons w/o any issues. Never felt overloaded, out of control, etc.

Your analysis of hard braking is right on IMO as well. The trailer braking system will account for the trailer weight. We have never had an issue. Yes, you are relying on it working as planned, but in the event of a system failure, a 1/2 ton towing 7k lbs will not have any more problems than a 1-ton towing 15k lbs. Besides, the integrated trailer brake controllers that the newer trucks have make the trailer braking system more reliable than ever.

The 2 Suburbans have been fine, but the F150 EB tows a good deal better than either. The low end torque really makes for a nice, easy tow experience. While others will certainly get the job done, I would not be crazy about towing with any other 1/2 ton drivetrain (I really don't like it when we have to take the Suburban over the F150!).

One other note about the so-called rules floating around here (the "80% rule," the "wheel-base rule," "frontal area rule" etc.) -- many of these are propagated by individuals. They are not industry standard. In other words, I don't know who created the wheel base rule, but it bounces around here quite a bit.

But it isn't found in my Ford or Chevy owners manuals, manufacturers of trailers or anywhere else I've found. I think someone made it up some time ago. Whether there is wisdom in following it is debatable, but it is just someone's opinion, that's all.