Forum Discussion

travelnman's avatar
travelnman
Explorer
Oct 14, 2018

Towing with a Tahoe

Anyone pulling with a Tahoe with the 5.3/3.42 axel? Would like to have feedback regarding sway since it has a shorter wheel base is this a problem or does it pull the same as a Suburban or Expedition? Weight ratings seem the same as well as other considerations but proof is in actual towing experience. I have seen guys towing with Tahoes all though most are using pickups these days. Sure would appreciate some reaction to this ASAP, looking at a nice 2014 Chevy Tahoe for a good price with low miles. I'm pulling a 28 foot Keystone Springdale TT with a empty weight of 6.200lbs with a old Suburban which has seen its best days. Thanks for your help or reaction to this.

17 Replies

  • Set up correctly sway should not be an issue, you do have less resistance to sway with the short wheelbase, so it will be that much more important to do it right. Not sure about your current suburban, but power should be similar. A 3.73 rear would be better, the six speed is nice for towing. If you get it, follow up and write a comparison between it and the suburban.

    There was someone that posted here a while back pulling a big trailer with a sequoia. Which should be similar to a Tahoe.
  • Ron3rd wrote:
    You'll be OK on the flats but you'll hate the experience on hills. For local trips off the highway it would be OK. Other than that, it's too much trailer IMO


    Good grief, you n donno brothers?
    OP already tugs the same trailer with an "old" sub. Guessing much older than 2014....
    New Hoe will tow it better and wheelbase is not a huge issue unless the trailer inherently tows like cr@p, in which case wheelbase will be key to straightening the wiggles.
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    You'll be OK on the flats but you'll hate the experience on hills. For local trips off the highway it would be OK. Other than that, it's too much trailer IMO
  • Use to have a 2013 Tahoe (3:08 gears) pulling a 31.5' TT weighting 6,200 pounds dry. Pulled the weight okay on flat roads but did slow down to 45 mph going up the Grapevine. Biggest problem I had was sway, the TT wanted to wag the Tahoe making the drive a full white knuckle drive. I'm just glad the two long trips made using the Tahoe that there was no cross winds.
    Moved up to a 2015 Ram 2500 4x4 Mega cab short bed diesel and what a difference. No wag, no slowing down and no more white knuckles. Plus went from 8 mpg to 14 mpg towing with the Ram.
  • travelnman wrote:
    Anyone pulling with a Tahoe with the 5.3/3.42 axel? Would like to have feedback regarding sway since it has a shorter wheel base is this a problem or does it pull the same as a Suburban or Expedition? Weight ratings seem the same as well as other considerations but proof is in actual towing experience. I have seen guys towing with Tahoes all though most are using pickups these days. Sure would appreciate some reaction to this ASAP, looking at a nice 2014 Chevy Tahoe for a good price with low miles. I'm pulling a 28 foot Keystone Springdale TT with a empty weight of 6.200lbs with a old Suburban which has seen its best days. Thanks for your help or reaction to this.


    I have an older, though similar Tahoe that I USED to tow with. 2003 LT, I took out the back seats to reduce weight. Towed a Keystone Outback 25RSS, loaded except for 50 gallons of water was ~5900 pounds (scale weight), so about 6500 pounds total. WDH in use. Total combined weight was 11780 (also scale weight), below the GCWR of 13400 for the the Tahoe.

    There was no problem with sway at all. Used the Tahoe for a cross country trip to Indiana and back one year, it towed fine. The issue that I had with the Tahoe was "porpoising" on certain concrete roadways; that bucking up/down for endless miles gets really tedious. Had to find the speed "sweet spot" where it was minimal.

    Another problem was towing in the Colorado mountains. Loss of power and speed, it would downshift to 3rd and 2nd frequently. Now Tahoes are built to run at the higher revs, but after a while it gets old, dropping down to 20-25mph to go up a steep grade or mountain pass.

    Fuel economy sucked as well. On that Indiana trip, mostly flat driving, I was lucky to get 9mpg. Had to stop for fuel every 200-225 miles. In the mountains, that would drop to 6-7mpg.

    Still have the Tahoe. It's a great vehicle, one of the best I've ever had. And it would be fine for lighter weight towing, say no more than 5000 fully loaded. Perhaps a lighter weight would reduce the porpoising; don't know, never tried it. I just don't use it for towing any more.

    Went with a 2007 GMC Sierra SLE 3500 Dually. Yes, it's probably overkill for the trailer that I still have, but it allows me to go to a bigger trailer at some point. Tows mountain grades/passes with ease, engine braking for descending, and fuel economy that's consistently 11-13mpg (mixed mountains-flats).
  • I tow with a 2015 Tahoe...22 foot box and 26 overall at 5200 pounds wet and loaded. No sway or wind issues but I wouldn’t go over 6000..another 800 pounds...or much longer. I would not want a 6200 dry 28 foot TT behind me. I drive the Sierras a bunch.
  • Too much trailer for sure.
    Pulled a 20 foot with my Tahoe. At 7000 pounds it was all thr SUV could handle in most conditions.