2016 Chevy Suburban w Towing Package

[pcjackson06]

Just purchased travel trailer. Looking for pointers on use of toeing features including tow/haul mode, breaking, TCS, etc.

[Grit_dog]

KD4UPL wrote:
Use tow haul when hauling or towing. I don't understand why this question comes up so often. It seems pretty simple to me. So many people seem like they're afraid to dare touch the T/H button.
I use mine even when not towing or hauling just to slow down. When I need to slow the empty truck the automatic downshifting of the transmission really reduces the need for brakes. I went almost 190,000 miles on my factory original brake pads.
Using T/H when towing will allow you to accelerate quicker, keep the transmission cooler, and slow down easier.

^ This.
Trailer brakes are already set up. Do some practice stops and keep increasing the gain until it feels like the trailer is braking harder than the truck then back it down a bit. The trailer brakes are progressive so they're always proportional to how hard the truck is braking, just need to adjust the level of effort the trailer gives.
Idk what TCS is and I'm sitting in a new chebbie that I tow with.
Sway, get a sway bar, wdh if you don't have one.

[Hybridhunter]

APT wrote:
Properly loading the TT (12-15% TW) as well as properly adjusting the WDH are key to a comfortable towing situation, assuming all the weights are under ratings. My Reese straight line can be scary at 55mph or rock solid at 75mph depending on how it is adjusted.

Well 12-15% isn't properly loaded, so only do over 10% if the numbers all line up, it will tow better at 10% tongue than 15% any day.

[bartlettj]

One of the problems with towing with a Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban is the coil spring rear and tracking bar setup. It isn't symmetrical, so as the axle moves up and down with respect to the body, it shifts left and right, resulting in bump steer. A long trailer really amplifies this, so if you get a combination of chucking/porpoising and side loading, or heavy braking, it can get pretty squirrely especially when the bushings aren't in good condition. For that reason I think that anything over about 25 feet is not very pleasant to tow with a Sub unless you really upgrade the hitch and/or suspension.

[travelnman]

I drive a 04 suburban with the 5.3 and 3.73 rear end pulling a 28 foot
Keystone Springdale. There is no sway at all under any situation it travels
smooth and straight. I use a sway bar that the dealer didn't even want to put
on but he did, he said you don't need it. I say you do, he said the previous
owner brought back the RV because it swayed a lot but no sway bar was used.
Conclusion is you need the sway bar. I used to pull a 30foot plus trailer and
it swayed some enough to spook you some so I think the longer the RV the more
sway. Longer wheel base helps on your tow vehicle, so I would not recommend
any vehicle with less than 130inch wheel base. Only problem I have is a "pogo"
stick ride in Wisconsin, strange but I have been all over and only that state
causes this. Something about the expansion joints on the interstate and the
way Wisconsin puts them in I was told. So we don't travel in that state much
anymore, I wrote the DMV but was ignored, never heard anything but that I
wrote to the wrong department and they would send my letter along. Never heard
another word.

[RinconVTR]

pcjackson06 wrote:


So, I'm left pondering what's next. Perhaps the experience isn't for me. Perhaps I need a better weight distribution/sway control hitch.

Thoughts?

Yes. You need to buy a Hensley or Propride hitch with 1400lb WD bars. Period.

I tow the same weight trailer (32ft overall length) with a Sequoia very confidently, but I could NEVER do it with out one of these 2 premium level hitches. They are not band-aids, the physically via mechanism change the pivot point of the trailer resulting in 5th wheel like towing.

Even my previous 24' TT towed by the Sequoia (and a Pilot prior to that) towing was dramatically better in high winds after installing the Hensley. So don't think for a minute that reducing the length of the TT a few feet will suddenly create a solid tow experience.

[mkirsch]

First off, what you were experiencing was NOT sway. If it was sway, the only way to stop it would have been to manually apply the trailer brakes alone to bring the trailer back under control. Since you did not know this, it is likely that you would have lost the trailer, but since you were able to return the trailer, it definitely wasn't sway.

What you were experiencing is the push-pull effect caused by the air displaced by large passing vehicles. You will always feel that to a certain extent pulling a trailer that is near the limits of the tow vehicle, but better sway control, and airing up your tires to the maximum sidewall pressure, would improve the feeling tremendously.

I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself here saying you don't have sway, but better sway control would help the problem, but it's true. The reason you're feeling the push-pull is due to the flexible joint at the trailer hitch. Your trailer is being blown off-center and pushing the rear end of the truck around. Sway control stiffens that flexible joint so the trailer can't move as much and can't push the truck around.

Frankly that was a lot of trailer for your truck especially fully loaded. 7500lbs is about all you'd really want to pull with a 1500-class Suburuban loaded up with a heavy family and all the stuff they bring along. Even so it won't be the most comfortable experience. You would do yourself a service starting off with a somewhat smaller trailer.

[APT]

Properly loading the TT (12-15% TW) as well as properly adjusting the WDH are key to a comfortable towing situation, assuming all the weights are under ratings. My Reese straight line can be scary at 55mph or rock solid at 75mph depending on how it is adjusted.

[Hemling]

I know that weight distribution plays a huge role in controlling sway. I have the Blue Ox system and pulling my camper empty and at loaded weight is a completely different experience. With no weight on the tongue it is as you described- any sway becomes magnified. How much weight did you have on the nose of the camper? I have the best stability when loading the front of the camper.

[wowens79]

Did the hitch have sway control, or was it just weight distribution?? Get a quality hitch with sway control. The ones with the best reviews tend to be Blue Ox Sway Pro, Equalizer 4-way, and Reese Dual Cam. I use the sway pro, but would not hesitate to use the others.

Also it's doubtful the mechanic at the Chevy place knows how to set it up. It seems most RV places don't set them up right. Read online, how to set the hitch up, Blue Ox has some great YouTube videos on how to set up their hitch.

It takes a bit to get used to pulling a giant box behind you, but getting a good hitch set up, some seat time, and verifying the weights of everything, and you will be good to go.

Also if you have P-rated tires on the Yukon, they are not as stiff as LT tires, and that will let it sway.

[NWKomfort350]

If the trailer was completely unloaded it may just need a lot more weight loaded up front to get the tongue weight up.

It's tough to know without weights or seeing how the hitch was set up.

[pcjackson06]

Update: we took the trailer out for a "test drive" on Friday of last week. It was a 29' Jay Flight BH with aa weight distributing hitch. On the Yukon XL, I had t/h mode enabled, the gain for the braking configured, etc. The sway at 50mph resulting from passing tractor trailers on route 50 in Maryland was so much so that it felt like I was going to lose control of the vehicle. Since I was purchasing from a private party, I took the trailer/tow vehicle to my Chevrolet dealer, and looked the configuration with a mechanic. We loosened/tightened the weight distributing bars, and couldn't resolve the sway. I ended up returning the trailer, knowing that I had a limited window and was so uncomfortable with the configuration that I wouldn't put my family in the car.

So, I'm left pondering what's next. Perhaps the experience isn't for me. Perhaps I need a better weight distribution/sway control hitch.

Thoughts?

[KD4UPL]

Use tow haul when hauling or towing. I don't understand why this question comes up so often. It seems pretty simple to me. So many people seem like they're afraid to dare touch the T/H button.
I use mine even when not towing or hauling just to slow down. When I need to slow the empty truck the automatic downshifting of the transmission really reduces the need for brakes. I went almost 190,000 miles on my factory original brake pads.
Using T/H when towing will allow you to accelerate quicker, keep the transmission cooler, and slow down easier.

[Lwiddis]

The t/h mode helps the transmission stop gear hunting which with my lighter trailer is only necessary on hills. Others disagree on this issue and have it on at all times when towing. The gain needs to be set to make the vehicle brakes and trailer brakes to work together. IMO you need to read the Chevy owner's manual before you test or drive again...and you should have before picking up your trailer. Then read some on sway.

[pcjackson06]

Jayco Jay Flight 29 BH. It's 5050 dry and 7500 GVWR.

I did not have the vehicle in tow mode on the way home, not had I set the gain for the brakes on the trailer. I was feeling some sway which made me a little uncomfortable. Assuming there's some upside to engaging those features which I'm going to test now.