Towing with a Tahoe

[travelnman]

Anyone tow with a Tahoe vs Suburban? Considering buying a 2014 Tahoe in beautiful shape just like granny used to drive. Wonder if the shorter wheel base will give me trouble with sway. With the suburban I have none at all. The suburban has the 3.73 axel with the 5.3 engine and handles the job but could use a little more power which the Tahoe has.
It also has the 3.42 axel, 5.3 engine, newer six speed transmission. My suburban has the older four speed trany. The TT is a Keystone Spingdale 2008 coming in at 6,200 dry. Both vehicles have all the heavy duty cooling, larger radiators, etc. Any experience with a Tahoe towing would be helpful before I spend my life savings on one.

[Grit_dog]

^What he said.

[APT]

Curly2001 wrote:
The Tahoe with that gear ratio is marginal at best for what you want to tow.

I disagree. 6-spd with 3.42 offers far better final gearing than 4-spd with 4.10 and probably outperforms 4-spd with 4.56 ratio. On top of that, if he has a 4-spd he would gain all the other benefits of a newer generation of SUV.

[Lwiddis]

“tows our 4500 lb boat just fine with lots of power.”

Most boats don’t have much wind resistance.

[Lwiddis]

Mitch’s point about TV wheelbase is a good one.

[blt2ski]

A travel trailer will cause a LOT of HP needed vs a boat or equal smaller frontal area trailer. Me running down the road at 15K with my equipment trailer. about 70 sqft of frontal area, I need 105HP to go 60 on a level. Change that up to my old TT with 90 sqft, I need 135HP. With ET and my bobcat at 18000 lbs total, I need 115hp at 60. Now to blow you away some more, my Navistar at 26000 lbs and 70 sqft, also need 135HP. So that extra frontal area is equal to 11000 lbs of trailer weight, due to the wind drag!
TO make a LONG story short, the OP would be better power wise, gear wise etc with the new rig, as it has 50 or so more hp, torque, 6 forward gears starting with a 4.10 in first vs 3.08.
Also, at elevation, as noted in colorado at 8-10000', you are down in either case some 30% of sea level HP. Only way to fix or help this is more HP at sea level motor, ie a 6.0 or bigger higher HP motor, or a super/turbo charger, then you have sea level HP at 10,000 ft or there about, then you start to lose it as non inducted motors at 3% per 1000' elevation gain.

marty

[Thom02099]

blofgren wrote:

Thom02099 wrote:

travelnman wrote:
Anyone tow with a Tahoe vs Suburban? Considering buying a 2014 Tahoe in beautiful shape just like granny used to drive. Wonder if the shorter wheel base will give me trouble with sway. With the suburban I have none at all. The suburban has the 3.73 axel with the 5.3 engine and handles the job but could use a little more power which the Tahoe has.
It also has the 3.42 axel, 5.3 engine, newer six speed transmission. My suburban has the older four speed trany. The TT is a Keystone Spingdale 2008 coming in at 6,200 dry. Both vehicles have all the heavy duty cooling, larger radiators, etc. Any experience with a Tahoe towing would be helpful before I spend my life savings on one.

Not quite the same as what you're looking at, but here's a real world perspective. I have a 2003 Tahoe (all the tow package add ons) that I used to tow a 2007 Keystone Outback 25RSS which weighed in at ~6000lbs (scale weight) with everything on board including water. Slightly lighter weight trailer than what you're considering, weight limit on the Tahoe is 7400lbs and the GCWR was around 13600 IIRC, and I was at 11,800lbs scale weight with everything on board in the Tahoe, sometimes including an 80lb fur friend.

Anyway, the combo was fine...for flat lands. towing in the mountains of Colorado, it would go, but it would be slow. I'm talking 25MPH slow in 2nd gear on a grade similar to the Ike Gauntlet. And on most concrete interstates, there was a lot of porpoising, probably due to the shorter wheelbase. No problem at all with sway, with a good WDH setup, which I have.

Granted, the newer Tahoes have a higher weight capacity, but it's also a heavier vehicle than my '03, and the trailer you're considering is also heavier. If you're never going to tow in mountains, it's a fine combo if you stay off concrete road surfaces.

The Tahoe is a fine vehicle and I still have it. Just don't use it for towing. If you've got a Suburban, you'll appreciate the longer wheelbase and hopefully greater payload capacity. MY solution was to go to a 2007 GMC Sierra Classic 3500 HD dually and a slightly heavier trailer.

I'm a bit surprised to read this as our 2001 Yukon 4x4 with the 5.3L and 3.73 gears tows our 4500 lb boat just fine with lots of power. I'm wondering if the airflow effects on the travel trailer was causing the big difference because I sure wouldn't have guessed that 1500 lbs would make that much of a difference.

The Ike Gauntlet gains 2000 feet in elevation at just over 8 miles and has a maximum of 7% grade. Given that and the trailer frontal area, I'm sure the combo is what caused the Tahoe to struggle. One particular road I travel, the South St. Vrain Canyon, has a similar elevation gain for where I go, with some 10-12% grades. The Tahoe did not like this road at all. The Sierra is "meh" towing it.

[BenK]

Consider changing out your Suburban's diff ratio to 4.1. Price range around here is +/- $1K for each diff

about a 10% increase in power, but will reduce MPG a bit

[Curly2001]

Keep the "burb" if you can. The Tahoe with that gear ratio is marginal at best for what you want to tow. I had one and pulled a 19' Wilderness trailer with it with the 3.42 rear and burned up the rear going through the mountains of Colorado. Not enough pull at least with mine with a four speed tranny. Maybe the six speed will do better but the weight of the "burb" and wheel base is a definite plus. Just my opinion.
Good luck,
Curly

[APT]

5.3L with 6-spd and 4.32 will be better for towing that 4-spd 3.73. You have 3 usable towing gears now. You'll get at least one more, maybe 2. Shorter first gear to help at a stop, closer spacing to help keep the power where you want it.

Otherwise, the shorter wheelbase will have little impact assuming both half tons. Flush all the fluids and enjoy towing with the new to you SUV.

[Cummins12V98]

Be sure to get some tires with strong side walls!!!

[blofgren]

Thom02099 wrote:

travelnman wrote:
Anyone tow with a Tahoe vs Suburban? Considering buying a 2014 Tahoe in beautiful shape just like granny used to drive. Wonder if the shorter wheel base will give me trouble with sway. With the suburban I have none at all. The suburban has the 3.73 axel with the 5.3 engine and handles the job but could use a little more power which the Tahoe has.
It also has the 3.42 axel, 5.3 engine, newer six speed transmission. My suburban has the older four speed trany. The TT is a Keystone Spingdale 2008 coming in at 6,200 dry. Both vehicles have all the heavy duty cooling, larger radiators, etc. Any experience with a Tahoe towing would be helpful before I spend my life savings on one.

Not quite the same as what you're looking at, but here's a real world perspective. I have a 2003 Tahoe (all the tow package add ons) that I used to tow a 2007 Keystone Outback 25RSS which weighed in at ~6000lbs (scale weight) with everything on board including water. Slightly lighter weight trailer than what you're considering, weight limit on the Tahoe is 7400lbs and the GCWR was around 13600 IIRC, and I was at 11,800lbs scale weight with everything on board in the Tahoe, sometimes including an 80lb fur friend.

Anyway, the combo was fine...for flat lands. towing in the mountains of Colorado, it would go, but it would be slow. I'm talking 25MPH slow in 2nd gear on a grade similar to the Ike Gauntlet. And on most concrete interstates, there was a lot of porpoising, probably due to the shorter wheelbase. No problem at all with sway, with a good WDH setup, which I have.

Granted, the newer Tahoes have a higher weight capacity, but it's also a heavier vehicle than my '03, and the trailer you're considering is also heavier. If you're never going to tow in mountains, it's a fine combo if you stay off concrete road surfaces.

The Tahoe is a fine vehicle and I still have it. Just don't use it for towing. If you've got a Suburban, you'll appreciate the longer wheelbase and hopefully greater payload capacity. MY solution was to go to a 2007 GMC Sierra Classic 3500 HD dually and a slightly heavier trailer.

I'm a bit surprised to read this as our 2001 Yukon 4x4 with the 5.3L and 3.73 gears tows our 4500 lb boat just fine with lots of power. I'm wondering if the airflow effects on the travel trailer was causing the big difference because I sure wouldn't have guessed that 1500 lbs would make that much of a difference.

[wnjj]

A old discussion on this: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28037198

[ktosv]

All other things being equal, due to the ratio of the rear overhang to wheelbase being exactly the same for the two, they will handle the same.

What year is your Suburban? From my own personal experience, I would see if you can find an equally as nice 2015 or newer. My 2017 Suburan with the 5.3/6A/3.08 axle tows every bit as good or better than my 2012 Yukon XL 5.3/6A/3.42. Yeah, most of the time with the 3.08 I drop it to 4th and let it run. It does less shifting than the 3.42 did running in 5th and gets better gas mileage doing it. It also get more consistent and better gas mileage not towing.

As a side note, the 2015 and newer truck have about 70 more HP and 52 more #-ft of torque than a 2003 and older truck.

[Thom02099]

travelnman wrote:
Anyone tow with a Tahoe vs Suburban? Considering buying a 2014 Tahoe in beautiful shape just like granny used to drive. Wonder if the shorter wheel base will give me trouble with sway. With the suburban I have none at all. The suburban has the 3.73 axel with the 5.3 engine and handles the job but could use a little more power which the Tahoe has.
It also has the 3.42 axel, 5.3 engine, newer six speed transmission. My suburban has the older four speed trany. The TT is a Keystone Spingdale 2008 coming in at 6,200 dry. Both vehicles have all the heavy duty cooling, larger radiators, etc. Any experience with a Tahoe towing would be helpful before I spend my life savings on one.

Not quite the same as what you're looking at, but here's a real world perspective. I have a 2003 Tahoe (all the tow package add ons) that I used to tow a 2007 Keystone Outback 25RSS which weighed in at ~6000lbs (scale weight) with everything on board including water. Slightly lighter weight trailer than what you're considering, weight limit on the Tahoe is 7400lbs and the GCWR was around 13600 IIRC, and I was at 11,800lbs scale weight with everything on board in the Tahoe, sometimes including an 80lb fur friend.

Anyway, the combo was fine...for flat lands. towing in the mountains of Colorado, it would go, but it would be slow. I'm talking 25MPH slow in 2nd gear on a grade similar to the Ike Gauntlet. And on most concrete interstates, there was a lot of porpoising, probably due to the shorter wheelbase. No problem at all with sway, with a good WDH setup, which I have.

Granted, the newer Tahoes have a higher weight capacity, but it's also a heavier vehicle than my '03, and the trailer you're considering is also heavier. If you're never going to tow in mountains, it's a fine combo if you stay off concrete road surfaces.

The Tahoe is a fine vehicle and I still have it. Just don't use it for towing. If you've got a Suburban, you'll appreciate the longer wheelbase and hopefully greater payload capacity. MY solution was to go to a 2007 GMC Sierra Classic 3500 HD dually and a slightly heavier trailer.

[Grit_dog]

2014 will tow it a little better over a 4 speed and I don’t think you’ll notice the shorter wheelbase really.
We bought an old Tahoe last year. 2001 model. Just for giggles I towed our 32’ snowmachine trailer with it. Did fine other than lacking in power up hill.