Tahoe/Yukon for pulling a 25ft travel trailer.

[Topkicker]

Get a longer wheel base and you will be fine. Yukon XL or similar. Just watch the gearing. GM likes weak gears like 3.15 & 3.42 to make the mpg look good but it does you no favors.

Chris

The wife says the Surburban is to long for her daily driving. It would also be hard to get around in the attatched garage. She likes the Z-71 package Tahoe the alot. Most of those have 3:73 gears. (some came w 3:42's. I think it was still an option). Which ever she chooses has got to have 3:73 gears equipped w the 5.3L. Wish I could get the 6.2L. Then the 3:42's would be fine.

 

[Topkicker]

Yes, Topkick, it will pull it, but there are much better combinations to use and much safer.......

I totally agree. We had a loooong TT that I pulled with a 3/4 ton. Had LL and anti-swaybar. The darn thing would still sway when a big rig would pass. I was hoping a lighter and shorter TT would not have as much sway due to not having all that weight and length behind the axles. The old TT I had was shaped like a brick and sit high. The one I'm looking at sits closer to the ground, much shorter, and a curved front cap. We just don't need another big 5th wheel and deisel truck anymore. I think I will take the advice of pulling it first. The Tahoe/Yukon is a dead set purchace. It's what she likes to drive.

 

[RobertN]

The last couple of trip we took to the coast over Thanksgiving and Christmas, I noticed a couple of 25-27' TT with a wedge front. The front body of the TT basically came to a point, following the frame/tongue of the trailer. Have seen horse trailers like that too.

Looked like it would cut thru the air much better than the typical flat fron TT or 5th wheel.

Edit: found an example...

http://www.cheyennecampingcenter.com/value_leaders/FS30WFKSS_value

The one I'm looking at sits closer to the ground, much shorter, and a curved front cap

 

[SandburRanch]

The wife says the Surburban is to long for her daily driving. It would also be hard to get around in the attatched garage. She likes the Z-71 package Tahoe the alot. Most of those have 3:73 gears. (some came w 3:42's. I think it was still an option). Which ever she chooses has got to have 3:73 gears equipped w the 5.3L. Wish I could get the 6.2L. Then the 3:42's would be fine.

Your wife is a smart lady. Why buy a vehicle for towing a TT when 99.99 percent of the time it will be a daily driver.

And two things people towing usually are really concerned with. What mileage will it get and can I keep up with turnpike traffic speeds on hills. Well, DUH, the dam thing is loaded.

 

[Hughman]

This was mentioned earlier but I'll throw in another vote for air bags. I added them to my Bronco which I use to pull a 25' boat trailer (approx 5000 lbs). You can add 80lbs of pressure which reduces the rear squat, keeps the headlights from blinding on-coming traffic and improves handling a bit by keeping more weight on the front tires. Then when not towing, drop the air bags back to 10psi and return to a stock (softer) ride.

 

[Diamondpilot]

While it may be hard to believe the front of the trailer has very little to do with drag, its the rear. I have a degree in aerospace and have proven it over and over again in a wind tunnel but that is tough to do on a forum.

Just look at the shape of anything in nature the moves through a fluid. Yes, air is a fluid. From fish to birds aerodynamics play a role. Now look at a modern jet liner. They have a tapered rear while the front is blunt.

Chris.

 

[RobertN]

I can imagine a mass of turbulent flow off the back of a large sqaure/rectangular trailer or motor home. I would guess that that square area with the air flowing past it on the sides is not only a source of turbulence, but alos a massive low pressure point?

I would SWAG that the large frontal area of a trailer/5th wheel does not help things though...?

While it may be hard to believe the front of the trailer has very little to do with drag, its the rear. I have a degree in aerospace and have proven it over and over again in a wind tunnel but that is tough to do on a forum.

Just look at the shape of anything in nature the moves through a fluid. Yes, air is a fluid. From fish to birds aerodynamics play a role. Now look at a modern jet liner. They have a tapered rear while the front is blunt.

Chris.

 

[Peacock]

While it may be hard to believe the front of the trailer has very little to do with drag, its the rear. I have a degree in aerospace and have proven it over and over again in a wind tunnel but that is tough to do on a forum.

Just look at the shape of anything in nature the moves through a fluid. Yes, air is a fluid. From fish to birds aerodynamics play a role. Now look at a modern jet liner. They have a tapered rear while the front is blunt.

Chris.

Exactly.

A rain drop is the most aerodynamic shape.

Despite that, most modern high fe cars are a wedge shape.

 

[RobertN]

Reminds me of discussion of tail gate up versus tail gate down... The results of tailgate down were not what most of us expected.

Exactly.

A rain drop is the most aerodynamic shape.

Despite that, most modern high fe cars are a wedge shape.

 

[bosshoss]

The wife says the Surburban is to long for her daily driving. It would also be hard to get around in the attatched garage. She likes the Z-71 package Tahoe the alot. Most of those have 3:73 gears. (some came w 3:42's. I think it was still an option). Which ever she chooses has got to have 3:73 gears equipped w the 5.3L. Wish I could get the 6.2L. Then the 3:42's would be fine.

Since GM went to a 6-speed trans. they have 3.08 and 3.42 instead of 3.73 and 4.10. Here is a chart I posted a few months ago. Don't let the low numbers
(3.08 and 3.42) fool you.


Trans ratio gearing--4 speed----------6 speed
1st gear--------------3.06--------------4.03
2nd gear-------------1.63--------------2.36
3rd gear--------------1.00--------------1.53
4th gear---------------.70---------------1.15
5th gear-----------------------------------.85
6th gear-----------------------------------.67

Overall gear ratio - trans X rear=overall ratio

-------------------- 4 speed w/3.73-----------6 speed w/ 3.08
1st gear-----------------11.4-----------------------12.4
2nd gear-----------------6.1-------------------------7.26
3rd gear------------------3.7-------------------------4.7
4th gear------------------2.6-------------------------3.5
5th gear-----------------------------------------------2.6
6th gear-----------------------------------------------2.0


I guess it depends on what all you want to do with the truck but it looks like 6 speed with 3.08 would be better than 4 speed with 3.73 for towing.