Trailer towing help....

[CRXMotorsports]

Sorry for my delay in replying Chris M.
The guy who posted below mine appears to have a newer model than this disscussion forum (which is for 94-99s). There is no towing mode button on this generation.

I found this on another site.. the code is found in the glovebox to coorespond to these ratios.
GQ1 -- AXLE REAR, STD RATIO
GT4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 -- AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO
GU4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.08 RATIO
GU5 -- AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
GU6 -- AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
G80 -- AXLE REAR, LIMITED SLIP (POSITRACTION)
HC4 -- AXLE REAR, 4.56 RATIO


I don't believe the tow package touched the suspension what-so-ever. I'd say milage is approximately 13 (+/-1)mpg, not bad at all.. I cruise at 65, not a speed freak by any means...
I purchased the Yukon from a long time racer and friend. he had put 140k+ on it, and just had the transmission REPLACED as well as new tranny coolers and lines in front of the radiator. I think he said he put $2000+ into it.. he was stuck in Chicago when it went poof... he replaced it whereever he could get it done... he towed with it for the full 10 years (1997-2007) and I tow with it now also.. (talk about abuse!!)..

 

[Chris M.]

OK CRX thanks for the info. 13mpg while towing is pretty good. There is a Tahoe from this era (94-99) that a friend is selling. It has about 140K on it but has only been used to tow a couple of times. It does have a hitch and the old 4 prong harness. I'll check it out for the glovebox codes.
I see you're from Mid Ohio. I was there 5 times this year, great track! I just towed for the first time to Putnam a couple of weekends ago using my 98 4Runner and it was a little less than up to the task. Power was OK but the tail wagging the dog was pretty scary. I would not have enjoyed having to slam on the brakes hence the reason I'm looking for something else to tow with.

 

[CRXMotorsports]

Absolutely wonderful track, technical, great elevation changes, etc. My brother works with the Mid Ohio Driving School there as an instructor.

I paid $4500 for mine, and I knew what I was getting.. it is that ugly 'smokey caramel' color though, I dislike that, but that is my only complaint (for now), along with the lack of adequate brakes.. If I were to get a different vehicle it would almost definitely be a Suburban, just for a longer wheelbase bit more stable. Please ensure you have a class IV or V hitch, along with the full WDH setup... I have yet to need any type of sway control, but the rest of the setup I wouldn't part with. Along with electric brakes on both axles on the trailer, the electric brake-away is a nice bit of 'piece of mind' also...

 

[jwpotts0413]

i tow a 21' wellcraft with tandem axle trailer behind my 1997 2 door. i added an auxilary tranny cooler and had the tranny rebuilt with towing in mind. basically that involved using a corvette servo, alto clutches and steels, beast sunshell, and a low stall torque converter. i had them rework the valve body a bit so it would hold 4th gear to save gas. any good tranny shop should be able to hook you up for $500 or so. just be sure you get a warranty b/c transmissions are complicated and anyone can make a mistake in reassembly. something as simple as failing to check where the fluid lines are routed can burn up your new tranny in a couple days, maybe a couple hrs if u ride hard!