New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

[keith2k455]

Although I currently only tow a dual jetski trailer, I'm thinking of getting a new tow vehicle that's more capable than the wife's SUV of towing the boat I wish to buy this spring.

I have it narrowed to an '03 - '05 GMC Yukon XL Denali or an '03 - 05 Chevy Suburban Z71. I plan to tow not more than a 20' bowrider.

So here's the question. Both should be more than capable of the load, but what's peoples experience with these vehicles.

How much worse mpg will the 6.0L in the Denali get compared to the 5.3 in the Z71?
You guys with the Suburbans towing a 19' - 20' boat - how often do you wish for more motor on the highway?

Both would naturally be 4x4 for ramp purposes and it would be a third vehicle for only tow/vacation and not driven every day. I'd value some opinions to help keep me straight...gut tells me to go with the 6.0 because I wouldn't drive it enough to feel the pain of mpg, but on a long trip, that mpg could REALLY hurt...

-Keith

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Keith, it's hard to believe but the both the vehicles are the same and neither is a great tow vehicle. They try to make those things as comfortable as possible so unless you have the ride control option that came out in 2007-2008 you might not like the way it tows things. I used my Tahoe which has a shorter wheel base then the xl/suburban and it wasn't too bad but without the sway control it was a bear. My old Chevy 1500 towed boats and stuff with a lot more stabiity. I went to the extreme out of frustration and bought a F350 SuperDuty twin turbo Diesel. I don't even know the boat is back there.

 

[sstone]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

I've towed the 24' Sea Ray Sundeck with an 04 Yukon Denali (short wheelbase) and the XL Denali. Its a lot of boat, but it does fine under 55. The trailer (have tested with heavy duty pickup) doesn't like going faster than that. With the short wheelbase you'll bounce around a lot more, but the air ride makes it ride more level. My complaint about those cars is the hitch receiver is so low to the ground you need a step up hitch. However, the engine is plenty powerful in the flats, long hills bog it down. If you can, move up to the 07+ yukons, they're a lot better handling on towing, and the 6 speed tranny in tow haul mode gives a nice downshift when you hit the brakes, saving the brakes a little bit. Also, the allison transmission is nearly indestructible. Good trucks.

 

[oregoncruiser]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

My Denali with the 6.0 got 14 MPG day and night, uphill or downhill. No hunting/pecking for gears, it's a great motor. That being said the 5.3 will do a great job as well. If it's a an extra rig, MPG is probably not a big deal. Go Denali/6.0!!!

 

[zlman1970]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Look for a Yukon XL or Burb with the 8.1's, 3/4 ton. I've got a XL with the 8.1 and its a pulling beast. We had a 31' camper, 10,000# with all our gear, pulled that like a dream.
MPG when pulling is gonna settle into the toilet though, 6-7 mpg, was my average.
Been a great truck, bought it new in 02 and still have it today!

 

[SilverSS07]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

I would go with the 6.0 over the 5.3 for towing. It has a lot more bottom end torque.

 

[keith2k455]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

I started thinking 6.0 for the fact of mpg in an extra rig won't really matter... Not to mention that $4 per gallon the Denali is cheaper than the burb.

I didn't think about a diesel ... I'll have to see what's out there.

When you speak of poor handling with a trailer ... Do you refer to bounce or sway? I only ask cause on '07 newer starts to get pricey.

 

[Chip Chester]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

I have a '03 2500 Suburban with the 6 liter. Long wheelbase is good for towing; long overhang, not so good. But overall it's a fine tow vehicle. I tow a 16' wood runabout and it has no impact on the ride of the truck. I also tow an enclosed car trailer, around 7k lbs. It knows that's there, for sure, but it handles great, has enough pep for Eastern US (hills, but no mountains) and the gas mileage sucks. I skipped the 8.1 because: gas mileage would suck all the time, not just when towing, and the QuadraSteer only comes with the 6.0L. Truck has height sensing shocks that tighten up when the rear is heavy, and leaf spring suspension in the back, with the bottom leaf configured as a "helper"... almost 3/4" thick. So, it doesn't squat down even with 1k lb. tongue weight.

However don't try that with the (round) factory hitch. Move up to a name-brand Class IV if you're towing up near the limit of the truck. I got a call from the NHTSA concerning those hitches -- seems there were a lot of failures when people used them like a regular Class III.

So, I'm guessing you won't be happy with the smaller 5.? L, and that the shorter overhang will offset the shorter wheelbase. If you not towing near the limits, things should go well. (Use trailer brakes, too.)

Chip

 

[sstone]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

It's not poor handling, you're just very aware the boat is behind you. The short wheelbase makes the front lift easier, and on bumpy rough roads you'll be bouncing. I blame half this on it being memorial day but a cop pulled me over when I was pulling the boat to the house and he asked 4 times if I had drank anything that day. He never explained his suspicion though, but I'd imagine the boat pulling the truck around had something to do with it. The xl's are better by a longshot With that.

 

[keith2k455]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

So the real reason I was interested in a XL or Suburban is so that I can have a third row and room behind it for gear. That way while on vacation I can bring all my gear down, tow the boat and still be able to throw the grandparents in the truck with the two kids.

That being said, if the main use of the vehicle were for the utility over people hauling would you choose the long rig (Suburban/XL) over the short brother (Tahoe, Yukon)??? Would I get better towing prowess from the shorter one and just be better leaving the third seat out when loading with gear so that the load for gear is more over the axle instead of hanging out the back with a trailer?

 

[Chip Chester]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

It's unlikely your proposed boat will be anywhere near the limits of the Suburban. That eliminates the tongue weight vs. long overhang issue. The longer wheelbase works in your favor. The fact that the kids can be in their own separate zip codes does, too. All that said, the best vehicle for towing something big, and taking a lot of family, would be a 3500 long-wheelbase van with an 8.1... if they even make it. Rear overhang is about 6". (Not really, but it's very short.) But I don't think you'll need something like that to accomplish your goal.

Chip

 

[jkust]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

These two vehicles are such close cousins but I tend to like Denali versions over their nealry identical Chevy, top tier counterpart. Just the looks alone for me. Generally though I dislike the pre 2007 body and lack of refinement all around but wouldn't shun one for a tow only vehicle. As for the 6.0 vs 5.3, even the heaviest 20 footer wouldn't be an issue for the 5.3 but why not get the 6.0 since it is your third vehicle? Another thing to consider is that in 05 the 5.3 came out with Displacement on Demand and some one can pipe in if the 6.0 ever added it but I don't believe they ever did. End of the day the extra gas usage towing with the different engines would be unnoticable compared to how much you spend on vacations. I've got two newer 5.3's and even a couple mpg's difference in the big scheme is nothing but the extra torque would be noticed.

 

[SilverSS07]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Something else I forgot to mention earlier also is to see what transmissions and diff's they have also. The 5.3's used to come with a 4L60e which isn't that great of a trans IMO. 6.0's came with a 4L80e which is a much heavier duty transmission. My buddy's 6.0 also had a 14 bolt rear. Definately the way to go.

 

[calvinator]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Suburban hands down. No 20'-23' boat is going to stress the 5.3 & 4L60E.
3rd row seating w/AC and rear cargo for your trips/boat gear.

Mine is a little older and non-Vortec engine, but it tugs my 21', 7 passengers, and gear effortlessly. Pictures, just for the heck of it

 

[keith2k455]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Well, a 454 would be nice at pulling !!! That looks like a good setup.

I think that I'm really leaning towards the Denali (which are fairly plentiful in the '03 - '06 range with around 100K mi for a good price) or trying to see what I can swing with an '07 at a lower trim level or try to get my hands on a hard to find 2500. From my searches, it looks like I will be getting a Denali, sure I'd be giving up 4 low, but 6.0 should cover that!

 

[jkust]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Well, a 454 would be nice at pulling !!! That looks like a good setup.

I think that I'm really leaning towards the Denali (which are fairly plentiful in the '03 - '06 range with around 100K mi for a good price) or trying to see what I can swing with an '07 at a lower trim level or try to get my hands on a hard to find 2500. From my searches, it looks like I will be getting a Denali, sure I'd be giving up 4 low, but 6.0 should cover that!

When I bought my most recent tow vehile of the two I currently have, I was thinking of a Yukon Denal but they were almost exclusively available in the XL version for the 07's on up in the used market locally. XL and suburban's were more than we wanted. Both of my tow vehicles have the AWD similar to the Tahoe/Escalade where you can't lock in but our 4000 lb and change boat/trailer weight the front's are almost never needed anyway. I actually secretly hope the rears will spin to get more use from the fronts but truth be told only a few of the ramps we use do the fronts ever get utilized. The mechanical locking differential's, plus the computer controlled power to the wheels and really nice tires do wonders. For identically equipped Chevy and GMC models I'd take the GMC Denali for the wood trimmed steering wheel. By the way I'll mention one reason I insisted on the newer vehicles is for the rollover airbags and stability control after my wife rolled our first pre stabilitrac/ pre rollover airbags suv 2 and a half times on the freeway with kids on board. You would be shocked at how easy a supposid hard to roll suv will roll over without electronic stability control. The family is only alive today because the suv rolled off the freeway in to the several feet of snow during our record snow year which made so the cab didn't completely crush them. I'd be a widower with no kids left if it had occurred in the summer.

 

[SilverSS07]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

Suburban hands down. No 20'-23' boat is going to stress the 5.3 & 4L60E.

My parent's have a 1998 S10 with the 2.2L 4 cylinder and a 4L60e- trans went out at 105,000 miles. They bought it used so no idea how it was maintained but that motor has no power and the trans still went. I asked the transmission shop what the differences were between the 4 cyl trans and the 8 cyl trans and he said there was 1 extra clutch pack on 3-4. That's it. I bought a 95 Blazer with 120,000 and it had a rebuilt 4L60e in it already. I know the guys with camaro's and TA's usually go through them every 60-80,000 miles. The 5.3 and 4L60e will do it but nothing like the 6.0/4L80e will and it will be working a lot more. I'm sure that 454 in your Suburban pulls anything right down the road .

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

I have towed my boat in my signature with a 3/4T suburban with the 6.0 and a Silverado with a 5.3. Same rear end gear ratio 3.73 on each. I would definitely get the 6.0 if I had the choice.

 

[gtochris]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

I might be the closest example- but I'm using the Tahoe in my sig (02 with 80,000 miles, 4.8L and 4x4) and it does great for a 19ft boat! I'm sure the 5.3L would have a little more pep on the hills but I have 0 complaints plus it has been a very reliable vehicle.

I'd say try and get the lowest mileage possible and dont set yourself just on a Z71- the LS and LT are great trucks and might be a better buy.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New tow vehicle: Yukon XL Denali vs. Suburban Z71

If we are only considering Suburbans/Yukon XL in the conversation, the 4.8L was never offered with that platform. Even if it was, it is not a desirable engine since it only has marginally better MPG than the 5.3 and a lot lower torque.