Towing Report/ID,OR,WA Area/Your Analysis/My Towing Future

Nomad2009 · 05-22-2012, 08:41 PM

2012 Denali XL Towing Report first trip with my Obese Travel Trailer.

I did do some test runs and felt very comfortable prior to taking my first big trip. I am anxious to report and get your feedback and analysis on my future with these 2 Denali/Cougar maintaining a healthy marriage into the future. So here is my report. Hope some are familiar with the terrain i am talking about.

ID,OR,WA

I ran through from Idaho 84 to Portland area, from there up route 26 out to the cast this was serious mountains (to me anyway or is this nothing?) I was struggling slightly at some points and the engine temperature was topping at 225-230 at the worst points. I was definitely trying to figure out how best to hit the grades do I speed up if possible? I have the Tow/Haul mode which is sweet on any downgrades. Someone told me at one point to use that on upgrades I disagree. She would cool down fairly quickly when I laid off her. The transmission cooler is amazing. So as I was talking her through and we were working together ever so gently towing this obese cougar and seeing the beauty of this beautiful terrain. She did really well I thought so I felt the best I could about my decision to go for it with this tow vehicle at that point I was fine up the coast to Seattle area.

Then all was well out of Seattle 90 all good until the MOUNTAINS. We passed river bend and wow beauty but engine was pulling harder and harder here, not catastrophic but my heart was routing for her and concerned, did not want her to be harmed. The temperature was climbing past 230 up to 240 something and each grade climbed so at 245 plus I had to stop and let her cool down. We landed at a mountain of snow and ski slope in Snoqualmie and let her rest and made the rest of the way no issues.

So my question for any one who has hit that Washington stretch or any of these stretches. What mountainous regions do my future hold and what ones will this marriage never hold? Or is this stat not so bad and I should be ok for my future adventures?

ls1mike · 05-22-2012, 09:08 PM

What engine 6.2? Are you using the guage on the dash? Get a scanner. All of my GM guages read high.
How fast were you going? What RPM?

Festus2 · 05-22-2012, 09:32 PM

I have gone over both Stevens and Snoqualmie passes several times towing a 26ft 5th wheel and lately a 28 ft Cougar. I've towed both - first with a 2002 GMC 6.0L 4.10 rear end gasser and now pull with a 2005 GMC Duramax Diesel.

Let's forget the Diesel for the moment and talk about pulling it with the GMC 6.0 gas. I've never had to pull over to let the engine or transmission cool down. You've driven this stretch so you know the places where the climb is long and steep. The Pass starts out fine but as you get higher, the pull gets harder and I wasn't going 60 all the way. During those steepest pulls, I was probably doing 45 and felt that the engine wasn't under any strain or being pushed. It wasn't floored and had a bit of pedal left but what's the rush?

I've gone over both stretches in the Fall, in the Spring and in Summer. Depending upon the temps during the day, you need to adjust how you drive up the Pass. If there was still snow on the sides of the road, I am assuming you just completed your trip so you were not towing in hot temps. Driving mountain passes in the heat of the day during the summer is something you need to pay attention to. I try to get an early start and get as much climbing done in the cool morning hours. Easier on everything and everybody.

I don't know your driving habits or how the Yukon pulls. If you are the impatient type and try to maintain the usual speed limit up the pass pulling that trailer with your tow vehicle, then you are going to be struggling and asking more than your TV can deliver. If you aren't in a rush, get in the slow lane, gear down and let the traffic go by as you make your way up the mountain in 3rd or whatever gear seems to work best.
Climbing up Snoqualmie isn't a race to the top - especially if you are towing.
And remember that Snoqualmie isn't the longest and steepest climb around the Pacific Northwest or BC.
Do you have a transmission temp gauge?

Another aspect of driving in the mountains that people often forget you have to come down which also has its own challenges. Engine overheating is not so much a concern as how your brakes hold up. You need to pay attention to them. Does the Denali have engine braking?

As for what your towing future holds, that is difficult to determine. It depends somewhat on how much time you will be spending in mountainous regions. We live in the mountains so much of time is going up one mountain, down and up another ... and so on. That is the one of the major reasons we opted for a diesel. AND PLEASE - EVERYONE - I AM NOT TRYING TO START ANOTHER GAS VS DIESEL DEBATE!!!!! Enough said.

I hope this sheds some light on your future but I think in the end you have to decide how your TV performs in various situations after you have given it a proper "work out" and have subjected it to different towing situations over a period of time.

PS As a side note, I did read your other post about the problems you are having with your new Cougar TT. Hope you get them resolved - it may have a bearing on your "towing future"????

rhagfo · 05-22-2012, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad2009

2012 Denali XL Towing Report first trip with my Obese Travel Trailer.

I did do some test runs and felt very comfortable prior to taking my first big trip. I am anxious to report and get your feedback and analysis on my future with these 2 Denali/Cougar maintaining a healthy marriage into the future. So here is my report. Hope some are familiar with the terrain i am talking about.

ID,OR,WA

I ran through from Idaho 84 to Portland area, from there up route 26 out to the cast this was serious mountains (to me anyway or is this nothing?) I was struggling slightly at some points and the engine temperature was topping at 225-230 at the worst points. I was definitely trying to figure out how best to hit the grades do I speed up if possible? I have the Tow/Haul mode which is sweet on any downgrades. Someone told me at one point to use that on upgrades I disagree. She would cool down fairly quickly when I laid off her. The transmission cooler is amazing. So as I was talking her through and we were working together ever so gently towing this obese cougar and seeing the beauty of this beautiful terrain. She did really well I thought so I felt the best I could about my decision to go for it with this tow vehicle at that point I was fine up the coast to Seattle area.

Then all was well out of Seattle 90 all good until the MOUNTAINS. We passed river bend and wow beauty but engine was pulling harder and harder here, not catastrophic but my heart was routing for her and concerned, did not want her to be harmed. The temperature was climbing past 230 up to 240 something and each grade climbed so at 245 plus I had to stop and let her cool down. We landed at a mountain of snow and ski slope in Snoqualmie and let her rest and made the rest of the way no issues.

So my question for any one who has hit that Washington stretch or any of these stretches. What mountainous regions do my future hold and what ones will this marriage never hold? Or is this stat not so bad and I should be ok for my future adventures?

I have not yet gone over Snoqualmie with my current package, but have pulled 26 to the Oregon coast, 26 is the worst road to the coast, but I have not had issues with it yet.

The west side of Snoqualmie has got a good grade to it, one of the meanest hills on the interstates in Washington has got to be the vantage grade west bound from Vantage, at the Columbia river to Rye grass flats at the top. This is a 10 mile constant climb!

Nomad2009 · 05-22-2012, 10:03 PM

I have the needle temperature and a digital electronic temperature display. Mike, you are right I noticed the needle showed lower and my numbers were on the digital display I kept that up at all times. The engine is VORTEC 6.2L V8 SFI W/ ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT & FLEX FUEL CAPABILITY

As far as speed at those grades for the most part i was taking it slow. I generically am running slow with this set up never over 60. When I do mistakenly get over 60 I do get sway and sometimes trucks passing kicks me sway. Not sure if a sway controller is needed.

I also am not used to towing so what is strain to me may really not be I mean I hit 3rpm tops pushing. I am also new so I am trying to get whats best do I push the rpm up grades or should I drop speed at all times and go easy or increase speed before a grade and hit it hard i am learning and wondering how you guys handle this.

Fest when you say gear down do you recommend using manual gears up grades and not leave it on automatic? And on that I also was told never use the cruise control, I can understand that on the grades I wouldn't do that but on smooth roads I tried it as sometimes I slip into forgetting I was towing so I put it at a nice cruising speed like 55 and it was nice I thought?

On the downgrades I agree and I am completely satisfied with the Denali it has a Tow/Haul mode and downgrades are smooth and I tested this several times. I click it on on most downgrades. I will have to keep an eye on my brakes and check and see how they are doing after this trip.

I know northern Idaho we plan on exploring how is the grades compared to other Northwest?

Tx

Nomad2009 · 05-22-2012, 10:06 PM

rhagflo, it was interesting right after I stopped I would have been fine as right at the east side of Snoqualmie it was nice cooling downgrade.

fla-gypsy · 05-23-2012, 02:49 AM

Not to beat a dead horse but you probably have too much trailer for that tow vehicle and it is impacting your experience.

rhagfo · 05-23-2012, 05:15 AM

You need strong TV in the NW not many places you can go without a climb of some sort.
Northern Idaho on I90 near Coeur d'Alene is Strawberry pass a not too bad climb, going into Montana is Lookout pass which is steep on the west side to the top of the Bitterroots.

SteveC7010 · 05-23-2012, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad2009

When I do mistakenly get over 60 I do get sway and sometimes trucks passing kicks me sway. Not sure if a sway controller is needed.

Please, please, please, tell me you are not towing an 8,200# GVWR trailer with a Yukon and no sway control!

You should be running a Reese Dual Cam or equivalent, or an Equalizer. Bar and clamp friction controllers are pretty much useless with a trailer/tow vehicle combination like yours. A Hensley or its twin sister would be great, but they are pricey.

If you already get sway at 60+ MPH, the question is not if you will have serious sway problems, but how soon and how often you will have them. Even if you are only doing 55-60 MPH on an interstate and an 18 wheeler blows by you at 70+ MPH, you will suffer the "push-me-in, pull-me-out" effect. Without adequate sway control, it can be catastrophic.

fla-gypsy · 05-23-2012, 06:48 AM

I am beginning to understand why the towing experience has not been pleasurable. It may be time to start from scratch.

Nomad2009 · 05-23-2012, 09:09 AM

The tow experience has been pleasurable. On some major grades it was evident I am pulling a large TT but even all the tractor trailers were struggling on the same grades.

Nomad2009 · 05-23-2012, 09:23 AM

Steve I am using a EAZ-Lift Round Bar Weight Distributing Hitch and i have no sway control. What would be your recommendation in my case are you saying I should scrap that and go with a Reese with the sway control.

Do you recommend a sway control to use with my eaz?

Festus2 · 05-23-2012, 09:37 AM

Lee -
I guess our definitions of "pleasurable towing experience" are quite different and am, quite frankly, finding it difficult to understand how it can be pleasurable knowing you have no sway controller, swaying starts nearing 60 mph, you get pushed around when semis go by and you may have too much trailer for your TV. If you have to stay below 60 to prevent sway, that should tell you that something isn't right.
What you are doing IMO is not only hazardous to yourself and those who are with you but also to others on the road. As was pointed out earlier, your situation sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I would hope that you will take a look at your set-up and make whatever changes necessary to make your towing experiences really pleasurable and safe.

SteveC7010 · 05-23-2012, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad2009

Steve I am using a EAZ-Lift Round Bar Weight Distributing Hitch and i have no sway control. What would be your recommendation in my case are you saying I should scrap that and go with a Reese with the sway control.

Do you recommend a sway control to use with my eaz?

The only sway control EAZ-Lift offers is the friction bar and clamp. I do not recommend them because they are totally dependent on the user setting the clamp precisely the same every time they hook up. Way too much room for problems with that. In your case, given the size of the trailer and the TV you are using, you'd need two of the bar and clamp units for adequate sway control. Again, if you don't set the clamp precisely, you have either too little sway control, or if too tight, you can damage the A-frame, hitch system, receiver, and even the frame of the TV.

Reese also has a round bar WD system. If the Reese and EAZ-Lift bars are interchangeable, then you can keep most of what you have and just get new Reese bars and the Reese Dual Cam add-on.

At one time, Reese offered cam adapters that would bolt on to other manufacturers weight bars. If they still have them, you could even keep your existing bars and just purchase the adapters and the DC kit.

FWIW, you can probably sell your existing bars on CraigsList or similar. There's a good market for lightly used towing systems.

Paddler · 05-23-2012, 11:57 AM

Nomad,
GM recommends using the Tow Haul mode whenever you are towing 70% of your max towing capacity or when you encounter winds or terran that would cause the engine/transmission to strain.

Tow Haul mode changes the transmission shift points to prevent lugging the engine and applies extra pressure to the pressure plates to prevent transmission slippage which reduces heat build up in the transmission.

You will also need a good weight distribution hitch with sway control. When I had bumper pull trailers, I used the Equal-i-zer brand hitch and was very pleased with the sway control it provided. Other members are quite happy with the Reese Dual Cam. Both will cost a bit more than your current hitch but they can help remove some of the white knuckle driving you have already experienced.

Good luck, be safe and enjoy your new rig

05-23-2012, 03:39 PM

The Yukon is heavy and with a soft-sprung suspension and that much trailer weight and length you NEED sway control in addition to the WD hitch. Also, from my experience on that vehicle even with sway control --- it will still sway some. This is mainly because of body roll as a result of the soft suspension. Air bags to supplement the rear springs will help stabilize things a little more. Very well worth the few hundred $$$ it would cost to outfit your Yuk'.

As for the temps rising, if you were in regular Drive and Tow/haul was turned off going up the hill, then you were working the transmission too hard. There's a reason for tow haul and this is it - Use it, but understand that engine RPMS will be a bit higher. That's ok, these engine produce their highest horsepower ratings above 4000 rpms.

With your transmission, you can lock-out the top 2, 3 or even 4 gears if needed going up hill. This will help with transmission temps too - less friction in the auto tranny fluid to do the same or more amount of work.

Also, for 2012 these transmissions have a Grade-Breaking feature which I absolutely love - really helps keep the rig under control downhill. But I've noticed that this drives the transmission temps higher than the climb does.

In my opinion, your engine and transmission are really great and plenty strong enough. But the platform they are in in weak for your purpose since it has to carry the weight of the cab + extra people and has soft suspension.

bartletts · 05-23-2012, 11:10 PM

I drive over the hill on 26 quite often with my Tahoe pulling a 5000# Passport 238ML, definitely use tow/haul all the time when towing. It will also likely save your transmission from destruction. Let it shift up, the GM gas engines are designed to rev up and actually tend to operate cooler that way. I monitor my engine and transmission with a scangauge and have yet to see trans temps over 185 degrees when in tow/haul, average is closer to 165. I've never had my water temp go over 210. You may want to have your radiator flushed.

My 5.3L engine gets better fuel economy running around 2400-2600 rpm while towing than if I let it drop down to 1800. It also keeps the transmission a little bit cooler and the throttle is more responsive.

I swapped my front shocks to Rancho 9000 adjustables and it made a big difference, I can firm them up while towing and it makes the front end nice and solid. I have the Sachs auto-level rear shocks and those work fine. I get absolutely no sway with a no-name 1000# round bar WDH and single Reese friction sway arm. I was driving back from Anacortes on HWY 20/I5 this Monday with a wicked crosswind and had no trouble other than getting crappy gas mileage from heading into the wind on south 5.

05-24-2012, 06:16 AM

I just took a look back at your other thread on the topic, and realized that you said you DID NOT have the Heavy Duty package w/transmission cooler. There's another thing you need to fix if you keep towing with this rig. On my previous TV I purchased a large external cooler from JEGS.com and my trusted local shop installed it for me. Total came to a little less than $200 after all was said and done.

Jim & Kay · 05-26-2012, 07:30 AM

You have already been given excellent advice from the members of this forum, all I will add is the rule of thumb is, you are always better off with more TV than needed than less TV than needed, especially when towing in the mountains.

ls1mike · 05-26-2012, 09:52 AM

Tranny cooler, tranny cooler, tranny cooler.
My 3/4 ton HD came with one but I upgraded it.

By ls1moparturbo at 2012-03-04
Stock vs After market.

By ls1moparturbo at 2012-03-04

Took me two hours to install and cost 60 bucks. I cut the stock lines, double flared them and use transmission safe rubber hose and some clamps.
The one on my old truck lasted like that for 180,000 miles.

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