Nbs Poor For Towing

50usilverado · May 26, 2009

anyone else find the older model trucks (800) towed much more stable than the 2007 up (900).I find the steering choppy with the travel trailer on. alot of side to side movement even though it came with lt tires,

Stevens03 · May 26, 2009

I've not noticed that

Tires do play a big roll in towing. Maybe the tires you have aren't rated for what your towing?

jrrod2004 · May 26, 2009

LT tires are usually built to deal with heavier loads vs the P tires...I wonder if the vehicle may suffer from a defect of some sort....

Bostonsfavson · May 26, 2009

I think my 900 tows better than the 800s I used to use at work.

cerbomark · May 26, 2009

maybe the tongue weight on the trailer needs to be set different.

Stevens03 · May 26, 2009

maybe the tongue weight on the trailer needs to be set different.

Good idea. I agree with the others, the GMT-900 tows better than my last truck did, but this truck has the max towing package. What tires are you running?

50usilverado · May 26, 2009

maybe the tongue weight on the trailer needs to be set different.

Good idea. I agree with the others, the GMT-900 tows better than my last truck did, but this truck has the max towing package. What tires are you running?

it came with lt 245 70 17 firestone

50usilverado · May 26, 2009

maybe the tongue weight on the trailer needs to be set different.

Good idea. I agree with the others, the GMT-900 tows better than my last truck did, but this truck has the max towing package. What tires are you running?

it came with lt 245 70 17 firestone

also i have a truck cap on the new truck, would that make a difference.

Stevens03 · May 26, 2009

maybe the tongue weight on the trailer needs to be set different.

Good idea. I agree with the others, the GMT-900 tows better than my last truck did, but this truck has the max towing package. What tires are you running?

it came with lt 245 70 17 firestone

also i have a truck cap on the new truck, would that make a difference.

No, the truck cap shouldn't be a problem. What tire pressure are you running and what tire pressures in the camper?

rogerf · May 27, 2009

it came with lt 245 70 17 firestone

also i have a truck cap on the new truck, would that make a difference.

Have noticed mine generally handles better at higher tire pressures (@40-42psi), especially after adding a fiberglass cap or some weight in the bed. Almost as if the tires have too much sidewall flex relative to the firmness of the suspension

pwall · May 27, 2009

I find my '07 tows my trailer far better than my '02 YukonXL did......

sorry, couldn't resist.

ZZ327 · May 27, 2009

what are you towing? its all it the way the trailer is loaded. Ive had the same problem you have before on my 05 but the load had shifted over to behind the trailers' axle!

Ex-Clerk · May 27, 2009

I think my 900 tows better than the 800s I used to use at work.

Same here. I towed my son's Jaguar about 200 miles loaded on a U-Haul car carrier trailer. My 08 really did a nice job - we were all impressed.

Kenny

dkjbama · May 27, 2009

I think my 900 tows better than the 800s I used to use at work.

Same here. I towed my son's Jaguar about 200 miles loaded on a U-Haul car carrier trailer. My 08 really did a nice job - we were all impressed.

Kenny

Back in 99, I towed a 300zx 300 or so miles to Atlanta with my '98 Z71 ext cab 4x4 with 3.42 gears and 33" tires (ugh). It did the job but is not something i would want to do on a regular basis. Funny that I can remember it 10 yrs later but I ended up just flogging the shit out of that 350 at this one spot. It was this long uphill on AL hwy 157. It was a 2 lane rd at that point and this jerkoff in front of me was driving 10mi/hr under the speed limit. Well on a long (prob 1.5 mile) uphill stretch the road widened for a passing lane. I commence to pass and this **** speeds up and stays right beside me no letting me get by and I have only limited space to do it in. At this point I was livid, red-faced, foot on the floor just pourin' the coal to er for all she was worth. The truck tapped out at 81 mph at 4950RPM in second gear; any more triggered an upshift to third and a loss of speed.That spectacle continued for at least a minute until the hill ran out. I never got past the jerk and of course he slowed back down to 10 under once we got back to two lanes. Now I look back at what I did at age 19 and feel shame and pity for what I did for that poor engine. To its credit, it suffered no ill effects other than the use of several gallons of fuel, and the temp gauge never budged from 210.

Trailer sway wasnt a huge problem on the gmt400 except when I went through birmingham and atlanta where they had concrete interstates with expansion joints. Even then I think it was largely induced by the back and forth oscillation of the surge brake coupler.

As far as sway control is concerned I'm not sure you'll find a huge difference between the years. The suspension design hasn't changed: solid axle with leaf springs and staggered(is that the word?) shocks.

Adding an aftermarket panhard bar would quell any lateral movement of the axle itself.

Lateral sway is also more likely with big tires on tiny rims resulting from the taller and more flexible sidewall. Take note that the added load carrying capacity is not the only advantage of E rated tires. Because their sidewalls are thicker and they run at higher pressures, they will allow less lateral movement and thus reduce sway. Of course the corresponding tradeoff is much harsher ride quality.

Also, the longer wheelbase a vehicle has, the less likely it is to be affected by sway.

As noted several times above: load placement on the trailer, tongue weight, and the amount of weight on the tow vehicle rear axle can all affect how well any given trailer tows.

I can't add much more personal experience as the majority of my experience has been with my 17 y/o 5200lb tandem axle boat trailer with surge brakes. When the boat is loaded right (all the time now) this trailer pulls like a absolute dream. I have even gotten away with towing it behind my 90" wheelbase rover. The only time it swayed was before i replaced the rusty drums with discs.

Rolling · May 27, 2009

I love they way my 07 crewcab tows, very stable, very predictable. I have had lightweight aluminum 2 place sled trailers and heavy steel 4 place trailers behind my truck, worst being a 4 place aluminum with 4 full size 4 wheelers on it. Tow/Haul got a work out that day!!!

I can tell a big difference if the trailer is not balanced correctly, or even if its not level. I have the 6" B/W adjustable hitch to make sure whatever trailer I put on the back will be towed level. Even oddly balanced, this seem to make a world of difference.