Community Forums

Ray Stooksbury · 02-16-2015, 08:20 AM

We are searching for a towing set-up for a 2015 gmc yukon xl denali,does

any one have suggestions.

2014 newmar mountain air

Thanx,

Ray Stooksbury

Dave Fernandez · 02-16-2015, 02:00 PM

Hello Ray, we have a 2004 GMC Yukon 4x4 and I use the Roadmaster 10,000 pound Blackhawk tow bar with a Roadmaster mounting bracket. I use (now on the third vehicle) a M&G brake & brake away.

Never had a problem with them.

There are a several great tow bar manufacturers and tow brake manufacturers out there.

I just like the Roadmaster tow bar and I think the M&G Engineering Brake system is the best for me.

Good luck on search for a tow bar and brake system and your travels.

vraines · 02-17-2015, 08:13 AM

We have owned several Denali's and with the awd setup, I believe they cannot be towed four down. Have they changed the drive line this year?

Ray Stooksbury · 02-18-2015, 08:11 AM

Yes the 2015 has a 2 speed transfere case as an option,it can be towed.I love the DENALI"S.

Blackcabby · 02-21-2015, 09:27 PM

We tow a 2008 yukon xl denali (awd) four down. We took ours to Smitty's RV and Welding in Houston. They installed the blue ox tow bar, Remco transmission pump, and an M&G air over hydraulic brake system. We love the set-up, and the fact that we can have the big truck with us for our ground recon!

Blackcabby · 02-21-2015, 09:33 PM

The only issue we've had towing, not related to the installed equipment, is that the towed vehicle battery dies after about 2-3 hours of towing. This is caused by the need to have the steering column unlocked - to unlock the column, you have to put the ignition key in the on position. Even with the climate control system and the nav display turned off, there are a lot parasitic power draws that run down the battery. Check out my past posts if you need to wire up a battery trickle.

rcantrell52 · 02-22-2015, 08:48 AM

When we were looking for a Yukon I was told by the sales rep that the AWD Denali could not be towed four wheels down. We purchased a 2012 Yukon SLT 4X4. It has two transfer cases.
Reese

Blackcabby · 02-22-2015, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcantrell52

When we were looking for a Yukon I was told by the sales rep that the AWD Denali could not be towed four wheels down. We purchased a 2012 Yukon SLT 4X4. It has two transfer cases.
Reese

That is correct if you don't modify the AWD Denali for towing. To tow an AWD Denali with four wheels down, you must install a Remco Transmission pump. While being towed, it runs a pump that circulates your transmission fluid thus preventing the fluid from being locally overheated.

Nubulin · 03-12-2015, 11:46 AM

Ok, there is some information that is not relevant to the 2015 here.

I have a 2015 XL Denali that I have flat towed since June 2014.
Significant differences:

2015+ Denali is NOT all wheel drive like 2014 and previous. GM has gone to an updated part time Autotrac 4WD system that is shared with Tahoe, Suburban, regular Yukon, Escalade, 2014+ Silverado, and 2014+ Sierra. They can be flat towed without transmission pumps, etc. assuming you get the 2 speed active transfer case. This is typically standard on Denali or with off-road or heavy duty towing packages on other models.

2015s now have an electronic steering column lock. 2014 and older had no steering lock. 2015 now requires a many step procedure to flat tow. This is to make sure the steering wheel does not lock and the transfer case control module with not get upset and forget how to work. You also now have to disconnect the battery. On 2014 and older you just hooked up, put transfer case in neutral and put in park.

There have been 2 recalls on the electronic transfer case control module since the 2015’s came out. My truck has been towed twice because it would not shift back out of Neutral after dinghy towing because the transfer case control module went into “lockout mode” after reconnecting the battery. Once after the first recall to correct unintentional shifting into neutral (which actually caused the problems requiring towing), and once to correct it not shifting out of neutral after dinghy towing. I was lucky enough to be one of the very first people to discover this problem and report it to GM. Then I got to wait for 3 months while GM technical services tried to figure out what was happening, and get new software written and deployed. It does seem to work as designed now, but my confidence in it is low.

Blue ox and Roadmaster make tow brackets. I use the blue ox. It was tricky to get it to look right because you have to cut the front fascia. 2015's don't have tow hooks. The more recent builds have cutouts, so maybe they are easier.

The tail lights on the Denali are now LED and use a different wiring harness than previous years. So far there is no plug in solution so you are forced to do a custom solution. I had to order the connecters from an electronics supplier to make my own wiring harness and hard wire in a diode kit. It works, but I have had a lot of problems burning up diode after a few months.

All in all the 2015 Denali is a PAIN IN THE ASS to prep for towing compared to a 2014 and older Suburban/Yukon/Tahoe. The many step procedure sucks. GM took one of the easiest vehicles to tow and made it a real pain.

If you want to talk to me on the phone about it, I am happy to help you out. Just message me on the forum.

That being said, I do love my truck, but if I would have known the issues, I would have kept my 2011 for towing.

Ray Stooksbury · 03-14-2015, 06:15 AM

Good morning,
I would like to talk to you about the 2015 denali towing problems.
I just took delivery on 2/28/15,I'm hopeing some of these problems have been eliminated.
I'm having blue ox ,airforce 1 installed in april.
So hopefully,if needed it gives me time to make any changes.

Thanx,
Ray

706-897-3133

Western North Carolina

Durango382 · 03-18-2015, 01:06 AM

NUBULIN, and Ray- GM did indeed make some changes that affect Toad towing in the 2015's. NUBULIN - add to your list the Canyon and Colorado - they too can be towed IF they have the two speed Xfer case with the Neutral position.
I too have had much trouble with the getting the transfer out of Neutral after towing as a Toad - no reflashes/reprogramming needed (yet) but tricky and sometimes have to go through the procedure many times before it works - or have to go through the procedure to put it into neutral altho it's already in neutral before I can get it out. A royal pain for someone used to other vehicles that didn't have all this trouble.
I also got ahold of the procedure the dealers use to get it out of neutral if I can't via other means - and one thing the GM engineers came back with is that you need to go through the process SLOWLY to allow the brains to discharge. (not the word they use but it's all I can remember right now) The supplement to the Canyon manual said ten seconds for steps' waiting period, but then the engineers said thirty is better. I too don't have the warm and fuzzy I used to have towing other vehicles, but I like everything else about the truck so will not give up just yet...
Just too bad they didn't think the whole towing thing through a little more...
And BTW - the Canyons and Colorados now have the electric power steering assist, so they insist you disconnect power via the negative cable to de-energize that system. Trouble is, that kills all power and that is part of the issue with the Xfer case - if it never had to be powered down (as when you're driving the trucks and using the different xfer case positions to do what you want with the engine running) it wouldn't be so testy. I suggested just disconnecting the power to the electric power steering, but GM insists it all be disconnected - so to protect my warranty I do as they say. Sadly, though the troubles make it hard to recommend the 2015's (as they told me other 2015's also have troubles) for a toad, and I will give serious consideration to going back to towing Chrysler products (that go in and out of neutral MUCH easier) sooner rather than later dependent on if and when I get stranded with the toad stuck behind the coach cause I can't get it out of neutral!

Ray Stooksbury · 03-19-2015, 07:25 AM

Thanx, for the additional info.I have ordered blueox,smi,towing equipment.I have a 4-22-15 apt.to have it installed.I'm keeping my finers crossed.
Ray Stooksbury

Nowabeachbum · 03-20-2015, 12:15 PM

This is great information about the 2015 GM's since I am considering a dinghy change as well. I have a question about the ground wire disconnect.
What all do you lose in terms of memory, radio presets, clock, etc? Currently, I have to pull fuses and I am able to keep the radio presets but lose the clock which is a bit annoying when you do a lot of traveling.

Durango382 · 03-20-2015, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nowabeachbum

This is great information about the 2015 GM's since I am considering a dinghy change as well. I have a question about the ground wire disconnect.
What all do you lose in terms of memory, radio presets, clock, etc? Currently, I have to pull fuses and I am able to keep the radio presets but lose the clock which is a bit annoying when you do a lot of traveling.

I sometimes lose the radio presets, and sometimes do not. One short-duration disconnect of a few hours caused me to lose the presets, while the next one for two days caused me not to lose any! And sometimes the auto-up/down driver's window function has to be reset, and sometimes it doesn't. And so far I've not lost the clock at all!
Crazy that it's not consistent. But from what I hear through someone who has contact with Gm engineers, the time spent during the shutdown and reconnect procedures in the varying steps can have a bigger impact on these things than one night expect.