Towing a Yukon Denali 4wd with DS 4369

[NewmarDS4369]

Just purchased a 2021 DS, I have a 2021 Yukon Denali that I am interested in towing behind.

Anybody out there tow this vehicle behind their rig?

[BrokeDown]

It would seem so.

https://ownersmanuals2.com/gmc/yukon...78168/page-374

[Fanukalum]

Originally Posted by NewmarDS4369

Just purchased a 2021 DS, I have a 2021 Yukon Denali that I am interested in towing behind.

Anybody out there tow this vehicle behind their rig?

Although my signature doesn't show it, I tow a 2019 Yukon Denali with my 2019 DSDP 4310. Six grandkids forced me to a bigger vehicle than my jeep.
Barely notice difference but acceleration and climbing grades is slower, but surprisingly no detectible difference in fuel consumption.

[kpecks]

Originally Posted by NewmarDS4369

Just purchased a 2021 DS, I have a 2021 Yukon Denali that I am interested in towing behind.



Anybody out there tow this vehicle behind their rig?

Yes. You can. Blue ox makes the tow plates. I don’t think they have them yet for the AT4 trim but they’re working on it if not already done.

[Berryfarmer]

Just make sure it has the two speed transfer case so you can put the Transfer case in neutral. Not all 4 WD General Motors vehicles can be flat towed. When we were searching for a new truck for my Wife, we also wanted it to be towable. We looked at several hundred trucks in the LTZ and High Country trims and only found five within 300 miles of us that had the two speed transfer case. Lots of 4 WD GM trucks out there when we were looking in 2019, but hard to find the towable ones. By the way we had to educate two dealers about what was and wasn’t a towable truck.

[sdhexpert]

subscribed - this is exactly what I'm planning on doing ..... working on the Airforce one install this weekend. Planning on the Blue ox brackets and tow bar - haven't purchased yet.

[Fanukalum]

Originally Posted by sdhexpert

subscribed - this is exactly what I'm planning on doing ..... working on the Airforce one install this weekend. Planning on the Blue ox brackets and tow bar - haven't purchased yet.

My Airforce One braking system has been flawless from the start. Now have 26K miles of towing still no issues. Also have the BlueOx tow bar. Mine was installed by a dealer. I might add I do have a Battery disconnect installed under the hood that is the only cumbersome thing about hitching and unhitching, (power locks, side boards retraction, power window, brake pedal height adjustment and resetting the clock).

[sdhexpert]

Battery disconnect is required for the new Yukon/Tahoe/Suburbans - Kind of tricky to integrate with the way the battery is installed in these trucks. Demco will sell a switch and some cables if you ask.

Nice thing is with these trucks there is no vacuum hoses to deal with as the brakes are electrically assisted (no vacuum booster) - just plug up the vacuum ports on the Airforce one.

Down side is there is really not a nice place to mount the controller.

I made a bracket out of some .2 inch aluminum for mounting - CNC'd it. Nice thing about the CNC - make one or 100 - all turn out the same. I'll post a picture tomorrow if anybody is interested.

[PeteDr]

I have a 2019 3709 Vantanna LE towing a 2018 GMC half ton pickup, elevation model (6000 pounds empty with bed cap installed). So my details are aged and probably not applicable on newer models.

But, as I read posts about towing I get the impression that securing a tow with the proper drive train and brakes on the tow are the set of tasks. So, let me at the very high level suggest there is more that is often missing. Specifically, if towing a newer GM vehicle you must attach it with a tow bar, but also disconnect the tow electric steering box, and add a brake light system you choose. Not disconnecting the power to the steering will cause the tow vehicle to constantly hold the front wheels straight and when making a turn the front tires get scuffed around the turn instead of actually turning. Bad idea for front end components and tire wear. Brake lights/turn signals are another challenge if you want to use those already on the tow. The electric system on most newer than 2006 GM full size cars and light duty trucks use pulse modulated systems. This means you just can not cut into a rear light wires, add a couple of blocking diodes and have everything work.

Perhaps some of these problems I dealt with in 2019/20 have been resolved. Worth verifying before declaring the total scope of the job.

[sdhexpert]

Originally Posted by sdhexpert

Battery disconnect is required for the new Yukon/Tahoe/Suburbans - Kind of tricky to integrate with the way the battery is installed in these trucks. Demco will sell a switch and some cables if you ask.

Nice thing is with these trucks there is no vacuum hoses to deal with as the brakes are electrically assisted (no vacuum booster) - just plug up the vacuum ports on the Airforce one.

Down side is there is really not a nice place to mount the controller.

I made a bracket out of some .2 inch aluminum for mounting - CNC'd it. Nice thing about the CNC - make one or 100 - all turn out the same. I'll post a picture tomorrow if anybody is interested.

Here is what I'm doing ..... replaced the bolts with some 8mm s/s all thread for support



Here is the partially assembled bracket - fuse holder and battery disconnect installed



Here is the back of the bracket - 3d printed a cover for the battery disconnect switch - battery cables not yet installed



Here it is during test fit - air pressure / vacuum hoses and some wiring not yet attached - mounting position still leaves room for jumper cables if required in future.

[seeg]

As you can see from my signature we tow a 2020 Tahoe. I’d echo the other posters i.e. make sure your vehicle has a 2 speed transfer box, install a battery disconnect switch (it’s a PIA to reset mirrors,locks, time, etc.)and use the AirForce1. I used Roadmaster baseplates, wiring, battery disconnect with a Demco tow bar. I had Roadmaster do the install as we live near the factory and our local installer changed jobs. I bought everything from etrailer but Roadmaster didn’t seem to have a problem with that. Only issue is the Roadmaster base plates attach to the Tahoe rather low under the bumper and the CS receiver is set a couple of inches higher. You may not have that problem with a Denali, Blue Ox and your coach.

[Granite17]

I tow a 2021 Tahoe Z-71, Demco base plate, AF 1, Blue Ox Avail.
Earlier this year towed with our 2019 DS and now with our 2022 LA.
Absolutely no problem towing with the DS! I previously towed a 2019 Canyon with the DS and truly believed the heavier Tahoe towed better behind the DS than the lighter Canyon.
As long as you have the 2spd. transfer case, these are a breeze to put into neutral tow mode. You need a battery disconnect.

[beedub]

We are towing a 4x4 Expedition behind our 2020 4369 and did the same behind our 4018. We use a Brakemaster system from Roadmaster which is basically a Airforce One System with one important difference, no battery issues. This system also works without modification with the built in tote braking system on the Spartan chassis Newmars.

[Dutch Star Don]

A lot of times, you can just attach the AFI box to the top of the flat fuse/battery box. On my Raptor, I slipped it alongside my air cleaner box. Find a place it fits and either velcro or use a small attachment plate. It's not heavy and can be mounted in any position.