Our Tahoe's and Suburbans are capable of tugging thousands of pounds behind them. The problems that arise from that is stress and wear and tear, I know nothing about how much though. So, if I get a tune and don't lead foot everywhere I go but just sometimes, Would the tune do as much damage as towing?

 

Well, I can only speak from my experience....I do both - tune and tow. In fact, I got my first tune specifically to improve towing performance.
My '01 Burb has 205k on it, has had a hot tune since 100k. Logged about 17,000 miles of hard towing.
My '08 Burb has 135k on it, has had a hot tune since 110k. Logged about 8,000 miles of hard towing.

I have two trailers, a travel trailer and a cargo trailer. Both trucks have pulled both trailers.
Cargo trailer is a 6X12, single axle, and weighs ~3500 lbs.
Travel trailer is a 26' double axle, weighs ~7,000 lbs.
Both trucks have pulled the travel trailer through the Rocky Mountains.

Both tunes removed the torque management, anywhere from 25-50%.

When not towing, I drive them both like I stole them - they're ridden hard and put away wet.

Both trucks have the original engine and transmission, and function flawlessly. The ONLY time I've broken something, it was while towing. Happened twice, and both times it was the rear axle of the '01 half-ton (hence the upgrade to the '08 2500).

Now, if you do something stupid on your tune, like removing 90% of the torque management, then yes, you might break something. Otherwise, towing is infinitely more abusive to a vehicle than just tuning it and being a bit of a lead foot. Just my opinion, it's worth what you paid for it.

PS - I will be getting a tune for the Denali shortly, and I have a new trailer that it'll be pulling - a 30-footer weighing 8,000 lbs.

 

Great info! Shutting off the AFM is what I want. And if I can juice the engine at the same time is even better. I'll don't have anything to tote around and I have to keep this vehicle for a few more years. Hope doing just that does the trick. 50% more torque sounds like a awesome increase and still keeping breakages to a minimum and AFM at bay.

 

He removed 50% of the torque management...not increase torque. Basically it shifts quicker without the slop and slide in between gears.

 

Get a tune....you won't be sorry. Do some research on the various companies that provide tuning services. I had no idea there was so many companies that do this. Check for a local company that offers this service. I had a company in North Carolina, PCM, do the tune on my Tahoe and I can't say enough positive about them. The best thing about PCM is the ease in contacting them for support which is something you may want to check out. One company even referred to the ECM on my Tahoe as the PCM that's located under the hood. So, be selective on who you do business with.

 

BlackBear Performance is another good ringer that you may want to check out.

 

Well gosh .... forgive me. I forgot it's against board rules to discuss tunes and not mention BB. May I forever be held in purgatory.

 

It seems to be that we sacrifice some 'get up and go' for long term durability... I'd rather make it home towing a load, with a car full of people 10 minutes later... than not at all. The people who built this thing know what they are doing... (GM's accounting department on the other hand...)...

Anyway, my vote is leave it alone. If you need to haul faster, buy a bigger/stronger vehicle...

 

For some folks that need the extra cargo and passenger-carrying capacity, there is nothing "bigger and stronger" than a Suburban, short of an expensive conversion like Duraburb or something crazy like the F650 XUV (Google it).

I get my rigs tuned because I want to be able to maintain a reasonable speed when towing up a long grade. Again, my '01 has over 100,000 miles with a hot tune. The only time I broke it was because I was overloaded - had nothing to do with the tune.

The fact that the electronic speed governor magically diappeared is simply a coincidence. On both trucks.

 

Ditto! Some people own vehicles before they purchase a camper and the prospect of an additional 20 thou to purchase a vehicle to use is just not available to them. So they have to tow with what they have. Although A base F150 may tow a 6000lb trailer..... that doesn't mean it will do it safely. A tune will help getting that 6000lbs up a hill but the smaller wheels and tires can create some very unsafe situations going down that hill. So, if you NEED a tune to provide additional power you should also look at other mods with an eye toward safety.