DaveK

I recently purchased a new 2007 Chev Tahoe LT with 5.3L V8 and 3.73 rear end. I plan to tow my 66 Corvette roadster with it inside a 20ft. Pace American low profile box trailer. The trailer has electric brakes and I will install an electric brake controller in the Tahoe.

The combined weight of the trailer and Corvette is about 5900#. The max trailer weight rating for the Hoe is 7200#. I will be trailering over some hilly terrain. The Tahoe is equipped with a trailering package that includes a tow gear setting on the steering column.

Anyone have any experience trailering with a Tahoe?

Regards,
Dave K.

haidangwa

I've towed with my '07 Tahoe, similarly equipped. I was towing a '90 Honda Accord on a Uhaul tow dolly and taking it about 280 miles across Washington state. The trip consisted of crossing the Cascades and some hills and valleys into Central and Eastern Washington. Granted, my load isn't as heavy as yours, but I had no problems towing the vehicle. Even on the steep uphill grades, I was passing other cars. I've also towed a 5'x9' open-top utility trailer filled with 2 yards of topsoil and gravel -- no problem there either.

The tow mode on the column keeps the transmission in the gears longerand it has the passing feature of the blinkers stay on longer.I believe this feature is on all Tahoes, regardless of the tow package. "Tow Package" to me means that you have the tow hitch, wiring,and also the tranny oil cooler. The combination allows the Tahoe to tow ~10,000 lbs (don't quote me) than without the tranny oil cooler.

knute3

I believe the tongue weight capacity on the class 3 hitch is 500, yours is probably around 600 for a 6000 pound trailer. Either upgrade to a class 4 hitch or get some WD bars. The WD bars would make for the best handling combination as it will not unload your front axle quite as much.

engine2

I agree with knute3 - tongue weight is just as important as total weight.

Auburn

I have been towing a Nissan 350z coupe on a open texas roll back 20'trailer, not on mountainous roads but on some hilly ones throughout Georgia. Never had any problems. We were able togo between 85 and 90 on the flatpart of the freeway anddid not have anyreal issues with the hills. The combined weightwas around5000lbs.

We are transitioning to a slope nose 20' with our new roadster Z. The combined weight of the trailer and car is around 6900 lbs. We should have the trailer soon, but we are changing out Z's so won't be able to test it for a little while.

DaveK

Does anyone know who sells a class IV trailer hitch for a 2007 Tahoe? The 2007 frame is different from the 2006 and I can't find a manufacture of one for a 2007.

Dave K.

LT4Steve

Dave K.......I'm about to do some serious towing with my '03 Tahoe LT, 5.3, 2WD, 3.42. Load is a corvette on an open 18' trailer...approx. 5,000 lbs. I don't have the optional tow package, hence no aux. trans. cooler. I'm going through the driveline, brakes, elec. hookup etc. to build in extra capacity. I will tow fairly conservatively (speed) and an open trailer doesn't have the wind resistance of a larger trailer. Also, I'm prepared to drop to 3rd. to prevent lugging on inclines or if temps. start rising. Has anyone added an optional stacked plate trans. cooler and gauge that they can recommend, and can anyone comment on what I can expect first time out?

The engine seems to run at 210 F. on the dash guage and I've tried to buy a 180 F. thermostat but this engine apparently won't accept anything but the OEM unit. Has anyone fitted a cooler thermostat to this engine?

Berkly

For the past 2 months Ive been towing a 19ft travel trailer that weighs in around 3300lbs. Ive got an 07 2LTtahoe with 3.42 gears. Through city traffic and semi-hilly terrain Ive ran the transmission oil temperature up to 197 degrees. 200 degrees is the danger zone and I will have to add an auxilary transmission cooler, as I expect you will (if you havent already) traveling over mountainous terrain. The dealer had one availablefor install, but Im going to look into other after market options before I decide on one.

Your trailer is also pretty heavy, pushing your GVCW pretty close to the max, little margin for error there. Id suggest buying an appropriate weight distrubutor hitch and have an expert adjust it for you. This allows you to increase your tongue weight over 500 lbs The sticker on the hitch makes it sound like its totally capable of handling very large loads. Reads 10,000lbs as the max limit, but your tahoe is in no way capable of handling that much. I think they just use that hitch on all of their vehicles, i.e their full size trucks and suburbans, therefore consult your owners manual for max tow/tongue limits. IMO you dont need to upgrade your hitch.

One more thing, you will have to have the dealer connect the trailer brake and battery wires under the hood. Off the lot, they are not connected and your brake controller will not work. Have them connect the appropriate wires and you should be able to install your controller and get it working. Consult your owners manual for wiring configurations to your brake controller.

To Auburn: Id like to know what tires you are using on your trailer that allow you to go that fast. Most trailer tires Ive looked have a max speed of 65 mph, I would definately like to cruise faster than that, at least on the interstates.

Auburn

Our open trailer had 15" wheels. Not sure what kind of tires as it is now sold. It was more about how stable that texas roll back trailer was. It was a great trailer...sold it in less than 24 hours.

The new enclosed trailer (20' slope nose) has radials. We have trailered our Z with the new trailer, but the Z is currently without an engine to get the engine bay painted so not sure if this was a good test yet. Wewere trailering it duringsome high wind storms and the trailer rode well at about 65-70.

I need to find out if we have a transmission cooler on our tahoe.