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TOWING A 2015 SUBURBAN 4WD
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Diane, I understand, a bigger vehicle is sure convenient when you have guests and ‘stuff’ to carry along. One thing is for sure, our coaches can pull anything we put behind them.
I have had two Jeep Grand Cherokee’s in the past and didn’t have good luck with them (a new ’96 and a new ’99) and was hoping things have gotten better over the years if I consider another. We then went to a ’02 Mercedes ML500 (rough ride) then to a ’06 Land Rover LR3 and now a ’10 Land Rover LR4. I’m sold on the Land Rover for room as ours will seat 7. The only problem, they can’t be towed four down. It’s time to change out the ’10 but they look just like the one I have.
Honestly, out of all the cars we have, I like driving the Honda for maneuverability and parking (zip in, zip out). And, I don’t have to worry so much if someone door dings it. I will park 10 miles away in the other cars! I’m a car nut, there will be no dust, dirt on my cars! LOL!
Safe travels,
MM.
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Look for a leftover ’14. The tow bar brackets are available and all the necessary equipment for towing. Easiest tow vehicle I ever had and tons of room. I equipped mine with an M&G brake setup. Quick connect and disconnect.
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Hi Diane,
I believe the second battery is to help out with elec power when the engine auto cuts out when you are stationary. It was on mine anyway (2011 C-class)
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I will not attempt to get creative with a toad.
If it is not listed in the FMCA list of towables there is no way I will consider the vehicle.
Since the 50 Ford is being built for towing I have a Tremec 5 speed transmission that Tremec says is OK for towing. But I am still having a driveshaft disconnect installed also. Every vehicle we have ever towed has had a manual transmission plus 4 wheel drive with a neutral position for the transfer case so we had two ways to disconnect the drivetrain. But in addition none of our toads required any special mods to the electrical system. Having said that the Grand Cherokee, The Dodge Ram and now the H2 Hummer I have used diodes or a switch I installed to isolate the light circuits from the vehicle when I hook up for towing because I do not know if power to the lights from the bus back feeds to the various computers. The Ford obviously will not have computers so that won’t be an issue.
Our best toad was a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee that we towed over 200,000 miles and drove another 66,000. It was trouble free. Our H2 is shaping up to also be a great toad, but I have already had to replace the front hubs so it lacks the reliability of the Jeep.
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You do not have to turn the key on. You have to unhook the battery so that the lock does NOT engage. This is also a push button ignition, so no key.
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can the wires to the lock be disconnected???
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I don’t know if the wires can be unhooked or not. The dealer wants to wait to see what GM will do for a “fix”. With as much crap as there is under the dash, I am not about to start looking for a way to do that..
. I would think that GM could engineer it fairly easily to stay unlocked in tow mode (transfer case in N), as they unlock it when you hit the start button, and should be able to keep it unlocked if the transfer case is in N. The vehicle knows when it is in N because it turns on a light on the 4wd switch. We have pretty much decided to just get something else to tow, and only use that vehicle for towing. Maybe a Jeep or such. I know it is an extra expense, but one setup for towing, it would last for years.
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Thanks everyone for your input here !!
We have found a 4WD Suburban we like…. just haven’t done the deal yet.
Our Chevy Dealer’s shop guru is looking for options… will keep everyone interested posted.
Diane
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Diane,
If it does not approve and describe 4 wheel down towing in the owner’s manual don’t consider it.
When we were last shopping for a vehicle the BS we were told was enough to fertilize 10 years of gardens. If the dealer says it is towable just ask to read the book description of the process required.
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Jon: GM *does* approve the 2015 Yukon & Tahoe for towing…just that they say to unhook he battery as part of the procedure for getting it ready to tow.
If it was not such a pain to have to reprogram everything, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if you put a switch of some sort on the neg. cable to use for that purpose. I just don’t want to spend an hour or so each time we have to unhook the toad. Some trips it is everynight…that would get plain ridiculous!
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Jon,
I read the manual and all the 4WD suburbans are flat towable… that’s not the problem… it’s the steps to do so mentioned in the earlier posts that are annoying… we have always put it in neutral and it was a done deal.. Extra steps are required because of the new “locking steering wheel”… GM is aware of the problem and supposedly looking for a fix also…
One of GM top guys just happens to be in Lufkin and they are looking at all the possible options, such as a way to save the data settings on clock navigation and radio etc.
Also not a problem to install a battery cutoff switch instead of having to unhook the negative cable each time as that is what is a pain.
Just switching the battery off will not be a killer for me.
Will keep you posted.
Diane
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Diane, my sales rep was in Minneapolis yesterday for training so he asked the trainer about the issue and all he got was a look that said the trainer thought he had 3 heads. None of the trainers at the session had any idea about what he was talking about. He has left a voicemail for another, more senior trainer and will let me know what he finds out.
I would think that just putting some logic in the ecm to not enable the lock when in towing mode would be a whole lot easier than trying to figure out how to save all the various programmable things….but who knows. It sure was easier to do on both my older Tahoes!
If they can figure a way to keep everything in memory while unhooking the battery, that would be better than what they have now, but still seems like they could just get rid of the lock easier.
I will let you know what I hear back from them as well. They know I am not a happy camper about this.
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Mark,
You are right, I don’t think the salesmen know their hand from their foot… and also some of the top guys… like you said they didn’t have a clue… we have towed our Z-71 suburban since new and also an Avalanche… so easy to set up… no BS at all.
Being able to disable the steering lock is undoubtably the way to go… they said it was intergrated into the new security system and couldn’t be disarmed by itself so to speak… I would gladly let them disable the entire security system and add my own if that is possible… would love to just put it in neutral and go.
I too knew nothing about it until the OKC rally when I mentioned a new suburban and PC member Dan Young said to be careful what you wish for as he had just bought a new GMC Yukon XL and didn’t know about the power steering lock either. I wonder how many people have purchased and then found out.???
I too will keep you posted when and if I hear something.
Cheers, Diane
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You are verifying my point. #1, don’t believe a salesman or the shop manager. #2, read the manual to see if the vehicle is acceptable to you for towing.
When you have to reprogram the time, radio stations and all your settings that is a big enough pain to suggest to me that I don’t want to tow that vehicle.
My starting point would be the FMCA towables guide. They usually add footnotes when necessary to let you know what special step you need to take for towing so it saves a lot of time visiting dealerships. Anything can be made towable because there are devices available for driveshaft disconnects, transmission pumps, etc. but if you go that route and opt to use a vehicle not approved for towing, but modified to make it towable, then you bear the responsibility to figure out what issues you can have such as a steering wheel lock problem.I have read on other forums how some have selected a vehicle for towing, and to make it work, they start the vehicle, put it in neutral and just let it idle the entire time it is being towed. Not my choice, but apparently some think that is OK.
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There is a buliton out Number 14541 that is a supplement to your curent owners manual that gives detail instruction to tow My 2015 went to neutral would not come out had to be towed to dealer again I ask them to check for service buliton they checked gave me buliton Number PIP5217A that works on the ones with Key I informed it ask me to do things that is not possible with keyless they called back gave new buliton for 2015s only haven’t tried yet will go to dealer and try it in their presence to see if it works I have towed mine three times problems each time looks good behind Prevost even if it is not usable any questions give me a call 580 695 7043 Thanks Dan
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