towing your Bronco

[76YETI]

Google says 4,500 to 7,900 lbs. for the Yukon. I towed by bronco when I first bought it with a Chevy Traverse and U-Haul trailer. Easy pull. Decent video from VW....just make sure you distribute the weight evenly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHnx-J0ll8g

 

[blubuckaroo]

how do i figure out my tow capacity?

I have a 2008 Yukon (not XL), and i was planning to trailer my new bronco home this weekend using a uhaul trailer.

Vehicle tow ratings are for suckers. Those ratings are used by vehicle and travel trailer manufacturers to sell their stuff.
The tow vehicle's basic load rating will be exceeded way before you reach those tow ratings.
There should be a yellow sticker on the driver side door jamb. On that you'll see the vehicle's load capacity. A trailer needs 13% of it's weight to be on the ball. Figure about 7000 pounds for the Bronco and trailer. 13% of that is 910 pounds. Add the weight of a tank of fuel, passengers, and cargo.
You're overloaded.

If you flat tow it, you'll eliminate the tongue weight.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Vehicle tow ratings are for suckers. Those ratings are used by vehicle and travel trailer manufacturers to sell their stuff.
The tow vehicle's basic load rating will be exceeded way before you reach those tow ratings.
There should be a yellow sticker on the driver side door jamb. On that you'll see the vehicle's load capacity. A trailer needs 13% of it's weight to be on the ball. Figure about 7000 pounds for the Bronco and trailer. 13% of that is 910 pounds. Add the weight of a tank of fuel, passengers, and cargo.
You're overloaded.

If you flat tow it, you'll eliminate the tongue weight.

There is so much wrong in that, I am not sure where to even start.
Yes, there is a weight rating placard on the door jam, that part is correct.
The rest of that, not so much. I have been dealing with OEM certification of SAE J2807 (trailer tow standards) since before they were official. One of the members of the SAE board that deals with that standard happens to be sitting about 20 feet away from me at the moment, and I have worked with him on this stuff since at least 2002. It can be splitting hairs, but if they publish a tow rating, it has to be a towable configuration. Probably going to need a weight distributing hitch, especially the shorter wheelbase version of the Yukon. If you think those numbers are there only for sales, wrong. Sales wants the higher number so they can be the better towing vehicle, but there is science and testing to back up the claims. Not just a marketing guy pulling a number out of the air.

With that said, if you are trying to tow 7k with a truck only rated for 7k, it is often very difficult to accurately set up the trailer inside all the limitations. Sometimes it is easy, when the chassis has plenty of capacity but the limitation is the powertrain. But that Yukon isn't power limited. I remember them being very chassis limited. You are dancing with overloading the axle weight ratings.

 

[blubuckaroo]

So, your saying the vehicle load ratings aren’t important?

 

[Broncobowsher]

So, your saying the vehicle load ratings aren’t important?

No, they are important.
I am saying that the numbers are real, not just marketing BS.

 

[blubuckaroo]

No, they are important.
I am saying that the numbers are real, not just marketing BS.

Yes, when you tow the trailer out of the RV sales lot, it is probably legal.
All I'm saying is the weight rating of the tow vehicle will be exceeded way before the tow rating is reached. No air bags, helper springs, and/or equalizing hitch can change the official load rating of the truck.
I just went through this. I had a Tacoma with a tow rating of 6700 pounds. But the load rating was only 1200 pounds. Our new trailer speced out at 4800 pounds dry.
I had 700 pounds of tongue weight. I added the weight of the fuel, 3 passengers, two kayaks, cargo, and the equalizing hitch, and it was 200 pounds overweight.

 

[sprdv1]

Google says 4,500 to 7,900 lbs. for the Yukon. I towed by bronco when I first bought it with a Chevy Traverse and U-Haul trailer. Easy pull. Decent video from VW....just make sure you distribute the weight evenly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHnx-J0ll8g

better safe than sorry....