Towing with a Yukon...NEED HELP WITH MAX AMOUNT OF TOW CAPACITY!!!!

So I am in the process of buying a new Travel Trailer. The weight of the Travel Trailer me and my wife are interested in is 6,100lbs dry weight. I own a 2017 Yukon SLE and the information on the Yukon that I found with the Vin number is as followed:

Vehicle Name  GMC Yukon
Body Style  Sport Utility Vehicle
Drivetrain  Four Wheel Drive
Passenger Capacity  9, 8    8.0 min 9.0 max
Gross Axle Wt Rating - Front  3600  lbs  3600.0 min 3600.0 max
Gross Axle Wt Rating - Rear  4100  lbs  4100.0 min 4100.0 max
Curb Weight - Front  2926  lbs  2926.0 min 2926.0 max
Curb Weight - Rear  2700  lbs  2700.0 min 2700.0 max
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Cap  7300  lbs  7300.0 min 7300.0 max
Fuel Economy Est-Combined  18  MPG  18.0 min 18.0 max
EPA Fuel Economy Est - City  16  MPG  16.0 min 16.0 max
EPA Fuel Economy Est - Hwy  22  MPG  22.0 min 22.0 max
Tons/yr of CO2 Emissions @ 15K mi/year  9.8    9.8 min 9.8 max
Gross Combined Wt Rating  14000, 12000  lbs  12000.0 min 14000.0 max
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.  5000  lbs  5000.0 min 5000.0 max
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.  500  lbs  500.0 min 500.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.  8200, 6300  lbs  6300.0 min 8200.0 max
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.  820, 630  lbs  630.0 min 820.0 max

My towing capacity depends on what type of Travel Trailer I am able to buy. Can anyone tell me what I can safely tow. I do have a sway bar from my previous travel trailer I owned but that travel trailer only weighed 3,500lbs. We are upgrading and I just want to be safe in towing whatever I buy. Any help would be greatly appreciate it. I don't want to ask the sales person from the dealership because they will try to sell me whatever they can and won't be any help.

Welcome to the Forum!  Thank you for asking BEFORE purchase!

First, forget all about dry wt.  Nobody goes camping in an empty trailer.  The Yukon must be able to tow the LOADED camper, so use GVWR as your guide.  You may not pack quite that heavy, but you will be closer than you expect, and any "excess" margin is a good safety factor.

It appears the curb wt is about 5626# and GVWR is 7300#.  This indicates your Payload is something less than 1674#.  I am not sure if Chevy Curb wt is based on a base Yukon or one with the SLE trim.  Regardless, the most the Yukon can weigh, loaded and ready for travel is 7300#.
The ACTUAL Payload is shown on a yellow border placard located on the driver door latch pillar.

Payload includes the weight of all passengers, all pets, all cargo, tools and misc. in the truck, plus the weight of the WD hitch and the TT tongue wt.
The Tongue wt must be at least 10% of the gross TT wt for good towing manners.  Again, IGNORE published tongue or hitch wts.

"Dead wt hitch" refers to a trailer WITHOUT a WD hitch.  The stated WD hitch max wt is 8200#, but you may exceed other limits with a camper this big.

In summary, you must meet several weight limits.
Gross Wt of fully loaded truck can not exceed 7300#, or the truck GVWR
Gross wt of the truck and TT combined can not exceed 14,000#, or the truck GCWR
TT weight can not exceed 8200#, or the max WD Trailer wt.

In short, no simple answer.  Much depends on family size and weight.

Happy shopping!

Basically its a 1/2 ton with less payload than a 1/2 ton pick-up.

I think you will be disappointed.  I have a Yukon XL, 8200# max with WD, and my dry trailer is 5200#.  Loaded up, I'm probably 6500#.  Pulls fine, on the hills you know it is back there for sure.  My trailer is 21', and I know I have a neighbor with similar arrangement with 25' trailer and he ended up selling and getting 2500 truck.  You probably can pull the trailer you are looking at by the specs.  How full will your Yukon be?  How full will your TT be?  and are you fulling mostly on flatland, or mostly in the hills or mountains?

What I am learning is that salesman are liars they will tell u what you want to hear so you buy. I just bought a travel trailer empty is 5800# gross is 7500# and I pull it with a ram 1500 5.7 l lots of power will pull like no tommorrow but power means nothing when it's rocks and bobs and sways, have done things to improve wd hitch, air bags , sway bars and yes it's towable but it's not a relaxing drive on the highway. My recommendation is not go over 50% what the actual weight rating is on the vehicle specially if you are towing long distance.
This is just my opinion.

Just an update. The wife and I have looked at several campers and I mean hundreds LOL we have narrowed it down to either a Bullet Ultra Lite 243BHS or 272BHS. We are also looking at a few APEX campers. Do any of you have suggestions on which one might be better (Bullet or Apex). We decided to go with these because it's better for towing for what we have. Thank you all for your responses. ?

You haven't had any replies so I think your post may have got lost in the ether.  Have  you made any decisions yet or still looking for advice?

mshort19973 said:

Just an update. The wife and I have looked at several campers and I mean hundreds LOL we have narrowed it down to either a Bullet Ultra Lite 243BHS or 272BHS. We are also looking at a few APEX campers. Do any of you have suggestions on which one might be better (Bullet or Apex). We decided to go with these because it's better for towing for what we have. Thank you all for your responses. ?

Click to expand...

Hello mshort. I looked at the Keystone Bullet line before getting my current ultra lite. I would recommend the
243BHS because of the difference in 1000lbs between the 2. That is if the floor plan will work for you. You are
kind of limited by your tow vehicle I'm sorry to say.

mshort19973 said:

Just an update. The wife and I have looked at several campers and I mean hundreds LOL we have narrowed it down to either a Bullet Ultra Lite 243BHS or 272BHS. We are also looking at a few APEX campers. Do any of you have suggestions on which one might be better (Bullet or Apex). We decided to go with these because it's better for towing for what we have. Thank you all for your responses. ?

Click to expand...

A few thoughts...I just purchased the passport 2400BH which is almost identical to the 243BHS with the exception of a few changes(namely the full size queen in the passport) .  Looking forward to the shake down trip next weekend. 

That being said, I couldn't imagine pulling the 272 with your vehicle.  And honestly, I think the 243 is pushing it as well.  While the tow cap is well with in its limit, you are going to push its payload.  Almost half of it is going to be taken up by hitch weight and the hitch itself.  That doesn't leave much room for passengers and cargo. 

The other concern I would have is the length of trailer compared to your wheelbase.  this seems to be rather unsettled but some point to 110" of wheelbase for a 20' trailer with 4" of wheelbase for every 1 foot of trailer.  YMMV so google the topic and decided if it bothers you.