Fish Tailing with a Yukon

Solittle

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Apr 28, 2002
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I tow a 23' CC with twin V4s on a tandem axle trailer with disk brakes. I pulled this rig for 10 years with a 1993 Ford Explorer Sport in south Florida. Granted the Explorer was undersized for this tow but I never had a handling problem. <br /><br />I recently got rid of the Explorer for a 1999 Yukon which is the right size for my tow and has the power that the Explorer did not. With the Yukon it it tows just fine up to 55 mph and then gets squirrelly and starts fish tailing - not violent but fish tailing just the same.<br /><br />I know this is usually due to a light tongue weight (while it is heavy I don't know the tongue weight or %) but the tongue weight hasn't changed with the Yukon. One thing I did notice - with the Explorer the main rails of the trailer were parallel to the ground. The ball height with the Yukon seems to be a bit lower. Could this be the cause of the fish tailing?
 

dingbat

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Nov 20, 2001
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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

By lowering the front of the trailer you've effectively shifted the center of balance forward
 

4.3sunbird

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Sep 8, 2005
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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

yukons squat pretty easy since they are made more for soccer moms than a work truck but thats not a problem just get a raised hitch to sit the trailer level when hooked to the truck<br /><br />be sure to check tire pressure in the rear tires of the truck also and fill to the recomended pressure writen on the tire .. they probly call for more pressure than youd expect
 

rwidman

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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

Get the trailer level with the ground when connected to the tow vehicle. Then, take the rig to a public scale and have it weighed. Adjust the boat position on the trailer or move the axle(s) until the tongue weight is between 5% and 7% of the total weight of the trailer and boat, loaded as it will be while towing.
 

Solittle

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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

This morning I went out to do the clean-up. One thing I had not done on Thursday was to check the tire pressure of the Yukon. They were all 5-7 lbs low (should be 35) so I kicked them all to 38 and raised the height of the ball about 2". I hope that does it. If not I will confirm the weights as Ron suggests though I doubt that that is the problem as it would have shown up when I was towing with the Explorer.<br /><br />Which brings up a related question - Would the brand of tire on the Yukon come into play on this?? - thinking of the sidewall flex.
 

dingbat

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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

I'm pulling a 5600 lb. WA with a 2001 Tahoe and have never had a problem with sway. As for tires, I saw no difference in the way the truck pulled when I changed from the stock Wilderness AT to the Michelins that are now on the truck. I one thing that seems odd to me was your comment about the Yukon sitting lower than the Explorer. I’d says mine is at least 2-3" taller than an Explorer which would lead me to believe that your shocks/ springs are weak. Then again the 99 has springs instead of the torsion rear so that may have something to do with it. A buddy of mine ended up installing air bags in his springs to improve the ride.
 

rwidman

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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

If not I will confirm the weights as Ron suggests though I doubt that that is the problem as it would have shown up when I was towing with the Explorer
It would still be a good idea to get the tongue weight right. The other vehicle may have compensated for it some way.
 

Lou C

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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

Don't know if they are available for the size you have on the Tahoe, but I use XL rated tires on my Jeep (SL max psi is 35, XL max is 41, LT max is 50 psi). That seems to help and I did not want the stiffness of an LT tire, so that was as far as I could go with tires. I have heard some people like towing better with LT rated tires, but if the suspension was designed with P rated or XL rated tires in mind, it might ride too stiff with LT rated tires. Probably getting the trailer level will do the trick.
 

rg33

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Jul 17, 2005
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Re: Fish Tailing with a Yukon

I will have to agree with getting the trailer frame level with the ground. The presence of the boat on the truck will lessen and track straight. You should get that one unit feel when towing. You move, it moves. You go straight and it follows in line.
 
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