We love to use our vehicles to tow here in the Carolinas. Whether it is campers, boats, ATVs, or race cars, we put our towables to the test by hitching them up and getting to our destinations safely.
There are plenty of tow rigs from which to choose. Some prefer to use larger SUVs to do the job, as they have the performance and capacity to get you and your trailer wherever life takes you. Not just that, they also have the ability to carry people and their things along for the ride. The Chevrolet Tahoe is a highly practical SUV. It was built to get the job done with a great mix of capability, strength, passenger accommodation, cargo space, and useful technology.
The Truck King YouTube channel demonstrated the Tahoe Z71’s towing capability. It had another SUV to compare it to—a 2025 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro. In the video, Truck King also wanted to compare the people-carrying capabilities of each SUV. The idea was to see how useful each SUV could be for families on-the-go, along with trailering capabilities.
The first thing Truck King looked at was the passenger space. He found that the adjustable second-row captain’s chairs worked very well for a six-foot-two man. There was good headroom in the second row. Occupants were treated to a set of USB-C connections and climate controls. For baby seats, there were lower latches and top baby seat tethers for each captain’s chair.
To access the third row, Truck King found the flip and tumble captain’s chairs easy to use. There were 34.9 inches of legroom in the third row and more headroom in the third row than in the second. Third-row occupants also got USB-C connections and cupholders, as well as three top baby seat tethers. Truck King said he was comfortable in the third row and found it a nice place to be. Overall, the Tahoe Z71 was given the nod in the people-carrying comparison over the Sequoia.
Cargo-wise, the Tahoe offered 25.5 cubic feet behind the third row. Truck King showed us the hidden storage underneath the floor. In all, he said that the Tahoe had better cargo space and utilization than the Sequoia.
The 2025 Tahoe Z71 with four-wheel drive had a maximum tow rating of 8,000 pounds with a payload rating of 1,492 pounds. For the towing test, Truck King pulled a 5,000-pound load on a flat-bed trailer. Truck King found the power delivery under load in the Tahoe Z71 to be quicker and smoother than in the Sequoia. He remarked that it also sounded better.
The air suspension was a huge help for carrying the 5,000-pound trailer load. It automatically adjusted the ride height to balance out the load. The Tahoe Z71 also felt “firm and planted,” according to Truck King. “Ultimately, that equals confidence when you’re towing.” He felt that he would pick the Tahoe for larger loads.
In terms of technology, Truck King drew our attention to a setting on the infotainment screen about the Gross Combined Weight Rating Alert. This automatically detects whether you are towing more than you should, based on a “number of forces unto the powertrain to decide whether or not you could [tow] over that weight rating.” If you reset the system, it will tell you to find the nearest public scale. This could be useful when you are trailering on the highway.
Overall, Truck King chose the Tahoe Z71 over the Sequoia TRD Pro on the basis of passenger and cargo utilization and towing capability. If this is a clear win for you, your family, and your towing needs, contact us at Dieffenbach Chevrolet to check out the new Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 as well as our used Tahoe inventory. It just might be your next tow rig.