GMC Sierra 1500 Denali TV

[dewdev]

I am thinking of buiying a 2026 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali which comes standard with the Premium Suspension featuring Adaptive Ride Control (ARC)

Do people that have the GMC Denali find that it halls the Elite II without problems like no porpoising when going over bumps? Does the rear end of the truck squat a lot when conneccting to the Elite II.

I would appreciate any information you can share.

Edited September 9 by dewdev

[FloraFauna]

While this does not answer your specific question, many of us prefer to eliminate all those issues you list by simply going with a 3/4 ton truck.  Such a truck also eliminates the need for a weight distributing hitch and gives more payload capacity.  Its simple and provides more confidence on the road.  

Edited September 10 by FloraFauna

[jd1923]

5 hours ago, dewdev said:

I am thinking of buiying a 2026 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali…

I didn’t comment earlier, since I don’t follow new tech and models. But I’m with @FloraFauna 100%.

I used to buy used Cadillacs (one Lincoln Mark VII LSC) for my drivers back in the 90s, like the Seville STS, nice car to commute Chicago traffic! They’d come off a 2-year lease, with under 30K miles, and always with a dealer add-on 70K powertrain warranty! I’d keep them another 2 years and trade for another beauty for very little money. I’d spend 28K OTD, for what new would be 60K plus dealer fees and taxes!

In AZ if I buy from a private owner, there are NO sales taxes. From a dealer, the plus 8.6%! Think about total cost of ownership.

For what you’d be spending for new, you could get the same model but the HD 2500 series, low mileage 2-3 years old, for same or less $$$!

Our TV is 26 years old and pulls the Oliver NP!

I’ve purchased about 60 vehicles in my life. Only 4 of them were new. I have a little brother who won’t buy anything used to save his life! Maybe because when young he got all the used hand-me-down clothes I grew out of. He’s paid through the teeth and I’ve always had far better rides, way too many to park in our 3-car garage! 🤣

Edited September 10 by jd1923

[Steph and Dud B]

Having done it before, I can say that having a marginal tow vehicle is no comparison to having a competent tow vehicle. A bigger truck is safer and more comfortable to tow with. No weight distribution hitch, no worrying about your weights, much more relaxing. If you're buying a new truck anyway, I suggest going for a 2500. You'll probably end up buying one later, anyway.

[jd1923]

And nothing like the diesel engine with exhaust brake! 😎

I use it always, even around town, towing or not. Somebody cuts in front of you and you're slowing down as soon as you let your foot off the gas.

Drove recently Prescott to Phoenix to pickup Chris at the airport. It's a 4300 ft drop in elevation and I made it down the mountain without pressing the truck brake pedal once. Without it, I'd be on the brakes most of the way down. Towing the Oliver down I-17 does require braking a few times where the drop is 6-8%.

24 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

A bigger truck is safer and more comfortable to tow with. No weight distribution hitch, no worrying about your weights, much more relaxing.

For sure! Note a couple Forum members recently posted they prefer when the TV weighs more than the TT. It provides balance which boosts confidence when towing in less than ideal conditions. Our truck loaded and hitched (with tongue weight) is 8K LBS with 8,800 GVWR, and the Oliver loaded is 6,400 LBS. Never will the tail wag our dog.

Given you're buying new, it's the right time to make it your last and best TV purchase. We're not getting any younger! 🤣

Edited September 10 by jd1923

[FloraFauna]

7 hours ago, jd1923 said:

And nothing like the diesel engine with exhaust brake!

JD beat me to it on this one.  I traveled a couple hundred miles in Wisconsin hill country today.  The steep downhills would have had me braking frequently to stay close to the speed limit.  Instead i flipped on the exhaust brake and didnt need to touch the brakes even once and i wasnt even towing this time.  When towing the benefit is even much more. I cant overstate how valuable this feature is in the hills and mountains.

[DanielBoondock]

Before making your decision spend some time test driving the Denali or AT4 EV. Seriously - just take some test drives, why not? GM is so gung-ho on EV’s because their data shows 4 out of 5 people, once you get them in an EV, never go back. As a tow vehicle you’ll find that it kills everything else. Uphill more torque/power than every other truck out there, and downhill you don’t use your brakes and it all regenerates into the battery. 

As for squat it has independent rear coil suspension (one motor per axel no transmission) so it’s minimal, under an inch. Add a little bit of WD and there’s none. 

Regarding adaptive ride, the Denali EV has airbag suspension which adapts height. It doesn’t have the adaptable shock absorbers, but with an entirely different suspension design (independent coils) I don’t think it needs it. You also get rear steer, it has the turning radius of a small compact like the Bolt. Parking lots are a breeze. 

Not to mention the software and interior tech …

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, DanielBoondock said:

Before making your decision spend some time test driving the Denali or AT4 EV. Seriously - just take some test drives, why not?

I went with suggesting the diesel and exhaust brake, knowing full well Dan would chime in with the EV truck. 🤣

I imagine he’s right about power and downhill braking. Still not sure I’d want to be looking for charge stations while camping though.

The main issue may come down to cost. You can’t buy an older EV and they are quite costly compared to the 1500 series gas truck. 

[DanielBoondock]

5 hours ago, jd1923 said:

I went with suggesting the diesel and exhaust brake, knowing full well Dan would chime in with the EV truck. 🤣

Glad I didn’t disappoint 😅

Quote

I imagine he’s right about power and downhill braking. Still not sure I’d want to be looking for charge stations while camping though.

Not a problem anymore but we’ve been over that. But it’s all good, whatever rocks your boat. 

Quote

The main issue may come down to cost. You can’t buy an older EV and they are quite costly compared to the 1500 series gas truck.

Actually that too - 2024/25 Silverado EV’s (same platform different front end) are coming off lease and rentals, people are getting them at great prices. But yeah apples to apples you’ll pay an extra 4-6k or something. You’ll save in fuel/service total cost of ownership pretty quickly with gas prices as they are, but granted people tend to be more sensitive to sticker price. 

[DanielBoondock]

From a different forum where I posted an estimation of towing costs, for the Oliver of EV versus Diesel, using today’s prices. The Unit Cost is the averaged national average for both, and of course while fuel costs are highly variable, charging base cost doesn’t change, except there are various discounts. For example GM keeps giving me $50 free charging credits, they run sales (Ionna ran a Labor Day sale of something like 20 cents/kWh), but AFAIK fuel never goes on sale. 

Also this is just for towing trips, when at home of course you’ll charge off whatever your rate it, basically free for me with lots of solar.

Metric	Diesel Truck	Electric Truck
Baseline Efficiency (Unladen)	~18.0 MPG	~2.0 miles / kWh
Efficiency with 40% Loss	10.8 MPG	1.2 miles / kWh
Total Energy Required	370.4 gallons	3,333.3 kWh
Assigned Unit Cost	$6.00 / gallon	$0.40 / kWh
Total 4,000-Mile Cost	$2,222.22	$1,333.33

Edited September 17 by DanielBoondock

[Geronimo John]

On 9/10/2026 at 10:40 AM, jd1923 said:

For sure! Note a couple Forum members recently posted they prefer when the TV weighs more than the TT. It provides balance which boosts confidence when towing in less than ideal conditions.

I have posted several times that a F-150 TV (Crew cab and 3.5 EB engine) and OE2 loaded at 50% of the rated tow capacity is a great match for many of us.  Let me delve into this a bit deeper.

With the Ecoboost (IE:  False marketing by Ford as you get Economy (No Boost) or Boost (Power with no Economy) you have a great setup, especially for out west in the mountains.  It does however need a set of Bilstein 5100's and air bags to be that ideal daily driver and a great TV for an OE2 combo under 12,000 pounds (That's a 6K Ollie and a 6K F-150). 

Unlike the Super Duty Team, I often take my truck off road , drive it daily. and accrew 60% of my miles with our OE2 in tow.  Such a use mix would work well with any Super Duty truck.  And such a statement does not even consider the fuel savings issue.

In summary, if you can afford having two or three vehicles (Daily Driver, Off road, and TV) great for you as you can have the best of your wonderful world. 

But if you need to have a single vehicle for towing an OE2, occasional  4X4 off road(or winter snow use), and it is your daily driver..... then IMHO, the Super Duty is not going to be the optimal.  

GJ

[Mike and Carol]

7 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

In summary, if you can afford having two or three vehicles (Daily Driver, Off road, and TV) great for you as you can have the best of your wonderful world. 

But if you need to have a single vehicle for towing an OE2, occasional  4X4 off road(or winter snow use), and it is your daily driver..... then IMHO, the Super Duty is not going to be the optimal.  

I hesitate jumping into vehicle discussion and what is best.  I will say our half tons were good TV’s and good daily drivers.  Our 3/4 ton is a great TV and a good daily driver.  It’s fine around town, hauling grandkids, and is our preferred vehicle for trips without the trailer.  So, it’s really just a matter of personal preference.  Mike

[jd1923]

10 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

In summary, if you can afford having two or three vehicles (Daily Driver, Off road, and TV) great for you as you can have the best of your wonderful world... GJ

2 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

So, it’s really just a matter of personal preference.  Mike

GJ, you make a good point. But it is a wonderful world! It doesn't have to be rich. We certainly are not, but "Life is Good."

I wanted a fully adequate TV for the Oliver and for me that's the 3/4-ton truck. The 1/2-ton means less payload and Andersen WDH and maybe Firestone airbags or Timbrens, etc. Once you're up in 3500-land, might as well get a dually and a 40' fifth-wheel trailer! 🤣

Like Mike, I'm fine with driving our TV around town. It's even fun to drive at times, but nowhere near like driving our other vehicles. We have two "Daily Drivers" a 2000 Lincoln LS (Jaguar S chassis with 3.9l v8) and a 1992 Lexus SC400 (4.0l quad-cam v8). I promise they are both more fun than driving a truck. For "Off road and winter snow use" can't beat our '08 Lexus GX470. Or you REALLY want to go Off-Road? We'll take our street-legal 2018 Textron Havoc SxS! 🤠

Of course, I work maintenance & repair on all of our vehicles. But if you're not able or not wanting to do so, buying one (1) new vehicle with a warranty could make more sense. I like having multiple older vehicles in our Wonderful World! And actually I spent as much on 2 trucks and 2 cars, plus all the parts I used in restoration over the last 6 years as what a brand new Sierra, a Super Duty or Ram 2500 would cost.

The new truck would be easier but after spending on a used Oliver and everything else for camping, buying a new TV was out of the question for us. I have done 3 brake jobs this year (the Dodge, our Lincoln and Son's T100). This is the price I pay which is not at all easy! What I'm not paying for is sales tax on a new truck, the licensing fees/tax and insurance on new vehicles. For every year older, licensing tax and insurance premiums are lower. I usually have comp-only insurance on the one we're not driving for the season, comp-only on the TT and TV most of the year unless we're off the property.

I've read here about towing an OE2 with a Tacoma and many other odd choices, OMG! I've learned we need the 8' long-bed that can hold 1500 LBS, for all the camping gear and another 35-gal fresh water tank! I had a Quad-Cab Ram for 18 years. It was great when our son was young and we had two labs, but I do not want another 4-door truck, love the extended cab with the half suicide door, it's just so handy. Charley loves his narrow bench seat back there.

It was also very important to us to have a TV-TT rig that goes together, ours having the white over grey theme, a matched set! 😎