Towing With Super Cruise
For all the talk in the past several years about hands-free, automated, or self-driving vehicles, GM figured out that the wisest place for hands-free driving is on the open highways. Here, you have a limited number of vehicles entering the road, few, if any, people, infrequent stops, and almost none of the constant random hazards in the city that can confuse the most sophisticated algorithm. There simply is far less to process. That lack of processing can make long-distance driving tedious, where you wouldn’t mind the vehicle taking over for a while.
That was surely the thinking behind GM’s Super Cruise system, which thus far has mapped out over 400,000 miles for potential hands-free driving. If you do most of your long-distance driving while towing a trailer, Super Cruise still works. Motor1 was curious how well this works, and Dieffenbach GM is passing on what they found.
The Super Cruise Trailering System
Not every model equipped with Super Cruise has Super Cruise Trailering, but you will find it on the upper grades of models frequently used for towing, such as the Suburban, Tahoe, Silverado 1500, and HD. For each model, it will be compatible with each model’s maximum towing capacity. Motor1.com conducted their test with a 2024 Silverado 1500 High Country with an enclosed 22-foot trailer weighing about 3,500 pounds. Though the most common use for the system is on the open highway, Motor1 chose to make the test more challenging by running on the Los Angeles 105 freeway. This runs right alongside Los Angeles International Airport and includes three freeway interchanges in close proximity, carpool lanes, occasional lane closures, and, of course, congestion. The verdict in their words: “The Silverado came through it without a single hiccup.”
Engaging Super Cruise
It is not complicated, but there is a process to activating Super Cruise. When the vehicle enters a highway the system has mapped, a gray steering wheel icon will appear on the instrument cluster. You press the Super Cruise button on the steering wheel, and that light, together with a line of LEDs on the top of the steering wheel, will turn blue while the system prepares to engage. When both the dash and steering wheel lights turn green, you are free to remove your hands from the wheel and right foot from the pedal.
The process works similarly when a trailer is in tow, but some differences exist.
Super Cruise Trailer includes sensors to detect the trailer’s weight. It considers this when maintaining proper brake-safe distances from a vehicle ahead. A primary difference with Super Cruise Trailering is that it will not automatically change lanes to pass a car. Instead, when you flick the turn signal, models with the surround-view camera (which is often on the same spec as a vehicle with Super Cruise) will display a blind spot view of the adjacent lane on the center screen and overlay a red area on the lane representing the length of both the truck and trailer. This helps you know when it is safe to enter the lane.
When Super Cruise Will Not Work
The system works for speeds up to 85 mpg, which is likely as fast as you should go when trailer towing. The driver is still expected to pay attention, and the system will prompt the driver to take over when needed. This can be when lane markings get confusing or, in the case of the Motor1.com test, when a driver abruptly cuts in front of the vehicle. Heavy rain, snow, snow-covered roads, or anything else that obscures lane markings will also have the system defer to the driver.
If you were wondering if Super Cruise can work when towing, the answer is yes, if it has the Super Cruise Trailering system. If you like this capability, visit the Dieffenbach GM Superstore and ask one of our sales professionals to show you the models with the Super Cruise Trailering system. Happy Towing!
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