Yes, You Can Use Super Cruise While Towing

There has been a lot of 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 with limited access, few if any, people, and infrequent stops. There simply is far less to process. That very 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. “But,” you say, “That is all well and good, but I do most of my long-distance driving when towing a travel trailer or hauling my horses/race car/boat/(insert your activity here). Will Super Cruise work then?” The answer is yes, and Barry’s Chevrolet is here to tell you about it with a little help from Motor1.com.

Super Cruise Trailering

Not every model equipped with Super Cruise is set up for use while trailering. Still, you will find Super Cruise Trailering on upper grades of models with high towing capacities, such as the Suburban, Tahoe, and Silverado 1500 & HD. Where it is present, it will be compatible all the way up to the model’s maximum towing capacity. Motor1.com tested the system with a 2024 Silverado 1500 High Country with an enclosed 22-foot trailer weighing about 3,500 pounds. While the most common use for the system would be out on the open highway between cities, they instead tested it on the Los Angeles 105 freeway, which runs right alongside Los Angeles International Airport, along with three freeway interchanges in close proximity, carpool lanes, occasional lane closures, and of course, congestion. In their words: “The Silverado came through it without a single hiccup.”

How to Super Cruise

Activating Super Cruise is simple, but there is a process. When you enter a highway the system has mapped, the vehicle will acknowledge it by activating a gray steering wheel icon on the instrument cluster. You press the Super Cruise button on the steering wheel, and that light and a line of LEDs on the top of the steering wheel 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 the same when a trailer is in tow, but there are some differences. 

Super Cruise Trailer includes sensors so the system knows the trailer’s weight. It takes this into account when maintaining distances from a vehicle ahead. A significant difference is that Super Cruise Trailering will not do automatic lane changes to pass a vehicle. However, engage the turn signal, and 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 intended 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. In the meantime, the system is superb at remaining centered in the lane. 

When it Doesn’t Work

The system works for speeds up to 85 mpg, which is pretty generous for trailer towing. The driver can’t exactly take a snooze, as the system will prompt the driver to take over when need be, which 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, or snow-covered roads will also have the system defer to the driver. 

So the bottom line is: “Yes, Super Cruise can work when towing.” If this appeals to you, visit Barry’s Chevrolet and have one of our sales professionals direct you to vehicles with the Super Cruise Trailering system. May all your cruises be super.