Ideal Tow Vehicle

I'm interested in people's thoughts on the ideal tow vehicle - if you were replacing your current tow vehicle, what would you buy today.

For purposes of this discussion, we have a 560, which is the heaviest thing we envision towing (so a tow rating of 1500 - 2000 pounds is probably sufficient), and our other considerations are gas mileage, quality and price. Interested in your thoughts as to what would be on your short list.

 

Eric,

I had posted this on another site:
"As I couldn’t get anyone to do this for me, I had to do a lot of homework and come up with something myself. The best tow vehicle for my 1,500# tear would be:

Curb weight: 3,000#’s +/- 10%

Rear wheel HP & Torque: As these are so interdependent, I find a combined figure apropos. Add the rated HP to the rated torque (don’t worry about RW HP) and the answer for me is 440. Some may be happy with 250. 600 is overkill & wastes gas for a tear.

Body style got a little complicated. Many body styles will work if they meet the following goals.
Minimum wheelbase of 110”.
Minimum storage area of 70 cf. (for two people & no big dog)
Minimum ¾ ton (1,500#) load capacity
Minimum 3,500# tow rating.

Gas mileage: in the 20’s while towing. This is the kicker."

The closest I came to the above - newer than a '50,s straight six - is a new Tacoma V-6 with a tonneau cover.

Hilditch

 

Wow Hilditch, that was technical but good. I don't have my tear yet but hope to order within two years and am planning on the 560. The lease on my Corolla is up this spring & I will be shopping for the eventual tow vehicle. At this point I am planning on a second generation (2005 or later) Tacoma so I was happy to read your findings. I might even be to the point in life where I am comfortable enough to get a cap for it instead of the tonneau cover! =)

 

My intended tow vehicle will be our existing Toyota RAV4 with the 6 cyl engine. I originally purchased the vehicle while living in Colorado and not towing anything. The reasoning behind this vehicle was that the engine was powerful enough to get over the mountain passes at 65 to 75 MPH, additionally it gets great gas mileage I average around 26 MPG on regular gas at altitude. I would imagine this would improve at sea level. With gas prices getting close to $4.00 a gallon, mileage is important. The rear seats fold down flat which yields ample storage capacity for two people, and the rear seats split in case you cary a child.

The vehicle is also equiped with all wheel drive which helps when the snow starts to blow. The RAV is heavy enough so that when towing a small trailer you do not get a case of the tail wagging the dog. The towing capacity of the RAV is I believe around 3,000 lbs. but when you start pulling that kind of weight electric brakes are a must and in cross winds your trailer starts to take over, hence the term tail wagging the dog. I have pulled a loaded 8 foot Uhaul trailer with no problem, and while not wanting to go 75 MPH going over a mountain pass I can do 60-65 with zip to spare and only a 3MPG drop in mileage. Since a 550 and even a 560 has an aerodynamic profile as well as being lighter I would expect no issues. I will add a postscript to this post next month when we pick up our 550 ULTRA.

Based on what I hear about the weather in Wisconsin, not to mention the flooding, the only question that remains is will she float? We are kind of getting close to picking a name, but Leo's Ark is not amongst the short list.

 

We haven't purchased a TD yet and we're interested in getting a 560. As such, we also do not have a suitable tow vehicle. We're considering the following, each having both pros and cons:

1. Subaru Forester - Pros: good gas mileage, All Wheel Drive, boxer engine has a good reputation. Looks good (not too SUVish as my wife puts it). Don't need a special towing package. Cons: Not as many dealerships out there to get service. Only rated to pull 2400 pounds. (not really a con because this is plenty).

2. Ford Escape - Pros: The V6 option will allow for plenty of towing (3600 pounds at least). It's a Ford, dealerships are everywhere. A little less expensive than the Forester (but not really by much). Front wheel drive (as opposed to rear wheel drive). I like the way it looks. Cons: Gas milage is less because of the V6. (4 cylinder option of this vehicle only pulls 1500 pounds). Looks SUVish to my wife. Won't get as many miles on the engine as you would the Forester (assuming you take care of the engine).

3. Chrysler Town and Country/Dodge Grand Caravan - Okay I have a soft spot for this mini van because its a pretty versitile unit. Pros: Will sit more people more comfortably than the Forester or the Escape. Will allow for more stowage than the Forester or the Escape (By the way, the seats now fold into the floor as opposed to having to remove them from the van to get more stowage space). Chrysler, like Ford, has dealerships everywhere for service. Cons: get the worst gas milage of the three vehiles listed. Not only do you have to get a tow package, you have to get the 4.0 or 3.8 V6 engine (more money)(The smaller engines for the mini van are only rated to 1500 pounds). Won't get as many miles on the engine as the Subaru or Ford (sorry MOPAR fans). Gas mileage is also the worst of the three, but only by alittle bit.

I plan to buy a used unit with less than 20000 miles or less (I don't buy new, save some cash this way. Also can find deals if you look hard enough).

Any of these three would make for a fine tow vehicle provided I make sure to get a properly rated vehicle. Also have to remember that I, unlike Bear, will not be towing 365 days a year.

JPbrew

 

JP - you may not need to pay extra for a larger engine. Our Honda CR-V is only rated for 1500 pounds, and has already pulled our fully loaded 560 almost 10k miles without breaking a sweat. I wouldn't rule out a 1500 lb vehicle, and certainly wouldn't consider a rating of 2400 lbs to be lacking at all.

 

There may be a difference between the North and the South. My 2.7 L Tacoma with a 3,500 # load rating has pulled well for 15,000 miles. However, it will break a sweat going uphill at 70 mph with the AC on when it's 80 + degrees out. Downshifting & turning off the AC are sometimes required. When it is warm out, one of us is going to break a sweat. The Ford is a different story.

Hilditch

 

I'm not really worried about the 2400# rating of the Forester. Several members have Foresters and seem to do just fine with them, posting that the only problems they have is in the mountains at times, simular to what Hilditch posted. What I am more concerned with is overall trailer weight, which you seem to debunk Evan, towing with a CR-V rated at 1500#. Also seen posts were folks tow with a PT Cruiser, which is only rated at 1000#. Not saying these vehicles can't do the job asked of them. I do think that the additional weight that is put in the trailer could pose a problem for an under rated vehicle in the long run in terms of stress and wear on the engine and, more importantly, transmission.
The 560 weighs about 1400# roughly. Add to that the items you carry in the trailer while travling, which can add up quickly (I'm figuring about 500# of extra stuff in the trailer). BTW, this also doesn't take into account the ammount gear that is packed into the two vehicle itself, along with the people.
Vehicles which come with tow packages generally include extra coolers for transmission fuilds and maybe even engine oil. In many cases this also includes the larger engine and tranny. For these reasons I personally would want a vehile with a tow rating which exceeds my anticipated tow weight. I can see it now, living on the coast in Virginia, traveling to the Rocky Mountains and the wife wants to bring back 500 pounds of rocks.
Anyway, the Forester seems to fit the bill rated at 2400#, and without any additional tow packages. And using a 4 cyl. engine and 4 speed tranny to boot. The Ford Escape would require the V6 engine and tow package, which includes the extra tranny and engine coolers. Same for the Mini Van, although you just can't beat the stowage capabilities of the mini van compared to the Forester and Escape. The question is, do you really need that extra space.
There is one other thing I want to point out. Some vehicle makers say that their hitches should be used as opposed to aftermarket. Here I have to throw the B/S flag. Granted getting a manufacturers hitch put on is more convient, a class two hitch is a class two hitch. I find aftermarket hitches are less expensive than OEM, with as good quality. Mounting can be a pain depending on the vehicle, but in those cases just let the shop where you bought the hitch install it. Just my two cents on that.
JP

 

BTW, sorry for the spelling mistakes on my last post. :blush:

 

I agree with you - get a good aftermarket hitch (I have a Curt) and skip the extra cost for the manufacturer's hitch. I originally had paid $400 for Honda's factory class I hitch before I knew what I would be towing. I paid half that for my Curt Class II. Good choice on the Subaru. Were I choosing a TV now, I would choose something with more that #1500 - just to feel better - even though my CR-V does fine.

 

Personally, Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen turbodiesel.

42mpg highway, 246nm torque, likely get north of 30mpg towing a camp-inn.

If they'd bring the Subaru diesel engine to the US, I'd go for that, but they seem to be not doing so.

We've got a Honda CR-V now. Wife wants to upgrade to a minivan.

Likely we'll end up with a minivan.

 

We also have a v6 rav4 but it doesn't have all wheel drive. In Seattle we can get 29-30 mpg.I will be interested in your impressions because we bought our rav4 for the same reasons you did.It's rated at 3500 pound towing capacity.

 

The RAV4 fits my specs above quite well. We are finding the importance of the cubic feet cargo area when packing for month long trips.

FYI: Tear weight wet & loaded - 1,545 lbs. (Used to be 1,500 - more stuff.)
Us, tongue weight, stuff in car- 1,020 lbs. (tongue weight 155 lbs.)
Ford - 1,650 lbs. each axel for 3,300 lbs. Rig total: 5,865 lbs.

A lot of work for a gas 4 cyl. with the AC on. The Ford is happy here. No sweat.

Hilditch

 

Lyle, I've logged 2400 miles with the Jetta sportwagen TDI with a loaded 560 and I've been getting 29 MPG so far. Driving from Spokane to Necedah fully loaded (without the trailer) with two adults and two kids and packed to the roof with gear we got 39 MPG. This is mostly highway and interstate and I'm not driving easy (always a few MPH over the speed limit). As far as towing goes though it's been great. Only on a couple of steeper grades have I had to downshift from sixth gear to fifth. I'll let you know how it does crossing the rocky mountains next month.

 

So far we have logged close to 3000 miles with our 6 cyl. Rav 4 and am pleased to report that we have encountered no issues. Our aftermarket Reese hitch rides a bit low so the ball was changed from stock to one with a 4 inch rise to accomodate the SUV heighth of our 550 Ultra. Gas mileage drops about 3-4 MPG, where we normally get 26-27MPG we now get 22-23. However we drive at altitude 5-7,000 feet on most of our trips, I am sure this would improve at sea level, and admittedly my foot is on the heavy side. The nice thing about towing the 550 is that you don't even realize you are towing anything. Without onboard electric brakes on the 550, braking distances increase somewhat but this has not appeared to be an issue since I do maintain at least one car space for every 10MPH.

 

Already having a VERY adequate tow vehicle I had not read this thread/discussion until now. But having a 2006 Ford F150 4X with a shell, which only gets 17 mpg on a good day and a tailwind, has caused me to reluctantly start looking around. Mary Anne and I have spent a lot of time tent camping in the deserts and mountains of the southwest so rugged, reliable and durable were major factors as were range (how far can we go on a tank because gas stations can be few and far between out here) and cargo capacity. Since the truck has a 36 gallon tank we have a range of 500+ miles (if only using the four wheel drive to get out of trouble). One very big factor in our decision to get the 560 was the ability to continue poking around in very remote places where the roads are often more of a "suggestion" than a true reality. We got the SUV model for the same reason, the clearance. Now I know we need to downsize our tow vehicle but I don't want to give up the "go almost anywhere" capability nor do I think I want to give up too much cargo capacity. And cargo capacity was not really discussed very much in the above posts. But think about what everyone is seemingly taking with them not counting the CI itself. I am new at this so correct me quickly if I am missing something but look at the pictures being posted: I am finding that most folks are taking at least one "canopy" (and many also take a screen room), camp chairs, and lounge chairs and rugs to place them on, extra ice chests, small refrigerators, BBQ’s, solar panels and associated equipment, generators, side tents, antennas and poles not to mention all their clothes, food, liquids etc. I see bicycles; kayaks, and boats being strapped on here and there. Tow vehicles have load ratings in and of themselves, not just a towing load rating, and I didn’t see that being discussed to any great degree. Anyway, I know I must downsize my truck but load capacity, range and durability will remain major factors in choosing my options. Before we got the full sized truck we had a 96 Ford Ranger 4X. Six cylinder engine, fair range because it got much better fuel economy, and adequate cargo capacity. What it didn’t have is a back seat. Just two little “jump seats” that hinged down from the side so any passengers faced the middle of the truck. Over time that just doesn’t work. So I am looking, reading and comparing while knowing I must make compromises but I also keep looking at the small mountain of equipment we want to take with us, either in the trailer or in the tow vehicle.
Jim

 

Since I already own it, I have my ideal tow vehicle. Now I just need the C-I. Today I experienced something while towing that nobody seems to talk about. Stability of their trailers. Being such a light weight trailer how does your C-I react to the various road condition? I pulled a 1200# open utility trailer for 300 miles and found it quite annoying. I have a factory installed Class III tow package on a Ford Flex. Even at 1200# which is where I'm guessing the 550 will fall when packed out I felt and heard every bump in the road through the hitch and receiver. I don't believe its inherent to the car as much as the weight and movement of the trailer. Once I put my 850# bike in it I didn't hear or feel a thing. So, it got me wondering. Am I going to feel and hear everything through the frame of the car as my light weight TD goes bouncing down the road behind me? Please tell me it isn't so, I don't own 850# of camping equipment to make it ride smoothly... although I could just buy more DOs.

I'm interested in hearing what other owners have experienced while towing.

I guess our first experience towing a 550 will be at the CI-CO, Cary was kind enough to hook us up with a rental for the weekend... Oh, and did I mention it's our first camping adventure too... go easy on us.

See ya 'round the campfire

aj & michelle

 

With my smaller TV (Honda CR-V) I feel next to nothing - just a small bit of drag when accelerating. I know what it's like to tow a light trailer that is airborne more often than not. A Camp-Inn isn't like that at all. I think you will be very pleased with how it tows.

 

We have a Camp Inn 550 and tow with a 2006 V6 Chevy Malibu and dont even know it is back there. Many times I looked in the rear view mirror and thought someone was real close to me and it was the Camp Inn.Steve

 

Thanks Evan and Steve, I appreciate the feedback.