Help with choosing a tow vehicle

[belosic]

Hi All-
Looks like it's time to buy a tow vehicle since my Mini Cooper isn't going to be up to the task...

I am considering an SUV since I have a (soon to be) growing family and 2 English Bulldogs that like to come along on trips. Another issue is that the vehicle has to be under 19' long to fit in my garage, so no longbed trucks. Right now my FC is on a lightweight open single axle trailer, but I would like to upgrade to an enclosed (16'?) trailer in the future. Question: how much towing capacity should I look for if I am hauling a 16' trailer and FC? My current setup is only about 2000lbs.

I have been looking at the Nissan Armada since it has a 9100lb rating...does that sound sufficient? I have no idea how much an enclosed trailer weighs. Other vehicles I'm considering are the V8 Toyota 4Runner (7300lbs), Nissan Pathfinder (6,000lbs).

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks!
Jim

[TimW]

Hi All-
Looks like it's time to buy a tow vehicle since my Mini Cooper isn't going to be up to the task...

I am considering an SUV since I have a (soon to be) growing family and 2 English Bulldogs that like to come along on trips. Another issue is that the vehicle has to be under 19' long to fit in my garage, so no longbed trucks. Right now my FC is on a lightweight open single axle trailer, but I would like to upgrade to an enclosed (16'?) trailer in the future. Question: how much towing capacity should I look for if I am hauling a 16' trailer and FC? My current setup is only about 2000lbs.

I have been looking at the Nissan Armada since it has a 9100lb rating...does that sound sufficient? I have no idea how much an enclosed trailer weighs. Other vehicles I'm considering are the V8 Toyota 4Runner (7300lbs), Nissan Pathfinder (6,000lbs).

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks!
Jim

The Armada has more towing capacity than you'll need for a 16' enclosed. I have a 22' haulmark trailer at 3500lb tare, likely 5500lb rolling out the alley with the car/stuff and tow with a 4.8L V8 Tundra that I bought used. Its towing rating is in the 7k range, and has enough to do the job here in the flatlands. Even the tow to Watkins Glen across I86 was not too bad, just had to take the overdrive off to keep it from hunting in the hills. Perhaps a Titan would give me a little more towing headroom, but seems overkill for 16'.

One thing to know about SUVs on truck platforms, manufacturers are more concerned about ride in their SUVs than they are on the trucks, that often means softer springs on the equivalent SUV compared to the truck, which makes a load distribution hitch more important. Garey Guzman is a engineer for Nissan so can likely shed some light on those products.

My $0.02.

Tim

[thunderracing91]

I have a 2000 Ford Excursion (V-10) that I use to tow a 24ft trailer. I installed the firestone air bags to level out the load and installed Rancho self adjustable shocks for the ride. It tows pretty good it could use some more power and it is a gas hog. I kind of have a odd trailer though and I think it is heavier than most. So that might explain why it feels like it is down on power. Other than that I like it a lot.................

Andrew

[RoadHazard]

At the light end of the scale you might consider a Dodge Magnum. It's a real car, not a boxy top-heavy SUV so it makes a good family car the other 355 days you're not towing. The Magnum R/T with the 5.7 liter Hemi and the towing package has a 3800-lb towing capacity. That's not a lot but it's sufficient for a formula car and an enclosed trailer.

Figure your car weighs about 1000 lbs, a smallish enclosed trailer is about 2000 lbs, and tools and spares are another 500 lbs or so.

For what it's worth, the Magnum is the wagon version of the Chrysler 300C, a car that's gotten good reviews from the car magazines. It's based on the Mercedes E-class chassis but with an American interior and exterior styling. For a wagon, it's not half bad and it's a lot easier to drive and park than an SUV. Think outside the box.

[RobLav]

Jim,

I tow with the Nissan Titan King Cab, the same platform as the Armada. My trailer is a 20 ft 3500 empty / 5000 lb w/ car enclosed unit.

My truck (2004) had the old differential that had problems, but Nissan installed the new type for nothing (they also installed a brand new engine for nothing too).

I like the truck a lot and use it as my daily driver. It gets 10 MPG towing and 17 MPG on the highway without the trailer. I'm still on the original set of tires with 52K miles on it.

So, I would recommend the Armada... assuming the springs aren't too much softer as Tim says. My Titan rear has leaf springs that look like they are rising rate. So maybe the Armada does too.

[Rick Kirchner]

With all due respect to the flatlanders out there:

Dude - you live in mountains with some the most extreme weather anywhere. All your tracks but one are on the other side of those mountains. Here in SoCal today the snow level is 4000 ft and yesterday there was 50mph winds. 395 and 14 have been closed for high wind twice in the past week.

Don't buy the Nissan/Toyota sales pitch. Yeah, they'll pull xx,000 lbs. They don't tell you for how long you'll be able to do that, especially with our heat and altitude.

If you have no aspirations to get a 25'+ living quarters trailer, a standard 3/4T Ford, Chevy, or Dodge is plenty - and out here thay are plenty cheap as well - half the price of one of those Jap SUVs. I sold my 1990 3/4T because my 7000lb trailer was a bit much for the 700R4 in these mountains, but it's still running around town with more than 250,000 mi on it. If you think you'll want to haul more or can get a good deal, get an HD model. The reward you get there is virtually no tow related maintenance. I have 75,000 on my 2001 GMC HD and it's still on the original brakes.

Avoid the 700R4 tranny in the GM products and the Ford V10 (but they are cheap used...)

I got an up close look at a local's Titan that was sandwitched between two compact cars in a relatively minor accident. Bent frame at both ends. Besides, you can't haul you junk to the dump or 1000lb of manure for you lawn in an SUV (well, maybe once....)

You'll need chains for both the truck AND trailer to hedge your bets over Donner pass from Sept thru May.

[Trhoades]

I have said it before. I'll say it again..Diesel is the way to go...You will spend more for it up front back you get it back at the end also...you can put 400,000 miles them with-out a problem....They are noisey, but they will tow a house down the road..I have a f-250 2wd 7.3 powerstroke 1999 has 210,000 miles and it gets 16 miles to gallon in city and 23 on the highway, towing a 20 foot trailer with a formula car and spares I gey 13 miles to MPG going 72 miles an hour..with power to pass...good luck

[belosic]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Yes, I live in the "hills" and I have a 7,000' pass to go up everytime I want to go anywhere, so that will be a deciding factor for the vehicle. I like the diesel Fords/Chevys, but I also like the room of an SUV for the family. A Diesel Excursion won't fit in my garage. Oh well, I guess the family can ride in the Audi Wagon (wife's car).

Another good thing about a pickup is the ability to tow a Fifth Wheel toy hauler...the wife did say she wanted to look at RVs...

By the way, the Armada has self-leveling suspension in the back for towing.