shopping for towing vehicle

[bertk523]

Hello,
I currently have a car and also a truck. the truck is solely for towing the TT. I would like to get to ONE vehicle so I need one that accommodates day to day driving and also towing. I am not sure I want a truck?? I am leaning toward a Toyota Sequoia. Any one have any comments?? I think the larger Dodge Durango would work also. The Ford Expedition loooooks sooo big and is more expensive. I have not yet looked at Honda.

roberta

[longdog2]

The first thing to know is how much your TT weighs fully loaded and what the hitch weight is. Then be sure to carefully check the towing capacity of the vehicles you are looking at. Never rely on the salesman as their concern is only a sale not your safety. You don't want to buy something that just barely will tow your TT. Being able to stop it is even more important than being able to tow it.

[Azusateach]

Sequoias are probably as expensive as Expeditions, and may not have as much towing capabilities. I had an Expedition to tow my 26' trailer and loved it, although I would have liked a little longer wheelbase. It had plenty of power both pulling AND breaking, but with a 26' trailer, a little longer would have been nice when towing under windy conditions.

I've not heard a lot of good things about Dodges, so you might want to check around the various RV forums to see what people think.

If I were to get a car for towing something again I'd probably go back to an Expedition. I absolutely loved mine. But I didn't need such a big car once we got the motorhome. I really liked having the whole car "enclosed" (not having a truck bed). It was an absolute dream to drive, and actually had a smaller turning radius than my friend's Sequoia. We used to call the "far back" area my dog Jed's "apartment". It was huge, and he really liked traveling there.

Can you tell I'm a fan of Expeditions?

Laura

[MelissaD]

As Collen posted, it's all about the numbers. A good starting point is to actually take your present rig to a truck stop and weight the truck (tow vehicle) by itself and then the truck and trailer together. About $10 for the 1st weigh and $1 for the 2nd weigh. From those 2 sets of numbers you can figure out what you need in your new tow vehicle. Problem is, in the age of higher government mandated mpg ratings, most light trucks and SUV's stink for towing trailers. You just about have to look for one spec'd out for towing and not just an off the lot tow vehicle. High mpg and good for towing, are opposites.

You need to know the cargo capacity of the new vehicle so you know it can carry you, your stuff and the hitch weight and you need to know the towing capacity so you won't tear up the drive train. Most vehicles these days tent to run out of cargo capacity (GVWR) before they run out of the tow capacity. If the tow vehicle is at it's limits it will not be very pleasant towing experience.

That's why I have "Moby" the great white towing beast. Even in the worst of weather she has kept control of the trailer. If you need someone to look at the numbers for you just send me a message.

[IrishIroamed]

The others are way more knowledgeable than I am, but when I first got this brainy idea of full-timing at retirement and buying a TT and truck for learning things, I started on the manufacturer websites for towing specs and started from there. Here's Ford for example: http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/

I looked at the Excursion about a month ago and would love to get one also (if I decide on going forward with a TT). The truck is OK for it's job for now, but I'd like to have something a little heavier in the back-end for our lovely winters, and Zorro Dog would love more room to stretch out too.

[gingerK]

While I'm a born and bred Mopar woman, I'm the first to say there's lots of problems with Dodge. I own two; a 2500 and a 1500. The 2500 I bought new, set up to pull my horse trailer and I've had zero problems with it in the 15 yrs. I've owned it. It's latest job was to carry Pony around and it does that nicely. DH has the 1500,also bought new, his daily driver and he's had some problems with the front end and rusting out in the rear wheel wells. He also has the Hemi and it sucks gas like no tomorrow. I have the 360 but it's not much better on fuel economy. DH's is AWD; mine is only 2 WD. I probably haven't had any problems because I really baby my truck, don't drive it in the winter and it gets minimal use with extra care. Some people say the trannys aren't good but I've never had a problem. When I was towing more I changed trans fluid and filter more often. DH has not had any issues with his tranny. I had a F150 years ago and had nothing but trouble with it; I think I replaced the O2 sensor 2 or 3 times. But that could have just been that particular truck. DH had a 1/2 T chevy work truck for a while; not worth much IMO.

[Colliemom]

Roberta, like the others said, your trailer weight is going to play a bit part in what you get for a tow vehicle. It's why I have a truck. I have had either SUV's or trucks for the past 36 years. I too have been thinking of some other kind of vehicle to use as my daily vehicle and also to tow my trailer, but at the moment the pickup seems to be the best fit although I have a very lightweight trailer. My neighbors tow a big 7,000 pound trailer with a Dodge Durango and love it. They took it out west this past summer, into CO and the mountains and said it was great. Hard decision there. Guess best thing to do is find a few vehicles that you know have the power to pull your trailer and then see which one catches your fancy.

[Marslet]

I have two dodges, and have had no problems with either one. My trailer tow vehicle is a 2008 Mega Cab with the Hemi. We took off on our retirement trip and were gone for 2 1/2 months, drove over 10,000 miles. No problems at all, if you dont count the $5000 we spent on gas. Of course that was when gas was 5.10 in California. I have pulled with Chevys, and kept having problems with the steering column. Our trip left Louisiana, crossed the Rockies and ended up in Seattle Washington so we did do mountains too. No problems. Came back across country, again, no problems.
u need to be sure to get a weight of your trailer completely loaded to go on the trip. Mine is a 28 foot travel trailer with one slide, and fully loaded it weighs 6700 pounds. My tow vehicle can tow 9200 pounds, so I am fine. no problem with brakeing or wind.
Good luck with finding what you want to tow your TT.