Favorite 3rd row vehicles to tow.

Rick Jay wrote:
What are the size of the people who will be riding in the car? The 3rd row on the smaller 3-row SUVs generally aren't comfortable for adults. Kids, fine. Teens & adults, not so much.

Oh, I also have a 2003 Suzuki XL-7 with a 3rd row seat and 4WD (such models up to 2006 were flat-towable). I bought it for that purpose should we need another option. I really like the car. I never got around to rigging it up to tow for several reasons. But one of them is that after a couple of years, the kids had grown to the point that stuffing them back there would not be pleasant for them. Plus, when that seat is in use, storage space drops almost to nil. The minivan, by comparison, is cavernous and works much better. When we are at a campground and then use the car to go sight-seeing, we often want to take a cooler with beverages, sandwiches, etc. The XL-7 doesn't even have the space for the cooler when the 3rd row seat is in use. So carefully assess how you intend to use the vehicle. Now, if we were planning on going "off road", the XL-7 would be the choice...and we'd just have stuff the kids in and strap a cooler to the roof! LOL But that's just not been our life stylfe.

Good Luck,

~Rick

For some reason, this post wasn't listed under "my forums" so I couldn't find it and thought the post never went through. Sorry to all for the no responses!!

There's 6 of us, including one car seat and one booster seat. My booster seat kiddo can sit in the 3rd row, and even my 10 yr old will fit comfortably too. But I may want a van so I can use toad while at home too. I didn't know any could be towed without getting the lube pump installed so I'm going to look into an Odyssey.

I have no idea how much I weigh loaded up. The only place I can remember someone telling me to go is at the state lines where the truck do he weight check. That's a long haul for me to trek (3 hours one way) to find out though. I'll camping world to see if they do it or know of a local place that does. Our total family weight with pets included is 570lbs.

I want to stay with 4-down so I don't have to store a dolly at campsite or at home. I'm going to get a portable brake system so I can change out the toad whenever I want. I'm going to get magnetic light kit for same reason. It seems most are happy with the convenience of flat-toad vs dolly and that driving is easier with it too. THe dolly weight takes away from the size of vehicle I need anyway.

TBH I don't really want to toad. We're going 3k miles away and wont even use the toad (unless for emergencies) until we get to SD (from FL), where I could get by without having one, then not until ID, where there are NO rental companies nearby. Otherwise I'd save the expense of setting it up until next time.

Sooo, all this said, I need to get the weight check before proceeding! Thanks for responses and sorry again for not knowing this post actually posted!

Whew, people are long winded. 2011 or newer Dodge Durango is a nicely appointed and around 5K and will tow behind with the transfer case AWD option. It is a Grand Cherokee with a Dodge skin. All Jeeps tow amazingly.

WW

2nd GEN Dodge Durango weighted 4600- 5100 lbs 4WD with N transfer-case is another option.

Rick Jay wrote:

Like rk911 mentioned, you have to know the details for your own specific case. For our rig, we have a GVWR of 22,000 lbs. and a GCWR of 26,000 lbs.. The tow hitch is rated for 5,000 lbs. and the tow bar is rated for 6,500 lbs.


Oh, I also have a 2003 Suzuki XL-7 with a 3rd row seat and 4WD (such models up to 2006 were flat-towable).

~Rick

That's exactly my situation, too. 22K GVWR/26K GCWR. I have a 2009 Odyssey and am probably brave enough to flat-tow it :-) but there's that weight thing. I'd prefer a vehicle that weighs under 4000 pounds, and while I have such a 6-passenger vehicle (>= 6 is a requirement for us), it's a Mazda 5 with auto trans, which means dolly towing. An XL-7 would fill the bill nicely; under 4000 pounds, four-down towable, seats more than 6.

My one question is, according to the Motorhome Magazine dingy guides, the tow speed limit is 55 MPH/run engine every 200 miles. I can live with the 200, since I'm likely to take a bio break about that often anyway, but I don't like the 55 thing.

Soooo, while you aren't towing yours, if anyone who four-down tows an XL-7 is reading this and does so at 65, have there been any problems?

Thanks!