Towing a pop up with 4cylinder SUV
My current lease on a 6-cylinder Chevy Equinox with factory towing package is up soon and I'm thinking about getting another Equinox. I got the 6-cylinder (able to tow up to 3500lbs) to tow my pop ...
Forum Discussion
Another to remember and think about if towing. "ASSUMING" your new tow rig barely meets the new tow rating, ie min grade pulling is 12%, 13% you have stalled out. How well will you do in Yellowstone National park where there are 15% grades to go up? Yep, you may be at or slightly under the tow rating, but you will not go up that hill! To fetch a pail of water, only fall down and break your crown.
I learned this lesson MANY years ago, to never trust a tow rating to meet the spec "I" need a rig to do. You can find formula's online that can tell you based on torque, gearing in trans, axle, tire diam and road surface the speeds, % grade you can go up. Then figure out if a given rig will meet or not meet YOUR personal performance standards.
The N-Ga-Neer specs per manufactures, suck! Too slow on a 6-8% grade by 5mph, and less than a 1/3 of the min grade I have needed to pull! Do I trust them, sorta kind a, but not really. With the newere 6-9 speed transmissions, lower overall low gears in trans, most rigs today are better than the ones I blew up 20-30 years ago when starting out pulling trailers. I still have not figured out why my 81 GM C2500 with a 292 I6, muncie 4 sp was rated GCWR wise at 8500 lbs, but was in an 8600 gvwr truck. You could find the same drivetrain in a 1 ton dually at 10K gvwr. It could pull 12K up a 20% grade. Meanwhile the 89 R3500 dually with an almight 454, th400 auto trans, stalled out on that 20% grade at 12K lbs, with a 16K gcwr! C2500 went down the driveway, hooked a chain to the R3500, pulled it up that hill. The next day the R3500 got a new trans at 35K miles, first of 3 that were replaced every 30-35K miles like clock work!
Just because it has a higher rating, may not mean it is the truly better tow rig!
Marty
I learned this lesson MANY years ago, to never trust a tow rating to meet the spec "I" need a rig to do. You can find formula's online that can tell you based on torque, gearing in trans, axle, tire diam and road surface the speeds, % grade you can go up. Then figure out if a given rig will meet or not meet YOUR personal performance standards.
The N-Ga-Neer specs per manufactures, suck! Too slow on a 6-8% grade by 5mph, and less than a 1/3 of the min grade I have needed to pull! Do I trust them, sorta kind a, but not really. With the newere 6-9 speed transmissions, lower overall low gears in trans, most rigs today are better than the ones I blew up 20-30 years ago when starting out pulling trailers. I still have not figured out why my 81 GM C2500 with a 292 I6, muncie 4 sp was rated GCWR wise at 8500 lbs, but was in an 8600 gvwr truck. You could find the same drivetrain in a 1 ton dually at 10K gvwr. It could pull 12K up a 20% grade. Meanwhile the 89 R3500 dually with an almight 454, th400 auto trans, stalled out on that 20% grade at 12K lbs, with a 16K gcwr! C2500 went down the driveway, hooked a chain to the R3500, pulled it up that hill. The next day the R3500 got a new trans at 35K miles, first of 3 that were replaced every 30-35K miles like clock work!
Just because it has a higher rating, may not mean it is the truly better tow rig!
Marty
