Question for everyone. I have a 33ft sunset creek travel trailer that I pull with my 2013 f150. The camper`s dry weight is 6700 pounds but with 4 kids we most likely come in around 8200 with everything loaded. We are looking at getting a new vechicle that can tow this camper( have thought of switching campers but this has a double bunk and it's in great shape so we don't want to get rid of it). Looking for vechicles that can tow but allow for the most comfortable ride and most importantly a safe ride. We don't want our son in the middle of the bench seat in the truck so are exploring suvs and vans. We have it narrowed down to an expedition max, suburban/yukon, chevy express passenger van and Nissan nv nl 3500 van. Problem is the suburban would be at the highest rated tow capacity and I'd like some wiggle room and the rest ofthe choices we have narrowed down to I want real knowledgeable people that know what they can pull (dealers will tell you a car can pull but have no idea since they just want the sale). Are we going down the wrong roas and need to just stick to a pickup truck? Thank you in advance.

Are you going down the wrong road? Not at all, the Express van and Nissan are very popular tow vehicles for larger families. The Express van in passenger form with the V8 diesel are super rare though zero listed on cars.com anywhere in the US currently), the 6.0 is a little more available. The Nissan is a great choice all around and actually available used with the 5.6.

There’s passenger space, chassis capability and power. Unfortunately you can’t really get the maximum of all 3 in the same rig in anything new or newish. A well equipped leaf sprung pickup can provide you the best chassis and power. A big suv will give you the best power and more passenger room and even more expensive. But generally the nice ones are air ride and not super ideal for big tongue weights but will work. And vans give you the chassis and passenger space and are milquetoast for power (by today’s standards). Hard to believe one can’t buy any number of the above vehicles and not be a compromise, but there’s no such thing anymore that has HD chassis, blistering power and room for more than 5 people without 3 up front.

afidel wrote:Are you going down the wrong road? Not at all, the Express van and Nissan are very popular tow vehicles for larger families. The Express van in passenger form with the V8 diesel are super rare though zero listed on cars.com anywhere in the US currently), the 6.0 is a little more available. The Nissan is a great choice all around and actually available used with the 5.6.Diesel isn't needed for an 8k trailer even with a van full of people and stuff.I would go the van route because there's a good chance those kids will want to bring friends along occasionally. If you get up to 8-10 passengers, nothing beats a full size van (when comparing to SUVs).

valhalla360 wrote:Diesel isn't needed for an 8k trailer even with a van full of people and stuff.Maybe needed - maybe not be needed - but sure is nice. Once you tow with a diesel, you will never want to go back.

I really wish Ford would bring back the Excursion for families like this. It seems it would be the perfect vehicle in this situation. My son and I saw one the other days and were talking about what a shame it was they quite making them.

Looking for new tow vehicle | Good Sam Community

afidel
Explorer II
Jun 18, 2021
Are you going down the wrong road? Not at all, the Express van and Nissan are very popular tow vehicles for larger families. The Express van in passenger form with the V8 diesel are super rare though zero listed on cars.com anywhere in the US currently), the 6.0 is a little more available. The Nissan is a great choice all around and actually available used with the 5.6.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jun 18, 2021
There’s passenger space, chassis capability and power. Unfortunately you can’t really get the maximum of all 3 in the same rig in anything new or newish.
A well equipped leaf sprung pickup can provide you the best chassis and power.
A big suv will give you the best power and more passenger room and even more expensive. But generally the nice ones are air ride and not super ideal for big tongue weights but will work.
And vans give you the chassis and passenger space and are milquetoast for power (by today’s standards).
Hard to believe one can’t buy any number of the above vehicles and not be a compromise, but there’s no such thing anymore that has HD chassis, blistering power and room for more than 5 people without 3 up front.
valhalla360
Navigator
Jun 18, 2021
afidel wrote:
Are you going down the wrong road? Not at all, the Express van and Nissan are very popular tow vehicles for larger families. The Express van in passenger form with the V8 diesel are super rare though zero listed on cars.com anywhere in the US currently), the 6.0 is a little more available. The Nissan is a great choice all around and actually available used with the 5.6.

Diesel isn't needed for an 8k trailer even with a van full of people and stuff.

I would go the van route because there's a good chance those kids will want to bring friends along occasionally. If you get up to 8-10 passengers, nothing beats a full size van (when comparing to SUVs).
2012Coleman
Explorer II
Jun 18, 2021
valhalla360 wrote:

Diesel isn't needed for an 8k trailer even with a van full of people and stuff.

Maybe needed - maybe not be needed - but sure is nice. Once you tow with a diesel, you will never want to go back.
wowens79
Explorer III
Jun 18, 2021
I really wish Ford would bring back the Excursion for families like this. It seems it would be the perfect vehicle in this situation. My son and I saw one the other days and were talking about what a shame it was they quite making them.
Frenchracer21
Explorer
Jun 18, 2021
Thank you for the help. I think they replaced the excursion with the expedition since they claim it can pull over 9k. We definitely want an suv or van since we plan on using the camper a lot and already have a very long trip planned. So we want what's best for the kids to have room amongst theirselves but also allows us to have conversations in the front without little ears lol.
wowens79
Explorer III
Jun 18, 2021
Frenchracer21 wrote:
Thank you for the help. I think they replaced the excursion with the expedition since they claim it can pull over 9k. We definitely want an suv or van since we plan on using the camper a lot and already have a very long trip planned. So we want what's best for the kids to have room amongst theirselves but also allows us to have conversations in the front without little ears lol.

The Excursion was built on the F-250 chassis, it was a beast. Much heavier duty than the Expedition.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Jun 18, 2021
My kids had the Nissan van and loved it.
valhalla360
Navigator
Jun 18, 2021
2012Coleman wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:

Diesel isn't needed for an 8k trailer even with a van full of people and stuff.

Maybe needed - maybe not be needed - but sure is nice. Once you tow with a diesel, you will never want to go back.

Odd, we went back... how is that possible?

I miss the MPG but really having done a loop of the country over the winter, diesel was typically around 15% higher price, so it largely negates the MPG fuel savings.

We are currently towing about 7500lb with a full truck bed (so not far from what the OP is looking at) and have plenty of power even in the mountains, we were usually passing the semis rather than getting in line with them going up big grades.
Vintage465
Nomad
Jun 18, 2021
2012Coleman wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:

Diesel isn't needed for an 8k trailer even with a van full of people and stuff.

Maybe needed - maybe not be needed - but sure is nice. Once you tow with a diesel, you will never want to go back.

What he said.........l00% effortless towing.......for the truck and the driver.

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