2013 Ford Escape

I was driving a Ford Escape and decided it was not enough for an 18 ft. TT. I purchased and F-150 to do the job.

I would not hesitate to tow within its ratings. Beware the frontal area limitation. That's probably the limit he'll run into first. It has enough payload and and power to spare.

carringb wrote:
I would not hesitate to tow within its ratings. Beware the frontal area limitation. That's probably the limit he'll run into first. It has enough payload and and power to spare.

yep, if it is light enough, etc.
some will say you need a F550 to tow a tear drop however.
bumpy

My aunt pulls a 12' 1970s fiberglass trailer with her CRV with little problems. But I probably wouldn't go much larger than that with a small SUV like that.

I towed a Dutchman T@da for a couple seasons with a 2014 Escape 2.0 ecoboost AWD with tow package.

http://www.dutchmen.com/media/5501/2008-t-da-brochure-rev-2.pdf

Did a 4000km round trip with this combination through VT/NH/ME/NB/NS/PQ, everything from highways to backroads that had some changes in elevation. Only wife and I in the escape and minimal gear.

Overall the combination was OK. It got the job done. I was never white knuckled, or having to put flashers on for the long grades, but I definitely knew the trailer was there and drove accordingly.

I'd wouldn't hesitate to do that combination again if that was the vehicle I had and was not willing to spend extra money to upgrade. However the t@da was a pretty unique TT in size and weight. Something like that is not that easy to come by. I would not go any larger (frontal area/weight) than the t@da even if the numbers made sense.

A 13'-16' Scamp or a 16' Casita would work ok, but performance won't be stellar. I know of some folks on another forum (for molded-fiberglass 'egg' trailers) who've towed with that vehicle. A couple of them seemed pretty happy, and a couple of others subsequently switched to larger tow vehicles.

When you start looking at more squarish TTs, though, the wind resistance is greater. If your friend is looking at short trips not far from home, at 55 to perhaps 60 mph, he'd manage ok. If he wants to go to the mountains, he might be unhappy.

carringb wrote:
Beware the frontal area limitation. That's probably the limit he'll run into first. It has enough payload and and power to spare.

Tell your friend to read the 2013 Ford Towing Guide.
It will show the frontal area limitation for the Escape, that any hybrid will exceed. Any conventional TT will also exceed it.

Scamp and Casita or Rpod will be a TT that it can tow.
Or a popup or A-frame will work.

nope for me

Have your friend look at popups. Not only are they easy to tow, but they are extraordinarily easy to maneuver in a campground... just unhook them and push them around.

I have a FWD Sorrento with the same weight limit (my vehicle with AWD would be rated for 5K). Since I've decided that my pop-up doesn't quite do it for me, I've looked at what else is out there. At 5K, there would be plenty of hybrid and even lighweight TT options, but at 3500 there aren't many that can be safely towed. Remember, dry weight is not a realistic weight to go by. GVWR for the trailer is a safer weight to consider when looking at limits. If your friend wants to push it, they could see if the dealer would let them load the hybrid up like they would for a trip and weigh it to get the actual weight (or do so after they buy if they are willing to replace their vehicle if need be). There may be one or two hybrid type campers that would be safe, but most of what I've found are the small (too small if your friend has a family) lightweights like the TAB and the lightest two R-pods. Many pop-ups would be a good option if they are interested in towing, need room for a family, and definitely don't want to replace the vehicle yet.

Oh, and of course, if your friend doesn't realize it, make sure to remind them that all weights within the vehicle need to be considered and subtracted from the tow rating. They have always allowed for a 150lb driver and I think they now allow for a 150lb passenger, but all passenger and cargo weights beyond that need to be subtracted from the tow rating.