Best SUV to pull a 19' Sportsman trailer

Terryallan wrote:

nolra wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

Lowsuv wrote:
the best tow vehicle is a late model diesel 2500 from any of the 3 majors .
the reason is that 9200# gvw towing a 7500 # gvw trailer is better than 7500# towing 9200#.
many on this forum think that 7500# gvw towing a 9200# gvw trailer is fine.
with a 2500 diesel you get the LARGE disc brakes , high 2500# plus rear axle payload, and a significantly stronger drivetrain such as an allison transmission .
with a diesel because the engine weighs 400# more than a gasser you get more weight on the steering axle which reduces sway.
you further reduce sway by loading a heavier tongue weight on your trailer.
a higher percentage of weight behind your trailer axle increases sway.
spend the money to buy a 2500 pickup instead of a fancy 1500 .
leather seats , a moonroof , and nav system are nice but do not add to greater braking and handling .

Tad bit over kill for a 4000lb trailer isn't it. Sort of like killing a fly with a shotgun.

No not really..
But if I had to have an SUV it would be a big one. I've never had an issue or seen a complaint about too much tow vehicle but I've seen pages of complaints from people with "adequate" tow vehicles.

If cost was no object, I'd have a new diesel grand cherokee to tow my Casita. Money is an issue so I'll keep using my old 4 door diesel PU.

Yeah... it is.

And to be totally honest. Going by the logic of many on this forum, Who believe, Yes a Ranger will tow it but a 2500 diesel will tow it better, and of course it will. But why stop there. After all a 2500 diesel can't compare with say, a Kenworth road tractor. If bigger is always better? Why stop at a little toy 2500 diesel, why not go ahead and get a REAL truck.

As for me. I'll contimue to size the truck to meet the needs of the TT I tow. So a 2500 diesel IS waaaaay over kill for a 19', -4000lb TT. I'd look for a Expedition, or Tahoe. Prolly a Tahoe, as the new Expes are front wheel drive. But then I like rear wheel drive TVs. The Expe, and Traverse both have a 5000lb tow capacity. Prolly enough for such a lite trailer.

No... it isn't overkill.
If you look at the payload capacities of 1/2 ton trucks and small SUV's, they can barely get the job done without overloading.
Of the vehicles you mention, the 2013 Expy, which has the highest, has a max payload of 1718 lbs. From that we can subtract 520# tongue wt(of a 4000# TT), 600# passengers(based on 4 passengers at 150# ea) and 250# cargo in the back. That only leaves 348# in reserve for extra passengers and cargo. Can't really just pack whatever and go, can you?
The FWD Traverse has 1621# max payload, the AWD only 1393# and the Tahoe 1633#.

My 3/4ton Burb has a max payload of 2840#. I chose this vehicle so as not to limit too much what I can tow and take with. Anyone who is contemplating a tow vehicle for a Travel Trailer needs to realize that tow capacity isn't the limiting factor. It's Payload.

nolra wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

Lowsuv wrote:
the best tow vehicle is a late model diesel 2500 from any of the 3 majors .
the reason is that 9200# gvw towing a 7500 # gvw trailer is better than 7500# towing 9200#.
many on this forum think that 7500# gvw towing a 9200# gvw trailer is fine.
with a 2500 diesel you get the LARGE disc brakes , high 2500# plus rear axle payload, and a significantly stronger drivetrain such as an allison transmission .
with a diesel because the engine weighs 400# more than a gasser you get more weight on the steering axle which reduces sway.
you further reduce sway by loading a heavier tongue weight on your trailer.
a higher percentage of weight behind your trailer axle increases sway.
spend the money to buy a 2500 pickup instead of a fancy 1500 .
leather seats , a moonroof , and nav system are nice but do not add to greater braking and handling .

Tad bit over kill for a 4000lb trailer isn't it. Sort of like killing a fly with a shotgun.

No not really..
But if I had to have an SUV it would be a big one. I've never had an issue or seen a complaint about too much tow vehicle but I've seen pages of complaints from people with "adequate" tow vehicles.

If cost was no object, I'd have a new diesel grand cherokee to tow my Casita. Money is an issue so I'll keep using my old 4 door diesel PU.

Yeah... it is.

And to be totally honest. Going by the logic of many on this forum, Who believe, Yes a Ranger will tow it but a 2500 diesel will tow it better, and of course it will. But why stop there. After all a 2500 diesel can't compare with say, a Kenworth road tractor. If bigger is always better? Why stop at a little toy 2500 diesel, why not go ahead and get a REAL truck.

As for me. I'll contimue to size the truck to meet the needs of the TT I tow. So a 2500 diesel IS waaaaay over kill for a 19', -4000lb TT. I'd look for a Expedition, or Tahoe. Prolly a Tahoe, as the new Expes are front wheel drive. But then I like rear wheel drive TVs. The Expe, and Traverse both have a 5000lb tow capacity. Prolly enough for such a lite trailer.

A lot of the Major Truck/SUV manufactures have several options for you. Pretty easy to find out what you need. Just look at the specifications on the rig you want and make sure you have several thousand pounds delta between your towing limit and your wet weight. Keep in mind, you'll only be towing your TT a few times a year and the rest of that time you'll have to live with what you bought.

Enjoy the trailer either way.

Cheers

To me, it depends on how you want to use the SUV when you get there. Personally, I would want a 4x4 with high and low range, plus enough ground clearance to use on most 4x4 only roads. Jeeps and 4-Runners come to mind. I'm sure there are others. Have fun :C

Just curious why a SUV? As many of the new 4 door trucks have as much passanger room in them. It amazes me how much room is in the back fo my brother in laws Tundra. Much better towing than any of the 1/2 ton suv's. And like has been mentioned if you are in the market for buying a TV look down the road 5 or 7 years are you going to be selling and buying again or kinda future proof youre self with a 3/4 or 1 ton?

That said I have a little 20 foot tt and a 1/2 2000 GMC with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears. My TT is 6200 GVWR and my truck tows it just find around Utah's mountains.

I'm liking my 5.7L Grand Cherokee Overland, best of all worlds for my applications. Lots of power, comfortable, stock air suspension, not too big, great daily driver...

Within GM, Tahoe/Yukon with 5.3L/3.43 would be good. I do not think the 3.6L (the biggest engine in anything smaller) is good enough for any high walled RV.

A mid-sized diesle would be my first choice. VW Touareg TDI and 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel are my top picks. 25-30mpg non towing, 15mpg towing. That's better than any other option with over 400 lb-ft of torque.

Explorer V8 with tow pkg would work, has for me for many years. But I'd also look at your "next" TT and what you may need to pull with. I should have and now regret not upgrading the TV when I had the chance.

Need to consider the cargo weight capacity especially with the smaller SUVs.

GM product...Tahoe/Denali w/ tow pkg would be fine. Personally I'd steer clear of anything less than that. TTs only get heavier over time.

Terryallan wrote:

Lowsuv wrote:
the best tow vehicle is a late model diesel 2500 from any of the 3 majors .
the reason is that 9200# gvw towing a 7500 # gvw trailer is better than 7500# towing 9200#.
many on this forum think that 7500# gvw towing a 9200# gvw trailer is fine.
with a 2500 diesel you get the LARGE disc brakes , high 2500# plus rear axle payload, and a significantly stronger drivetrain such as an allison transmission .
with a diesel because the engine weighs 400# more than a gasser you get more weight on the steering axle which reduces sway.
you further reduce sway by loading a heavier tongue weight on your trailer.
a higher percentage of weight behind your trailer axle increases sway.
spend the money to buy a 2500 pickup instead of a fancy 1500 .
leather seats , a moonroof , and nav system are nice but do not add to greater braking and handling .

Tad bit over kill for a 4000lb trailer isn't it. Sort of like killing a fly with a shotgun.

No not really..
But if I had to have an SUV it would be a big one. I've never had an issue or seen a complaint about too much tow vehicle but I've seen pages of complaints from people with "adequate" tow vehicles.

If cost was no object, I'd have a new diesel grand cherokee to tow my Casita. Money is an issue so I'll keep using my old 4 door diesel PU.

If it's just one or two passengers and you just want to "Get by", get a mid size with 6 or small v8. Have fun pulling all that frontal area of a TT down the road and getting it stopped safely. Otherwise, get a 3/4 ton Suburban that has a payload capacity of over 2400lbs to carry a family, their stuff and the tongue weight of a TT thru the mountains with good stopping power. A 3/4 ton is not overkill. It's safety. If you're worried about fuel mileage when not towing, then get a 2-door speck for a daily driver. Nothing you tow with is going to get much above 10mpg while towing unless it's a diesel. And the smaller the engine, the worse the mpg while towing. Be safe.