I've had this dream to live in an RV (travel trailer, specifically) for about 5 or 6 years now. I was drawn to the Ford Escape and was happy to learn they can tow up to 3500 pounds. I bought one last year. Step one complete! Now i've run into a problem...people are telling me my Escape shouldn't tow that much, it's not safe. I heard horror stories about Escapes not being able to handle it. They recommend I stick to 2000 pounds or less, but what trailers weigh that little?! I want to live in this thing which means it needs to be self sustainable, with a full kitchen, bathroom, and at least a full size bed. All the trailers I found with that stuff are at least 3000 pounds. And then you have to figure the weight of the fluids and cargo, which would be a lot since i'd be living in it. I cannot live in a pop up camper or a teardrop camper.Are there any decent trailers I can safely tow? Is my Escape worthless for what I wanted to do with it? I bought it specifically for this reason! By the way, it's a 2008 6-cylinder automatic transmission, front wheel drive. There is no towing package on it yet but I was planning on having one put on, IF I can even find a trailer I can tow! Any advice?

Have to agree with the others. Escapes are great vehicles but not for extended periods of towing. Sorry no recommendations for small TT.

GaiaGoddess wrote:...Are there any decent trailers I can safely tow? Is my Escape worthless for what I wanted to do with it?No there are not any trailers that I would full time in and yes the escape is pretty worthless for towing anything larger than a 1500lb aluminum boat. Get a bigger TV and a trailer that will allow you to do what you want to do.

I just verified that the 2008 six cylinder Escape CAN tow up to 3500#. I'm not sure why folks are telling you 2000# when the Ford engineers designed it for more.

I too agree. You will not be happy pulling much with an Escape. Maybe a teardrop, or very small scamp or pop-up, but you will still have to be careful with the weights.

Hi,First off, the gas mileage will be extremely poor. Second off, you will need to add a transmission cooler. Third off, you will be replacing the transmission much sooner if you tow much at all.It's a great vehicle but it is a "light weight" when it comes to towing.

Is my Ford Escape worthless for fullfilling my dream? :-(

359 Replies

GaiaGoddess
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
pianotuna wrote:
Second off, you will need to add a transmission cooler. Third off, you will be replacing the transmission much sooner if you tow much at all.

All Ford Escapes come with a transmission cooler, it's standard. (Already checked on that!)
GaiaGoddess
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
:-( well that's a bummer, I just bought this last year and I dont want to get rid of it, I still owe $14,000 on it! I'm a small girl and don't do well with driving large vehicles.

I could easily live in a small space, i've been in lots of small TT's that would have been perfect for me. But I DO need a bathroom. *sigh*

Now I don't know what to do.
hmknightnc
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
TucsonJim wrote:
I just verified that the 2008 six cylinder Escape CAN tow up to 3500#. I'm not sure why folks are telling you 2000# when the Ford engineers designed it for more.

3500# is not the same for all trailers. The Escape may indeed be able to tow a 3500# flat bed with the load balanced over the trailer axles (i.e. low tongue wieght) but it is not going to tow a 3500# high wall TT. This is the problem with manufactures ratings, they are general published at the maximum available which not the same as capable under all conditions

BTW, I highly doubt you will find a TT capable of Full Time living that wieghs less than 6,000#. Do yourself a favor and do some more research before you spend money you will regret later.
Eycom
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
I see people full timing is just about every kind of RV made, from 16 ft. Casitas to Diesel pushers. My advice would be to select your full time RV first and then get the appropriate tow vehicle to handle it. You'll fair far better financially if you make the right decision the first time. It gets expensive to make the decision right on the second go-around. Good luck.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Sep 02, 2013
Hi,

First off, the gas mileage will be extremely poor. Second off, you will need to add a transmission cooler. Third off, you will be replacing the transmission much sooner if you tow much at all.

It's a great vehicle but it is a "light weight" when it comes to towing.
robsouth
Explorer II
Sep 02, 2013
I too agree. You will not be happy pulling much with an Escape. Maybe a teardrop, or very small scamp or pop-up, but you will still have to be careful with the weights.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Sep 02, 2013
I just verified that the 2008 six cylinder Escape CAN tow up to 3500#. I'm not sure why folks are telling you 2000# when the Ford engineers designed it for more.
mrkoje
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
GaiaGoddess wrote:

...

Are there any decent trailers I can safely tow? Is my Escape worthless for what I wanted to do with it?

No there are not any trailers that I would full time in and yes the escape is pretty worthless for towing anything larger than a 1500lb aluminum boat.

Get a bigger TV and a trailer that will allow you to do what you want to do.
SWD
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
Have to agree with the others. Escapes are great vehicles but not for extended periods of towing. Sorry no recommendations for small TT.

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Is my Ford Escape worthless for fullfilling my dream? :-(

359 Replies

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