Newbie needs TV - please help me choose?
Hi folks, I'm shopping for a tow vehicle, and I'd like to hear your input. I don't have the trailer yet, but it's going to be a low-profile hybrid such as a Trailmanor, HiLo or Chalet, or maybe a C...
Forum Discussion
There are several subtle suggestions/comments so far that I would like to emphasize. The three being concerning, FWD vs. RWD, tongue wt. and the factory installed towing equipment vs. potential add on factory towing equip. In the low end capable TVs you are considering these three can be inter-related and a combo that is out of balance can make towing a chore vs. a pleasure or even dangerous. I'm really not sure how to evaluate them all together, but can only give you my thoughts on them from one with little hands on experience with such TVs, but a ton of real world TT towing experience.
1. As noted tongue wt. will remove wt. from the front which in both a FWD and AWD (or at least a lot) reduce overall stability and something that I would be concerned with in general. Also, counter this with a WDH is probably not going to be an option since those would put too much stress on the vehicles receiver.
2. Personally, I would set a hard limit on the GVWR of the TT which is at or under 80% of the rated towing capacity and has a receiver that has a tongue wt. rating of 12% of the GVWR of the TT. This should ensure that you are well within the towing and receiver ratings of the TV.
3. I would be very careful about purchasing a potential TV w/o a factory towing package and even one that offers one, but yours doesn't have that option. There might be limitations on aftermarket tow packages and the ratings of OEM packages might not be available in aftermarket offerings.
4. Pay extra attention to what payload your TV has, and how the max tongue wt. would reduce passenger/cargo considerations. You might find you can either tow or haul passengers/cargo, but not both at the same time in expected numbers.
5. A lot of mountain towing like you indicate you might like to do makes having a TV with ratings as far above what you will actually be towing is going to have an effect on TV reliability, safety, and overall towing performance (i.e. reduction of any "white knuckles" towing time).
You're getting some good feedback here from what I can see and I'm sorry I can't offer any thing more than I have, but I'm into an area where I admit I don't have all or even most of the answers. I do think if you can accept it going for a full sized 1/2T SUV like a Tahoe, Expedition, etc. would probably do you well overall.
Larry
1. As noted tongue wt. will remove wt. from the front which in both a FWD and AWD (or at least a lot) reduce overall stability and something that I would be concerned with in general. Also, counter this with a WDH is probably not going to be an option since those would put too much stress on the vehicles receiver.
2. Personally, I would set a hard limit on the GVWR of the TT which is at or under 80% of the rated towing capacity and has a receiver that has a tongue wt. rating of 12% of the GVWR of the TT. This should ensure that you are well within the towing and receiver ratings of the TV.
3. I would be very careful about purchasing a potential TV w/o a factory towing package and even one that offers one, but yours doesn't have that option. There might be limitations on aftermarket tow packages and the ratings of OEM packages might not be available in aftermarket offerings.
4. Pay extra attention to what payload your TV has, and how the max tongue wt. would reduce passenger/cargo considerations. You might find you can either tow or haul passengers/cargo, but not both at the same time in expected numbers.
5. A lot of mountain towing like you indicate you might like to do makes having a TV with ratings as far above what you will actually be towing is going to have an effect on TV reliability, safety, and overall towing performance (i.e. reduction of any "white knuckles" towing time).
You're getting some good feedback here from what I can see and I'm sorry I can't offer any thing more than I have, but I'm into an area where I admit I don't have all or even most of the answers. I do think if you can accept it going for a full sized 1/2T SUV like a Tahoe, Expedition, etc. would probably do you well overall.
Larry
