Newbie needs TV - please help me choose?

Hi, folks,

Many thanks for all of your input. Being a newb, I can't contribute much but please don't take my silence for disinterest. I'm reading it all, evaluating and absorbing. :)

Happy long weekend!

Having just spent the summer with an undersized TV (3700 Lb dry and empty trailer and 5000Lb tow capacity), I implore you to buy the biggest TV you can afford. Physically larger will reduce frontal area (amount of the trailer exposed during travel), lowest power to weight ratio (power to tow without straining engine and trans - any 13 year old with Gran Turismo on Play Station 3 knows how this works) and the least stopping distance.

texasclarks wrote:
I think the Flex would be fine, but I would also consider a Mid-Size SUV (Ford Explorer) for instance.

Why? They are the identical platform and powertain, except the Explorer has a taller rear sub-frame which means it has a higher center of gravity.

Ford AWD system is pretty neat. It will bias 100% torque to the rear axle as needed, and will do it before an wheelslip is perceived.

I would like to get an EcoBoost Flex! One of my favorite cars out there. I would not hesitate to tow at its max rating. It has as much payload as most 1/2-ton pickups and the row rating is independent of passenger, so you can tow 4500 pounds even when loaded.

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

karyj wrote:
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 Casita. Dry weights are #2500 for the TM, #3500 for the HiLo and somewhere in between for the others.

first, none of these trailers mentioned are "hybrids". hybrids are a cross between a travel trailer and a popup. so they have to have the canvas tent ends to be a "hybrid".
the TM and HiLo are expandable travel trailers or popup travel trailers.
the A-frame Chalet is a hard sided A-frame popup trailer.

as was said, do yourself a favor and don't use fictional "dry" weights. no trailer weighs that. look at the actual yellow sticker weight, which is the weight of the trailer when it left the factory.

Have you looked at a Nissan Xterra? I am only throwing this out there because I have always liked them, they remind of what the Pathfinders and 4 Runners use to be. They are very stout SUV's.

NC Hauler wrote:
Please don't use dry weights to go by, no one tows an rv empty when going camping. You would be wise to use the units actual GVW and go from there, if you purchase a vehicle to tow the units GVW, it'll equate to a much more enjoyable towing experience.

I would want to know the GVWR and GCWR of the vehicle you're going to tow with and I would want to know the GVW of the trailer, THEN go from there.....

X2

Thanks, everyone. I'm too green to contribute to the discussion, but I'm reading and absorbing. :)

How about Explorer Sport?

I highly recommend a forced induction engine for the mountains. Forced induction loses less power at higher altitudes than naturally aspirated. Ford's 3.5L Ecoboost is strong. It has up to 11,300 pound tow ratings in the F-150, so 3500-5000 pounds in the the Flex/Explorer/Edge is not a problem for power.

How about the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel or 2012+ VW Touareg TDI? You can expect more like 25mpg in mixed driving vs. 17mpg, and 15mpg towing a higher profile TT vs. 10mpg. All with 400+ ft-lb of torque at 1700rpm.

AWD is not necessary for towing an RV. I believe Ford limits the 3.5L Ecoboost in Flex/Explorer/Edge to AWD though.

Be careful of those with 3500 pound tow ratings. The receiver may only be rated for 350 pounds of tongue weight, which a 3000 pound loaded RV will likely exceed.

Thing is. All those choices are FWD vehicles, Even the AWD is FWD based with a power take off to the rear wheels. And FWD does not a great TV make, for anything more than a popup.

Remember. You trailer removes weight from the front of the vehicle, and in a FWD vehicle. The front end is doing everything, from the pulling, the steering, and most of the braking. The rear is just along for the ride.

Yes a WDH returns some of the weight to the front. IF the vehicle's frame can stand it. Man y FWD vehicles cannot use a WDH. But you can take it to Can Am and have it heavily modified to tow. Not cheap.