Hello,I am a newbie to RVing and planning to buy my first RV. I am also buying a new SUV for my family of 6. I am curious to know your thoughts on towing a travel trailer for the following scneario- Tow vehicle is a SUV with 7500 max towing rating- Tow vehicle has max payload of 1600 lbs- Assuming the 6 passengers together weigh 800 lbs.- That leaves 800 lbs for hitch- At 14% for tongue weight, 800 lbs gives me 800 / 0.14 = 5714 lbs- Assume I have about 1000 lbs as cargo that I will need to put in the trailer.- That gives me maybe 4500 lbs for a dry travel trailer weight (no cargo)- Meaning that 4500 lbs dry trailer weight + 1000 lbs cargo = 5500 lbs GVW of the trailer which is below the 5714 lbs available- Hensley hitch- I am only going to be RVing for a few camping trips a year of a few days each. So a total like 10 days of RVing a yearWhat do you guys think of the above ? Would you feel comfortable using the tow vehicle under such conditions ?thank you !

The max numbers you listed are just that....the Maximum payload and tow rating. That is, properly equipped with bare bones options. You have to look at the particular vehicle to see what those numbers will be. Seems like an awful lot of trailer for an SUV.

Don't forget to include the weight of the hitch itself - 100 lbs or so. So you really only have 800-100=700 lbs. 700/.14 = 5000 lbs trailer weight. 1000 lbs cargo in your trailer, that makes your dry trailer weight max about 4000 lbs.Those are the limits according to the math. It may or may not be a pleasurable ride. If you're going 50 miles a few weekends a year, probably would be okay. If you're going on long trips with a lot of driving time, probably won't be a whole lot of fun driving.As said above, check your actual vehicle numbers, they might be even lower.I can say that I don't ever recall seeing a GLS towing anything in any campground I've ever stayed at. Doesn't mean it can't be done, I just haven't seen it.

Personally, I would buy a 1500 crew cab truck instead of a $75k Merc and use the left over money to buy a nice, used SUV. The truck will pull that size camper with no problem and you would have the everyday SUV that isn’t maxed out towing.But that’s just me.

If I were you I would call the place where you bought the camper from and ask for help there as well. A lot of times they can look all of the info up for you and let you know if it is a good idea to pull that much weight with the type of vehicle you have.

^ why the short wheelbase tow vehicle. clearly budget is there to get a proper vehicle. my f150 and explorer were bought new 9 months apart for around what you are looking to pay combined.......... both seat 4 with lots of room.

Safe to tow ? Mercedes GLS with a 4500 lb travel trailer

17 Replies

outdoorbug
Explorer
Sep 05, 2019
carringb wrote:
If you want to tow that much trailer AND carry 6 people in luxury, the Navigator is by far the best option IMO. The interior is at least as good as the MLS finally, but will manage a heavy trailer far better.

Full size vans are great, but the Express and NV are riding on ancient chassis at the point. Only the Transit has any semblance of a modern driving experience, but a relatively low GCWR. I don't think any of them would meet the OP's tastes, if they were considering a GLS.

Thanks. Yes, I am surprised there are no SUVs (luxury or not) that can carry 6 people AND safely tow 5 to 6000 lbs.

And yes, we are considering the expedition (not max) as an alternative. Surprisingly, a similarly optioned expedition and GLS are roughly same price. I like the navigator too, but with the correct options, I believe it reaches near $100k. I am not comfortable with spending that much. I am ok with $75k or so which is what the base GLS is.

But yes, as I said, even the expedition or the GLS will not be considered safe towing 6000 lbs. So dunno, I might consider ditching the grandparents (and reducing seating requirements from 6 to 4) for long trips and buy the F150+explorer combo (or some variant) instead.
carringb
Explorer
Sep 05, 2019
If you want to tow that much trailer AND carry 6 people in luxury, the Navigator is by far the best option IMO. The interior is at least as good as the MLS finally, but will manage a heavy trailer far better.

Full size vans are great, but the Express and NV are riding on ancient chassis at the point. Only the Transit has any semblance of a modern driving experience, but a relatively low GCWR. I don't think any of them would meet the OP's tastes, if they were considering a GLS.
drsteve
Explorer
Sep 05, 2019
For good towing capacity and seating for 6, look at vans.
2012Coleman
Explorer II
Sep 05, 2019
Skip the Mercedes and look into a Nissan NV 2500 or 3500.
Jebby14
Explorer
Sep 04, 2019
didn't realize you changed the count. id be looking an an expedition max but paying VERY close numbers to payload (iff you need to stay in one car) if not buy a half ton truck and a fuel efficient car. at no point did I recommend the explorer as a tow vehicle.
camperdave
Explorer
Sep 04, 2019
Lots of people tow with large SUV's, they can be pretty easy to exceed the carrying capacity in though.

If it were me, I'd be buying a full size one ton van (in fact, that's what I did lol). But I'm not an SUV kind of guy, some people just can't get over the 'van' thing.

A new Chevy Express with a 6.0 and six captains chairs would be a sweet ride, and tow very very well.
outdoorbug
Explorer
Sep 04, 2019
GrandpaKip wrote:
I thought you said family of 4 in the original post. That GLS is going to be taxed with 6 people. I would look at a van.

Yes, sorry, I edited the question.

My immediate family is only 4. However, we do have 2 grandparents who travel with us once in a while. When I posted the number as 4 originally, I got a few suggestions to buy an explorer instead. Since an explorer wouldn't fit 6 people comfortably, I edited the question from 4 to 6 to avoid any confusion.
Jebby14
Explorer
Sep 04, 2019
outdoorbug wrote:
Jebby14 wrote:
^ why the short wheelbase tow vehicle. clearly budget is there to get a proper vehicle. my f150 and explorer were bought new 9 months apart for around what you are looking to pay combined.......... both seat 4 with lots of room.

I need a good 7 seater SUV for long road trips where I won't be taking the RV trailer with me. I have kids that will start throwing their shoes at me if I take them on a long trip in a cramped SUV.

who said anything about a cramped suv?

frankly 4 people in a super crew half ton truck is a ton of room and solved your problem, was mealy implying you could add an additional 7 seat suv made on this continent with that super crew for the same price as your fancy marginal Mercedes.

do as you like, its your family and your money. if I were you id buy a half ton crew cab from any of the big 3 and bank the extra money.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Sep 04, 2019
I thought you said family of 4 in the original post. That GLS is going to be taxed with 6 people. I would look at a van.
outdoorbug
Explorer
Sep 03, 2019
rdhetrick wrote:
Don't forget to include the weight of the hitch itself - 100 lbs or so. So you really only have 800-100=700 lbs. 700/.14 = 5000 lbs trailer weight. 1000 lbs cargo in your trailer, that makes your dry trailer weight max about 4000 lbs.

Those are the limits according to the math. It may or may not be a pleasurable ride. If you're going 50 miles a few weekends a year, probably would be okay. If you're going on long trips with a lot of driving time, probably won't be a whole lot of fun driving.

As said above, check your actual vehicle numbers, they might be even lower.

I can say that I don't ever recall seeing a GLS towing anything in any campground I've ever stayed at. Doesn't mean it can't be done, I just haven't seen it.

Thanks. Yes, this is meant for a few camping trips a year. So total like 10 days of RVing a year.