Suitable Tow Vehicle for Kodiak Hybrid

If you are looking at new vehicles, the Dodge Durango is fairly capable without being too big. As much as I am a fan of new suburbans and expeditions, they can be very expensive as well as a bit much for a daily driver for some people. 2010 was the last year of the full frame for the explorer, and I am currently looking to find a good condition low mileage 2009 or 2010 to add to my fleet, as I might give my 2006 Explorer to one of my kids that’s about to start driving.

Unfortunately, most of the mid sized SUV's are more car than truck these days.

A V8 Durango, as suggested above, or a v8 or deisel Jeep Grand Cherokee may work for you.

Is your current your Explorer a 4.0 v6 or a 4.6 v8?

What year vehicle are you looking for? New? That might help us narrow down our suggestions.

We tow our Kodiak 172e (similar to yours) with a Ram 1500 and it is more than adequate. We average ~18 MPG for non-towing, but is not a daily driver.

parker.rowe wrote:
Unfortunately, most of the mid sized SUV's are more car than truck these days.

A V8 Durango, as suggested above, or a v8 or deisel Jeep Grand Cherokee may work for you.

Is your current your Explorer a 4.0 v6 or a 4.6 v8?

What year vehicle are you looking for? New? That might help us narrow down our suggestions.

My Explorer is a 6 cylinder. I'm looking for a reasonably young used vehicle.

babamartha wrote:


My Explorer is a 6 cylinder. I'm looking for a reasonably young used vehicle.

Got it. Looks like you truck, IF equipped with 3.73 gears, was rated to tow anywhere from 5300 to 5800lbs. 4wd's had the lower ratings.

Max fully loaded weight on your trailer is 3750...dry weight is ~2500.

A newer Explorer would probably do it, but it would have to have the right tow package.

Same with a newer Grand Cherokee or Durango. Maybe a Toyota 4runner.

Make sure whatever you get has the proper tow package option, not just a hitch someone added on. They have pretty weak tow ratings otherwise.

Lots of half ton crew cab pickups would do the job easily if you aren't stuck on an SUV, even the V6 models. They get decent mileage now.

Even a Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon would pull that trailer as well as your explorer, if you get the new version with the 3.6 V6 or the little 4cyl Diesel.

Just an FYI, a new "gas guzzler" Tahoe is rated at 16/23mpg...your 03 V6 Explorer is rated at 15/21mpg. 8-10 speed transmissions and engine technology have come a long way!

babamartha wrote:
My Ford Explorer has been my faithful tow vehicle for years but is now biting the dust. It's a 2003 and has had a long and happy life.

My mechanic recommended a few replacement vehicles (Tahoe, Suburban, Expedition) but they're all huge gas-guzzlers. Yikes!

Have you actually looked at the mpg ratings for full size SUVs?
Newer ones are getting 20+mpg on the highway.
I bet they'll get better gas mileage than your older Explorer, cause I owned a similar Explorer and replaced it with a 2007 Avalanche(the same vehicle as the Suburban). I often got over 20mpg on the highway.

Newer 6 cyl. Grand Cherokees can tow 6200 lb. with the tow package