Zero to Sixty When Towing
I'm curious as to what constitutes a good number for acceleration from 0 to 60 when towing your travel trailer. What sparked my interest was a recent test of the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Pen...
Forum Discussion
Bruce H. wrote:skipnchar wrote:
That would be a VERY poor criteria to use to determine the suitability of your tow vehicle. Only good for making sales to folks who do not understand the subject.
Well, it is a measure of the tow vehicle's torque, horsepower and gearing with the particular trailer it pulls. If it doesn't have the horsepower and gearing to accelerate well, then how will it have the horsepower and gearing for that 9% incline?
Bruce
Actually not a lot. My navistar with a 175/335 IDI 7.3 will pull a 30+% grade at 30K lbs. Takes HECK OF A LONG TIME to get to 60 mph! Meanwhile my old 96 K3500 with a 6.5td 185/385 specs, could pull 20K up a 30% grade, took probably 30-45secs to get to 60 at 20K. My dmax can get to 60 in the 20-30 sec range at 20-25K lbs. Has a 300/600 motor mind you. BUT< it can only do a 24-25% grade at 20K lbs. So the one with the most HP, quickest off the line etc, has the LOWEST actual grade it can pull, because the overall low is the tallest, and will not multiply the torque correctly to pull a steep grade at slow speeds etc.
From my own experience, quick 0-60 times mean "NOTHING!"
Marty
