What Tow Vehicle to buy?

[Roman_Duck]

Recently our cousins purchased a 2000 coleman popup camper. This is a step up from tent camping.
When they bought it, the DW & I towed it home from the seller.
I towed it with a 08 chevy colorado Z71. The popup appeared to be heavy on the tongue and during the tow home, made us bottom out a couple of times. I beleive that the pop up weighed about 2200 lbs They currently have a Kia minivan, which is too light and is over GVW.
They're in the market for a TV. They intend to find somthing used to have on hand to use primaliy for towing.

What I've suggested is a pickup. I know the colorado was to small, and I have no idea if other similar sized trucks would have the same result. So The question is?: What type of truck/Suv can handle a 12'to 16' Coleman popup/ which model you asked? Don't know off hand, but it does have a exterior storage compartment at the front, with HW heater being mounted on hookup side
Thanks for your suggestions

[rexlion]

They should weight the trailer tongue and find out for themselves what it weighs with the LP, battery and whatnot on it. They might be able to use a bathroom scale, but proceed with caution (put weight on it slowly) in case it exceeds the scale's capacity.

If it's under 350 lbs, they should be able to tow with nearly any vehicle that has a 3500 lb tow rating. This includes most minivans. If the tongue weighs more than 350, plan to move up to something with a 5000 lb rating or more. Toyota Highlander, Chevy Traverse, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Hyundai Santa Fe (except Sport), Ford Explorer and Flex are some examples of the latter. And of course any half ton pickup will handle it.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Roman Duck wrote:
ok, I've figured out the popup is the westlake model with a axle wt of 2150 ibs. I remeber that there Kia minivan was over the GCVW, by about 200 lbs. Thats before loading. That's the reason they need to get a TV.

What Kia "minivan" model?

If it's a Sedona, I don't see how that's possible, especially "before loading". That vehicle has at least 3500 pounds of towing capacity. Plenty for a low-drag popup like the Westlake, even assuming more than one person and some gear in the tow vehicle.


I'm a Kia owner myself, but mine's a first-gen Sportage, which is a CUV rather than a minivan. That vehicle has lower tow ratings than the minivans do...

[Roman_Duck]

ok, I've figured out the popup is the westlake model with a axle wt of 2150 ibs. I remeber that there Kia minivan was over the GCVW, by about 200 lbs. Thats before loading. That's the reason they need to get a TV.

[carringb]

Most minivans would be able to tow that. Even many compact SUVs could. My pick for that trailer would be a Ford Flex. It has same footprint as the Expedition, but is lower (better center of gravity), weighs less, but still can be with the 3.5L EcoBoost.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Roman Duck wrote:
Recently our cousins purchased a 2000 coleman popup camper. This is a step up from tent camping.
When they bought it, the DW & I towed it home from the seller.
I towed it with a 08 chevy colorado Z71. The popup appeared to be heavy on the tongue and during the tow home, made us bottom out a couple of times. I beleive that the pop up weighed about 2200 lbs They currently have a Kia minivan, which is too light and is over GVW.

:h

The heaviest popup Coleman made in 2000 was well under 3,000 pounds (dry). Shouldn't be more than 400 tops on the tongue.
Link to specs

I agree with those who said there must be something wrong with your Chev if a 2000 Coleman sagged it...don't use that experience as "proof" that your cousins need a fullsized truck.

In fact, looking at those pup specs I wonder whether they need something else to tow it at all. Which PUP is it, does it have brakes, and what's the year/model of the Kia minivan that someone said won't tow it?

[bikendan]

without knowing which model of Coleman popup, it hard to say.
there are some highwall popups that are very heavy, especially on the tongue.

some popups will need a WDH and some won't.

but any 1/2 ton truck or SUV WITH a factory tow package, should be able to handle it. but the SUV will have a soft suspension.

[Roman_Duck]

jgos929 wrote:
Any 1/2 ton will pull that no problem. Im surprised you had issues with that Colorado. They have a payload of 1547# and a towing capacity of 4000#. Did you have a bunch of weight in the bed?

No it was empty, I wasn't happy with the results, but I've normally have a ton of equipmet in the back. Think springs might be shot.I know what the ratings on the truck as it was a deciding factor when we bought it new from the dealer. This model has the same suspension system as the H3 Hummer, boy do I feel bad for those H3 owners

[Terryallan]

I too am surprised the Colorado struggled with the pup. I towed pups all over the NC Mountains with a 85 Ranger. Had no problems at all.

As for their minivan. Check the manual. There is a good chance it will tow the pup. Tens of thousands of pups are towed with minivans.

Other than that. Just about any thing will tow a pup. From a Jeep TJ to a F350. I also towed them with CJ5s, Grand Cherokees, 150s. Seen them towed with Escapes, Equinox, Just what ever. 2200LB is super lite.

As for trading up soon after getting a pup. We popuped for 20 years before trading DOWN to a TT..

[Roman_Duck]

sky_free wrote:
You/they need a Weight Distributing Hitch if towing with an SUV or small pickup even with that light weight trailer. The Colorado should handle a 2200 trailer just fine, but you need to even out the load a bit. Recommending a specific vehicle is tough without more information about how many people they are travelling with and how much they want to spend. Most people seem to upgrade from popups to regular TT's after a short amount of time so they might want to plan for that by getting something with at least 7,000 lbs of towing capacity.

Thanks Sky, It has been a long time since the towing days,for us. I never even thought of the WDH. That will open up more TV options.
They're intending to buy somthing outright, rather than the book of the month club route, but that means limited options. I've suggested a fullsize truck so they don't have to do it again when they upgrade.

Now what is a good TV for 7,000 lbs.?

[sky_free]

You/they need a Weight Distributing Hitch if towing with an SUV or small pickup even with that light weight trailer. The Colorado should handle a 2200 trailer just fine, but you need to even out the load a bit. Recommending a specific vehicle is tough without more information about how many people they are travelling with and how much they want to spend. Most people seem to upgrade from popups to regular TT's after a short amount of time so they might want to plan for that by getting something with at least 7,000 lbs of towing capacity.

[jgos929]

Any 1/2 ton will pull that no problem. Im surprised you had issues with that Colorado. They have a payload of 1547# and a towing capacity of 4000#. Did you have a bunch of weight in the bed?

[donn0128]

Heck if they want a SUV a Chevy Tahoe would be a really great TV for that and even allow them roof to grow to a regular travel trailer down the road

[mpfireman]

Any of todays 1500 series trucks would fit the bill, When we had pop up units, we used our Suburban as out TV with no problem.