Best tow vehicle for family of 6?

[TravelFor6]

We have 3 kids and one (and last!) on the way. We're looking to buy a new RV, but finding a towing vehicle that can accommodate all of us AND tow an RV big enough for us is an issue. Any suggestions? I heard that you can have a 3rd row custom added to a truck, although I'm not sure where that's done or if it would be safe for the kiddos. Otherwise, we're thinking a Yukon Denali which tows 8900, but that limits us quite a bit on the trailer (we're hoping to get a trailer with a bunk room for the kids so we're not constantly changing the dining/living area from seats to beds). Anyone knowledgable about truck modifications or have a big family with a tow vehicle/RV that works well for you?

[JAC1982]

What about an Expedition? I believe the towing capacity is 10,000lbs but I'm not sure on payload etc.

[6door74]

Acdii wrote:
You would be much better off getting a good reliable tow rig, like a pickup, and taking a second car, instead of trying to stuff everyone in an SUV and trying to tow something.

6 people in an SUV pulling a trailer? Forgetaboutit. If you go the single vehicle route, look for mercedes vanabus or what ever the heck those things are. Drawback is, if you also use it as a DD, that is a LOT of vehicle to be driving around all the time.

Now if you get a Popup camper that weighs less than 3000#, you can get a Flex which can seat up to 7 and tow 4500#. Plenty, I mean A LOT of room in one of those for 6. It can easily take 4 car seats, and room for a kid not in a car seat, along with 2 adults.

Love my flex! Though when full, there isn't much storage space which is why we had the trailer on our vacation. I came upon this site when I went to look at a travel trailer that could be towed with my flex. Needless to say, we realized we needed a new tow vehicle! That vehicle is a 2006 E350 V10 van. Now we just gotta decide on a trailer.

[Acdii]

You would be much better off getting a good reliable tow rig, like a pickup, and taking a second car, instead of trying to stuff everyone in an SUV and trying to tow something.

6 people in an SUV pulling a trailer? Forgetaboutit. If you go the single vehicle route, look for mercedes vanabus or what ever the heck those things are. Drawback is, if you also use it as a DD, that is a LOT of vehicle to be driving around all the time.

Now if you get a Popup camper that weighs less than 3000#, you can get a Flex which can seat up to 7 and tow 4500#. Plenty, I mean A LOT of room in one of those for 6. It can easily take 4 car seats, and room for a kid not in a car seat, along with 2 adults.

[mkirsch]

If you want something relatively late model, a full size 3500-series van is your only option at this point.

The last Ford Excursion rolled off the line in 2005. Rare to find one that hasn't been driven to death already.

The last 2500 Suburban/Yukon rolled off the line in 2013 apparently. Even these are five years old and tough to find.

Nobody really makes a tow vehicle that can tow a big heavy trailer and cart a big heavy family at the same time. There are just so few big families that camp "heavy", that it's not economically viable to produce a tow vehicle suited to such a thing. Even the big van is a compromise.

[ForMyTwins]

I don't have a trailer yet - but we've done a lot of tent camping with our 2014 Nissan NV3500. GCWR of 16,000 pounds, rated towing of 8,700. It gives us enough capacity for the smallest quad bunkhouses, plenty if you are willing to use one with double wide bunks or have two sleep on the pullout and dinette.

Just about a month ago I hauled myself and 11 boy scouts 500 miles to a weeklong campout, with full gear. I can't speak for towing yet, but it is a very capable van and to me the best option for our family of six.

Vans aren't pretty, but it's much more flexible and has far more cargo (and passenger) capacity than any SUV. If you really want 4x4 Quigly does a factory authorized conversion for around $10,000.

[Grit_dog]

TravelFor6 wrote:
All of my children are under the age of 6, which means years of lots of car seats/booster seats. Crew cabs won't work for us. I've been looking into stretching a truck (adding 3rd row) and there are more places that do this than I expected. Looking at options.

Well you'd never not be able to find your truck in the mall parking lot!
If I was open to serious mods, I'd opt for a nice low mile 6.0 diesel Excursion and bulletproof the engine, or find a cheaper gasser Excursion and drop a Cummins in it.
May find a 7.3diesel Excuraion, but I'm not a fan of the 4 speed behind them.

[6door74]

Flashman wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
For a family of 6 a crew cab mega or not is not enough room. A van is the ticket for this number of people.

Nonsense I've traveled/towed tens of thousands of miles all over the Western US and Canada with 2 adults and 4 teens in my mega cab with front bench seat. With the behind and underseat storage and shell on the back it was great!

Consider yourself lucky! Your kids love each other A LOT.....or can at least tolerate being so close for so long in a car:):)

I don't know if my sanity would make it through that. Just kidding but glad it worked out. I had a ram 1500 years ago and I'd put 3 up front but I've never been in a mega cab. Still, I don't see it being very comfortable even for the driver and front passengers for long distances. That said, my kids also know that if that's what we have, then they have to suck it up and make the best of it. Myself and my wife included.

[TravelFor6]

All of my children are under the age of 6, which means years of lots of car seats/booster seats. Crew cabs won't work for us. I've been looking into stretching a truck (adding 3rd row) and there are more places that do this than I expected. Looking at options.

[Flashman]

FishOnOne wrote:
For a family of 6 a crew cab mega or not is not enough room. A van is the ticket for this number of people.

Nonsense I've traveled/towed tens of thousands of miles all over the Western US and Canada with 2 adults and 4 teens in my mega cab with front bench seat. With the behind and underseat storage and shell on the back it was great!

[H2oSprt]

I struggled with this as a large family. We ended up getting an expedition el and a pop up trailer.

[SouthpawHD]

I have a family of 6, tow with a 3/4 ton crew cab truck. No issues. Drove 3,000 miles out to Yellowstone last year, not the most comfortable, but it worked just fine. It can be done. And for a family of 6 taking weekend camping trips, all is good.

[FishOnOne]

For a family of 6 a crew cab mega or not is not enough room. A van is the ticket for this number of people.

[normal_dave]

Vans aren't flashy, but are unbelievably versatile and make decent tow platforms when properly set up. We tow with an old-school Ford Club Wagon Chateau package, family of 6 grew up in that van, and we still use it with the youngest now a senior in High School.

Here's one near San Diego...
'06 XLT E-350 Wagon, 12 passenger, 5.4L 3.73 gears, possible factory tow package on this one, gives a 13,000 GCWR, and a max trailer of 7,300 lbs. (you'll have to deduct actual vehicle weight and payload (including folks, to get the real trailer capacity)
2006 E-350 XLT Wagon standard length

2006 Ford towing guide

Another nice one in Fontana:
2009 E-350 XLT Wagon

These also have front and rear A/C, with ducting down the center roof, factory tinted glass, the short nose gives really good visibility for the driver, the lower floor/taller roof, gives more room to move around and load gear than the suburbans/excursions, also easier to get kids etc. in/out. The '06 has the sliding side door, better in parking lots, the '09 has side hinged double side doors.

Lots of vehicle for your dollar.

[rexlion]

For a family that size, personally I'd go with a popup. Plenty of bed space and easy to tow. Or look for a hybrid, or a 25' TT with overhead bunks. Try to stay away from the 33' behemoths. JMO.

[6door74]

we went with a full size van, ford e350. it was between that and suburban/Yukon 2500. I looked at excursions but they were way overpriced in my opinion. The van offered more seating which is what was more important to us in the end. I still haven't purchased a trailer yet though. We wanted to get a tow vehicle first to know our abilities/limits when shopping for one.

good luck