We're in the market for a new tow vehicle. With the youngest heading off to college in a few weeks, DW and I are heading back out on the camping trail. Our 2003 Astro has run the good race and is ready to retire (plus it was always on the bubble for getting the job done with current rig). I really like the Ford Ecoboost and the GM EcoTec3 engines. Both are great choices for our 90 /10 use split (90% everyday use / 10% towing), and we may yet go that direction. Utopia is similar tow capacity and gas mileage, with a large passenger cabin with potential 3rd row seating. We really like the interior cargo space (vs. a bed cover or topper). I keep waiting for Ford to put the Ecoboost in the Expedition and/or the EcoTec3 in the Suburban / Tahoe. For now, neither are an option.What else is out there to fill the need for our gas efficient tow vehicle? NOTE: Currently towing GW 5500#, future plans could increase that to 8000-9000#. I would like to buy now to cover both options.

Is there a gas efficient SUV with decent tow capacity? When you put gas efficient and towing capacity in the same sentence, is that not considered an oxymoron??????

Smallest you could possibly get would be the Expedition. You aren't really gong to find any towing capacity with anything that does not have Rear Wheel Drive. and anything smaller has FWD based powertrains

Gadget Guy.... yeah, I had always thought so, until looking at the Ecoboost numbers. Rated at 17/22 mpg and up to +11,000# on the 3.5L v6.That's as close as I could hope to get.....

you are going to trade your trailer for one that weighs 9000lbs and you are concerned about fuel economy?Do yourself a favor and quit now. You will hate RV'ing. At 9000 you will need to spend 45K plus for a truck that will get 14 MPG.My Rav4 is decent empty but with the popup on it succckkkkkkssss bigtime. But I don't care. When it is empty I fill it up.

Find a Hybrid Yukon or Tahoe. But keep in mind you will never recoup the costs of the technology in fuel savings.....EVER.

Is there a gas efficient SUV with decent tow capacity?

chracatoa
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
As others have said, no.

Here is real mpg for my Sequoia. When numbers < 10 we're towing. I don't trust the computer on mpgs - it's always higher than my numbers tell.
Mvander
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
Why not get a used dedicated tv for the 10% and get a newer mpg king for the 90%?
Acei
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
Yeah, some vehicles are surprisingly not well balanced (tow rating vs payload rating). To OP - try the following tool, I learned quite a bit in terms of what each vehicles are capable of towing...

http://campcentral.net/trailer-advisor/
APT
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
Good point. 1100-1200 pounds of payload usually. With 700-ish pounds of TW and a WDH, that should be enough for 2 people.
Acei
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
But be careful with both Jeep Grand Cherokee and VW Toureg - both have surprisingly low payload limits! You will likely to hit this limit far before their towing limits.
APT
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
The 3-row SUVs capable for towing 9000 pounds RV are all 7+ years old and get 12mpg unloaded. All thw 2007+ SUVs have receiver limits as high as 1000 pounds, which means more like 8k carefully loaded TT.

Dry cargo area can be had for any pickup for as little as $200. It isn't climate controlled, but it is covered. And a pickup will cost much less than an SUV with similar equipment.

There are 2 mid-sized SUVs that would handle your current RVs very well and get about 25mpg in mixed driving non towing. 2011+ VW Touareg TDI and 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel. Lots of torque from 1500-2500rpm, where most people want it for both DD and towing. You can expect about 15mpg towing. That's as good as it gets from a fuel efficiency point of view. Owners of the 2007-2008 diesel Grand Cherokee and TDI Touaregs are very pleased with towing performance within their capabilities. But they leave little room for upgrading the RV from what you have now.

My opinion is to get one of the diesel SUVs I mentioned above and take a second vehicle when you need more than 4 people. At 25mpg vs. 17mpg non towing, you'll appreciate the diesel torque and efficiency far more often than occasional 7 passenger seating.
Javi1
Explorer
Jul 30, 2013
Ford Crew cab F250-F350 6.7 diesel = 20-22 mpg empty hwy 16 city and 12-14 towing.
krobbe
Explorer
Jul 30, 2013
My '72 Nova w/ 350ci 2bbl got 10mpg.
My '03 Burb w/ 496ci EFI gets 13mpg.
That's a 30% increase in fuel economy. :D
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jul 29, 2013
A 1500 Suburban or Expedition EL will tow a 5000 lbs GVWR trailer fairly easily especially without a big family onboard. The small V-8s with six speed trans (in the GM< not sure about Ford) is pretty efficient for a large vehicle.

However, this isn't what you want to buy for an 8000 lb trailer...if you are buying new, you only real choice for that is the 2500 Suburban, which they say is NOT available for the 2014 model year, unsure if it is gone for good or just on hiatus.

If it doesn't have to be a 4WD SUV, a full size van is also an option, particularly the Ford with the V-10.
bikendan
Explorer
Jul 29, 2013
orggardn wrote:
Why an SUV vs a PU ? We like to have the option to have 3rd row seating on occasion. Likely more important to us, is to have the dry cargo space (knowing what we give up with that).

mainly because SUV's will have much lower payload capacitiesn and much softer suspensions.
you can compare a Suburban's payload with a similar spec'd Silverado, both built on the GM900 platform, and see a huge difference in their amounts. plus the Silverado's suspension will be stronger and stiffer for towing.