Suggestions for tow vehicle with good mpg

[Windwalker55]

My daughter wants to buy a new/used 4WD vehicle that gets good mileage yet pulls up to about 4,000 pounds. Any suggestions?

[krobbe]

An 02' to '09 Chevy Trailblazer has a rated tow capacity between 5300lb and 6800lb depending on the engine(I6 or V8) and axle(3.42, 3.73, 4.10) combination.

[rowekmr]

On the smaller/used end of the spectrum my 06 Ford Explorer Ltd with the 4.6L engine was rated at 7100# towing and had good driving manners and handling. It was the previous body which was built on a frame, had 6sp trans and could get 23-25 mpg's on highway (65 mph) and 17 mpg mix of city/highway. Towing a 4K trailer I would guess 12-14 mpg on highway.

[transamz9]

Francesca Knowles wrote:

itguy08 wrote:

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Check the towing ability of the Ford Flex. With the Ecoboost 3.5L, it should be able to tow 5,000 pounds. The engine is more power than needed. I think it can seat up to 7.

Fred.

This. Almost bought one of those. A Friend told me to also check out the Taurus SHO. The rest was history.

I think far too many folks believe that a given weight limit means that the vehicle will perform as well with that weight as without- and regardless of the shape/type of the tow. But weight isn't everything- frontal area of the load is a big consideration, too.

Ford gives maximum recommendations in that department for all vehicles' towing specs, and warns that, here quoting

Ford wrote:
. Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle.

For the Flex, that number is either 20 or 30 sq. feet, depending on equipment. Ford Flex link

Per the Taurus SHO:

I'm confused as to what's meant above by the above reference to that car since the base Taurus is only rated to tow 1,000 pounds and the Sho is excluded from any recommendation at all-? Ford Taurus link

Recommended max frontal area for that one, by the way, is only 12 sq...

Again referring to TYPE of load- while a vehicle may well be able to efficiently tow 3 or 4 thousand low-profile pounds of snowmobiles or a boat, the 64 sq. foot-frontal area of a comparable weight 8w x 8t TT may prove to be problematic.

I would say the the trans and diff would be the limiting factor in the SHO because of the available power. That would be about like looking for a tow rating for my Vette. 400 hp and 400 lbft takes a lot of drive line cooling to pull a load and hold up. The HD trucks are just now getting to those hp numbers and look at the running gear set-up they have.

[Francesca_Knowl]

mkirsch wrote:
How many 4000lb "high wall" travel trailers are out there?

More likely the OP's daughter will be towing a compact TT or a slope-fronted hybrid, or a largish popup.

I guess I consider any trailer you can stand up in without popping up the roof to be a "high wall". That would include the smaller "compact" types you refer to, and hybrids, too.

Even true "Ultralightweight" standy-uppies like Camplite present quite a dam to the wind- around sixty-five square feet. link

[mkirsch]

How many 4000lb "high wall" travel trailers are out there?

More likely the OP's daughter will be towing a compact TT or a slope-fronted hybrid, or a largish popup.

[Francesca_Knowl]

itguy08 wrote:

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Check the towing ability of the Ford Flex. With the Ecoboost 3.5L, it should be able to tow 5,000 pounds. The engine is more power than needed. I think it can seat up to 7.

Fred.

This. Almost bought one of those. A Friend told me to also check out the Taurus SHO. The rest was history.

I think far too many folks believe that a given weight limit means that the vehicle will perform as well with that weight as without- and regardless of the shape/type of the tow. But weight isn't everything- frontal area of the load is a big consideration, too.

Ford gives maximum recommendations in that department for all vehicles' towing specs, and warns that, here quoting

Ford wrote:
. Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle.

For the Flex, that number is either 20 or 30 sq. feet, depending on equipment. Ford Flex link

Per the Taurus SHO:

I'm confused as to what's meant above by the above reference to that car since the base Taurus is only rated to tow 1,000 pounds and the Sho is excluded from any recommendation at all-? Ford Taurus link

Recommended max frontal area for that one, by the way, is only 12 sq...

Again referring to TYPE of load- while a vehicle may well be able to efficiently tow 3 or 4 thousand low-profile pounds of snowmobiles or a boat, the 64 sq. foot-frontal area of a comparable weight 8w x 8t TT may prove to be problematic.

[dodge_guy]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
How does your daughter define "good gas mileage"?

Best post and question yet!

[itguy08]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Check the towing ability of the Ford Flex. With the Ecoboost 3.5L, it should be able to tow 5,000 pounds. The engine is more power than needed. I think it can seat up to 7.

Fred.

This. Almost bought one of those. A Friend told me to also check out the Taurus SHO. The rest was history.

[APT]

All gas engines get 10mpg towing any high walled RV. And the best of them do it with ease and maybe 20mpg highway unloaded. A V6 diesel will do better, maybe 15mpg towing and 30mpg highway non towing. That's 2014 Ram 1500 diesel, Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel, or an import SUV (VW Touareg, Audi Q5/Q7, MB, BMW X5). Watch the payloads and receiver ratings.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Redsky wrote:

If gas mileage is very important it would also help to get a lighter trailer to tow. Lots more options for towing a trailer with a loaded weight under 3,000 lbs. like the Subaru wagons that get a true 30 MPG at 70 MPH on the freeway when not towing.

Good advice, but do please note:

The real tow limitation on those wagons is the stated hitch limit of 200 pounds, making that "3,000 lb tow limit" achievable only if towing a boat. Due to design they can be towed with as little as 5% total on the tongue, whereas a travel trailer needs 10-15%. That would limit TT tow capacity to the 2,000 pound neighborhood.

I wish Subaru made this clearer up front- it's buried way down in the owner's manuals....

[rrupert]

Windwalker55 wrote:
My daughter wants to buy a new/used 4WD vehicle that gets good mileage yet pulls up to about 4,000 pounds. Any suggestions?

I think this was meant to say that she wants a vehicle that gets good gas mileage for normal driving and also is capable of towing 4000 pounds.

[Redsky]

She needs to think about how many miles per year towing and no trailer she is probably going to do. Less than 2,000 miles of towing a year and a vehicle like the Toyota 4Runner will work. 8,000 towing miles a year and a full size SUV or 1/2 ton pickup with crew cab is better. Nothing is going to tow 4,000 lbs and get 20 plus MPG.

Important to get something that has brakes that can stop not only the vehicle but also the vehicle with a 4,000 lb trailer in an emergency. Most vehicles including SUV's do not have great brakes to stop the vehicle when it is fully loaded with passengers and with a 4,000 lb trailer load as well.

The Highlander and many other SUV's have a car unibody construction and this is not great for towing a heavy trailer. The Highlander for example is under the skin much the same as the Camry which uses the same platform.

If gas mileage is very important it would also help to get a lighter trailer to tow. Lots more options for towing a trailer with a loaded weight under 3,000 lbs. like the Subaru wagons that get a true 30 MPG at 70 MPH on the freeway when not towing.

[the_happiestcam]

skipnchar wrote:
Lots of options but.....towing AND good fuel mileage are not compatible with one another. With just about any tow vehicle you find with adequate power to make towing easy, you will get around 10 MPG.

Exactly - once you put that 10+ foot tall sail behind any vehicle.

[C_Schomer]

I don't know what the new Ram 3.5 gasser is rated to tow/haul but I'd be looking at that one, too. Craig