Tow vehicles

[falconbrother]

My wife and I want to get out of the old motorhome and get a travel trailer. I don't have the cash flow to but all new. What's a good used tow vehicle? Tahoe, Expedition? We're looking at a 26 - 28 foot trailer. I was wondering if the 4.8 in the Tahoe will pull a travel trailer? It seems a shade small but, I see Tahoes all over the campgrounds.

[Camper_G]

The rig I bought a about 2-1/2 weeks ago is an older 1989 Skyline Layton, 23' from ball to bumper. Per the PA title has a "unladen" weight of 3500 or 3800 and a GVW of 6,000. I think the unladen of 3500 is optomistic and it's probably closer to 4K empty.



I figure loaded up for camping (no water in the tanks), I'll be somehwere north of 4500, probably closer to 5K or so.



When I towed this rig home (empty, no contents), my 00' Expy Eddie Bauer (see my sig) pulled it just fine. Sure, on some of the grades I was into the throttle a little bit and I slowed down a little bit, but I was no-where near flat to the floor or anything like that.



I'm sure fully loaded with firewood in the back, all contents in the camper, food, and my wife and two boys it will work it harder. In fact if/when we make it to Knoebel's (hopefully in 2014!), I'm thinking about having my wife follow me with the boys in her car to keep some of the contents and weight out of the Expy. There are some SERISOULY long/steep grades getting to Knoebels, especially after you get off of I-81 and onto 54 and 487. I have a feeling I will be near flat to the floor pulling some of those, but we'll see.



At any rate, I know the Layton is older and heavier than some of the newer light and ultralight rigs for it's size. I had no sway issues going home with it, and it was even "nose high" which is not what you want to help reduce sway, but the Layton was really low to the ground (before I converted it to an over-slung set-up) and the reese hitch shank I got with the camper was already at it's lowest setting.

I agree with the other posters. In terms of length and weight, I would not want to tow any more than a 26' trailer (overall, ball to bumper) with my Expy. I think the Layton pretty much has it at it's limits, at least in my opinion.

YMMV,
Greg

[Nvr2loud]

BurbMan wrote:

krobbe wrote:
I would look for an 03-06 3/4ton 8.1L Burb. Max tow is 12k for the 4.10 rearend and 10.5k for a 3.73.

Tahoes, Expeditions, 1500 (6 lug) Suburbans, 150/1500 pick ups, Tundra, etc., all make good tow vehicles if your dry weight is under 4500 lbs or so. Most vehicles will max out on carrying capacity from the tongue weight way before they get to their max tow rating, so shopping by tow rating is all but meaningless.

Very good advice.

Since I don't want the added expense of a 3/4 ton or larger (purchase price and annual inspection) I've opted for 1/2 ton and SUV tow-able trailers. I've found the magic number to also be a trailer with a dry weight of 4500 lbs. Mine is 4300 lbs dry and last trip across the scale put me at 6006 lbs loaded. I would normally be around 5600 lbs but someone we lent the trailer to filled my black and grey tanks with fresh water for some reason after draining them.

It is a decent weight for my 1/2 ton, allows me to put some weight in the truck without exceeding my payload, and is easy to stop.

[BurbMan]

krobbe wrote:
I would look for an 03-06 3/4ton 8.1L Burb. Max tow is 12k for the 4.10 rearend and 10.5k for a 3.73.

All well and good, but good luck finding one....Same with the Excursion. Last Excursion was made in 2005 and the last year for the 8.1 in a 2500 Suburban was 2006, so the newest one you will find is 8 years old now.

The biggest mistake I see folks make is to buy a certain vehicle because they are "planning" to get a certain size trailer. They they start shopping for TTs and fall in love with one that's bigger than they planned and winds up being a real handful for the vehicle they purchased. I count myself in that crowd about 15 years ago.

Since you are buying used, I would suggest that you go trailer shopping first. There will always be the killer deal and it may not be exactly what you started out shopping for. Once you have the TT you will know the dry weight, you can estimate the loaded weight (add 1200 lbs to the dry weight), and then you can go looking for the right sized tow vehicle.

Tahoes, Expeditions, 1500 (6 lug) Suburbans, 150/1500 pick ups, Tundra, etc., all make good tow vehicles if your dry weight is under 4500 lbs or so. Most vehicles will max out on carrying capacity from the tongue weight way before they get to their max tow rating, so shopping by tow rating is all but meaningless.

Of course if you want to buy the truck first, get a 3500 diesel and you'll be ready for just about anything, but depending on the TT you may wind up with way more vehicle than you need.

[PAThwacker]

I saw what appeared to be setup properly a +2007 Tahoe towing a 26ft ultralight bunkhouse last Friday. The Tahoe was swaying hard left and right at 60mph. He had towing mirrors on and appeared to be knowledgeable. He was in NJ and going camping in PA.

[camperdave]

Dare I suggest it... a van? I know, I know, totally not 'cool'. But strong, powerful and cheap! 🙂 Pick up an 03 or newer E350 with a V10 and less than 100k miles and you've got a beast of a tow vehicle that also carries lots of people and all your gear out of the rain. Unless you need 4x4, then a van is out.

[brownieab]

A full size SUV will allow you to carry anything a truck will withing reason. My Burb will swallow a full sheet of plywood and 8 ft studs. Along with seating capacity, it's an all around great vehicle. It does everything I ask it to do, towing, skiing, dump runs, everything, except crushed stone, and I'm getting too old for that !!!

[APT]

Tulare54 wrote:
Struggled on some of the hills, up to 4000rpms, but did the job.

4000rpm is not struggling. The 5.4L makes it peak torque around 4500rpm. You'll only have lower engine speed if you had more torque at lower engine speed, say a turbo diesel, big block, or Ecoboost.

[krobbe]

I would look for an 03-06 3/4ton 8.1L Burb. Max tow is 12k for the 4.10 rearend and 10.5k for a 3.73. It'll tow a 26-36' TT with no strain. And you'll be relaxed while doing it. I just stored mine away for the winter and planning next summer's 3 week trip to Glacier and then Oregon/Washington.

[Tulare54]

Just returned from our second trip out EVER, new 27 foot TT, pulled with 2008 Expedition in the California Gold Country foothills. Struggled on some of the hills, up to 4000rpms, but did the job. Considering up grading to F250 for longer, mountainous trips. Has anyone pulled TT over Grape Vine with Expedition or similar vehicle?

[nolra]

The more tow vehicle the better. I'd go with as much as I could afford. I've never seen anyone complain about too much tow vehicle but I could fill volume from those that went "legal". I tow a little Casita with an old Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. I'm towing about 1/4 of what it's rated for and it sure is nice towing that way.

[falconbrother]

Yea, about the sales folks. When I started looking to get back into RV-ing I went to a show. We were looking at TT's and the salesman comes up and starts the sales pitch. He ask me if I have a truck and I say yea. I told him it really wasn't a towing kind of truck. It was a 1991 S-10 that was an old beater that I kept to haul whatever and loan to friends. The sales man say "yea, that'll tow it". I told him he was crazy. That day I learned to never ask the salesman about what to use to pull at travel trailer.

Years ago we had an old Prowler. We loved that TT but, for it's size it was heavy. I pulled it with a F-150 that did a great job. But, my wife got tired of riding with pug dogs in her lap so, we traded for a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. A pretty sorry tow vehicle. Then we got a Toyota Land Cruiser. An even worse tow vehicle. Both the Jeep and the Yota lacked the power or the suspension.

[Villain2000]

We just purchased a Coleman cts262bh. Dry weight according to the sticker on the side says 6774 lbs.. Its about 32 ft from stem to stern. My truck is a 2013 f150 5.0 with 3.55 gears. The truck maxes out at 8100 lbs.. I know I am testing the limits of this truck, but I have to say, it pulls it great. It has a tranny heat gauge that has never gone beyond halfway. Next time around, I will go with a f150 Ecoboost and 3.73's with the max tow package, just to put a little more distance between me and the max limits.

[Nvr2loud]

I use a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.3L and 3.42 gears. I pull a 30 foot R-Vision Trail Cruiser. It has a dry weight of 4370lbs plus gear, propane, battery, A/C, water it weighs in above 5000lbs. The truck does well around town, flat highways, and short hills. I need to slow down to 55mph to pull up any decent grade, otherwise it tows at 65mph without any problems.

I can just tow it with my GMC Acadia if I have to, but not with water or much gear inside... it is a scary ride with the SUV and it is actually within the limits legally for that vehicle. I prefer the longer wheelbase of the Sierra and the added payload and towing capacity make light work of the trailer.

[chip_litch]

bluedogwilson wrote:
Do yourself a favor and buy more hoursepower than you need. I pull a 36' Jayco with a 3500 Chev. Duramax and I thought this was overkill until I hit the mountains in Montana, Wyoming and Montana this summer and I was glad to have the extra HP and Torgue. I had the 3500 when I had my 40' 5th wheel. PS: If you buy any deisel be sure it does not use the DEF additive. Do a lot of shopping around, there are a lot of people that buy trucks and need to sell them. Good luck.:)

This is sound advice right here. Our first set up had us in a 9 pound truck pulling a 12 pound trailer. It was a good setup for limited gear, flat roads, and strong tail winds. That truck went away and we now own a diesel excursion.

Our family of 6 plus dog requires a bunch of room so we decided on the 8.1L Suburban or diesel Excursion. In the end we found a nicer excursion with less miles. We have been very happy with our decision. The thing is huge and will pull all the camper we have and then more if you hooked it on.

Last piece of advice - do whats right for your situation - not because a salesman says "yeah that'll tow it" or because people on forums say the same.

God speed in your search.