Towing 3,000 Pounds

[esjay]

I need to buy a new tow vehicle, preferably a pickup, to tow our 3,000 pound Casita travel trailer.
Our Requirements:
1. Comfort, power heated seats
2. Plenty of interior room (crew cab)
3. Safety (good crash protection)
4. Economy, would like something that gets mid 20s mpg on highway not towing and maybe 16-17 mpg towing
Am I asking for too much? Any suggestions?

[camp-n-family]

Any consideration for a mid size SUV? A Toyota 4Runner can be loaded up nicely, would tow that with ease with low 20s mileage non, mid teens towing. Even the Highlander would be ok and get decent mileage.

[Bumpyroad]

well my Highlander meets most of your requirements mid 25.5 or so and 14 towing my TT that is heavier than that Casita. I thought chevy had an ad for 25 mpg with a V6,. but most pickups would come close.
bumpy

[eddeeeee]

Why not put a rear view camera on the back of the trailer to take care of the 'seeing around the trailer' issue? The width of the Tacoma with mirrors is nearly the width of the casita. You should be able to see whatever is beside the trailer and with the camera you can see what is behind it better than with a full size vehicle.

I have a camera on the back of my trailer and love it. Especially like seeing when someone comes up racing behind me on the highway. That is nice to know if I am planning on changing lanes. Would never see that w/o camera.

[Dadoffourgirls]

The Silverado LT/Sierra SLE can have heated seats and many options, and still get the V6.

I averaged just under 19 mpg for my Sierra from May to September, and that included towing miles. I would get 22mpg for my normal mileage. I did get 25mpg on a freeway (70+ mph) trip with a tail-wind.

I towed different stock trailers, as well as travel trailers. It did a great job. Mine had factory brake controller.

Check it out, and let me know if you are interested in a GM Friend discount.

[esjay]

Tacoma is too narrow, need to be able to see around trailer with ease.
Laramie is only available with a V8.
Our Lexus is an "LS", not a tow vehicle.
The V6 turbodiesel in the Jeep Grand Cherokee costs $4,500 extra. It would take me years to recoup that in fuel savings over a gas V8.
I'm in a quandery.

[TECMike]

Howdy, esjay!

Casitas are something I know a little about, as my bride of 50 years and I have owned two of them over twelve years. Towed all over the Soutwest and parts of the East. We helped with the early Casita rallies, including the first large Bluebonnet rallies, where we had over 100 Casita "EGGS" to show up!

We live only live about 75 miles from the Casita factory and I have been there many, many, times.

My recommendation is to buy a half-ton four door V-8 pickup with a towing package. Take your pick. You will probably get about 13 real world MPG towing, plus or minus a MPG. And you will have power to spare, plenty of family room and a larger, safer, towing suspension and brakes.

If you pull with a mid-size or smaller truck or SUV with a V-6, you are still going to get about around 13 MPG or perhaps a just a tad better, towing! Do not let a salesperson tell you differently. And you will not have the safety of a larger towing suspension as with a full size truck or SUV.

A fully loaded, fluid wet, propane ready, Casita will weigh about 3500 lbs. Tongue weight will be about 475 lbs. You will need a sway bar, which the factory will tell you. Plus an electric jack is nice, if you are old like us! Our favorite model was the loaded 17'Spirit Deluxe.

We still have a lot of friends towing Casitas,(EGGs)camp with them, and they would tell you the same.

If you want to check out a really good Casita forum, go to the Casitaforum.com. and do some research. The forum owner and his wife are friends of ours. They own a tremendously modded Casita and knows probably more about Casitas than anyone I know.

Best of luck. Casitas are a wonderful, tough, and durable little trailers that have a very high resale value.

Mike

[Terryallan]

Yeah, The mid 20s gas millage is prolly not gonna happen. Nor is the 16-17 towing. It's not the weight, it's the wall.
Having said that any 150 / 1500, truck will do what you want. My 150 Lariat has everything you ask for. Except for the 25+ mpg. I get 21 on the highway not towing, and 10 towing. Around 14 city.

[APT]

No base model gas V6 in half ton or mid-size truck is getting 25mpg unloaded highway in the real world, and certainly no V8 either. And base V6s are not offered in trim levels with heated leather seats. The only pickup coming close to your fuel economy expectations is the 2014 Ram diesel. Similar V6 diesels in SUVs are getting about 15mpg towing more traditional travel trailers and 25-30mpg unloaded. The Ram diesel is so new I'm not sure if anyone has purchased it yet. The Jeep Grand Cherokee was getting the same engine and was delayed until spring.

If you are willing to get an SUV, there are a few from VW/Audi as well as MB and BMW that should meet your towing needs, FE expectations, and offer the interior seating space you want.

[Mr_Bojangles]

Sold my Ram3500 Diesel in signature....
Ordered a Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3 L DLB 4WD.

After it arrives (from another dealer 260 miles away) I will inspect, verify what was discussed, drive to see all working, then home to garage.
Maybe one will do for you also, I believe it will work pulling my small trailer.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

F150 with Ecoboost V6 is probably the only crew cab truck that will get the mileage figures desired. It's also a very good truck to tow a heavier trailer than what you want to tow, which is good for the future.

[ib516]

Ram 1500 Laramie EcoDiesel or the 3.6L V6 model, both with the 8 speed auto and air suspension would be my top two choices, but there are plenty of other good choices.

[Jbechtoldt]

esjay wrote:
Most of the V6s offered in pickups will tow my trailer with no problem. Problem is, we want leather, heated power seats, NAV, etc., in other words a pretty much top of the line model. You apparently can't get a Tundra Limited, RAM Laramie. Sierra SLT with a V6. I'm forced to buy a 5.7, HEMI 5.7, or a 5.3. At least 50% of the time I won't be towing anything, so I will be sucking a lot more gas than necessary. RAM is coming out with a small V6 diesel that may be available in the Laramie, but I am a little afraid to be one of the first test monkeys for a Chrysler product. We prefer Toyotas from years of experience with Chrysler, GM, and Toyota vehicles. Wife (past GMC owner) probably won't even consent to buying GM no matter how good they are.
Do any of you guys tow with a Tundra? What mileage are you getting towing and not towing?
By the way, I am currently towing with a 1995 Toyota T100 3.4 V6. It's rated for 5,200 pounds and tows great, just too old for long trips we want to make. It's dependable, but wife wants luxury. Lexus has spoiled her.

Have you looked at the Toyota Tacoma with the V6 tow package?

[EcoBullet]

esjay wrote:
I need to buy a new tow vehicle, preferably a pickup, to tow our 3,000 pound Casita travel trailer.
Our Requirements:
1. Comfort, power heated seats
2. Plenty of interior room (crew cab)
3. Safety (good crash protection)
4. Economy, would like something that gets mid 20s mpg on highway not towing and maybe 16-17 mpg towing
Am I asking for too much? Any suggestions?

I think expecting 16-17 mpg while towing, even with a Casita, might be unrealistic. Even though they are light, they still have a fair amount of wind resistance.

[Javi1]

Put a hitch on the Lexus

[OpenRangePullen]

Why not a mid-size truck, maybe try to wait for the new Chevy Colorado. Or get a Chevy silverado LTZ V8 EcoTec3, 4x4 for around $48. All the features you want and the EcoTec doesn't get that bad mileage.