Towing requirements

[forjonny]

My camper trailer is 3500 Lbs. I am looking for a SUV that will tow it.Should I have a SUV that can handle a higher amount than that like 5000? Or am I safe getting a vehicle that just tows that amount? I have my eyes on some but if it's better to get a higher rated one then I will have to search further.

[Olli]

Sorry, little late to the party, and OP has probably purchased a TW already.

I tow our K-Z 16BH with a 2016 Kia Sorento EX V6 7 seater. Weighed the trailer loaded for a week long trip, empty tanks, battery and 20lbs propane on the tongue, and came in at 2832 lbs with tongue 336 lbs. I have not used a WDH yet. When towing, we carry most of our stuff in the trailer, distributed as well as we can. There's only passengers (me, wife, two girls 10 and 7) and snacks/drinking water for the drive in the vehicle.

So with the above setup, the towing is OK. I tow 90-100km/h so 55-62mph and biggest hills are just over a mile long at 5% gradient. Last summer we did camp in a spot that was at the bottom of a 15% bit washed out gravel road and I had no trouble pulling the trailer up from there, but that was obviously going pretty slow. While the Sorento can tow the trailer we have, I wouldn't want to much heavier trailer with it and would prefer some other vehicle even for our current trailer and our next vehicle will be something bit more capable when it comes to towing. Some better designed/built 3500 lbs trailer might tow better than our cheap plywood shack on wheels, but I am quite certain that the marketed 5000 lbs trailer would just about kill a Sorento.

[rjstractor]

Boomerweps wrote:
And the only Ranger engine is an Eco boost 4 cylinder! SWMBO Wwont even remotely consider a 4 banger of any kind for towing. I'm having a hard enough time convincing her a 6 cylinder Eco Boost can do the job! For my next vehicle.

Just tell her it's a V8, since the Ecoboost 4 cylinder the Ranger will use has almost as much hp and more torque than the 4.6 V8 that was an option in your 2008 Explorer. 😉

[Boomerweps]

treyster wrote:
Just saw the new Ranger has a max payload of 1860 lbs but only rated for 7500 lbs towing

They FINALLY listed towing & payload specs. Ford has been pushing pre-ordering the new Ranger without towing & payload specs ANYWHERE!
Actually 1860 payload and 7500 towing isn't that bad, ratio-wise.
My older truck based Explorer is rated 1574 payload and 5225 towing.
And the only Ranger engine is an Eco boost 4 cylinder! SWMBO Wwont even remotely consider a 4 banger of any kind for towing. I'm having a hard enough time convincing her a 6 cylinder Eco Boost can do the job! For my next vehicle.

[treyster]

Just saw the new Ranger has a max payload of 1860 lbs but only rated for 7500 lbs towing

[Teamfour]

Several folk here have mentioned PAYLOAD. This is the key rating. Forget towing capacity. You will almost always run out of PAYLOAD before you exceed the towing capacity. I'm using caps on purpose because the OP refuses to acknowledge what smarter people are stating. PAYLOAD!

[Bumpyroad]

wow, I must have narrowly escaped death towing my 3500 lb. TT with my Highlander rated for 5000 lbs. :s
bumpy

[Jebby14]

why not go with a half ton? as an example my f150 was cheaper to buy than my wifes explorer (direct competitor to the Kia that was actually our 2nd choice to the exploter) it gets better fuel economy (I even have the 5L not the Eco boost) and has more room both in the cab and with the bed. also easier to work on and has the aluminum body that wont rust on a real frame.

[Jebby14]

forget towing capacity. run the payload math and pay attention to axle limits, hitch limits, frontal sqr footage limits. keeping enough tongue weight on to have a nice towing experience is going to be a challenge to not overload.

[ppine]

If want to tow stuff, get a tow vehicle.

[Boomerweps]

Boomerweps wrote:
Short answer: Buy the biggest SUV you can afford!
Long answer: Currently my TV has a 5225# towing capacity.
My TT GTWR is 3877#.
TT dryweight is 3166#.
My wife, dog, and I weigh near 500#, TV payload capacity is 1574#. Didn't get a good tongue weight, estimate about 450# based on other weights.
However, I did get good axle weights, with and without the WDH with me, wife, & dog onboard.
Base TV factory weight + payload capacity is 6180#. Without WDH TV weighs 5740, with WDH TV weighs 5920.
With just the numbers above, you can see that it initially appeared I had a good safety margin, TT 5225 tow capacity and buying a 3166# dryweight TT. I thought so. I WAS WRONG!
I bought the TT specifically so I could tow it with my current TV. It tows it adequately, not white knuckle but not that great.

I quoted myself to repeat the data. The data above and the towing experience it results in is what others are trying to tell you about, maybe not too clearly. Again, my factory listed tow rating is 5225#, my trailer dry weright is 3166#, loaded for camping I max out on all listed weight ratings for BOTH my TV and TT! The wind resistance is incredible and makes me happy to be able to pull anything over 60mph on interstates. The weight and wind resistance slows me down on even mild interstate rises. My engine is the 4.0L V6. I turn off the overdrive unless in extremely flat land. I now let the automatic transmission do its job downshifting. I downshifted manually to 3rd on a medium interstate hill under power and chirped the drive wheels in a bad manner. On side roads I usually operate In 3rd gear automatic for power and engine braking.
Vehicle makers list maximum recommended frontal area of your trailer when towing. I'm about 15% over on my frontal area rating.

[fdwt994]

There's no way I'd consider towing a 3,500 lb (empty weight) camper with a Sorento. Aside from the certainty that you'll be at or exceeding the payload capacity, the short wheelbase would be a huge issue. The first time a box truck passes you on the interstate (even with an anti-sway), you'll know exactly what I mean.

Don't do it.

[Jay_Coe]

camperdave wrote:


Anyway, maybe a 5k boat with 8% tounge weight and no frontal area. But I don't believe a 5k TT will be acceptable.

This is a very good point that deserves serious consideration. Many smaller vehicles will be limited in towing by frontal area even when well within the pound tow rating. Aero drag is SIGNIFICANT on travel trailers.

[afidel]

forjonny wrote:

camperdave wrote:
I have a hard time believing that a Sorento will pull 5k with any adequacy. My trailer weighs 5k, with a 650 pound tounge. I've moved it a few times with my Nissan Fronier, I thought that thing was going to hit the ground lol.

Anyway, maybe a 5k boat with 8% tounge weight and no frontal area. But I don't believe a 5k TT will be acceptable.

But I'm old and like steel frames and V8's.

Btw, what kind of mileage will a V6 Sorento get? I bet it's not much better than a larger SUV (or, god forbid, a nice full size van :B )

To answer your very original question, a tow vehicle with a higher tow rating will tow better and handle better than a tow vehicle with a lower tow rating while towing the same trailer, even if that trailer is at/below both tow vehicles ratings.

Yes you must be old because I have said a few times that my TT is only 3500 Lbs. Let me repeat that while I got your attention: 3500 lbs is my TT.

I have the TT in mind and will get that next year and I hope to get from the seller of the TW or the Sorento that again tows 5000 Lbs, that it will be able to tow that lesser poundage TT with or without a WDH. I like the idea of a WDH and I hope I can find someone that can install it. I hope that this vehicle will be able to fit this hitch on the rear end too.

Ok, sorry to be rude but I am tired of telling people how much my vehicle is rated for towing and what my TT will weigh.

If you will listen we are telling you that the Sorento will almost assuradly NOT be capable of towing 3,500 pounds once you load your family and camping equipment in it. The calculation is fairly simply, take the payload number from the yellow sticker (average 1300 pounds) subtract the weight of the passengers (4x150) and their luggage (4x25), that gives you 700 pounds of payload removed or 600 remaining. Take 3,600 and multiply it by .15 (because trailer tongue weight is generally 10-15% and you want to be pessimistic) and you get 540 pounds leaving you with 60 pounds of payload, but you have to add the weight of the wdh because you're going to need one and suddenly you're at 0 payload left. Basically you're going to be at or over the weight carrying capability of the platform. 290/252 might be enough to tow the trailer and family but again it's going to be marginal. I've got 355/383 and it's fine most of the time but I found myself wanting more in the Western mountains. Finally it's unlikely the transmission is actually designed to tow at the very limit so it's likely you'll run into transmission related problems. You CAN try this combination but the combined experience of the folks around here which totals in the tens of thousands of years combined says it's not going to be a good experience and you'll end up buying a more capable tow vehicle in short order. So either buy the right tow now or try for a lighter trailer. If you've already bought the tow vehicle then I strongly recommend you rent a trailer in the weight class you are considering and try towing it in difficult conditions and see how you like it.

[forjonny]

I will be 66 this year. I can't see why a vehicle rated at 5000 would not have an issue with a 3500 load.