I got some work done on the Ultimate 4 cyl Tow vehicle yesterday and today. The receiver hitch had some ugly stickers on it (big huge U-Haul... UGH!!!!!) as did the draw bar. So I spent some time pulling those ugly stickers off. The draw bar also had some play inside the receiver so I wrapped a few wraps of electrical tape around the draw bar (after cleaning off off the nasty stickers from the draw bar) and took most of the play out. Also, the 4-flat wiring was just terrible looking so I took a few minutes to zip-tie everything up and make it tidy. Anyhoo.. here is a pic of the receiver, draw bar, and the little 4 flat wiring. I think it looks a lot cleaner now. I am thinking about replacing the ball with one of those Andersen no grease balls. I had some junk I needed to haul to the landfill so I did a first tow since we got the Kia fixed from the accident. Me and my boys went to McDonalds for Breakfast after we took the junk off. Here is a pic of our "rig" as it sat in the parking lot at McDonalds... so far this is one of my favorite tow vehicles. :)This little rig towed great as usual. All seems well since the accident and I look forward to many more thousands of miles with this SUV. According to the lie-o-meter.. we were getting 24.3 mpg while towing today.. LOL. No need to upgrade to a diesel here. U-Haul is going to add a transmission cooler for me and then we are going to start looking for a pop up in the loaded 2000 ish lbs range. Thanks!Jeremiah

Sorry dude, but I don't believe you have the ultimate 4cyl tow vehicle. Even I don't. But, let's see who can pull better :-)

Hey, glad to hear how pleased you are with your rig and how well it is doing the job for you. Best wishes for continued delight on that score as well as finding your ultimate 2,000 lb popup.But I gotta agree with ChooChooMan74: yours may be good, and it may even be the ultimate 4 cylinder TV for you, but there are stronger ones.

Thanks Guys, You gotta understand.. This is the Ultimate 4 Cyl tow vehicle... for me. Because We own it. I never once said that its empirically the best 4 cyl tow vehicle ever. However, its a heck of a good one. For example, comparing HPCummins 4bt - 105 hpJeep Liberty 4 cyl diesel - 160 hp2014 CRV Honda 4 cyl - 185 hp2013 GDI Kia Sorento - 191 HPAnd for further comparison... the Astro van in 2005 was rated at 5500 lbs for a tow rating and had an earth shattering... 190 HP V6 (with a 4 speed) .... A whole 1 HP less than my GDI, 1650 lb tow rated Sorento with a 6 speed. It may not be the BEST EVER 4 cyl tow vehicle... but its VERY VERY Good. And thats coming from a guy who use to pull with a V10 Crew Cab Dually. Thanks!Jeremiah

Remember HP doesn't move the load, torque moves the load, look at the torque of a 4 cylinder diesel powered vehicle and you will find the ultimate 4 cylinder tow vehicle.

GeoBoy wrote:Remember HP doesn't move the load, torque moves the load, look at the torque of a 4 cylinder diesel powered vehicle and you will find the ultimate 4 cylinder tow vehicle.yea, I expected that reply. LOLTQ is not a measurement of work over time.. thats HP.. TQ is the rotational force applied to the crankshaft. TQ does NOT get you to the top of the hill.. thats HP. TQ is awesome... but a Kia with 191 HP vs a Cummins 4bt with 105 pulling the same load will get to the top of the hill MUCH faster... that is if we were racing. Same thing for diesel vs gas trucks.. the truck with the highest HP is FASTEST. But I will be turning 4500-6000 RPM.. the cummins will be turning what 1500-2000 ish. Cheers!Jeremiah

Ultimate 4 cyl tow vehicle.. update | Good Sam Community

Road_Ruler
Explorer
May 06, 2014
jerem0621 wrote:
Thanks Guys, You gotta understand.. This is the Ultimate 4 Cyl tow vehicle... for me. Because We own it. I never once said that its empirically the best 4 cyl tow vehicle ever.

However, its a heck of a good one. For example, comparing HP

Cummins 4bt - 105 hp
Jeep Liberty 4 cyl diesel - 160 hp
2014 CRV Honda 4 cyl - 185 hp
2013 GDI Kia Sorento - 191 HP
Thanks!
Jeremiah

That looks like a great tow vehicle Jeremiah. With that much power you might be looking for a TT soon. Do you recall our Nissan Mini van had 150HP / 4 speed auto and didn't have any problem towing our Stream. Even into a headwind maintaining 60MPH was good to go. Good luck with your towing ventures.
Lessmore
Explorer II
May 06, 2014
jerem0621 wrote:
Thanks Guys, You gotta understand.. This is the Ultimate 4 Cyl tow vehicle... for me. Because We own it. I never once said that its empirically the best 4 cyl tow vehicle ever.

However, its a heck of a good one. For example, comparing HP

Cummins 4bt - 105 hp
Jeep Liberty 4 cyl diesel - 160 hp
2014 CRV Honda 4 cyl - 185 hp
2013 GDI Kia Sorento - 191 HP

And for further comparison... the Astro van in 2005 was rated at 5500 lbs for a tow rating and had an earth shattering... 190 HP V6 (with a 4 speed) .... A whole 1 HP less than my GDI, 1650 lb tow rated Sorento with a 6 speed.

It may not be the BEST EVER 4 cyl tow vehicle... but its VERY VERY Good. And thats coming from a guy who use to pull with a V10 Crew Cab Dually.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

The Astro had 250-260 lbs. feet of torque. I have a Toyota Matrix...just a bit smaller than your car...and I would never tow with the Matrix.

We also had a '97 Astro...towed many places, including the Rockies.

Many (including me) would say that your car doesn't compare with the Astro as a tow vehicle....but it does compare closely with a Toyota Matrix, particularly with the 2.4 liter 4cylinder that is an option on the Matrix..

But everybody has to make their own decision about what to tow with. Good luck.
PAThwacker
Explorer
May 06, 2014
choo choo has the ultimate 4cyl tow vehicle. Nothing since the libby crd has been offered.
jerem0621
Explorer II
May 05, 2014
ChooChooMan74 wrote:
jerem0621 wrote:
GeoBoy wrote:
Remember HP doesn't move the load, torque moves the load, look at the torque of a 4 cylinder diesel powered vehicle and you will find the ultimate 4 cylinder tow vehicle.

yea, I expected that reply. LOL

TQ is not a measurement of work over time.. thats HP.. TQ is the rotational force applied to the crankshaft. TQ does NOT get you to the top of the hill.. thats HP.

TQ is awesome... but a Kia with 191 HP vs a Cummins 4bt with 105 pulling the same load will get to the top of the hill MUCH faster... that is if we were racing.

Same thing for diesel vs gas trucks.. the truck with the highest HP is FASTEST.

But I will be turning 4500-6000 RPM.. the cummins will be turning what 1500-2000 ish.

Cheers!

Jeremiah

You got me beat by 3HP, but I am also turning 335 ft*lbs of torque. Maybe I will have to pay $100 for a new tune to get 200hp and 364 lt*lbs.

Thanks friend! I really hope you took that reply in the somewhat playful manner I intended. I am not going to ask this car to do what your diesel can. :)
ChooChooMan74
Explorer
May 05, 2014
jerem0621 wrote:
GeoBoy wrote:
Remember HP doesn't move the load, torque moves the load, look at the torque of a 4 cylinder diesel powered vehicle and you will find the ultimate 4 cylinder tow vehicle.

yea, I expected that reply. LOL

TQ is not a measurement of work over time.. thats HP.. TQ is the rotational force applied to the crankshaft. TQ does NOT get you to the top of the hill.. thats HP.

TQ is awesome... but a Kia with 191 HP vs a Cummins 4bt with 105 pulling the same load will get to the top of the hill MUCH faster... that is if we were racing.

Same thing for diesel vs gas trucks.. the truck with the highest HP is FASTEST.

But I will be turning 4500-6000 RPM.. the cummins will be turning what 1500-2000 ish.

Cheers!

Jeremiah

You got me beat by 3HP, but I am also turning 335 ft*lbs of torque. Maybe I will have to pay $100 for a new tune to get 200hp and 364 lt*lbs.
ib516
Explorer II
May 05, 2014
jerem0621 wrote:
rexlion wrote:
You could also look at the 13' Scamp or Casita for your Kia.

Thanks Mike,

I have been shopping for them online today and I think they would work pretty well. My teenage son would probably prefer to be in his own tent anyway so the scamp or other egg type trailers is very plausible for the Kia. He could always tuck under the dinette in a sleeping bag if the weather turns bad.

It would be very nice to have one of the hard walled ultralights. I'm going to look at those A-liners too. But some of them can get really big though.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Check out the R-pod line of RV trailers too.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/rpod/
dadwolf2
Explorer
May 04, 2014
Good move on getting the transmission cooler.
jerem0621
Explorer II
May 04, 2014
rexlion wrote:
You could also look at the 13' Scamp or Casita for your Kia.

Thanks Mike,

I have been shopping for them online today and I think they would work pretty well. My teenage son would probably prefer to be in his own tent anyway so the scamp or other egg type trailers is very plausible for the Kia. He could always tuck under the dinette in a sleeping bag if the weather turns bad.

It would be very nice to have one of the hard walled ultralights. I'm going to look at those A-liners too. But some of them can get really big though.

Thanks!

Jeremiah
rexlion
Explorer
May 04, 2014
You could also look at the 13' Scamp or Casita for your Kia.
jerem0621
Explorer II
May 04, 2014
ib516 wrote:
The important thing is it's fixed, you have something to travel in and tow with, and your wife is safe. :)

Cheers buddy.

Thanks IB! All very true!!!! I am very excited to have this vehicle back (as everyone can tell I am sure) I am overwhelmingly excited that my DW is safe and sound!

Thanks!

Jeremiah