Unique situation: What tow vehicle checks all the boxes?

[davehultin]

Today I thought I might found my next tow vehicle, but it didn't check all the boxes. I'm looking for something that can tow 9000 lbs or better. Sounds like a pickup, right? But my wife has a business that requires the occassional use of the tow vehicle's cargo space. She likes to be able to drop the third row seats (in my 2010 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer edition) and collapse the seconde row seats into cargo mode. It opens up a LOT of room which is just perfect for her!

I thought I found a great fit for the next tow vehicle: A Nissan NV passenger van!
- Tow capacity: Over 9000 pounds - check!
- Cargo space: Lots of it! - check!
- Seats removable and/or collapsable? Removable, but not collapsable. - No check. 😞 That was a deal-killer.

Some of the 6.0 liter SUVs get up to around 8600 pounds towing capacity so we might be able to make that work, but honestly I don't want to cut the weight limits that close.

Any suggestions for tow vehicles that will check all the boxes on the list? 9000+ lbs towing capacity + cargo space + seats that can collapse?

[mkirsch]

That's nice. Glad you're happy with the purchase.

Did you ever articulate these "nuances" and why a pickup was not suitable? I don't recall seeing it.

Frankly a couple hundred pounds of "bells and whistles" will not appreciably affect towing performance. I suggest the "hitch up and pay no attention" method.

[JRscooby]

Are you aware that all the "bells and whistles" subtract from the advertised tow capacity?

[davehultin]

OP here, it's update time! Seems that the vehicle that fills our unique needs and replaces our Ford Expedition is ... another Ford Expedition!

At first I dismissed the current Expedition platform because everything is a V6. You can't pull anything substantial with a V6, right? But when I found the Ford Expedition Trailer Towing Selector and discovered that the maximum loaded trailer weight of the Expedition Max was 9000 pounds, the search was on! I had no idea!

There were lots of suggestions for pickups in this thread, but because of the nuances of how my wife will use this vehicle for her glamping setup, a pickup was never a strong candidate. I started looking for the Expedition with the required 3.73 axel ratio and heavy duty towing package. They're hard to find, but I found one that I was going to see (about 100 miles away) but someone else beat me to the front of the line. About the same time a really nice 2019 showed up at one of the dealers here in town. It's loaded, which wasn't a selling point for me. I wanted the cargo space and towing capacity and didn't want to pay for all the bells and whistles ... but I was stuck with all the bells and whistles, and convinced them to put on a new set of tires at the time of my choosing to help offset all the bells and whistles I didn't want.

I haven't towed with it yet (that happens tomorrow) so I can't report on that yet. But I can say that the (non-towing) MPG is impressive. I hit 25 MPG on the interstate yesterday. My previous Expedition was 17 MPG on a good day. Perhaps the better MPG will start to offset the price tag.

Anyways, long story short, I'm a happy camper again!

[valhalla360]

Grit dog wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
No idea about the brand but something like this:

https://sterlingfleetoutfitters.com/products/8-full-size-premium-truck-cap/

Well that seems suitable for a soccer mom who wants to haul stuff in a suv....

When we got our first F250, Tammy refused to drive it. Finally got her to try it. Recently had a rental car and she hated it because it wasn't big and tall like her truck.

Of course, soccer wasn't one of the criteria put forth.
- They wanted 7500 or 9000lb tow rating (and presumably the payload to support that).
- They wanted a wide open and tall storage area for the camping gear she is selling.

Drop this on a 4 door 3/4 or 1 ton pickup and it sure looks like it ticks the boxes. If they find a 1/2 ton with a high payload/tow rating, that would likely do the trick.

PS: Just checked the original post. Currently she is happy with the cargo space in an Expedition, so really a standard cap will give more cargo space than she currently has.

[Grit_dog]

stsmark wrote:
The Jeep Wagoneer might be able to do it. But 1500 in back and tongue weight of 7500 lb tt at the same time? Not sure anything but a HD crew cab can do that and be paper legal.

Def wouldn't be within the ratings for payload unless uber careful with loading and camper selection etc. But otherwise 100% capable of doing everything else the OP wants in his rig.

And, the new Waggoneer or Burb/Expedition are great choices save for one thing. They are all IRS axles now and most all have some air/self leveling suspension, making it somewhere between difficult and impossible to add any suspension helpers to them. Hence my warning about the rig being physically able to handle the tongue weight.

Not alot of experience here with folks testing the suspension limits on new 1/2 ton SUVs....more of a "get a dually" crowd tbh.

Nor do I know what the limits of these newer IRS rigs are either.

OP, any of the new/late model full size long wheelbase SUVs are a good fit for what you're wanting to do, save for the rear suspension.

If you're in the SUV camp, still, following this discussion, I'd try to find some real world suspension limits/upgrades info from folks who are pulling good size trailers with these rigs.

[Grit_dog]

valhalla360 wrote:
No idea about the brand but something like this:

https://sterlingfleetoutfitters.com/products/8-full-size-premium-truck-cap/

Well that seems suitable for a soccer mom who wants to haul stuff in a suv....

[stsmark]

The Jeep Wagoneer might be able to do it. But 1500 in back and tongue weight of 7500 lb tt at the same time? Not sure anything but a HD crew cab can do that and be paper legal.

[valhalla360]

No idea about the brand but something like this:

https://sterlingfleetoutfitters.com/products/8-full-size-premium-truck-cap/

[nickthehunter]

JRscooby wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

It’s all about reading comprehension Scooby. OP originally said he needed to “tow” 9000lbs.
Later post said 9klbs cargo and towing.
Nicks right. OP is a little confused on ratings.

Good trucking grief!
Somebody is accused of ignorance after they clarified what they want to do, and I'm the 1 with reading comprehension issues?
I think the OP understands he needs something with a GCVWR of at least 9000 over MT weight, and a GVWR of over 2500 lbs (15% TW) above MT weight. And best if steer axle is not expected to take much of the payload. Now he might need a higher payload, depending on the weight of wife's load, but has not mentioned that
I know I understand that's what he needs, is that what stirs up the ankle biter?

Ask 100 people on this forum what the words "Tow capacity: Over 9000 pound" when talking about a Tow Vehicle means, and 99 will give you the same general answer; none of the answers will include the acronym GCVWR. Either you're prescient or we're all idiots.

[p220sigman]

I don't think you are going to find a van that fits your needs. Most that are going to be big enough to have the capacity you need are also going to be made in a cargo configuration meaning removable seats as opposed to folding seats like minivans.

I second the pickup with a full height cap on it. I think if you check, unless you get one of the high work-type vans, anything that would fit in a van (height-wise) will fit in the bed of the truck. I would measure the tallest (longest if you lay it on its side) item your wife would need to transport to figure out if it will fit. You may have to go with the trailer suggestion if it is too tall.

[JRscooby]

Grit dog wrote:

It’s all about reading comprehension Scooby. OP originally said he needed to “tow” 9000lbs.
Later post said 9klbs cargo and towing.
Nicks right. OP is a little confused on ratings.

Good trucking grief!
Somebody is accused of ignorance after they clarified what they want to do, and I'm the 1 with reading comprehension issues?
I think the OP understands he needs something with a GCVWR of at least 9000 over MT weight, and a GVWR of over 2500 lbs (15% TW) above MT weight. And best if steer axle is not expected to take much of the payload. Now he might need a higher payload, depending on the weight of wife's load, but has not mentioned that
I know I understand that's what he needs, is that what stirs up the ankle biter?

[Grit_dog]

And great suggestions above ^, IF the OP didn't say that even removeable 3rd row seating vs fold down seating was a deal killer.
That strongly implies that the OP (wife) frequently must need the 3rd row seating as well. Which, by default, kills the pickup truck idea.

NOW, since the OP has changed the "requirements" he needs to meet a bit, late model big suvs are back in the game if he can handle the tongue weight of the trailer with them.

[BB_TX]

valhalla360 wrote:

davehultin wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
What is your wife's mysterious cargo?

Glamping equipment: It's important that the glamping goods travel clean and covered, and some of it requires a space that's taller than a truck bed.

How tall? With a cap, it's about as tall as most SUVs with seats folded down. Or there are oversize caps tall enough to stand up in.

Agree here. If too tall for a tonneau cover, a cap painted to match the truck (with a bedrug) would be a good option. Again, with the bedrug it is like an oversized trunk or back of an SUV. And a loaded "luxury" pickup goes right along with the "glamping" theme.

[valhalla360]

davehultin wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
What is your wife's mysterious cargo?

Glamping equipment: It's important that the glamping goods travel clean and covered, and some of it requires a space that's taller than a truck bed.

How tall? With a cap, it's about as tall as most SUVs with seats folded down. Or there are oversize caps tall enough to stand up in.

[Grit_dog]

JRscooby wrote:

nickthehunter wrote:
You don’t understand the ratings. You don’t add people, cargo, etc. to GVWR of the trailer to get the needed “tow rating” for a tow vehicle. You should start by understanding what All the ratings mean, to figure out what you need, to figure out what meets your needs. Clicky for understanding towing ratings

Sounds like understands to me. If you want to tow 7500 lbs at the same time you haul 1500 lbs you need the GCVWR to cover all, assuming you want to keep interweb weight police away.

It’s all about reading comprehension Scooby. OP originally said he needed to “tow” 9000lbs.
Later post said 9klbs cargo and towing.
Nicks right. OP is a little confused on ratings.