Shopping for towing vehicle

[ronacarme]

As posted some years ago, we pulled our 2001 X from MI to Flamingo FL and back with our 2000 Ford Windstar (ordered new with 3500 # factory tow pack). 3200 miles, feather footing in overdrive slowing uphill and speeding up downhill with the semi's, 55-60 mph avg, 15.3 mpg. Windstar was not harmed and is running well, tho rusting out from good old MI winter road salt which will send it to the junk yard before mechanical failure, I suspect.
To lighten the load on the trailer, we removed the second and third seats from the van and shifted most of the gear from the boat into the van.
Ron

[Terry]

I launch from some sandy beaches where traction and power become big issues. If you are planning any off-ramp launches you have to have an appropriate vehicle. For this type of launch, my recommendation is certainly to get a truck or truck based SUV, preferably one with a 4-Wheel drive LO range.


I had a Chevy Trailblazer a few years ago with an inline 6 to tow my tiny 17' Siren sailboat at the time, but didn't like the way it had to rev so high to get any power. It felt fine on the flats, but on the hills, it had to rev to 5K RPM to get enough power to pull that small boat. Better to get a V8 that has some torque down low if you're going to do any up-and-down driving. Actually, the Trailblazer 6-cylinder had more horsepower than my Durango V8, but couldn't come close on the low RPM torque.

SO, in summary, I recommend anything with a V-8 and 4LO to cover any situation that you can get yourself into with a Mac.

My '04 Chevy TrailBlazer LT EXT inline 6 has 2Hi, A4WD, 4Hi, & 4Lo so has the low rpm's required to haul up a steep slippery slope and I have left a few surprised impressions when I hauled my behemoth Mac out of the water effortlessly!

To lighten the load on the trailer, we removed the second and third seats from the van and shifted most of the gear from the boat into the van.
Ron

Even though seats are removed the Windstar only has a certain load capacity and the tongue weight is 300-400 lbs of it and the passengers add even more. Transfering weight from the boat to the van was not a good idea, it is better to be pulling the weight behind the van than to be carrying it in the van. The Windstar is only a class 2 at 3500#, safer to have a class 3 tow vehicle.

[March]

I trailered my Mac with a Dodge Caravan for three years--all the way to Florida and back to the Mid West. It worked pretty well @60 m/h, except for the hilly roads when the temperature went up in the red. We stopped for half an hour to let it breathe and after that, it was fine--a very stable combination, easy on gas, too. After that, I trailered with a Jeep Cherokee and felt very vulnerable: the trailer was wagging the jeep. I finally hit upon a Pathfinder Nissan and I am very happy with the combination: stable, 4WD when needed, comfortable... the only thing is the gas mileage. On the other hand, there is no significant difference between driving the SUV without the mac and trailering the beast.
Now I worry more about the trailer itself than the towing vehicle. If it ain't one thing...

[March]

I trailered my Mac with a Dodge Caravan for three years--all the way to Florida and back to the Mid West. It worked pretty well @60 m/h, except for the hilly roads when the temperature went up in the red. We stopped for half an hour to let it breathe and after that, it was fine--a very stable combination, easy on gas, too. After that, I trailered with a Jeep Cherokee and felt very vulnerable: the trailer was wagging the jeep. I finally hit upon a Pathfinder Nissan and I am very happy with the combination: stable, 4WD when needed, comfortable... the only thing is the gas mileage. On the other hand, there is no significant difference between driving the SUV without the mac and trailering the beast.
Now I worry more about the trailer itself than the towing vehicle. If it ain't one thing...

[March]

oops triple post. Sorry

[Norca]

I think you can scratch the Nitro off the list right away. IIRC it's one of (if not the worst) vehicles you can buy in North America, not even assuming you're towing anything with it, for quality, reliability, etc etc etc. I recall seeing this asessement in several independant ratings (Consumer Reports among others). Please nobody shoot me on this, I'm just the messenger.

I,m not going to shoot you seahorse, I have read some of these reports as well. The thing is that a 2007 Nitro sell for almost
9000$ less than other similar. The Nitro is 13-1400$, but I could cet a Hummer H3 for about 19000$ and
Toyotas Nissan and other for over 22000$.
I guess there is a reason for the depreciation of the Nitro.
We are going to different dealerships tomorrow, and do some test drives.
It will give us a better idea of comfort, power and so on.

[NiceAft]

Norca, please do not get a Hummer. Think of the irony The most efficient vehicle (wind powered), being towed by the most inefficient

Ray

[Paul S]

Norca, please do not get a Hummer. Think of the irony The most efficient vehicle (wind powered), being towed by the most inefficient

Ray

well if IS recycling. You are not placing an order for a new car to be built!

The H2 gets about the same mileage as my Discovery. I don't understand all the Hummer bashing. The H2 is not even close to the worse fuel mileage vehicle out there (there are at least 26 cars worse than it according to the EPA). It DOES happens to be the (undeserved) poster child for bad mileage. The H2 mileage (about 14-15 mixed) is not terrible, especially considering the weight.

If I said I were buying a Porsche Cayenne or a BMW M6 , no one would get their panties in a bunch about fuel mileage, even though they have worse mileage than an H2.

We are, coincedently, H2 shopping. Haven't found the right one for us.. but there are incredible deals on them. Plus the fact it pi$$es off tree huggers...well.. thats just a side bonus!!

IMO, fuel mileage is the most insignificant thing when buying a car. Whether or not the car comes with fuzzy dice is more important !!

[tompolak]

When my current car craps out on me, I have been looking at the Saab 97-x SUV. It is a Chevy Trailblazer, Buick Rainer, GMC Envoy rebadged and in my opinion made a little better. The V8 model get 1 mpg less than the V6 model due to shutting off 4 cylinders when not needed. They stopped making them in 2009 and in my area are fairly priced (2008 for around or under 20k). You don't see too many of them around either. http://www.edmunds.com/saab/97x/review.html

[Catigale]

Your 'green factor' buying a used car far oustrips the green factor of mileage...Secretly Paul is a Environazi and is just hoping we dont notice...

[grady]

Here is the best review I have seen on the H2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_QNgGGX7DA

[jschrade]

BBC is the British government comedy channel! That was hilarious.

Back to the topic at hand - I am currently in the process of looking for a tow vehicle to replace my beloved Mazda MPV (seriously, the family loves it). My focus has been the F150. Pushing a tow vehicle beyond its limits can lead to not being able to control the vehicle in difficult situations or the vehicle breaking down - bummer.

My guess is that around 7000# is the minimum tow capacity to look for in a tow vehicle???

Jim

[kmclemore]

!	kmclemore:
	Topic moved to "Trailers & Towing".

[Paul S]

Your 'green factor' buying a used car far oustrips the green factor of mileage...Secretly Paul is a Environazi and is just hoping we dont notice...

Yup.. got a trunk full of tiedyed shirts

I mean.. if (getting a bit off topic) people reaaaaaaaly wanted to be 'green' they would stop making new cars and buy used. Make NO new cars. Look at all the energy being saved from building new cars, shipping them, never mind the employees driving to work to make the cars..and the parts. Heck cuba has been doing it for decades!!

Save a tree .. buy a Hummer!!

[dvideohd]

PaulS...

You bring up an interesting point....

What IS the towing capacity of a Cayenne, 911S, or M6??

That's a subject for the Top Gear people to investigate!!!!

--jr