What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I'm not in the market at this moment, but an starting to research this, and open to hear what anyone has to say who might be knowledgeable on the subject.

I would like to eventually start trailering my car to the track. That way if I break an axle, I'm not calling all over the place trying to find one so I can get home. I'm also going to be buying a boat here soon (something like a 20' open bow runabout/ski boat), and it would be good to have something that could pull it. So with all that in mind, I want this so I can tow my Talon maybe 4-5 times a year, and tow a boat maybe 3 times a year. Enough that I don't want to have to count on borrowing someone elses vehicle, but not enough that I need a small semi just because it's the best towing vehicle out there.

Now I already have 2 vehicles (Talon, Saab). Neither of which will do the job. I'm not interested in getting a 3rd vehicle, so that means whatever I got would replace my Saab. Now with that in mind, I often take 200 miles trips to Fargo, Ottertail, etc. My Saab gets 35mpg on the highway, which I doubt any towing vehicle I'd be interested in will be able to do.

I'm not interested in a pick-up, or a mini-van. So that kind of leaves me with SUV type vehicles. My dad has a 06 TrailBlazer with the Inline-6 that he uses to tow their camper around. Something like that is what I'm thinking would do a decent job. Only thing is he rarely even gets 20mpg with it.

So let me know what you all think might be good options. I can't afford a new vehicle, so it'd probably be a few years old. I don't want some loud diesel truck because this is going to be my daily driver also, so I want it to be somewhat nice, and get the best mileage as possible. I thought some newer Chevy's had V8's that shut off 4 cylinders to help with cruising mileage.

I also want to keep it as small as possible. I don't want to deal with trying to park a Suburban every day.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

How about a Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee?

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

how much you thinking of letting the saab go for?

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I loved my supercharged SS. You can get a Silverado ss cheap and they are sporty and pulled really nice.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I have a cherokee with the 4.0 HO, only problem is I don't know how well it'd tow a car. Maybe a GC with a V8 would do better? The mileage won't be above 20mpg on either of them.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

As much as I hate to say it check out a Bronco or F150 with the 4.9L staight 6. They have more torque than the 302 F150's and get pretty decent mpg.

Otherwise I'd say get a Siverado/Suburban/Tahoe and say F the mpg

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Oddly enough on my recent trip to Indiana, we used a Honda Pilot (3.5L Vtec V6) to tow. But that was with a light car and trailer combo (~3500lbs combined), but it did just fine, maintained 70 MPH uphills, with some effort of course, but it always had enough power and the right gear (2nd gear at 4K for some of the bigger ones) to get it done.

If you put some thought into your setup, a vehicle that's not known for awesome towing capability can do just fine. But I don't think you'll find anything capable of towing ~4500lbs reasonably and getting 25+mpg (not towing). Even the Pilot only got 21-24 MPG not towing. But we did get 17 MPG on at least one tank with the car and trailer on the back.

Over on the SCCA forums, there is a section dedicated to towing. You might want to check it out. http://sccaforums.com/forums/70/ShowForum.aspx

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Yea id probably look toward a newer Tahoe with lower miles or a Toyota truck. Small Suvs like a pilot or even a jeep arent the greatest idea for pulling a car on a trailer. For the boat, they would do just fine though.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

^^^ if going new, yes, i would do a tundra....mmmmmmmmm

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I'll try to explain again.

I'm not looking for the best vehicle to tow this stuff. What I'm looking for is a vehicle that will be 99% used for daily driving, and 1% used for towing. So I'm more looking for a vehicle that gets decent gas milage, that when needed, COULD tow a car to Brainerd, or COULD pull a boat out of the water and tow it an hour away. My dad used to tow our 18' Bayliner with a Chevy Celebrity Wagon with a 2.8 V6 from Maple Grove to Brainerd once a year. Was it an ideal towing vehicle, no. It was a decent DD, that could tow it if needed. I towed a Colt from Detroit to Blaine on a flatbed using a little 6cyl S-10 a couple years ago. Again, not the ideal vehicle, but it worked. These are examples of how they aren't ideal towing vehicles, but they did 'get r done' we just had to take it easy.

I don't want a Tahoe, way too big, and horseshit gas milage. And like I mentioned before, I don't want a pick-up, period. No Tahoe, no Silverado, no F150, none of that.

That Honda Pilot is probably more of where I'm wanting to go. Not an ideal vehicle, but for the very few times it would tow something, you can just take it slow and easy and it'll get the job done.

I was even looking into something like a Hyundai Santa Fe. I'm looking to keep the cost down, so I don't mind looking at more economical brands like Hyundai & Kia.

Not sure exactly but I'm pretty sure the weight I'd be towing around would be right around 3500lbs. That's about the weight of the boats we're looking at. My Talon weighed in at 3040lbs, so add a trailer on top of that and we're probably right around the same weight.

Something I noticed was it appeared Kiggly was towing his rid with a 4Runner or something like that. And that was his race car, and one of those long completely enclosed racecar trailers with tools and all that. I would think if it could tow that, it could tow my car on a flatbed.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I do remember having a Mercury Mountaineer as a rental a couple years back, and that thing was real nice I thought. I also remember that it got some shitty gas milage though ;(

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I would look at Toyota 4Runners, it's probably the perfect mix for the exact criteria you are looking for.

Otherwise a Pilot/MDX or Pathfinder/QX4 may suit your needs as well.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Brandon, I love my 08 Frontier. 260hp 4.0 V6 with a tow rating of 6500lbs. I have the crew cab w/short box and utilitrack system. Lots of interior room, comfortable on longers trips (down to IA and such) and it gets good gas mileage for me as well, 20-23 for me on the hwy. They also hold their value quite well. I was thinking about trading it in for another car this summer for easier baby hauling, but just couldn't pull the trigger. They would of sold my truck used for 1k more than I paid for it new.

I think 06-08 can be had for a fairly good price if you looked around (not sure what is too high or not).

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Yea I was going to by a newer xterra or pathfinder last summer, decent mileage. If you want something a little nicer, id go MDX for sure.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Brandon when I bought my Tahoe I didn't want one at all, I was looking at the smaller crossover type vehicles, Trailblazers, Explorers, ect. I know you said a Tahoe isn't what you are looking for because of the shitty gas mileage, but I found that they get as good if not better than a Trailblazer, Explorer, most AWD minivans, ect. Mine has the 5.3l V8 300hp300trq, and it still gets 20+mpg on the hwy, and 16avg in town.

Even if you are only towing a few times if you go the small V6 route you are going to kill the tranny in no time pulling a car. Now if you were to put a tranny cooler on a smaller vehicle and then take it easy you should be fine.

Usually tow vehicle even if it's only a few times a year and daily driver don't go hand in hand, andif you want something that is an all around vehicle you are going to have to sacrifice something, and usually that is gas mileage.

I would say an Envoy would be good for you, but they suck gas just as much as a Tahoe/Yukon.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

4 runner would be a good choice, i have used an 02 Ford Escape for towing in the past, only class 2 hiches from the dealership, but can get class 3/4 aftermarket for the vehicle. I've nailed 29mpg going up north unloaded and around 20-25 normal city driving. They are a newer Ford product though, issues with transmissions but they come with 4wd are FWD normally, and very roomy and comfortable and easy to drive/park. Something i guess is a big deal to a bunch of people, but removing your upper intake manifold is needed to replace your spark plugs. Beyond that it's not that hard of a vehicle to maintain.

3.0 v6 and can find them for a good price. S-10 pickups i've had in the past never towed as well as the escape has odly enough, but the trucks offroad better.:bullrider:

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Again this isn't going to happen for probably a year or so. But for now I'm trying to look at spending less than $15k.

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I love our tahoe payed less len 10k for it. And I wouldn't even think about pulling a car with anything smaller. one thing alot of people over look when sugesting smaller SUV's and crossover is the weight of the tow vehicles. You want something on the hevvy side so the trailor wont push you around if its starts swaying or if you have to swerve quickly.

If you do go with something smaller then a 1/2 ton rated SUV your deffinitly going to want some air bags for the back so it doesnt squat like crazzy.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Most car trailers are 1700-2300lbs, they aren't light. Even the light ones are 900+lbs.

http://www.allprowest.com/3Open_CarHaulers.html Look at the 3rd row down. 6.6 feet x 14 feet AL frame open deck trailer, 910lbs. "Lightest Car Trailer on the Market," according to them. That's about as light as it's going to get, unless you use a dolly (250-400lbs?) and disconnect the drive shaft from the rear diff. Plan on 4000-4700lbs+ any extra stuff you want to bring.

And some extra mods like air bags will be a must, the Pilot we used had them added I'm pretty sure. Also a trans cooler.

I used to be very anti towing with a "poor" towing vehicle. I was very skeptical of the Pilot, it did way better than I was expecting. But definitely take vehicle weight into consideration.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I've towed with everything out there, and for the money, you're probably best off with a Tahoe. The MDX, Pilot, Pathfinder and most of those midsize SUV's will struggle to pull a car on a trailer. Like someone else said, a DSM and flatbed are right around 5000 lbs. I've pulled my car many times with a 4.0 Grand Cherokee, but if you get any wind or a steep hill, you're screwed. At least their trannies are pretty strong, I know the MDX one isn't. And there's really only a few SUV's that get anywhere near 20mpg anyway, you can't have your cake and eat it too, unless you're willing to buy something pretty new.

BTW, Kiggly's 4Runner was a V8 model.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

^^^I was going to mention the same thing on the car trailer weights. Alot heavier than you will expect. Mine is all steel and I cannot drag it a foot up to my truck.

Why don't you just keep your Saab and get a 95 Ram for $1500. Will be plenty of towing power and well under your budget. Last time I went to the dump I had a bed full of concrete and clocked in at a little over 10,300 pounds. I have also pulled my loaded car trailer onto the scale and clocked in at just under 15,000. Truck has over 220k miles and is still on the original tranny even with my abuse.

I would rather get a vehicle meant to do some work and drive around in a car I enjoy. Insurance on an extra vehicle would be cheap as it is an "extra." My ram is $180 or so for 6 months and the ford F150 is around $150 (24 years old).

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Yeah, I'd second getting a cheap tow rig. Maybe something like our diesel van or anything diesel for that matter.

However if that isn't an option, then whatever you get, put a tranny cooler on it, and maybe an oil cooler as well.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

i liked my 02 oldsmobile bravada, or trailblazer, envoy, 9-7x, ascender....theres a forum for them if you want to research towing...i've seen them pull some boats.....good in price i think..

www.trailvoy.com i think is the forum.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

How much tounge/tow weight?

An Outlander/Endeavor might be 'good enough' if you use a two axle trailer.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

If you want to tow a car you need a truck designed to tow. Not a big car with 4wd.


I'll sell you my 01 Sierra for 8k today. :tongue:
My car trailer weighs 1920 and with the car it weighs 5200 and the old 5.3 pulls it and still gets 16mpg. That is after the CAI, headers, exhaust and Hi-Tech. It doesn't squat, it doesn't sway. In fact with the cruise set at 70 you forget it's there at all. I've looked in the mirror a couple of times about to get pissed that some dick in a DSM is following so close.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I can't get a 3rd vehicle. I live in a townhouse community. My Talon and my roomates FC are in the garage. And our DD's are in the driveway. There is simply no where to put it, which is why I'm saying it'd have to replace the Saab.

If I had room, no doubt that'd be what I'd do. But I don't, so I've ruled that out.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Where are you going to store the trailer and the boat? Park the truck on the trailer (I assume you can maybe do that)...

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Also, you might want to run the numbers... It might be cheaper to rent, borrow, or beg for a truck a couple times a year than to buy something big and upgrade it with trans cooler etc. plus pay more for gas and maintanence year round.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

oh oh oh oh....VW toureg just came to mind....mmmmm


that shoudl be enough power right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zRyoBbcfI

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Yea im going to go with renting as an option if its only used a couple weekends a summer. Or borrow from a buddy to launch a boat etc. Pretty sure my brother would loan you his tahoe to do that kind of stuff..

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

what about somthing like the GMC Acadia... rated at 5200lbs towing and 24 mpg

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

I can't get a 3rd vehicle

Boat and trailer situation is already figured out. Don't worry about that.

My question is regarding getting a towing vehicle that will replace my DD. I have reasons for asking what I asked. All I'm looking for is exactly what I asked:
Info on what a decent vehicle would be that will replace my DD, get good gas milage considering, yet be able to tow a couple times a year if need be.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

i know you dont want a pickup, but nothing will do the towing and the mileage like a diesel truck with a programmer will. my dad gets about 32mpg or so with an 03 dodge ram cummins with a predator programmer, and tows a 35 ft 5th wheel camper every weekend with it. have you looked at foresters? not sure how they would do but it might be worth lookin at...

....my computer is broke so i couldnt really research them on the slow ps3

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Foresters wouldnt be good at towing anything but a small boat.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

how about a Pacifica? The ones built in the '08 model year have the 4.0 liter v6 and a new tranny & awd system. Any remaining '08 Pacificas can be had for a steal. Tons of money off and $$$ rebates/incentives.

With all the cars that Hecker hid away, there are some goodies showing up at the auctions. My sister is a buyer for Park Jeep and she picked up about 30 'nicely equipped' cars & trucks last week. What isn't on the lot in Burnsville is at their Chrysler store in Waconia.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

i know you said you dont realy want a truck but.... ford 7.3 powerstroke is the way to go.. they can be had cheap if you know where to look and it you get a crew cab you have all the room you need... i picked up my 2000 f250 7.3 CC with 6spd for $2,500. the tranny was not so good but $1000 later for a rebuild the truck is awsome, i put in 5" exhaust, edge juice chip, intake, 500hp clutch.. i will never own another gas pickup! and i get 24mpg highway

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Rofl at everyone giving him advice that he doesn't want to hear.

Re: What's a good DD that can Tow
 

Have you considered buying a semi truck? Tons of towing abilities and the nice ones have sleeper cabins built right into them so it would save you money on hotels!

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Genious!

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Hook a brotha up. I am going to be getting rid of my two trucks and get a nicer one. Where are these deals? Will be a W/T, mileage etc don't matter that much.