Tow Vehicles 2013 and newer

colbysmith

colbysmith

Active member
For the past several years I have been pulling my CD-22 with a 2010 Toyota Highlander, with the V6 and tow package. This Highlander is rated to tow up to 5000 lbs, and has done a swell job towing my boat on long distances and even over the Rockies a few times. It's going to turn over 100,000 miles soon, and while it shows no signs of slowing down, the better part of me says with the high mileage towing I do, including over high elevations, it might be time to get a lower mileage vehicle. My Highlander routinely gets me 23 mpg on the highway, and I think around 17 in town. Towing, at 60 mph and slower, no wind or hills, I average about 12-14, pretty respectable considering I'm towing 4800 lbs. I would like to maintain this kind of mileage, and while I am inclined to just trade my Highlander in for a newer model, lower mileage, I'm also considering what else is available. Particularly that might be rated to handle a little higher weight, and still get the same kind of mileage. And without breaking the bank.

Doing some quick review and looking around the last few days, I've come across two possibilities. (I've already pretty much ruled diesel out, as I don't care to go to a larger size truck.) A 2015 Ford F-150 super cab with the 3.5 econo-boost V6, 3.31 rear end, and I believe fully loaded GVWR of 7200 would allow it to tow about 8000 lbs. (That's using the numbers off the door post, approximately...) I've been told the F150 weighs around 5000 lbs. The second possibility is a 2014 (or newer) Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3.5 V6. That year also came out with a diesel model (6 cyl), which might be a possibility. (I'm looking at a specific F-150, that doesn't show tow package on the sticker nor does it come with anything more than the bumper hitch; and just generally some Jeep Grand Cherokees, 2014 and newer, with the V-6. NO diesels in used stock right now...)

I'm just wondering if anyone is running either of these makes, and what experience you've had with mileage and maintenance. Or if there are any other vehicles I should look at. Again, mileage is the first priority, with tow rating the second. I realize diesels are known to make good tow vehicles for both these priorities, but I'm also looking to stay in something no larger than the 150 or Grand Cherokee. (The Highlander was actually a very good all around vehicle for size and such.) Colby

Colby
 
I would look at the 2.7 Ecoboost F150 also. It has great expert reviews and only a few bucks more than the base V6 engine. I drove one, it was fast and very powerful, and felt just like the 3.5 Eco. But, I really needed payload and a place to hang a plow and neither the 2.7 or 3.5 will let you do that. Too bad too; I really liked them both of them.

So, I got the F150 Super Crew with a 5.0 V8, the snow plow package, the 3300 pound payload package, 3.73 gears, and max trailer. They only had one 2015 - it was easy to pick. So far, with mostly open country driving, some 4 way stops, but a lot of go, and your typical curves and such, it is getting really close to 19-20 MPG. On the highway at 65 mph, it gets a couple mpg better. I'm pretty happy with it and it tows the CD 22 very, very well and is rated to tow around 11,000 pounds in this configuration - a lot! While it tows and hauls somewhat less, but still far more than you need to deal with a CD 22, the Eco 2.7 will do quite a bit better in the mpg department.

While I do wish I could have landed with an Eco, I can't really complain about the 5.0 with its 385 hp and 387 ft/lbs of torque. I'm not going to lie, I like this truck way better than I thought I would.
 
Lately, I"ve been looking at a new tow vehicle as well. I currently own a 2001 Dakota 4.7L that I've been decently happy with, but miles are getting high, I keep having to do small repairs, and I like the idea of a quad cab truck.

I have also heard great things about the ecoboost engine, both 2.7l and 3.5l. It's definitley worth a look. This is obviously a byist video but very interesting and at the least entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tEqwXrqzH4


You should have great resale from your highlander, and if thats something important to you, maybe look at the tacoma. It towes 6400lbs which is more then adequate for the 22. I have been looking at used Tacomas and was amazed at the resale value of them, so much that it may be worth it to just buy new.

I wonder if anybody on here tows a 22 with a Tacoma and has mpg info? Please include engine.

I think in general you will like switching to a truck from an SUV if thats what you decide to do. With the Quads cab Long beds its almost as if its both vehicles. From home improvement projects to general hauling things around its much more convenient. It keeps anything you put in the back "seperate" from the passenger space. I always bring fire wood with me when staying on the boat overnight and like the fact its in the truck bed. A downfall is if you use at a daily driver and don't have enough weight over the rear axle it can drive a little bumpy and be annoying. Nothing you don't already know

I will enjoy seeing how this thread goes.
 
Look at the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. Tows up to 9000lbs, gets over 30mpg highway in 2wd version.
I have a 4wd Larimie Crew Cab and tow my 23 Venture (5680lbs loaded) and I get 17mpg highway. Love the truck.
 
After more research on the specific F150 I was looking at, I found it did not have a tow package, and according to all the Ford info I could find, that would restrict it to only towing up to 5000 lbs. SO I'll keep looking in that department. (But the data shows that F150's with a tow package are pretty decent workhorses.)

I believe the Tacoma only comes with the 8 cylinder, so I would expect lower mileage numbers.

I did have a Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab earlier, but when I got a 1988 SeaRay 268 Sundancer, found it was under-rated to tow that 9800 lb boat when all the numbers were added up, and it felt as such... It also had an 8 cylinder so mileage wasn't great. Otherwise, it was pretty nice...

I'll have to look at the Dodge Eco Diesel. If it's available with good reviews in the 1500, and not to expensive, that might be an option. I know trucks are great utility vehicles, but I also appreciate the complete enclosure of an SUV.
 
Colby,

We have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the V-6 eco-diesel; 250 hp and
420 ft-lb torque (this is more than the 5.7L V-8 in my Ram 1500 with 390 ft-lbs
which tows my CD 26 Venture just fine). The eco-diesel is rated to tow 7400 lbs
and gets about 28 mpg w/o towing. It's a nice vehicle; the Overland.

This eco-diesel is also available in the 1500 Ram truck which may have slightly
different numbers but still probably more than adequate to haul your load.

I would not buy a tow vehicle with a gas V-6 as the torque (read: power) drops
way off and would be OK if you drove downhill all the time but marginal on the
flats and wimpy in the mountains. Forget about passing anything*.
Plus, with a gas V-6 vehicle, you can't get a word in at the bar with the big boys.

Look at torque and compare. It's torque you want in a tow vehicle.


Aye.

* have you noticed all the tractors out there?
 
I would look for a new or used Volkswagen Touareg diesel. The older ones are rated for 7400 pounds the 2015 model is rated for maximum towing at 7716 pounds. I never drove one but rode in one and they are a nice vehicle. The new ones have an E.P.A. mileage listed at 20/29 mpg. The curb weight is listed at 4974 pounds with a payload of 1155 pounds. Go drive one you will be surprised.
D.D.
 
We have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the V-6 eco-diesel; 250 hp and
420 ft-lb torque (this is more than the 5.7L V-8 in my Ram 1500 with 390 ft-lbs
which tows my CD 26 Venture just fine). The eco-diesel is rated to tow 7400 lbs
and gets about 28 mpg w/o towing. It's a nice vehicle; the Overland.

This eco-diesel is also available in the 1500 Ram truck which may have slightly
different numbers but still probably more than adequate to haul your load.

I would not buy a tow vehicle with a gas V-6 as the torque (read: power) drops
way off and would be OK if you drove downhill all the time but marginal on the
flats and wimpy in the mountains. Forget about passing anything*.
Plus, with a gas V-6 vehicle, you can't get a word in at the bar with the big boys.

Look at torque and compare. It's torque you want in a tow vehicle.
Click to expand...

Foggy, thanks for that info on the Grand Cherokee. That is one I'm still looking into. There are no 2015 Dodge 1500 with eco-diesel to be found in my neck of the woods. (And I really don't prefer to buy a brand new one.) Regarding your comments about the gas V6, as I said I have been very happy with my Highlander, and at least towing no more than the CD-22, would put it up against anything else out there even over the mountains. I had no problem keeping my 60 mph over the Rockies, except on the really steep grades at high elevation, in which case I still had no problem staying up with or ahead of all the other RV traffic, and many other vehicles as well. It really does the job nicely. The other nice thing is this is a great all around use vehicle (just like the C-Dory is a great all around use boat.) Fits nicely in the garage with room to still walk around, seats a family nicely, looks good, and very decent mileage. But I do consider maybe having a little more room between actual towed weight and what the tow vehicle is rated for, something I am right up against now. None the less, if I can't find something reasonably priced, that still is very good in mileage, I have no problem continuing to run with my current Highlander, or trading it for a newer model, lower mileage one.
BTW, I haven't taken the Ford F150 with the ecoboost out of the picture yet. Just the specific one I was looking at doesn't appear to have a tow package or Limited slip rear end, and those are pretty much deal breakers for me.
The specs on the Highlander V6, 270-hp @ 6,200 rpm and 248 lbs.-ft. @ 4,700 rpm. More than enough apparently for the 4800 lbs I'm towing!:-)
Thanks again for that info on your Grand Cherokee. I definitely need to look into those next. Sounds like it would pretty much compare to my Highlander, but with the diesel and higher tow ratings that I would prefer. Colby
 
The Toyota Tacoma does not and did not come with a V8. It has had 4 and 6 cylinder options for years and the current V6 has been updated again.

It is one vehicle I sometimes consider for our towing needs but my general lack of interest in trucks has me waiting to see the new Honda Ridgeline. The newest version of the Pilot is a great vehicle and I am hoping the Ridgeline will be even better. Now I just need to convince Cindie to drive one.

We tow with a Hyundai Sante Fe and it does well with a 5000lb limit but eventually we will be looking again as we like to keep cars fresh as well.

Greg
 
We just bought a Ford F150 supercab 2.7 L eco-boost for both an RV and our C22. Towing is rated at 7600#. It got 22.9 mpg on our first long distance trip; we were not towing anything on that trip. We will see how that drops when we start to tow. The 2.7 L has a surprising amount of power.
 
Towing, at 60 mph and slower, no wind or hills, I average about 12-14, pretty respectable considering I'm towing 4800 lbs. I
Colby[/quote]

So what is the towing MPG in the wind and on the hills?
D.D.
 
Just a word of caution on the used Toureg suggested earlier: For several years that vehicle was the worst rated of all vehicles for reliability. I wish it were not the case, as it would seem to meet the combined need for towing and economy very well, without too cumbersome a form. But you can't get around its exceedingly poor reliability history, and european cars are expensive to have repaired.
 
We had a Jeep Grand Cherokee - it was a great tow vehicle... for towing behind a motorhome. Very comfortable. BUT, it is a crossover, and is unibody construction, not body-on-frame. Ours had a tow rating of 5,000 pounds (IIRC), but towing a 4,000 pound (all up) boat/trailer was not pleasant. Traded it for a Tahoe - much better for towing.

If you want a 4 wheel drive that rides like a luxury car, it can't be beat... but there are plenty of other better options if you want to tow a boat.
 
I looked hard at and about the Dodge RAM 1500 Eco diesel. Good MPG, great power and load ratings and Extremely hard to find in the used market. They are too new to the lineup. I still like that idea, but when I went looking, the used ones I could find were as expensive or more than the new one I could have gotten at Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg ID.

My neighbor tows a 25 foot travel trailer with his, and loves it. Trailer weight is about 4500# and he says he doesn't even know it is there. Towing he is getting about 16-18 mpg. Not towing it is around 26 - 30.

They are just a bunch of $$$$ no matter how you do it.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

1_10_2012_from_Canon_961.highlight.jpg
 
First, my mistake for confusing the Tacoma and Tundra.
Greg, I like you am not sure I'm really into a truck. I have owned many Fords in my past, so yeah, I'm kind of a Ford guy. But I've also been happy with Toyota (and my wife's Honda), both very good products. Hearing more and more about the Dodge 1500 Eco Diesel, sounds like it would give me both the mileage I want and a better tow capacity. I could survive with a super cab, but if I'm going to have a truck, I want to keep the wheel base rather short, and I want to have at least a 6' box. So not really interested in a crew or super crew cab. I did see a few used ones while looking, but they all involved at least the larger cab. (Very few.) I suspect the Grand Cherokee's are kind of the same way...hard to find with the diesel as it's fairly new and I'm sure they were not used as rentals or leased. (The preferred used cars I like to buy. Low mileage and well cared for...) I did not realize the Grand Cherokee was also a Uni-body. Not that that is a bad thing.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Highlander. I also used it last summer driving on two of the Moab Utah trails in the Canyonlands. If you are familiar with that area, I ran both the Schafer and Long Canyon trails with it. SO it also does a decent job hitting off road trails. (In all fairness, with good weather, probably any SUV or car with decent clearance can run those trails.) Actually about the only thing I really don't care for, is the squat in the rear end with heavy tongue weights.

Dave regarding my 12-13 mpg towing without wind. Last month going down to the St. John's gathering, I had 30-40mph winds on the nose and broad side. That had me down to 7-9 mpg. Without winds, if I push it up to 65mph, I get about 11 mpg. I have actually seen as high as 14mpg towing, flat land, no wind or tail wind, running about 55mph. Last summer running out west, over the Rockies I was getting about 9 mpg. (And for what it's worth, I do have electric brakes, which is definitely beneficial for towing in the mountains.) The one time I had some trouble, with transmission overheating, was in high elevation with a slower semi that kept pulling out in front of me, slowing me down to about 40. I would get back up to 60 mph, only to have the same turkey do it again. (A bit of traffic, and he must have been running empty, as he was going about 50, but once cut off, I'd have to get my steam up again, which happened quick enuf, but then he would pull back out to pass the next car... After 3 times of this crap, it finally took a toll on the tranny cooler. I suspect this would have happened in any other tow vehicle too though, pulling it's rated load. Otherwise, I have pulled thru the mountains without losing much speed, and everything has worked well.

I have seen a few trailering reports that actually rate the Highlander pretty high as a tow vehicle, in the 5000lb tow rating range. And it has worked out very well for me. I had an older model Jeep Cherokee, 1994 perhaps, and had many problems with it. (It may have been a 4 cylinder...) And every time it was in the shop, there were several others along side it. They ended up not getting very good reviews after a year or two on the market. TO be honest, I can't remember seeing too much about the Grand Cherokee in any of the newest consumer reports, but perhaps only because I wasn't looking. In the end, the Highlander may still be the best suited vehicle for my use. But that Dodge 1500 EcoDiesel with it's mileage and tow capabilities is interesting. Now if I could just find some used models to look at.... Colby
 
They are just a bunch of $$$$ no matter how you do it.
Click to expand...

True dat, Harvey. The cost of new trucks is ridiculous. Our F250 was $43K when new in 2005; I found the dealer/customer paperwork in the truck. We bought it from the original owner in '09 for $25K w/ only 36,000 miles on it.

That same truck now is over $50K. :roll:
 
The most I ever paid for a vehicle was $11K. There are plenty available for that price or less.

While a C-Dory boat will keep a good portion of its value, a vehicle won't. So there is no point IMO of paying a pretty penny for a shiny new car/vehicle.

While I take decent care of my boat (again IMO), my car gets washed when it rains.
 
I have a 2014 Ram 1500 ecodiesel, 4x4, with tow package. I have towed my 16 Cruiser short distances but not long enough to get a mpg reading.
I recently purchased a 2011 19 foot Bambi airstream and towed it 800 miles through the hills of west Texas at 70 mph into a slight head wind and got an overall rating of 18.5. The Airstream dry weight is 3800 pounds.
I've had this truck for 18 months and have put almost 25,000 miles on it and I'm still in love with it.
Good Luck on your research and purchase.
 
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