SUV/Truck shopping

[Neil Gendzwill]

Gearheads, help me out. My wife's Sienna minivan lease expires in February. She wants to replace it with either an SUV or an extended cab truck. We have the following requirements:

1. Seats 4 reasonably comfortably

2. Fits in a small garage, not much more room than for a minivan ie no full-sized trucks

3. Tows at least 6000 lbs

4. Not insanely expensive - trying to keep it under $40K Canadian

The list of candidates so far:

Toyota 4Runner (older v8 model)

Toyota Tacoma

Ford Explorer SportTrac

Jeep Commander (v8 version)

Any other suggestions/recommendations? Wanting something with reasonable towing capacity that is not a big-ass truck really limits choices.

[shawndoggy]

Gearheads, help me out. My wife's Sienna minivan lease expires in February. She wants to replace it with either an SUV or an extended cab truck. We have the following requirements:

1. Seats 4 reasonably comfortably

2. Fits in a small garage, not much more room than for a minivan ie no full-sized trucks

3. Tows at least 6000 lbs

4. Not insanely expensive - trying to keep it under $40K Canadian

The list of candidates so far:

Toyota 4Runner (older v8 model)

Toyota Tacoma

Ford Explorer SportTrac

Jeep Commander (v8 version)

Any other suggestions/recommendations? Wanting something with reasonable towing capacity that is not a big-ass truck really limits choices.

I guess I'd add the diesel vw touareg to that list if you could find one. I don't see any of those rigs (save maybe the vw) towing very well though. 6k is a heavy load. Can you rock something as big as the nissan armada/infinity qx56? That's the shortest wheelbase "real truck" (for towing purposes) that I can think of. I'm also actively looking and the nissan has the best combo of HP/towing capacity/garage friendliness. We also need the third row, so the touareg is out for us.

[Neil Gendzwill]

The Touareg is expensive and has issues, a lot of issues. Even VW diehards are leary. I'm a VW owner myself.

The 4Runner is a truck-based SUV. Why wouldn't it tow well, within its limits? It's rated for 7000 lbs with the V8.

[shawndoggy]

The Touareg is expensive and has issues, a lot of issues. Even VW diehards are leary. I'm a VW owner myself.

The 4Runner is a truck-based SUV. Why wouldn't it tow well, within its limits? It's rated for 7000 lbs with the V8.

Don't disagree re touareg... but you were asking what else should go on the list.

What are you towing? 4Runner would be my pick of what you listed, but I've heard annecdotally (friend of friend, so take for what it's worth) that they tend to get "pushed around" because of the shorter wb.

I went with crew cab F150, and can say that I wish I would have done full sized SUV because we haul people (kids) much more than we do cargo, so I'd rather have seating than bed. But even the F150 (rated for 9K towing) is no dream towing a 5k boat over the mountains. It's all compromises.

[carvedog]

Is the extended cab Tundra out? Much prefer that platform, if I am towing 6K lbs., to the 4Runner or Taco.

[shawndoggy]

Is the extended cab Tundra out? Much prefer that platform, if I am towing 6K lbs., to the 4Runner or Taco.

And if you are looking at those you might as well look at the sequoia....

[Neil Gendzwill]

Any full-sized truck is probably too big. This is not primarily a tow vehicle, it would normally be my wife's daily driver. She drives a lot for work, and often ends up on gravel and in out of the way places in the province. She doesn't want a huge truck that is hard to park and guzzles gas, and they wouldn't fit in our garage anyways. Our van barely fits.

As for tow load, we are planning to get one of the hybrid campers such as a Rockwood Roo. They start at around 3500 lbs dry weight for the minimum size we'd be looking at (the 19 footer), but with options and loaded with various stuff realistic tow weight is probably more like 4500 lbs. We're also eyeing a 23 foot model that would be closer to 6000 lbs.

[Jack M]

Don't Jeeps have bad reliability?

We just got a Honda Pilot, it's great. According to Consumer Reports it gets better mileage than most full size minivans, except the Honda Odyssey, which gets 1mpg better. Seats 8, or fold the 3rd row seat down for lots of cargo room and seating for 5. "Realtime" 4WD is FWD until you need more traction. 3.5L V6 runs on 3 cylinders while cruising. Comes with tow bar, just add a hitch. The Mazda CX9 got better driving reviews, but the Honda will have better resale value.

If you can wait maybe a month, Ford just revealed the 2011 Explorer, looks nice. It's now unibody, instead of body-on-frame.

[shawndoggy]

Don't Jeeps have bad reliability?

We just got a Honda Pilot, it's great. According to Consumer Reports it gets better mileage than most full size minivans, except the Honda Odyssey, which gets 1mpg better. Seats 8, or fold the 3rd row seat down for lots of cargo room and seating for 5. "Realtime" 4WD is FWD until you need more traction. 3.5L V6 runs on 3 cylinders while cruising. Comes with tow bar, just add a hitch. The Mazda CX9 got better driving reviews, but the Honda will have better resale value.

If you can wait maybe a month, Ford just revealed the 2011 Explorer, looks nice. It's now unibody, instead of body-on-frame.

Pilot ain't gonna tow three tons though.

[shawndoggy]

Any full-sized truck is probably too big. This is not primarily a tow vehicle, it would normally be my wife's daily driver. She drives a lot for work, and often ends up on gravel and in out of the way places in the province. She doesn't want a huge truck that is hard to park and guzzles gas, and they wouldn't fit in our garage anyways. Our van barely fits.

As for tow load, we are planning to get one of the hybrid campers such as a Rockwood Roo. They start at around 3500 lbs dry weight for the minimum size we'd be looking at (the 19 footer), but with options and loaded with various stuff realistic tow weight is probably more like 4500 lbs. We're also eyeing a 23 foot model that would be closer to 6000 lbs.

Have you asked this question on the owners' forums for those campers? Those folks will have some realworld experience.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Have you asked this question on the owners' forums for those campers? Those folks will have some realworld experience.

Not yet. I've poked into the Toyota forums a little bit. The local Rockwood dealer has told us pretty much flat out that a minivan won't cut it - even if the towing capacity is within limits, the sail factor of these trailers makes it impractical - he recommends sticking to our popup unless we are willing to upgrade the tow vehicle. Given he has a motive to sell us a trailer rather than discourage us, I'm thinking this is honest advice.

The Pilot is nice but not quite up to snuff - 4500 lbs max. I'd rather have a little extra jam available and also a few more options for trailer purposes.

[shawndoggy]

sienna isn't a clown car... for sake of garage-fit-comparison, the armada/qx56 is only 5" longer and 3" wider. minivans are pretty big. Yukon/Tahoe/Escalade is about the same (for the non-suburban version).

As for the "don't want a gas hog..." well, you gotta pay to play. Get a heavy load, you need power to tow it. Power that you will be wasting when the trailer isn't behind you, to be sure.

You're gonna miss that van too. Till you step up to something as big as a suburban, all other vehicles (even big gas guzzlers) are going to be smaller inside. Still have a soft spot for our dearly departed 03 Odyssey.

[tex1230]

Don't Jeeps have bad reliability?

The Commander v8 (we have an -08) has the dodge 5.7l hemi - a very reliable engine. Jeep electronics can be questionable, though.

It's a beast - the only two negatives I can say about that truck are 1) buy used - they drop really fast once you drive them off the lot. My $45k truck is worth about $20k blue book after 2 years. 2) REALLY BAD GAS MILEAGE - I'm talking 11-12mpg average.

[shawndoggy]

The Commander v8 (we have an -08) has the dodge 5.7l hemi - a very reliable engine. Jeep electronics can be questionable, though.

It's a beast - the only two negatives I can say about that truck are 1) buy used - they drop really fast once you drive them off the lot. My $45k truck is worth about $20k blue book after 2 years. 2) REALLY BAD GAS MILEAGE - I'm talking 11-12mpg average.

My F150 (2005 crew cab 4x4 w/5.4 v8) gets 12ish around town if I drive like a grandpa (11ish if I don't), 17 on the highway, 10ish towing. Best towing was 12, worst 9.5.

[Buell]

I have towed trailers for quite a few years for work.

I will go short distances, very carefully, at my vehicle's tow capacity.

If you are pushing the tow capacity for longer distances or highway speeds you are risking lives. Not only that, the wear on your vehicle will be significant.

[dingbat]

How often do you plan to tow the trailer?

If it's only once or twice a year you may be better off buying a vehicle that fits your daily driving and light towing needs and renting something when it's time to tow the trailer.

[AaronG]

One thing you might consider is braking. Just about any vehicle will tow a trailer, it's when you step on the brake that things become questionable. Sure, a V8 is great for getting it up to speed but I wouldn't want to get too close to the max tow rating on the vehicle. If you were to get into a situation where you have to do a panic stop, no telling if your trailer will be pushing you down the road.

In this day and age of CAFE(corporate fuel economy ratings) most mfrs tend to use the lesser duty rated equipment which translates to lighter vehicles, better fuel economy.

Another thing to consider is, what will be going into the trailered vehicle. Are you taking into account gear, fuel, water, propane? All these things add weight to the trailer. Most people do not take gear into account and proceed to load that thing up and then not only are you pushing the max tow rating for the vehicle but also for the trailer axle(s).

One thing for sure, what ever trailer you purchase make sure you have electric brakes on it if you are pushing the max tow rating of your vehicle.

I have been in the boat business way too long to see what people try to tow their boats with. I don't want a fellow carver to have any mishaps on the road.

[Buell]

One thing you might consider is braking. Just about any vehicle will tow a trailer, it's when you step on the brake that things become questionable.

One thing for sure, what ever trailer you purchase make sure you have electric brakes on it if you are pushing the max tow rating of your vehicle.

I don't want a fellow carver to have any mishaps on the road.

Don't want to go overboard on this but, like oldvolvos, I also do not want any mishaps for a fellow carver (or anyone else actually).

It would take a lot of distance for my vehicle to stop my loaded trailer without the electric brake, if it even could at capacity.

As important as stopping is emergency handling. When you are at your tow capacity, the trailer will probably weigh more than your vehicle (mine weighs quite a bit more) and can really push your vehicle around. You have no room for error, yours or someone else's.

[Alpinbogen]

I'm very partial to my Dodge Dakota Quad Cab (4.7L V8, 4WD). I bought new 7 years ago (2003) and it's been great. Sized "just right", IMO. Not a full sized tank, yet certainly not a toy. Our garage is pretty average and fits that and our Odyssey fine, with plenty of walking room between the bumper and the back wall. Roomy up front and in the back seats. Add a locking cap and you've got safe snowboard storage. 185 cm boards fit fine diagonally in the bed. You might even squeeze a 200 cm deck in there. As always, a stick shift makes it even more funner. :) I bought it with the full intent of driving it until the wheels fall off. When that day comes (not in the foreseeable future), I'll likely buy another. In fact, I had a 1998 Dakota Club Cab prior to this, which was also great, until I decided to upgrade to the Quad Cab with a full back seat. A Durango might work for you, too, if a Dakota is still too long.

[MUD]

A guy we ride with uses a 4runner to haul a car to the track, it's a Z3. With a trailer it has got to be a pretty good load. He really likes the way it behaves.

I Don't mean to poop poop your ideas, BUT. Rule of thumb for long haul of a trailer with a vehicle I have always heard half of rated..... Anything above that and the vehicle is working HARD! OK for a weekend camping trip, but I wouldn't take it through the Rockies.

I don't have any suggestions that you would like, sorry.

[Gecko]

A guy we ride with uses a 4runner to haul a car to the track, it's a Z3. With a trailer it has got to be a pretty good load. He really likes the way it behaves.

I Don't mean to poop poop your ideas, BUT. Rule of thumb for long haul of a trailer with a vehicle I have always heard half or rated..... Anything above that and the vehicle is working HARD! OK for a weekend camping trip, but I would take it through the Rockies.

I don't have any suggestions that you would like, sorry.

I agree with Mud I have seen and loaded a lot of trailers over the last year working at Home Depot if you plan on pulling something that heavy make damn sure that the vehicle doing the pulling has load capacity to spare...heavy tongue weight can make the front end light seriously changing the steering

[Neil Gendzwill]

Thanks for all your suggestions! As I said before, my wife's work takes her into some rough roads, sometimes she has ditched the van for a rented truck so a truck or SUV is what we really want for her day to day use. We will miss the huge interior of the van but as our kids are older now the long family trips are a thing of the past.

The specific trailer we have our eyes on weighs 3170 lbs dry & unloaded, has a maximum loaded weight of 4640 lbs and a hitch weight of 240 lbs. It also comes with electric drum brakes. I don't think pulling this trailer with a vehicle rated for 6500 lbs is out of line but I'll defer to those of you with more experience if you think that's the case.

[Allee]

Neil - there's a really interesting article in the latest Macleans, about a guy who builds some sort of super hitch that allows you to tow trailers with underweight vehicles. I just skimmed it last night, and didn't think anything of it until I saw your posts today. If you can lay your hands on a copy, have a look and see if you can find it - it's not up online yet.

If you can't find it drop me a line and I'll send you mine.

[trailertrash]

Remember the old saying "There's no replacement for displacement!". You really should be looking at something like this. This should give you some headroom to spare.

:)

[shawndoggy]

Thanks for all your suggestions! As I said before, my wife's work takes her into some rough roads, sometimes she has ditched the van for a rented truck so a truck or SUV is what we really want for her day to day use. We will miss the huge interior of the van but as our kids are older now the long family trips are a thing of the past.

The specific trailer we have our eyes on weighs 3170 lbs dry & unloaded, has a maximum loaded weight of 4640 lbs and a hitch weight of 240 lbs. It also comes with electric drum brakes. I don't think pulling this trailer with a vehicle rated for 6500 lbs is out of line but I'll defer to those of you with more experience if you think that's the case.

What will your towing be like? Long hauls? Short hauls? Hills? Mountains? What speed? Etc?

For flat-ish shorter hauls something like the 4runner would prolly be great. If you will be towing over mountain passes, prolly not so great. But if it's only a few hauls a year, maybe "not so great" is acceptable in relation to the other 355 days of the year that you'll be driving the vehicle.

One more for the list... landcruiser. 6500lb towing, and 8" shorter than the sienna.