Picking a tow vehicle

Boomerb77

I tow my 400 BD with F150 and it makes getting there a real pleasure. I can load up all our stuff and not worry about weight, nor tongue weights. We bring bikes, walker tent, chairs….., no worries. Never had problems going up or down mountains and no sway issues. Backup assist is great feature. For me, you don’t combine RV lifestyle with worry about mpg; love the 36 gallon fuel tank for 300 miles between stops. Enjoy the great outdoors without the stress of getting there.

BridgerSunset

Our experience with an SUV....

We had the vision that our Toyota 4Runner (5000# rated) would do fine for about half our towing trips with the 400, with the other trips taking our diesel Chevy.  So we outfitted the 4Runner with a P3 brake controller, roof basket, sway bar, adjustable hitch, ScanGauge (to watch tranny temps), and mirror extenders.

It became obvious after a few 150 mile segments that it wasn't at all a pleasant experience.  Slight grade changes that we never even noticed before became an issue on tranny temps, even with downshifting into S4 gear.  Winds buffeted us a fair bit, and pulling hills became a real chore, and a bit dangerous when traffic comes flying up behind with our 75-80  mph interstate speed limits.

Yeah, that SUV will pull it, but we'll be using the truck exclusively & be enjoying the stress-free ride like those commenting above.

luv2travel

I towed with a 2015 Audi Q5 which worked well, but I now have a 2020 Honda Passport which is a great vehicle for my 2012 T@B.  I cannot recall any specific gas mileage stats/issues, but my Honda provides a very secure towing experience.  Lots of room in the car and a quiet ride. Love it! 

tabiphile

BridgerSunset said:

Our experience with an SUV....

We had the vision that our Toyota 4Runner (5000# rated) would do fine 

It became obvious after a few 150 mile segments that it wasn't at all a pleasant experience.  Slight grade changes that we never even noticed before became an issue on tranny temps, even with downshifting into S4 gear. 
we'll be using the truck exclusively & be enjoying the stress-free ride like those commenting above.

You do not mention if the 4Runner was equipped with a tow package or trans cooler. 5th gen Runners do not include a cooler. Older gen. Runners with tow package do include a cooler.
Toyota recommends towing with the autotrans in 4th, never D/overdrive. Of course this causes the engine to run at higher revs but it does protect the transmission and should lower temperatures somewhat.
A purpose built truck with tow option generally outperforms most SUV's. A 6.6 Silverado is a beefy choice.

dlb

I tow a 400 with an Audi SQ5, factory tow package and adjustable suspension.  Wouldn’t trade it for the world.  Excellent experience, 350 HP and torque, self leveling with the trailer attached.  This setup is very comfortable and safe.

Do your research, be happy with what you get.  There are plenty of options in today’s market

No need for a truck with a Tab, if you get the correct vehicle set up.  

PS: I have a truck, it pulls my 6,500 lb. boat.

DMattern

I want to thank everyone who posted on this discussion. We learned a lot and it really helped with our decision. Yesterday we bought a 2021 F-150 hybrid with the tow package. We had also seriously considered a Toyota Highlander. It came down to while the Highlander could tow the T@B the truck was made for towing. For example, the Highlander owners manual says you should not use adaptive cruise or lane keeping while towing, but F-150 is fine with that and even lets you input trailer length to adjust its blind spot monitoring. We also like that when not towing the truck is more off-road capable and may help us get to more remote trailheads. Finally, since this is hybrid it has a 7.2 kW outlet - shore power wherever we go!  

Now we just have to wait for our T@B to get delivered!

gulfarea

The 7.2 kw sure will come in handy, good luck with all your travels, Art

marchule

Just wanted to give an update on the Telluride and 400BD.  I took my TV into the dealer to have the brake controller installed and WDH adjusted.  Towing to the dealer (via city streets) was done with a regular 2" ball and receiver and, of course, no trailer brakes.  It was a 15 mile drive.  I noticed that the steering was a little gimpy and sometimes there was a little bit of porpoising.  The return trip was with the WDH on freeways.  What a difference in handling.  On ramp acceleration was very good.  Stayed at 65mph and easily bumped over 70.  Got off the freeeway and drove on a road of about 5 miles in length and climbed 1300' (about a 5% grade).  No effort.  Could easily go 50mph (the speed limit was 40).  I recognize this was just a short (tiny?) test drive.  Overall, I was pleased with the performance.  And, a WDH is a must.

Denny16

A WDH only is advisable when using smaller SUVs like the Telluride.  That said, going faster than 60mph whilst towing the TaB400 is not a good idea in any situation.
 Cheers 

RFraer

DMattern said:

I want to thank everyone who posted on this discussion. We learned a lot and it really helped with our decision. Yesterday we bought a 2021 F-150 hybrid with the tow package. We had also seriously considered a Toyota Highlander. It came down to while the Highlander could tow the T@B the truck was made for towing. For example, the Highlander owners manual says you should not use adaptive cruise or lane keeping while towing, but F-150 is fine with that and even lets you input trailer length to adjust its blind spot monitoring. We also like that when not towing the truck is more off-road capable and may help us get to more remote trailheads. Finally, since this is hybrid it has a 7.2 kW outlet - shore power wherever we go!  

Now we just have to wait for our T@B to get delivered!

I have adaptive cruise on my Ram. I noticed a loss of one or two MPG when using it because you can’t take advantage of momentum on hills when doing a constant speed. What I have learned to do is find a truck that is doing the speed I want to travel and get behind them.  I then set the adaptive cruise about 5 MPH over what they are doing. Truckers take advantage of momentum, you will slow down with them going up hill and speed up going down hill. Using this method I see no effect on gas millage. I use adaptive cruise much of the time towing on the Highway. You made a good choice on a tug.

Dutch061

Funny thing about adaptive cruise, either you really like it, or you don't. Part of it depends on the vehicle and how well it is integrated into the vehicle. I didn't care enough for it to order it on my current TV.

Brad

tabiphile

It's worth mentioning some of the F-150 towing features that are available. Not sure if it's on your truck (@dmattern) but the Pro Trailer back up assist is the bomb. Once you set it up it will literally put you dead center on your hitch every time. That's a big deal if you are hooking up by yourself. There are quite a few other towing features included but that one in particular stands out. 

DMattern

It IS on our TV and its one of the main reasons we got it. I've towed a few small trailers but a T@B will be a step up and I'm not shy about looking for help where I can get it!

tabiphile

Once you have that hitch set up perhaps you could return to this thread and explain what those 150 features are and how they work. It's game changing.

DMattern

I’d be glad to…We just need our trailer!
Kidding aside, I will report once I’ve got a handle on it.

RCB

I am on my second lease of a Subaru Ascent. It tows our 400 without complaint. It is rated 5000 / 500 lbs. Ample power (260hp) and consumption varies from 13 to 16 mpg. Tons of room for all that extra stuff.

dragonsdofly

@DMattern whatever vehicle you choose, my only recommendation is that you don't undersize your tow.

-Denise

tabiphile

All we had to do was add a 7 pin (with heavy gauge wire), a Curt Echo, a WDH and a backup camera. We have lots of room inside the rear hatch to carry all of our extra gear. We plan to add roof racks to carry our ebikes. We always empty the tanks before we tow and avoid all roads with greater than 1/2% inclines. 

nbrandt

What can I say?

DirtyRanger

Joining the conversation late, but here is my 2 cents.
We just downsized from a Class A to the TAB 400 BD.  When we had the Class A we had a Honda CR-V Toad and even though we were well within our limits, I always knew I was pulling it, particularly on mountain passes.  The Class A and CR-V have both gone to new homes, but I still have my 2017 Land Rover Discovery (Diesel) as a family car which has a 7500lb towing limit so I used that to get the 400 BD from the dealer to my house.  The journey was mostly highway and the Disco was easily able to tow it and stop.  No issues with instability and it was windy and snowing on the day we collected it. 

If I towed the 400BD to campsites with hook-ups a midsize or larger SUV's or small pickup such as the Ridgeline (a personal fav) and the Tacoma would be ideal.  But for me, I know we'll boondocking and having to travel at least some of the way with full with water + extra water + food + bicycles / dirt bike + chairs on the way there and then leave with full Black & Grey tanks plus all the same stuff and that would almost certainly take those vehicles to within 1000lbs of their max capacity even if it was for only some of the journey.
E.g. TAB 400BD + two people+ Fresh water + extra fresh water + food + chairs + mountain bikes / dirt bike + outdoor cooking stuff.

So in my case because of boondocking I believe a 1/2 ton pickup would be better.  So I test drove RAM, Ford, Nissan and Toyota 1/2 tons and decided to put a deposit down on a Tundra Hybrid and will trade in the Disco when it arrives (hopefully Summer).  Shame because the Disco has been fabulous for the 4 and a bit years we've had it.

Once I have the Tundra I'll re-post here and let you know how it performs

For those still doing their analysis my advice is to weigh everything including food and water, e.g. the 400BD water tank full is approximately 184lbs.  Then look at the total weight, also allowing for passengers and luggage in the TV and if you're within 1000lbs of the capacity of the TV either lose some weight or get a stronger TV.

Denny16

The GAWR of a TaB400 (all current models) is 3900 lbs. The Boondock Package – Width 90"/Height 107"/ has a dry Tongue Weight of 336lbs and a Total Gross Weight Dry 2,911lbs.  This gives you a 989 lbs of cargo weight in the TaB.  This is the max you can have in the trailer, including water, waste, camping gear, etc.   So a TV with a 6,000 lbs or greater tow rating can easily handle the TaB400.  The issue is the TV’s max cargo rating, which includes any passengers, cargo/gear in the TV and the TaB’s tongue weight, which can be as high as 450 lbs for a TaB400.  The weak spot is the TV’s max cargo rating, not the trailer weight tow rating.
 Cheers 

Dutch061

Max Cargo Rating AKA Payload Capacity which is clearly printed on the doorjamb label. 

Brad

Denny16

Yes Brad, that’s the one.  It is a lot less than the typical tow rating.  My Gladiator payload is only 1150 lbs, whilst the trailer tow rating is 6,500 lbs.  Subtract my TaB loaded tongue weight of 400 lbs, and my remaining truck cargo is 750 lbs.  Subtract passenger weight, and I am down to 600 lbs, a little more than half of what I started out with. 
cheers

N7SHG_Ham

Good points in last couple comments, most folks do NOT consider all the weights in the system and it very easy to overload the tow vehicle. I tow with a 2500 Ram diesel pickup. I have one of the heavy hitch weight Tab 400's (2019) and since that truck is also a work truck with tools usually, I am well within specs on ALL but the rear axle rating, where I bust over by 100-200 pounds, still within gross, still within tire ratings, but not the rear axle. I know that and I suspect that is why rear axle bearings are only good for around 100K miles as the truck even solo runs around 4000 pounds all the time for both axles, yes around 8000 pounds gross just driving around without the Tab 400. FYI, truck has 320k miles and still is a good dependable truck, but I do keep up on maintenance.

Logically, a person would say wow that is an overkill tow vehicle and other Tab owners have said that exact thing, and yet I bust on one of the weight ratings with a 3/4 ton pickup. So, yes when looking for a tow vehicle you might need something rated way higher than the trailer gross rating depending on how many people and stuff you also want to take. Kayaks, bikes, grill, screen tent, full tanks, several people in that crew cab are all going to quickly push you over on something.

CanadianTabber

We tow our 21 Tab 320BD with a 2016 Toyota Venza. So far we have taken this setup on 4 trips and average 16L/100km (14.7mpg). I have the Venza wired with a Tekonsha Primus brake controller. Though the Venza has a 3.5L V6 with 3500lbs towing capacity, we are careful about not overloaded the vehicle or trailer with extra weight.
The 6 speed transmission tends to hunt on hills so I usually tow in 5 gear to eliminate extra wear.
If I have had my druthers, I would like a bit more power, but for now, it works pretty good!

AirBoss

Another consideration may be...do you plan on owning a T@B forever? I know...blasphemy. But, in the event you really like towing a trailer (vise a 5th wheel or Class A, B, or C), it's better to have too much truck now than not enough truck later. 

TomCanada

While I'm in the camp of reducing overkill (I tow my Tab 400 with a 4400lb capacity SUV), I found this site earlier and had to question - isn't some of this stuff irresponsible? For example, they have a Mercedes C350 (tow capacity 4000lbs) pulling an Airstream 23' trailer (4800lbs dry).  And they put this on a site labelled 'towing expertise'..  yikes!

https://www.canamrv.ca/towing-expertise/videos/

Mouseketab

DMattern said:

I want to thank everyone who posted on this discussion. We learned a lot and it really helped with our decision. Yesterday we bought a 2021 F-150 hybrid with the tow package. We had also seriously considered a Toyota Highlander. It came down to while the Highlander could tow the T@B the truck was made for towing. For example, the Highlander owners manual says you should not use adaptive cruise or lane keeping while towing, but F-150 is fine with that and even lets you input trailer length to adjust its blind spot monitoring. We also like that when not towing the truck is more off-road capable and may help us get to more remote trailheads. Finally, since this is hybrid it has a 7.2 kW outlet - shore power wherever we go!  

Now we just have to wait for our T@B to get delivered!

Love my 21 F-150. I don't have the hybrid, but do have the 3.5 EcoBoost with Max Tow Package. It's a BEAST.

bergger

Towing a trailer on a test track is one thing.  But I can tell you I would not want to tow that big trailer with a Mercedes C350 on I80 across WY on a windy day with tractor trailers passing you at 85mph all day.  And always the chance of snow too! That was an experience of mine in Oct 2020.  Glad I had my full size truck with 4wd.