Recommended Tow Vehicles

WillieontheRoad

We are currently towning our new 400 with a V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  On our trip from Austin-Florida on level coastal highways the GC performed like a champ.  Now we are in NM and hitting some upgrades and she is beginning to struggle.  We are worried that when we escape this Texas summer and head for the western mountains that we will be underpowered.
I need mountain tow vehicle suggestions from experienced T@Bers.  V8, diesel, etc?  We are currently considering a V8 Dodge Durango RT, but need any suggestions from you guys.  Our 193in. Jeep GC just fits in the garage with the hitch installed, so please no long beastly SUV’s or pick-up truck suggestions.

manny

Willieontheroad,  if you love that Grand Cherokee, Maybe a GC with the Hemi V-8... I looked at them  last year.. Out of my price range...  might fit in garage..  Good luck with your search...   P.S. even though i have a Honda pilot..   I`m a Mopar man from way back..

4ncar

I LOVE my Grand Cherokee DIESEL! Pulls like a team of Clydesdales and gets killer fuel economy!

Ratkity

Rumors are that Ford is going to offer a diesel in the F-150. I'm waiting to see how that works out!

rkj__

If you are looking for good power in a smaller footprint, I think the Grand Cherokee is one of your better options.  Both the diesel and the Hemi should take your 400 up mountains without struggle.  Most who tow seem to love diesel torque, and it's ability to hold a gear, but I've never driven one myself.  

4ncar

For what it’s worth...I wouldn’t tow anything with regularity with anything but a diesel. Prior to towing my 320, I pulled an 8000# slope nose trailer for my race car. First tried an H2(with a 355 in it). Couldn’t pull up hills. Then came my Cummins . Pulled like a freight train. The ecodiesel in my GC does the same with my tab.

Ron

I think that you need to consider how much 15 minutes a day is worth.  Newer diesels are expensive to buy, expensive to fuel, and expensive to service and repair.
Your GC has a transmission to help you on the hills.  You will still not be the slowest on the hills, the loaded trucks will be.  Some states allow trucks in the west to gross in the 120,000# plus range.  And Canada, add another 20,000#.
It seems silly to me that the RV community seems to think that they don't have enough time to slow down for a 6-8% grade.

Sharon_is_SAM

And, for the record, on a long pass grade near Vail, our mini-van maintained 50 mph!  Top that!

WillieontheRoad

Thanks Ron and Sam,
Your common sense advice just might have saved us thousands of dollars.
Alan & Willie

pamela

We have just purchased a Tab 400 and are pulling it with a V8 GMC Sierra 1500.  We also live in the mountains so the few trips that we have taken so far involve mountain passes .  The truck pulls the trailer well and seems to have enough power to do so but the fuel economy definitely drops when pulling faster than 100km/hour.  So if we are not in a rush this truck is definitely well suited.

rkj__

WillieontheRoad said:

Thanks Ron and Sam,
Your common sense advice just might have saved us thousands of dollars.
Alan & Willie

If my truck has to rev at 4-5k RPM to get up a hill, I don't consider that a struggle. 

Many V6 engines make their peak torque and horsepower fairly close to the redline.  Don't be afraid to let the engine rev high to get you up a mountain, as long as engine and transmission temperatures don't go crazy high.

It may be an issue of need vs want.  It's certainly nice to have power to spare, but you may not need to go 65 mph up a mountain when on vacation.  But, when you have your foot to the floor and the speedometer drops to 55, to 50, to 45, it certainly is less comfortable.

Good luck with your decision.

WillieontheRoad

Thanks rkj,
Further reasons why we should hold onto the 2016 V6 Grand Cherokee that we love and not jump ship.  Besides, she only has 16,000 miles on her...just a baby.
Keep Calm and T@B on,
Alan, Joan and Willie

Marceline

WillieontheRoad said:

Thanks rkj,
Further reasons why we should hold onto the 2016 V6 Grand Cherokee that we love and not jump ship.  Besides, she only has 16,000 miles on her...just a baby.
Keep Calm and T@B on,
Alan, Joan and Willie

Pardon my ignorance but is it equipped with a transmission cooler? If not, then it might be a worthwhile investment.  

Luckyj

You made up your mind, witch is good.

would have been nice and easier to help you knowing what you ment by struggle going up hill.

and I agree with the fact that accepting to slow down going up is ok.  I run a TJL 2005 wrangler, and to me, the topless drive is easly worth drving in the right lane going up hill when on vacation. Eck, I just can't wait to drive 3500 miles to be able to drive in the right lane on the long inclines of the rockies.  Lol

Fergie

Towing Tales 

When we were planning our move to Alaska from southern Minnesota back in 2015 with our 2015 T@B that we finally made in last summer in 2017, I had read enough from this forum and others to know we didn't want to be underpowered. After a long search throughout our region I ended up with a used 2009 Ford Expedition powered by a V8 in excellent condition.  

Of course gas mileage was the tradeoff for this towing power.  However, because of the V8 power, on a long trip pulling the T@B at mostly highway speeds only dropped the mileage from the 15-18 mpg range without the trailer to 11-14 mpg.  

On our move trip this was with a fully loaded camper and a "packed" SUV since we brought everything we thought we would need until we got housing in Alaska. I estimate, besides the two of us, we carried at least 800 lbs. or more of belongings in the camper and SUV. 

We traveled over 8000 miles on our trip visiting friends and family across the western U.S. before heading up to the Alaska Highway and on to Palmer, Alaska our destination. We never had any problems with mountains in the Rockies or in Alaska and were able to keep up with auto traffic under all conditions. 

One word of caution, however: In the summer of 2016 we took a "test run" with the T@B out to the east coast to visit my daughters in New York State and Massachusetts. It was very hot and we got stuck in a "stop and go" traffic jam outside of Chicago. I experienced some rough engine performance and had to pull over and let the system cool off. After about 20 minutes, things went back to normal and I never had that happen again. After we returned I found out that the Expedition was NOT equipped with a transmission cooler and that sensors in the transmission can start shutting the engine down if it overheats! Thus before we left on our Alaska trip I had a factory equivalent transmission cooler installed!  We thus experienced no heating problems our entire move trip during an extremely hot summer that included a run through the Great Salt Lake Desert in 107-degree temps!

Fergie

jcfaber1

Regarding Chicago, there are two forms of driving. 1). Winter Driving 2). Road Repair.  I always recommend avoiding Chicago if possible.
John

Fergie

jcfaber1  Posts: 309Member

 2:19PM

Regarding Chicago, there are two forms of driving. 1). Winter Driving 2). Road Repair.  I always recommend avoiding Chicago if possible.
John

I knew that after many trips out east over the years, but since they had finished I-90 modifications (so I thought!) I decided to try it once more. A really bad decision! On our return we traveled much further south! Never again near the Windy City! On the plus side I did find out about our lack of transmission cooler!

Fergie

ColleenD2

Fergie, our friend Kevin owns the Palmer Deli. You should stop by and tell him Colleen & Den sent ya. And where did you get your factory equivalent cooler installed and what does that mean exactly? Ford parts? We are debating which Ford will be best for us and living and traveling in Midwest heat mostly worries me. Right now it looks like that only comes standard on the Escape Titanium and only the Flex has an engine oil cooler and I wonder if that is necessary as well.

Mouseketab

I tow my 2007 T@B with a 2009 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Limited with the 4.6 V8. I would feel very comfortable towing a 400 also. I ordered it with the tow package, heavy duty hitch, transmission cooler, and switched charge line. It has 131K miles on it and will continue to be my tow until the wheels fall off

DougH

BMW 328d diesel wagon.  Rated for 3900lbs (280 ft lbs torque) and we're using a Class 3 Invisihitch setup.  We buy most of our cars lightly used, and these go for ~$30k without too many miles. Had to put adjustable spring perches under the rear coils to level things up.  First trip from Denver to Dallas (not towing) got an average 51mpg.  Towing the T@B around we get 25-30mpg.