RJay

Tow vehicles that are not pickups and don't have huge diesel engines with pistons the size of my massive biceps are for gurly men

jrgordonsenior

I thought the same way until 2 weeks ago when hauling back from Phoenix across that never-ending bleeping desert in my crew-cab dually. It was 105 out there and my 454/turbo 400/ 4:10 RE was pushing the 3/4 mark on the temp gauge with the air on full cold. I got passed by 2 Excursions both pulling race cars, and then a Surburban with a full trailer with a big head wind. I was at 75 and they must have all been around 85 or so. Truly pissed me off, I kept expecting to see them all on the side of the road with blown radiators but it never happened.....

Larry Herman

My Yukon XL Denali is awesome. 6 liter, 320 HP & who knows how much torque. It cruises up and down the hills around here no problem, and we have some pretty good hills. Gets 10 mpg towing and 15 or so around town on regular gas, but I am always towing something for work, so it was a great "dual-purpose" purchase. And it is a pleasure to use for daily transportation. Mine is 3 years old & has 70,000 miles.

TD in DC

And it has OnStar, which can come in handy

kary993

My 2003 Yukon Denali tows #8000. I am pulling right around #7000 without any issue up the largest of hills out here in California. No issue. 6 liter V8 work well, rear ride height adjustment with built in compressor to adjust.

Bull

Here is an interesting comparison of some of the vehicles being discussed here:

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...6/article.html

Properly equiped, a Ford Expedition is rated at 8900lbs. Of course, an F250 PSD is the way you should go!

Robert Henriksen

There's your problem right there.

fatbillybob

I third the suburban 8.1 liter 2500. I got the 4wd too! I tow the same as you up moutain pases all the time and routinely pass other cars. It tows steady as a rock and I use no weight dist hitch because the sub comes standard with autoride heioght control. The unit comes preplumbed for a electronic brake controler too. What more can you ask for. Also 10,000 cap with 3.73 rear or 12,000ca with 4:10 LSD. I run big tires one size over and 410's LSD about 10mpg. I like to tow with lots of head room. A truck that tows 8000lbs and you got 7000 just plain sucks IMHO. You want so much power that you feel like you are towing nothing. Also, I tow like crazy and I live in hills tow up and down the sepuveda pass and from hills la to lancaster to WSIR and up/down the grapevine to buttonwillow. . I have 43k miles and I still have not needed to change my brake pads! Now that is truely amazing

DrJupeman

I third the Excursion diesel. 20 mpg highway unloaded, 15 mpg mixed, 10 mpg towing. Hard to beat it.

jim911

3/4 ton suburban with 8.1. I'm on my 2nd one,handle nicer than a 1/2 ton or denali, not so mushy. 12 to 13 normal, 8.5 to 9 pulling 8500lbs.

mikew968

I am currently towing a 20' enclosed trailer with a VW Touareg. It does pretty well and has a 7700# rating. You just have to remember you can't run as fast as the bigger vehicals. I think towing an open trailer with the Touareg would be a breeze. Plenty of power and great Brembo brakes. I have 968 at 3000#, trailer at about 3000#, and 500# to 1000# of gear.


Mike

RTP356

I have the Chevy 8.1 motor with the Wipple supercharger and intercooler - 525 hp and 740 lbs of torque. Pulls up any hill at any speed. Oh, 8 mpg - guess you can't have everything!

MJR911

Lewis, Why do you call the Cayenne a POS? We're considering one after the mountaineer (explorer) has too many issues at 75,000. We're trailering a trailex open trailer and the Cayenne seems like it should more than get the job done if the mountaineer can do it. What am I missing? any why are all 3 of the Cayenne engines rated at the same capacity?!

ltc

I call it a POS because my experience with it leads me to that inescapable conclusion. The Cayenne has its own file cabinet drawer for papework, invoices, etc. All my other cars wouldn't fill a drawer.
(I was going to get a Carrera GT, but my Cayenne experience made me change my mind....no, PCNA could care less when I expressed my decision in letter form).
Too many problems, too many trips to the shop, a vehicle trying to be everything to everyone and being a modest compromise in the end. Fine, lesson learned. I currently have 44K miles and can't imagine owning it once the 50K warranty is up.
FWIW, my local dealer has been exceptional, exceeding any expectation I could have for any dealer.
Interestingly enough, the later MY05 builds seem to be better for reliability/issues; maybe I just got the odd duck. Who knows. Lots of opinions/comments in the Cayenne forum.

Yes, the V6 is rated the same as a V8 is rated the same as a TT V8 Cayenne....however, you have to ask yourself how well a V6 will tow 7600# comapred to a TTV8. Can you say avoid hills?

eclou

I tow with w V8 airsuspension Touareg. Plenty of power (I'm on level ground though) and I routinely cruise at 80-90 mph. The auto-level air suspension makes the Touareg tow like a longer wheelbase truck. Very stable, without bobbing and jerking. About 10-11 mpg. Also, the air suspension helps me with loading and unloading with my roll-back trailer, making the incline of the ramp/bed very gentle. No wood cheater blocks required at all!!