penguinking

looking for a good used tow vehicle that is an SUV, not a pickup. here's what i have so far: car weights 3000lbs. trailer weighs 3200lbs. plus extra gear and tools weigh around another 500lbs. so thats about 7000lbs i'll need to tow. most SUV's i've seen (tahoe/suburban) tow 7000lbs MAX. but i havnt found another SUV short of an Excursion that can tow just as much. ideas guys?

MarkPcar

I have a 3/4 ton Suburban with the 8.1 liter engine and it has a 12,000lb towing capacitiy. I tow around 8,000lbs over the mountains (sea level to 5,500 feet) regularly - just today in fact. No problems, works great. 8-9 MPG.

penguinking

what model# or name is it? i've been looking at suburbans and i can't find one with that high a towing capacity. thanks

Stuttgart

http://www.chevrolet.com/suburban/specifications/

MarkPcar

Here is the link: http://www.chevrolet.com/suburban/34ton/

It's a Suburban, but you have to look for the 3/4 ton (not the 1/2 ton) AND you have to look for the Vortec 8100 motor (not the Vortec 6000).

Here is the page that shows the towing capacities: http://www.chevrolet.com/suburban/specifications/

You can find them used but they sell quick as they are popular with - people who tow boats, horses, cars, etc.

ngoldrich

I have the 3/4 Yukon XL 8.1 (GMC version of the Suburban) and tow a 10,000 lb trailer with no problem. It has autoride suspension and the bigger trans.

It is my second one. I had my first one for 4 years (2001) and now have a 2005. It works great.

Norm

ltc

Ford Excursion with PowerStroke Diesel:http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/excursion/
Ford is ending production in September, last order date is end of July.

My bride is on her second one (her first was a 2000, she now has a 2005)
44 gallon tank, great engine/transmission, room for 9 people and cargo. Very long weelbase. It will pull a house off of a foundation. Tow 7000# like it's not even there.

I've owned F series HD pickups, Suburbans and the Excursion, and of course the POS Cayenne.....the Excursion is the best all around tow vehicle by far.

killbugsfast

Have you looked at the Nissan Armada ? It can tow 7500 lbs. I bought one in 2004 , do not need it anymore . Same thing without SUV style is the Titan . The Armada has 305 HP, Tow Package,DVD,sits 8,Bose,leather. Great truck.

I have a 2003 2500HD Duramax 4X4 Crew Cab,a real towing vehicle.
killbugsfast

hacker-pschorr

Ture the 3/4 ton is a better tow vehicle, but the base model is fine. My friend has been towing cars with his base 1995 Suburban since he bought it new. 125,000 miles on the odo it's been solid as a rock. He's brought back cars from Tampa Bay, Main, Arizona etc.... to Green Bay. Take my situation, I have 6 cars and now shopping for a tow vehicle to take my track car to events ruther away than Road America. I will only drive this vehicle when towing my car so spending a ton of $$$ on it is silly. A base Jeep Charokee would do fine, these cars are not very heavy. Another friend of mine has been towing his 65 427 Vette around for the past 4 years with a base Jeep 6-cyl.

Lemming

I will second the Excursion. I have not owned one personally but a friend has one and it is great for towing with lots of storage room. I do have experience with the Ford diesel when I had my 2002 F250 CC 4x4, that was one awesome pulling machine.

hacker-pschorr

Measure your garage before you buy an Excursion. A friend of mine traded in his Expedition only to find the Excursion was a few inches to tall to fit into his garage.

TMH

I have generally liked Ford vehicles, so when we were looking at tow vehicles we looked at both the Explorer and the Expedition. The "problem" is that it would only be used about 5% for towing, and 95% for "around town" and other trips. My wife would be the primary driver when not towing.

She loved the Explorer and it seemed to have an adequate towing capacity, so we were going to buy one, but could not make the deal. Good thing too, as the Explorer would not have been a great tow vehicle, especially due to its shorter (in comparison) wheel base. We also drove the Expeditions which, while nice, seemed too big for her liking.

Looking for something between the Explorer and Expedition in size, we checked out a Dodge Durango. These were shorter in overall length, yet the cabin was arranged such that there was actually a little more front and rear leg room as compared to the Expedition. IIRC, the Durango's wheelbase was equivalent to, or a little longer than the Expedition's. Anyway, my wife loved it, especially after she drove the one with the Hemi engine, and that is what we bought (a 2004 model - First year of the larger size Durango's).

IIRC it has about an 8900# towing capacity, and came set up with hitch and wiring. All I needed to add was the brake controller, which was a direct plug-in install. My car/trailer combo is only about 4000#, and I probably pack about another 500+# of stuff in the back of the Durango. It tows that load without me even knowing that it is back there, which was the feeling I was hoping for. The Durango has also been reliable, and as I am cruising down Highway 5 to Buttonwillow, or up it to ThunderHill, I am averaging about 16mpg (while towing, with the engine still breaking in, and averaging 70-75 mph).

The Durango ended up being all that we needed for a tow, town and trip vehicle.

Tom

TD in DC

Have you considered the Cayenne? The website says that all three variants with the special tow package have towing capacity in excess of 7,000 lbs (7,500 lbs I think).

Chaos

Yukon with a RV cam !

MRW

I have basically the same setup and weights, Penguinking, and am towing with an Infiniti QX56. 9,000 Lb towing capacity, self-leveling rear suspension, tows the rig very nicely, if not economically!