I am looking for a new tow vehicle but I need it to be wife friendly as she will be using it as her daily driver. I guess you could say I need a family vehicle that can tow a trailer. I have been looking at K2500 Suburbans with a 6L V8 and Turbo Diesel Excursions. I will be towing a 26ft trailer with it occaisionly. Does anyone use these as a tow vehicle?

Justin

 

I use a '96 K2500 Suburban with 7.4l Vortec V8. I pull a 24' enclosed trailer. Never a worry, smooth and comfortable tow. Lot's of room inside the truck for gear. The removable rear bench seat is a must.

 

I tow with a diesel Excursion. 24 foot trailer at 8-9000 lbs and my usual route includes the Grapevine (a very tough tow). Not only is the Grapevine a steep, long grade, it is prone to very gusty winds - not uncommon to side wind gusts exceeding 60 mph through there. The X does great - lots of torque from the diesel for the grade and long wheelbase for stability. Good hitch is a must as well as a good brake controller for any tow vehicle.

Diesel option if pricey but offset by much better fuel economy and usually lower diesel fuel prices. Personally, I would not tow with anything but diesel but if your routes are not terrible and you don't mind the poor mileage, gas will do the job. BTW - The Excursion has a 44 gal tank - I do 700-800 miles per tankful when not towing.

One downside is that I would not call it very friendly as a daily driver. It is big and very tall. If your wife is not comfortable with that size or needs access to covered parking, your garage, etc, it can be a problem.

 

I have 2003 Denali with the 6L V8. Tows a 22ft fully loaded trailer just fine up and down hills. Like it alot.

 

I have a 03 Diesel Excursion and it tows like nothing elese I have driven. I routinely tow 15k lbs with it and have towed over 20k on a few occasions. With the car on the trailer, you don't even notice it. 85 is easy on most upgrades and 15-20mpg is common. I strongly advise a good ($100+) digital brake controller. It will help make things easier with any vehicle. Also pay attention to you trailer weight balance, this is also a big factor is a nice tow.

 

May want to consider the Cayenne, a pretty good hauler

 

I tow a 18' enclosed trailer with a Cayenne S. My trailer and car are around 4500 pounds. There is plenty of torque, however the ride is somewhat unstable above 65mph and in gusty areas. I suppose the relative short wheel base does not help. With the cruise control set to 60mph fuel consumption is around 13.8mpg

It is a good compromise between every day use and tow vehicle for me.

ACW

 

I tow with the Suburban 8.3 gas engine version. Probably overkill for my enclosed 24' FeattherLite. Good brake controller is a must IMHO!

R

 

Justin,

If your getting a tow vehicle, I hope that means your 930 is up and running!

Any more excursions to VIR? I'm looking for a venue now that is runing the full course, but haven't found it yet. Hope to see you there again one day.

Jim

 

Jim
The 930 is close. The wife wants a new vehicle, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. I really want to rid myself of the f***ing Land Rover. It is a decent truck but it isn't too good at pulling a trailer. Wheelbase is too short and engine is underpowered. As far as full VIR days, I know there is one on Sept 20-21. It is a Mazda event. I am pretty much idle for the summer as far as events go. I have some in the fall scheduled. Hopefully the 930 will be done. If not, I'll have to take the M3.

Justin

 

I'm towing with a 4x4 F350 super cab V10 (gas) short bed P/U. My 28 ft. trailer weights around 7,000 lbs. with the car and it tows well. Look into a weight distributing hitch with sway control, I'm using a Reese dual cam. Prodigy makes a great brake controller. I get 8 - 9 MPG towing, about 12 MPG empty.

Unless you tow long distances or your wife commutes long distances, a gasser is OK. My wife wouldn't drive a diesel.

 

I'm looking forward to the VW Toureg with the V10 diesel to use as an everyday car and to tow with. There really isn't any comparison between diesel and gas for towing, diesels tow much better and get better fuel mileage.

 

I tow a 22 feet (box) enclosed aluminum trailer with my 5.3L Avalanche. It pulls it OK and I don't have to put up with the diesel clatter everyday. I used to pull with a Dodge Ram dualie Cummins Turbo Diesel that was a dream to tow with but a pain for everyday life.

Anyhow, for those of you considering a Cayenne or Touareg, I just tried one this weekend (Cayenne S) and it pulls great but it lacks wheelbase to give good straight line stability (specially when an 18 wheeler overtook us ont he interstate, no fun!).

My 2 cents, Juan

 

I can't say any more about the diesel Excursion as a very capable tow vehicle. I have a 28ft Pace with all the stuff in it pushing 10,000lbs. The only thing I will add is that if you do buy the Ford, have a load leveling system installed. Mine in 2002 did not have it standard like the Suburbans. Also, don't vacilate on your decision because Ford has decided to kill the Excursion model.

 

Justin:

Excursion.

Tows great. I do not have the diesel, but I do have the V10, which still pulls very well.

Get a weight distribution kit for your hitch.