SUV vs. Pick-up

[tcartwri]

I went from a heavy half ton pickup to a 1 ton Ford Club Wagon to an Explorer with a trailer.

The Van was a beast of a vehicle and obviously the king of cargo, but it was underpowered for what it was. ( 5.8 L )

The pickup was a nuisance in the winter and I wasn't going to put a cap or a cover on it. Didn't make sense to ruin the capabilities of the box.

The Explorer will carry more than either one with a single axle $1200 trailer, and the interior will handle basically all of our day to day people moving stuff.

 

[bigtiller]

It's a "country thing" :laughing:

Ken

Your right about that. :thumbsup:

I have been driving a PU since '86.

 

[JDgreen227]

Used to have a heavy half ton F150 with a cap, it could carry a ton of cargo and 3 people, and tow 3 tons. I really liked being able to throw all kinds of stuff in the bed without worrying about damage. Yet, the cap limited the height of bulky items, and passenger capacity was very limited.

MY Yukon XL will carry the same ton of cargo, plus 5-8 passengers, will take 40 sheets of 4X8 material in back, and with the 2500 lb. capacity aluminum trailer hitched I can haul just about anything that will not fit in the back of the Yukon, and just dump in dirt, compost, etc. I can also tow an 8000 pound trailer with the full load of 8 passengers.

To me, a big SUV and a utility trailer are the ultimate in flexibility for anything you might want to carry.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks for all of the input. I am in Eastern ON so 4x4 is a necessity.

I am leaning towards staying SUV, I have a small (4x8) dump trailer and I am looking for a 16' float. It is handy to have interior space clean and dry.

I did not realize that newer sub's would be better, I figured that my older one would be built heavier and would take the work better than a newer citified version. I am keeping an eye for a 3/4 diesel sub but they are not easy to find. But 3/4 diesel pick-ups are around.

Thanks

Mike

A late model 3/4 ton Suburban/Yukon with the 6.0 will put you old one to shame. A Ford Excursion with the V10 or better yet a diesel will run circles around it. The 8.1 GM had also makes good power but they are hit or miss on things like oil consumption.

Chris

 

[RoyJackson]

I think a full sized crewcab pick up is the best way to go. There's plenty of room inside the cab as well as the power to pull a decent sized traler (if you pick the right truck/engine combo).
For things like "bags of feed", either plan on waiting for a dry day, or use a tarp.
As far as the rear ends being squirrely...well, that's the nature of the beast (when not loaded). I keep a few 50 lbs bags of sand in the bed of my F-150.

 

[jeffsw6]

I did not realize that newer sub's would be better, I figured that my older one would be built heavier and would take the work better than a newer citified version. I am keeping an eye for a 3/4 diesel sub but they are not easy to find. But 3/4 diesel pick-ups are around.

It is a huge difference. I could write a thousand words on how much better I like my 05 K1500 5.3 than my older 99 K1500 5.7 without ever mentioning the improved creature comforts, but really what you should do is try one out. IMO the 2000 model year was a huge improvement and it has been mostly incremental from there.

 

[bigbull338]

i see yall have forgoten 1 thing to factor in.a suv will wear out faster pulling an hauling loads ment for a truck to haul.but the suvs are nice to have.weve made our suv squat down bad because of hauling 300lbs in the back.

 

[JDgreen227]

i see yall have forgoten 1 thing to factor in.a suv will wear out faster pulling an hauling loads ment for a truck to haul.but the suvs are nice to have.weve made our suv squat down bad because of hauling 300lbs in the back.

Depends of the chassis the SUV is built on my Yukon is a 3/4 ton model and hooking up a 700 pound tongue weight travel trailer to the hitch only compresses the springs an inch and a half at most.

 

[RoyJackson]

Depends of the chassis the SUV is built on my Yukon is a 3/4 ton model and hooking up a 700 pound tongue weight travel trailer to the hitch only compresses the springs an inch and a half at most.

Some SUVs are built on truck chassises (did I spell that right?) and shouldn't wear out any quicker then a pick up.
Tires might be a different story...SUVs are built more for comfort and hauling people. The OEM tires may not be up to the task of hauling a trailer.

 

[bigbull338]

Depends of the chassis the SUV is built on my Yukon is a 3/4 ton model and hooking up a 700 pound tongue weight travel trailer to the hitch only compresses the springs an inch and a half at most.

well this is a compact suv,an its treated an taken care of like a farm truck.your right the bigger frames help.but you still run the risk of blowing it out.now if i loaded an suv down like your talking about it still would squat down with our without a trailer on it.

 

[cdaigle430]

I'm an SUV van, always have been. Currently-I am looking into getting a dual axle dump trailer that can hold about 7,000 pounds. My Jeep Hemi can to 7,200 lbs so the trailer is more than enough for me. Of couse I will need an electric brake hookup and load\anti sway hitch.

 

[bigbull338]

roy ive got friends that can thrash out new 1 ton trucks every 3yrs with the loads they pull an haul.the big suvs will do the same if put under a heavy load day in an day out.now normal use thats another thing.

 

[RoyJackson]

roy ive got friends that can thrash out new 1 ton trucks every 3yrs with the loads they pull an haul.the big suvs will do the same if put under a heavy load day in an day out.now normal use thats another thing.

"normal use" is like beauty...it's in the eye of the beholder.
So, no disagreement with your post.

 

[JDgreen227]

Some SUVs are built on truck chassises (did I spell that right?) and shouldn't wear out any quicker then a pick up.
Tires might be a different story...SUVs are built more for comfort and hauling people. The OEM tires may not be up to the task of hauling a trailer.[/QU

Agree there, load ranges and tire capacity at maximum psi can vary widely depending on what the maker chooses to install at the factory.

 

[JDgreen227]

I'm an SUV van, always have been. Currently-I am looking into getting a dual axle dump trailer that can hold about 7,000 pounds. My Jeep Hemi can to 7,200 lbs so the trailer is more than enough for me. Of couse I will need an electric brake hookup and loadanti sway hitch.

Nice trailer, but what does it weigh? If your Jeep can tow 7200 pounds I hope you are not planning to put 7000 pounds of cargo in the trailer...hmmm...trailer weight alone would be about 2400 pounds? Just guessing. And if you say you need a brake control and hitch, does your Jeep already have a factory receiver?

 

[Dmace]

I'm an SUV van, always have been. Currently-I am looking into getting a dual axle dump trailer that can hold about 7,000 pounds. My Jeep Hemi can to 7,200 lbs so the trailer is more than enough for me. Of couse I will need an electric brake hookup and load\anti sway hitch.

I have the exact same trailer and it weighs 1870lbs empty so you'll have around 5k lbs load capacity. You can probably skip the Weight Distribution hitch as there is very little tongue weight on these trailers. The load is right over the axles, plus with such a short overall length and axles so close to the hitch, they pull very straight no need for the anti sway.

 

[Ken45101]

I'm an SUV van, always have been. Currently-I am looking into getting a dual axle dump trailer that can hold about 7,000 pounds. My Jeep Hemi can to 7,200 lbs so the trailer is more than enough for me. Of couse I will need an electric brake hookup and loadanti sway hitch

Yeah, we have a Jeep that's rated to tow 7000# too. No way in the world would I do it!

Sure, it can PULL the load, but how well can it control it in an emergency maneuver? Short wheel base, soft suspension, unibody "frame". Thank you but I will reserve those kind of loads to a real truck, preferably a 3/4 ton.

I consider a Suburban to be equal to a half ton pickup (or a 3/4t if they still make the C2500 Suburban) since they are built on the same frame and suspension. But not the smaller unibody SUVs.

Ken

 

[jeffsw6]

Yeah, we have a Jeep that's rated to tow 7000# too. No way in the world would I do it!

I guess there is more than one Jeep vehicle, but the ones I am familiar with, the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, are horrible tow vehicles. These are just marketing numbers for the person who wants to haul his boat to the lake a few times a year, and white-knuckle the whole trip hoping that there is no wind, no need to make a sudden stop, and has a well-loaded trailer without too much or too little tongue weight.

There is a huge difference between the kind of "SUV" the original poster has, a Suburban, and a grocery-hauler "SUV." The Ford Expedition and Toyota Sequoia are also quite good tow vehicles. Certainly the Excursion is also, but of course they stopped making it.

Marketing can be very deceiving, though. Until I drove one, I thought the new, bigger Dodge Durango would be a decent little towing vehicle. I was wrong, it sucks.

There is also a huge difference between towing a boat on a trailer that is made for that specific boat, and a general-purpose cargo trailer that may not be perfectly loaded every time. That's why you see these people going down the highway with a 25' boat with a couple of mercruiser V8s behind their Jeep Grand Cherokee on a tri-axle trailer and it looks (and probably is) okay, but that same guy can go to U-Haul, rent a 5x8 box trailer, load it all wrong, and end up unable to brake or steer.

 

[Ken45101]

I guess there is more than one Jeep vehicle, but the ones I am familiar with, the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, are horrible tow vehicles.

We have the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's fine hauling a couple of 4 wheelers or the Kubota RTV900 (1800#) on a light trailer. No way would I put a 2000# trailer with a #5000 tractor on it behind the GC. But then we didn't buy it as a hauler, that's what we have the dually pickup for. We just need 4wd to get up our driveway.

I would think the classic type Jeeps would be even worse tow vehicles.

Ken

 

[JDgreen227]

The above post (#38) reminded me of when I used to subscribe to TRAILER BOATS magazine, a lot of the readers wrote in to ask the editor's advice about towing, and one of the editor's favorite statements was:

"If you have a small truck, get a small boat, and if you want a big boat, then get a big truck."