SUV vs. Pick-up

[Egon]

Small truck = small wallet!
Big truck= big wallet

:thumbsup:

 

[RichZ]

For years I had 2 full sized pick ups (Chevy Silverado 1500 and a Ford F250), both fwd, and a 3/4 ton GMC cargo van. But as gas prices rose, they were just eating too much gas. Several years ago, I bought a 2000 Explorer at a farm auction. I really like the suv, and started using it to haul hay with a trailer. I finally got rid of the pick ups and the van. The Explorer gets decent gas mileage for a 4wd vehicle, and it hauls what I need with a trailer. I never thought I'd get rid of my trucks, and I agonized over getting rid of them, but I actually don't miss them and I use a heck of lot less gas. Plus my wife now drives a 4 cylinder Dodge Caravan. That thing gets 25-30 mpg and actually has quite a bit of cargo room inside.

 

[Ken45101]

Our Jeep Grand Cherokee only gets slightly better fuel economy than my C3500 diesel dually....

Ken

For years I had 2 full sized pick ups (Chevy Silverado 1500 and a Ford F250), both fwd, and a 3/4 ton GMC cargo van. But as gas prices rose, they were just eating too much gas. Several years ago, I bought a 2000 Explorer at a farm auction. I really like the suv, and started using it to haul hay with a trailer. I finally got rid of the pick ups and the van. The Explorer gets decent gas mileage for a 4wd vehicle, and it hauls what I need with a trailer. I never thought I'd get rid of my trucks, and I agonized over getting rid of them, but I actually don't miss them and I use a heck of lot less gas. Plus my wife now drives a 4 cylinder Dodge Caravan. That thing gets 25-30 mpg and actually has quite a bit of cargo room inside.

 

[RichZ]

My Explorer gets a pretty constant 22 mpg, my Silverado got about 15. my F250 never got more than 12. So 22 looks pretty good to me.

 

[JDgreen227]

My Explorer gets a pretty constant 22 mpg, my Silverado got about 15. my F250 never got more than 12. So 22 looks pretty good to me.

My Yukon XL 2500 (4wd, 4:10 gears) averages 12.5-13, except on the freeway where it will deliver about 16.5 if you don't go over 65 mph. Makes me glad I only drive it less than 2,000 miles a year.

 

[yelbike]

Keep in mind if you buy a yukon or tahoe with third row seating, there is no storage behind. The Suburban has much more room.
As far as towing 7000lbs with a vehicle thats rated for 7200lbs.....thats nuts. You'll kill you vehicle. Your tow vehicle should be rated for least 25% more than your trailer so you have some wiggle room. Emergencies???? IMO.

 

[john_bud]

Emergencies? I'd like to see how well some of the rigs mentioned (and seen on the road) handle little things like trailer brakes failing on the road. Most SUV's simply don't have the real brake power to stop the vehicle and loaded trailer in that case.

When you get to talking about 3/4 ton - they do. But I don't see there being any real gain over a truck then. Both stink on economy. Both maneuver with the nimbleness of school bus. :laughing:

If you can match needs with a smaller vehicle, great all the way around. For a lot of the things mentioned even an old Crown Vic could tow it and get FAR better mileage. But when you start talking about wanting to tow 7k of load plus trailer, even the best 1/2 tons start to be overly stressed.

 

[Dmace]

As far as towing 7000lbs with a vehicle thats rated for 7200lbs.....thats nuts. You'll kill your vehicle.

You people are funny!
Towing 7k lbs with a vehicle rated at 7,200lbs will kill it?
Your obviously driving the wrong vehicle. These vehicles already have a large safety factor in the towing capacity. You really think they are gonna recommend using a vehicle to it's absolute limit?
I don't recommend it but I've towed more than rated on many vehicles and all handled pretty well, you just need to know how to drive.
The most I towed with an SUV was two sleds in an enclosed trailer with an 04 Grand Cherokee V8, only about 3200lbs but no sweat. I have no doubt a newer GC will tow 7k easily and control it.

 

[lostcause]

there's just no perfect choice out there when trying to decide between an suv and pickup. i have a 3/4 ton crew cab now and it is great when there's just two of us - we've got room in the back seat for dry storage of gear and still have the bed for the not-so clean stuff, and can trailer the big and bulky. when we need to haul four people then it's all out the window. the stuff you had in the back seat gets moved to the body, and what was in the body either gets left out or put in the trailer, and what was on the trailer before may not fit now, or you may have to haul the trailer now when you didn't have to before. it all depends on how well each type of cargo reacts with the other. you can't move the groceries from the back seat to the body if you're hauling a yard of bulk composted manure in there.

i remember many years ago someone built a truck out of a s-blazer and pickup back body - i think it was made as a prerunner for a baja team. if they could do something like that on a larger size it would be great. i want the four doors in a truck but i'd like the suv cargo room behind the rear seats and then the body. we often do some longer trips and there's usually some bad weather involved where you don't want your clothes or perishable groceries in the body - especially if it's already full. i know there's always the cap option, but murphy's law always prevails. if i had a cap i'd need to haul something home that wouldn't fit under the cap. i do use a folding tonneau whenever i can, but it's not the perfect solution either. i vote for a yukon/tahoe/expedition with a back body. i don't need the full length they offer behind the rear seats, but an 18-24 inch space back there would be great.

 

[Ken45101]

As for manufacturer's "tow ratings", our old Chevy Chevette (1970's sub compact) was rated to tow 3000# even though there was nothing to attach a hitch to! Totally crazy!

Manufacturer's tow ratings seem to be done by the marketing people, not the safety engineers.

I had a real eye opener a few years ago. We were exploring down in WVa for a place to take the horses camping. We did NOT have a trailer with us at the time.

Coming down a 5 mile 6% grade on I-64, we came around a curve and there was a semi that was pulled off to the side except that the rear of the trailer totally blocked the right lane. We were in the midst of the other semis doing emergency lane changes. It was scary enough without a trailer, much less considering what it would have been like with a 13000# trailer attached. I can only imagine how an SUV with a heavy trailer would have been out of control....

Think about this: could your tow setup handle an emergency maneuver on a downhill curve????

Ken

 

[Dmace]

Think about this: could your tow setup handle an emergency maneuver on a downhill curve????

Ken

I know mine can, I can stop faster with a trailer than without. With proper brakes and brake controller, a good trailer could stop a truck with no brakes at all.

Also, those looking for a pickup with more interior storage: DODGE RAM MEGA CAB!

 

[Ken45101]

You people are funny!
Towing 7k lbs with a vehicle rated at 7,200lbs will kill it?
Your obviously driving the wrong vehicle. These vehicles already have a large safety factor in the towing capacity. You really think they are gonna recommend using a vehicle to it's absolute limit?

Of course they will, it's marketing!

Of course, it's one thing to tow the max limit at 35 mph on flat roads for a few miles once or twice a year. It's a totally different situation to tow the "max' at 60 mph over hilly, curvy roads.

I don't recommend it but I've towed more than rated on many vehicles and all handled pretty well, you just need to know how to drive.
The most I towed with an SUV was two sleds in an enclosed trailer with an 04 Grand Cherokee V8, only about 3200lbs but no sweat. I have no doubt a newer GC will tow 7k easily and control it.

What magic (besides marketing), do you think occurred between 2004 and 2006?

I certainly won't risk my life and the lives of others on the road with such a combination. The Jeep GC handles 3000# just fine. But I certainly would double that!

YMMV, but let me know when you do it so I can stay off the roads.

Ken

 

[Ken45101]

I know mine can, I can stop faster with a trailer than without. With proper brakes and brake controller, a good trailer could stop a truck with no brakes at all.

I'm not talking about straight line stopping. I agree with you there, the trailer brakes should handle the majority of the load. What I'm talking about is stability on curves, especially if you come around a curve and a deer jumps out in front of you, or a car pulls out unexpectedly. Or my gosh, you have a wreck and lose control.... then what happens?

Ken

 

[Diamondpilot]

You guys have flawed logic. The manufacture rates the vehicles at what is safe. How is towing at max rating with a SUV any different the with a 1/2 Dodge Ram a 1 ton F350? They rate them at what they can do and warranty. You don't need a 3/4 ton ram to pull a log splitter or even a little 7K dump.

I towed Corvettes many many miles behind my wifes V8 2004 Mountaineer and my 5600# tractor. All this on my 18' car hauler. It was plenty capable and safe. The shortest trip was 120 miles and the longest maybe 250. Yes, I had the big PowerStroke F350 but many times we had kids, dog, and belongings to take with.

As for what changed in the early 2000's start with disc brakes, more gears in the trannys, larger cooling systems and oil sumps, ect.

Chris

 

[JDgreen227]

I read an article in Trailer Life magazine maybe 15 years ago, that said if you are involved in an accident with a trailer being towed behind your vehicle, and should be accident appear to be the fault of another driver:

If the other driver's insurance company would have your truck and trailer weighed, and the weight was over the GCWR the maker of your truck recommended, you could be held partially at fault for the accident because you were negligent. At the time I read that article, I was towing a 6400 lb. loaded travel trailer, with a 5000 lb. pickup. My truck was rated at 5000 lbs. towing capacity with the 4.9 six and the 3.08 gears, with a total GCWR of 10,000 pounds. So I was 1.400 lbs. over the factory GCWR. Did it worry me...yes, a little. The same model F 150 with the 351 V8 and a 3.55 axle had the same suspension and brakes my six-cylinder model did, yet the tow rating was 7,900 pounds with a GCWR of 12,500 lbs. Sure, it could pull the 6400 pounds better, but stop and turn better? Nope.

I think back to that article sometimes and wonder if the author was just trying to worry readers needlessly.

 

[cdaigle430]

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?

1900 lbs so I can haul up to 5,000 lbs-probably will never go above 4,000 and my tractor is 2700 lbs.

 

[cdaigle430]

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

My tractor ways 2700lbs, and any load that comes close to 4000lbs would be local only. I have towed 2 pallets of pellets before with no problem. I dont want a monster truck sitting in my yard-doesnt make sense to have one for the amount of time I need to tow heavy loads.

The trailer will mostly be used for landscaping and home improvement only.

Later I will be buying a 24' to 27' camper for towing as well. The Jeep is capable-it has a longer wheel base than the prior model but I know I will have to be carefull and maybe make a few mods.

The great thing about buying a trailer like this is it's not tied down to any one vehicle. If I get rid of my Jeep tomorrow-I still have the trailer for the new vehicle.

 

[cdaigle430]

I'm not talking about straight line stopping. I agree with you there, the trailer brakes should handle the majority of the load. What I'm talking about is stability on curves, especially if you come around a curve and a deer jumps out in front of you, or a car pulls out unexpectedly. Or my gosh, you have a wreck and lose control.... then what happens?

Ken

But-this can and will be a problem in any vehicle thats towing.

 

[slowzuki]

I wouldn't get too scared by the old tow ratings, a lot of it was for warrantee purpose. Your max axle weight ratings do however matter a lot!

I can't remember the exact numbers but my F350 crew cab, longbox is only rated to tow something like 5000 lbs because it only has the 5.4. Same axles, brakes, tires etc but change to the V10 or diesel and the tow rating jumps to 16,000 lbs or so, which is what I use it for. We don't have big hills. Works fine.

To those panning the SUV tow ratings, you do know you HAVE to use a weigh distributing hitch to get those tow numbers and you're likely told to use sway control in the owners manual. Straight bumper pull its likely only 3000 lbs or so vs the 7200 lbs.

 

[Ken45101]

How is towing at max rating with a SUV any different the with a 1/2 Dodge Ram a 1 ton F350?

An SUV (except Suburban or Ford equivalent) has a shorter wheel base and a softer suspension. That will make it more squirrely if things go wrong.

It's the classic "tail wagging the dog" syndrome.

Ken