New Tow Rig Recommendation

[IXFE]

4 hours ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

They are. I think they are referring to ones in the center console or similar though. 

There’s also the lack of cup holders, 12v plug, 110v plug, usb plug, heated seats, pano roof, etc. Also rear leg room is significantly smaller than the Ford 

Honestly, the back seat of a GM truck isn’t a great place to sit for any extended period of time. This is why I say wait for the 2019 (completely new truck). Hopefully they addressed some of these shortcomings. 

Edit: We did a day trip to San Antonio yesterday with the kids in the back of the F-250. 100 degree heat and 10 hours round trip.  Three teenagers back there (my two sons are both bigger/taller than me). The complaining about this or that was expected and tolerable. Take away the AC vents, cup holders, and juice for their iPhones and it would have been a mutiny. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by IXFE

[Brantb]

Where are you located? That would be a consideration as well. I pull my A20 with my ram 1500 and it is acceptable in CO. When i pulled it back to WI it was a lot better from dropping probably 4200 feet in elevation. Im not a ford guy, but i would now consider one just because of the EB here in Colorado.

 

As far as options/mpg for the initial price, i imagine it is hard to beat a ram 1500 laramie. Should be nothing to walk into a dealer and take 15k off msrp on one of those. The trip to/from WI was ~2400 miles and i averaged right around 10 mpg.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Brantb

[ahopkins22LSV]

1 hour ago, IXFE said:

There’s also the lack of cup holders, 12v plug, 110v plug, usb plug, heated seats, pano roof, etc. Also rear leg room is significantly smaller than the Ford 

Honestly, the back seat of a GM truck isn’t a great place to sit for any extended period of time. This is why I say wait for the 2019 (completely new truck). Hopefully they addressed some of these shortcomings. 

Edit: We did a day trip to San Antonio yesterday with the kids in the back of the F-250. 100 degree heat and 10 hours round trip.  Three teenagers back there (my two sons are both bigger/taller than me). The complaining about this or that was expected and tolerable. Take away the AC vents, cup holders, and juice for their iPhones and it would have been a mutiny. 

My truck is just an LT but there is four cup holders and a 12v outlet. Granted one outlet would not be acceptable with three kids in the back haha so very fair point. I’ll try to find out what the 19’s have just out of curiosity. 

[IXFE]

1 hour ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

My truck is just an LT but there is four cup holders and a 12v outlet. Granted one outlet would not be acceptable with three kids in the back haha so very fair point. I’ll try to find out what the 19’s have just out of curiosity. 

I see zero cup holders (unless you’re counting the one in each door) and one 12v. Maybe there’s more cup holders in the fold down middle seat, but that’s unusable if you have a person sitting there.  

The Ford has two big cup holders easily accessed in the center console plus the two in the doors  

Also, look at the rear seat dimensions below. Look at leg and hip room. It’s more than just a couple of inches, and every inch counts when it comes to boat and car interiors  

Regardless, may not be an issue to the OP if he won’t have passengers back there. But this is why I say wait for the new GM trucks. Our truck is also our family vehicle so this IS the stuff that matters to us and what made us go Ford (this time). 

I’m not a Ford loyalist either. I just don’t believe in buying vehicles at the very end of their life cycles. I’ve had (and currently have) GM, Ford, and FCA product. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by IXFE

[ahopkins22LSV]

16 minutes ago, IXFE said:

I see zero cup holders (unless you’re counting the one in each door) and one 12v. Maybe there’s more cup holders in the fold down middle seat, but that’s unusable if you have a person sitting there.  

The Ford has two big cup holders easily accessed in the center console plus the two in the doors  

Also, look at the rear seat dimensions below. Look at leg and hip room. It’s more than just a couple of inches, and every inch counts when it comes to boat and car interiors  

Regardless, may not be an issue to the OP if he won’t have passengers back there. But this is why I say wait for the new GM trucks. Our truck is also our family vehicle so this IS the stuff that matters to us and what made us go Ford (this time). 

I’m not a Ford loyalist either. I just don’t believe in buying vehicles at the very end of their life cycles. I’ve had (and currently have) GM, Ford, and FCA product. 

I was counting each in the door and the fold down in the middle. Totally agree that if the OP has a full rear seat of passengers all the time that the current GM rear seat is not the best. And agree that people should buy the vehicle which suites them the best that’s why I said he needs to go drive them each and decide which works the best for him . Right now my daughter can’t complain about how the rear seat doesn’t fit her needs. I’m sure I will hear it from her shortly though  

Edited August 6, 2018 by ahopkinsTXi

[oldjeep]

I now suddenly understand why my boat has 12 cup holders

If I'm not mistaken the Gen 4 Ram has an even smaller back seat, and my 6ft 2 kid can sit comfortably behind his 6ft father. 

 

[Creekrat]

19 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

I now suddenly understand why my boat has 12 cup holders

If I'm not mistaken the Gen 4 Ram has an even smaller back seat, and my 6ft 2 kid can sit comfortably behind his 6ft father. 

 

Definitely not an issue in my superduty. Hell, my father in law says he’s 5’18” and he’s ridden the back of my truck without issue

[Falko]

IF you want room in a back seat, the Toyota Crew is tough to beat, but I am sure it can be done. But their fit and finish lacks in comparison to the others these days. Mine has been a great truck for all the longer I've owned it, and I'm sure it will last a long long time, but that might not be a great thing....

[MLBurns]

19 hours ago, IXFE said:

If you’re gonna get GM, wait for the 2019.

Dealer called me Saturday and said mine will be in before the end of this month. They will be hitting dealerships soon. 

[IXFE]

5 hours ago, MLBurns said:

Dealer called me Saturday and said mine will be in before the end of this month. They will be hitting dealerships soon. 

Thanks for the update. I was actually talking to a buddy at work who has a Colorado lease that expires in two months. We were both wondering when the new Silverados would actually be on the lot. So you’re timing is good!

[oldjeep]

They must have just come out.  Local mega dealer is only showing 6 2019 on the lot, all LT double cabs. 

[Nitrousbird]

On 8/5/2018 at 11:55 PM, Pnwrider said:

Has gm finally put hvac vents in the rear seats? 

GM has for years.  My '07 Escalade EXT has them.  

[shawndoggy]

as far as towing capacity goes, the 3.5 ecoboost is plenty for your T22, even towing into the sierras.  The power is really pretty amazing considering how civilized the truck is around town/unloaded.  You'll find that it should be called "eco or boost" not ecoboost.  Towing I basically get 10 mpg, around town about 15.5, on the road 17-19 depending on speed (65 seems to be the sweet spot).

[Sixball]

pulling with the Eco is the best thing if you are not going into the big diesels. Runs at low rpm and power to spear. Not going to get good fuel economy pulling big loads. It does ok if you are willing to stay  around 60 /65 MPH and go easy. But if you want to be the first at the launch it is going suffer. My problem is every time I looked down at the speedo  I was running 75+ MPH it pulls to easy and quiet. My ski partner was a GM guy all his life. I got him to try a Eco f-150 for his daily and work truck. He says he will never look back 160k miles had one bad injector and he pulls some big time loads.  The Eco is a blast as a daily driver but once again if you are always into heavy boost its not going to get good fuel economy. But it drives very well  getting 18 /20 MPG. overall.

[FatGoldChain]

On 8/6/2018 at 8:48 PM, Sixball said:

pulling with the Eco is the best thing if you are not going into the big diesels. Runs at low rpm and power to spear. Not going to get good fuel economy pulling big loads. It does ok if you are willing to stay  around 60 /65 MPH and go easy. But if you want to be the first at the launch it is going suffer. My problem is every time I looked down at the speedo  I was running 75+ MPH it pulls to easy and quiet. My ski partner was a GM guy all his life. I got him to try a Eco f-150 for his daily and work truck. He says he will never look back 160k miles had one bad injector and he pulls some big time loads.  The Eco is a blast as a daily driver but once again if you are always into heavy boost its not going to get good fuel economy. But it drives very well  getting 18 /20 MPG. overall.

thats interesting considering that my 03 sequoia gets about 17mpg on average and maybe only 5-6mpg towing the boat... then again we are talking about 15 years of better technology along with different gears I would imagine as well.

[Fabricator909]

Skip the Gm's for towing unless you're going diesel. I have 2015 6.2L Denali, and it definitely feels my 94 response. The 6.2 motor is a variant of the vette motor, it doesn't make real power until 2500-3000 rpms, and you feel it when towing. The transmission also isn't the greatest, it used to shift so hard from 1st to 2nd that it felt like the tranny was going to drop out of the truck, took it to the dealer, they did a reprogram, now it does it on downshifts....

I have 3500 Express Van with a 6.0l and it tows and stops the boat much better than the 15 Denali.  Think my next tow rig will be an Audi Q7 TDI honestly.. the brakes on my Audi A8 are bigger than that of 2500 with a Duramax.

[FSSPCat]

I have a 2017 F150 XLT with the 2.7 and love it. My dad just bought a 2018 Limited with the 3.5 and it pulls his 23ft Cobalt no problem. Fuel economy is excellent on both as long as you don’t have a lead foot. 

[malibu2004]

Anyone of them would work. I would buy the one that you get the best deal on.  200k on your current Toyota should tell you something. 

[obski]

4 hours ago, Fabricator909 said:

Skip the Gm's for towing unless you're going diesel. I have 2015 6.2L Denali, and it definitely feels my 94 response. The 6.2 motor is a variant of the vette motor, it doesn't make real power until 2500-3000 rpms, and you feel it when towing. The transmission also isn't the greatest, it used to shift so hard from 1st to 2nd that it felt like the tranny was going to drop out of the truck, took it to the dealer, they did a reprogram, now it does it on downshifts....

I have 3500 Express Van with a 6.0l and it tows and stops the boat much better than the 15 Denali.  Think my next tow rig will be an Audi Q7 TDI honestly.. the brakes on my Audi A8 are bigger than that of 2500 with a Duramax.

We just went through review of tow rigs.  My wife drives a '14 Acura RDX, my daily driver is a '12 Ford Focus (manual set up to tow flat behind the motorhome), and we have a '01 Chevy Tahoe for towing the boat, getting off of our hill in the winter, driving up to the mountain for skiing, and having room for the grandkids and their family when they visit.  My wife doesn't drive too often, so we were thinking that maybe we could get a vehicle to replace the Tahoe and the RDX.  We took a look at, and test drove, a few of the newer 3rd row midsize SUVs that could get decent gas mileage and fulfill the function of both vehicles.  We looked at the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, and the new Subaru Ascent.  We liked the Pilot and the Ascent, but even though they all have a 5000 lb towing capacity, just didn't feel that they would be adequate, or safe, in towing the boat.  Our boat and trailer come to about 4400 lb, which with gear would put it right at the limits for those vehicles.  My first boat was an I/O that was right at the capacity of our vehicle at that time, and ended up burning out the transmission.  After doing a lot of reading, it looks like the Audi Q7 is the one vehicle that would meet what we are looking for, having a towing capacity of 7700 lb, a 3rd row seat, and decent mpg (the BMW X5 would be another consideration with a 6000 lb towing capacity), but hard to get past the sticker price.

We ultimately, for now, decided to stay pat.  My mechanic, who has worked on the Tahoe, says it should go for a long time yet.

I guess another option would be to keep the Tahoe and replace the RDX and Focus with something like a Buick Envision, which can be flat towed as an automatic, and then be able to go from 3 vehicles to 2.

[RyanB]

9 hours ago, Fabricator909 said:

Skip the Gm's for towing unless you're going diesel. I have 2015 6.2L Denali, and it definitely feels my 94 response. The 6.2 motor is a variant of the vette motor, it doesn't make real power until 2500-3000 rpms, and you feel it when towing. The transmission also isn't the greatest, it used to shift so hard from 1st to 2nd that it felt like the tranny was going to drop out of the truck, took it to the dealer, they did a reprogram, now it does it on downshifts....

I have 3500 Express Van with a 6.0l and it tows and stops the boat much better than the 15 Denali.  Think my next tow rig will be an Audi Q7 TDI honestly.. the brakes on my Audi A8 are bigger than that of 2500 with a Duramax.

If you’re complaining about the power of the 6.2, you will HATE the Q7 TDI. It gives up nearly 100 HP to the GM, and doesn’t have much more torque. 

I thought I wanted a Q7 TDI as well. Until I drove it. D-O-G. 

[Kenw]

9 hours ago, Fabricator909 said:

Skip the Gm's for towing unless you're going diesel. I have 2015 6.2L Denali, and it definitely feels my 94 response. The 6.2 motor is a variant of the vette motor, it doesn't make real power until 2500-3000 rpms, and you feel it when towing. The transmission also isn't the greatest, it used to shift so hard from 1st to 2nd that it felt like the tranny was going to drop out of the truck, took it to the dealer, they did a reprogram, now it does it on downshifts....

I have 3500 Express Van with a 6.0l and it tows and stops the boat much better than the 15 Denali.  Think my next tow rig will be an Audi Q7 TDI honestly.. the brakes on my Audi A8 are bigger than that of 2500 with a Duramax.

Does the 15 Denali have the 6 speed tranny or the 8?

The 8 speed automatic makes all the difference

[obski]

52 minutes ago, RyanB said:

If you’re complaining about the power of the 6.2, you will HATE the Q7 TDI. It gives up nearly 100 HP to the GM, and doesn’t have much more torque. 

I thought I wanted a Q7 TDI as well. Until I drove it. D-O-G. 

Interesting information.  I have been planning on at least checking out the Q7.

[ahopkins22LSV]

10 hours ago, Fabricator909 said:

Skip the Gm's for towing unless you're going diesel. I have 2015 6.2L Denali, and it definitely feels my 94 response. The 6.2 motor is a variant of the vette motor, it doesn't make real power until 2500-3000 rpms, and you feel it when towing. The transmission also isn't the greatest, it used to shift so hard from 1st to 2nd that it felt like the tranny was going to drop out of the truck, took it to the dealer, they did a reprogram, now it does it on downshifts....

I have 3500 Express Van with a 6.0l and it tows and stops the boat much better than the 15 Denali.  Think my next tow rig will be an Audi Q7 TDI honestly.. the brakes on my Audi A8 are bigger than that of 2500 with a Duramax.

Are your brakes on your trailer stuck on? Something isn’t right if you response is giving it problems. I know people that tow a lot more then a response day in and day out that have never complained. Hell, @IXFE towed his 25lsv from Dallas to Lake Norris and back with his 6.2l in his Yukon. He’d tell you that it was not a good tow rig for that boat, but that’s just a slightly larger boat then your response...

[RyanB]

9 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Are your brakes on your trailer stuck on? Something isn’t right if you response is giving it problems. I know people that tow a lot more then a response day in and day out that have never complained. Hell, @IXFE towed his 25lsv from Dallas to Lake Norris and back with his 6.2l in his Yukon. He’d tell you that it was not a good tow rig for that boat, but that’s just a slightly larger boat then your response...

I have all sorts of complaints about my Yukon XL Denali, but the power of the 6.2 isn't one of them.  It doesn't pull anywhere near the way my CTD does, but that is not my expectation.  It does very well for a gasser.  In fact, most of the reviews say it is one of the best gasser engines available for towing.  And it will run circles around any of the 3.0 diesels (or even the 5.0 Cummins in the Titan).

[ahopkins22LSV]

3 minutes ago, RyanB said:

I have all sorts of complaints about my Yukon XL Denali, but the power of the 6.2 isn't one of them.  It doesn't pull anywhere near the way my CTD does, but that is not my expectation.  It does very well for a gasser.  In fact, most of the reviews say it is one of the best gasser engines available for towing.  And it will run circles around any of the 3.0 diesels (or even the 5.0 Cummins in the Titan).

That’s kinda what one getting at. If his response is giving him trouble something else is going on lol.