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Smallest feasible tow vehicle???


LarsJensen

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3 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

We had 2010 grand Cherokee and towed our TXi with it. It did ok, I wouldn’t want to tow my vtx with it. 

I thought we were comparing my truck to the GC not the Yukon?

Does it really matter if it’s one reason or multiple reasons why the rating is low? It’s low for a reason due to the design of the vehicle.

And one other point, we all know Malibu’s weights are quite a bit off. Are we going to trust Supras to be within 450lbs? Better always have zero fuel, no gear and no friends with you going to the lake. 

Anyway... 

On our Supra factory tour, they showed us their quality/consistency process with regard to weight. I’d bet that the actual weight is probably pretty close to the listed weight. 

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ahopkins22LSV
7 minutes ago, hunter77ah said:

On our Supra factory tour, they showed us their quality/consistency process with regard to weight. I’d bet that the actual weight is probably pretty close to the listed weight. 

Fair enough, I haven’t toured their plant. Would be good to know if that includes max options because if it doesn’t , batteries, stereo and others can add a lot of weight. Either way. Not towing it with a GC lol. 

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14 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

We had 2010 grand Cherokee and towed our TXi with it. It did ok, I wouldn’t want to tow my vtx with it. 

I thought we were comparing my truck to the GC not the Yukon?

Does it really matter if it’s one reason or multiple reasons why the rating is low? It’s low for a reason due to the design of the vehicle.

And one other point, we all know Malibu’s weights are quite a bit off. Are we going to trust Supras to be within 450lbs? Better always have zero fuel, no gear and no friends with you going to the lake. 

Anyway... 

2010 gc is smaller and lighter than the current version. 

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2 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

I have a current version as well, the boat has been towed by it exactly zero times.

So what you are saying is that you have no towing experience with a vehicle that you say doesn't tow well?  Might need to start calling you Nitrousbird jr.  :crazy:

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ahopkins22LSV
15 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

So what you are saying is that you have no towing experience with a vehicle that you say doesn't tow well?  Might need to start calling you Nitrousbird jr.  :crazy:

Your argument was comparing the GC to my truck, there is no comparison there. I don’t need to tow with my GC to know it’s not suited for towing our boats for the MULTIPLE reasons I listed above.

But whatever man, tow away with and undersized unibody suv if you want.

To the op... sorry for that derail, I didn’t expect an instagram video of a GC towing a very heavy, large boat to go that direction. Imo I think you have a pretty good setup right now and would t hurt to just leave it as is. Especially if you have the Yukon paid off. Don’t know if you touched on that at all. 

Edited by ahopkinsVTX
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Since he is pulling for such a short distance I don't think he needs a very big SUV. Any vehicle with a capacity of 4,000 lbs and decent power should be fine towing for 2 miles.  When we bought our Response LXI we towed it from Tennessee to Michigan (550 miles) behind a 2011 VW Routan with front wheel drive and a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds with no problems except bad MPG.  With the boat, trailer and a full tank of gas we probably weighed  4000 lbs.  It had plenty of power to get it up the hills and the surge brakes + the vehicle brakes stopped it no problem. I don't recommend this van to pull your sunscape but my point is if you drive responsibly you should be able tow with any vehicle with a capacity of 4,000 lbs and decent power (280 hp). Especially since your only towing for 2 miles.

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There have been many discussions on this board about towing with a vehicle that is not rated for the weight of the boat and trailer.  The common points that come up are yes you can do it and if you get into an accident you are probably on your own.  Read your insurance policy before you proceed.  You are most likely out of compliance, they have the right to void your claim and policy.

 

 

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9 hours ago, roeboat said:

Since he is pulling for such a short distance I don't think he needs a very big SUV. Any vehicle with a capacity of 4,000 lbs and decent power should be fine towing for 2 miles.  When we bought our Response LXI we towed it from Tennessee to Michigan (550 miles) behind a 2011 VW Routan with front wheel drive and a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds with no problems except bad MPG.  With the boat, trailer and a full tank of gas we probably weighed  4000 lbs.  It had plenty of power to get it up the hills and the surge brakes + the vehicle brakes stopped it no problem. I don't recommend this van to pull your sunscape but my point is if you drive responsibly you should be able tow with any vehicle with a capacity of 4,000 lbs and decent power (280 hp). Especially since your only towing for 2 miles.

Is a sunscape 21 that light? (4k)  My 2012 VTX is around 6K on the trailer, which is a pretty big jump over a 4K capacity

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1 hour ago, dlb said:

There have been many discussions on this board about towing with a vehicle that is not rated for the weight of the boat and trailer.  The common points that come up are yes you can do it and if you get into an accident you are probably on your own.  Read your insurance policy before you proceed.  You are most likely out of compliance, they have the right to void your claim and policy.

 

 

Unless there is a specific policy exclusion for towing over the manufactures weight rating in an individuals insurance policy, it is absolutely untrue about your insurance being voided. 

Your insurance is there to cover you in an accident, even if what your doing is stupid or illegal. Think about it. If you get into an accident due to excessive speed or because you were drinking you are covered. 

And in the vast majority of states, the manufactures weight rating isn’t a matter of legality. It is simply a compromise between their marketing team who wants to advertise a vehicle as “best in class” and the accuarials who want to limit warrnty exposure. 

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17 minutes ago, RyanB said:

... If you get into an accident due to excessive speed or because you were drinking you are covered. 

...

 

Mebbe.   As per Ontario Auto Policy, section 7.2.2, the insurer may not pay for damage or loss while driving in an impaired condition. When the BAC is more than 0.08 and even for refusing to test with Breathalyzer your insurer may deny the claim. In case you give your car to your friend who drinks and drives without your knowledge, then the insurer may pay for the repair expenses of the car. However, they may subrogate or recover the losses from your friend. Basically, any violation of the insurance policy may let the insurer deny your claim and this includes impaired driving conviction.  YM(and location or insurer)MV 

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Another vote to look at 4Runners. I towed our 2012 21' VLX with our 2007 4Runner V8 (4th Gen) for many years. It's rated to tow 7200lbs, and in addition to Norris lake trips I've used it to pull my boat up gravel inclines much steeper than what ahopkins showed with that Jeep. I was impressed with it's capabilities and they are as reliable as it gets. 

It's a shame that the 5th Gen 4Runners no longer have the V8 option and are only rated to 5000lbs. It's still a body on frame truck though, so if you don't want to find a used 4th Gen I would still check out one of the new 5th Gens for your limited towing use.

Not sure of your budget but the Lexus GX460 is the next closest choice to the 4th Gen 4Runner since you get the nearly identical V8 and it's rated to tow 6500lbs. It's a bit bigger though so you may not be gaining much when looking for a smaller SUV.

 

 

Edited by Brett B
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31 minutes ago, Brett B said:

Another vote to look at 4Runners. I towed our 2012 21' VLX with our 2007 4Runner V8 (4th Gen) for many years. It's rated to tow 7200lbs, and in addition to Norris lake trips I've used it to pull my boat up gravel inclines much steeper than what ahopkins showed with that Jeep. I was impressed with it's capabilities and they are as reliable as it gets. 

It's a shame that the 5th Gen 4Runners no longer have the V8 option and are only rated to 5000lbs. It's still a body on frame truck though, so if you don't want to find a used 4th Gen I would still check out one of the new 5th Gens for your limited towing use.

Not sure of your budget but the Lexus GX460 is the next closest choice to the 4th Gen 4Runner since you get the nearly identical V8 and it's rated to tow 6500lbs. It's a bit bigger though so you may not be gaining much when looking for a smaller SUV.

 

 

GX460 (and GX470) are both decent tow vehicles, my dad has owned both.  I will say that you really need the air suspension to tow anywhere near max capacity.  The non-air suspension is too squishy in the rear to hold a lot of weight.

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20 hours ago, oldjeep said:

So what you are saying is that you have no towing experience with a vehicle that you say doesn't tow well?  Might need to start calling you Nitrousbird jr.  :crazy:

Are you going to go on again about how a Ram 1500 with cloth seats is the best truck to buy for towing?  Have you actually towed with anything else?

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Il chime in...this is fun..I know the OP isnt looking for a HD Diesel, but they are the best tow vehicles by far. The SA 550, 235, 257, X24 etc should all be towed by them.  Well under the tow ratings.

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2 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

Are you going to go on again about how a Ram 1500 with cloth seats is the best truck to buy for towing?  Have you actually towed with anything else?

Yes, the biggest thing was a 50k lb tanker truck that I towed a helicopter trailer with.  Had a commercial license in college and drove/towed all sorts of stuff for the crop duster I worked for. 

Edited by oldjeep
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I towed my 2002 21’ VLX for a couple years with a AWD Astro. Did ok but way underpowered, 65-70 max on highway with a full load plus boat.  Did (2) 4 hour trips a year with it. I upgraded brakes on it and made sure the trailer brakes was in tip top shape. If it had air bags on the back and about 50 more horsepower it would be great.

I now tow with my wife’s 2011 diesel X5 or my 2008 diesel F250. The x5 is really impressive as a tow vehicle.

I lived in Germany for a year in a town on the Danube  and the stuff they would tow with sedans/station wagons was unreal compared to the states.. 18ft boat with a 5 series was common.

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On 12/17/2018 at 6:51 PM, oldjeep said:

So do you have a mooring location? Or actually rent a uhaul truck every weekend? 

I think he does it every weekend from his previous posts, I remenber my jealousy back then, How does the insurance work though his drive is short and slow speeds I think   

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On 12/18/2018 at 7:23 AM, Eagleboy99 said:

Mebbe.   As per Ontario Auto Policy, section 7.2.2, the insurer may not pay for damage or loss while driving in an impaired condition. When the BAC is more than 0.08 and even for refusing to test with Breathalyzer your insurer may deny the claim. In case you give your car to your friend who drinks and drives without your knowledge, then the insurer may pay for the repair expenses of the car. However, they may subrogate or recover the losses from your friend. Basically, any violation of the insurance policy may let the insurer deny your claim and this includes impaired driving conviction.  YM(and location or insurer)MV 

That pretty well proved my point. What you listed was a written policy exclusion. Now find one for “towing overweight”. 

As an aside, I’d look for different coverage than listed above. Not advocating drinking and driving but .08 is an incredibly low threshold. 

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19 minutes ago, RyanB said:

That pretty well proved my point. What you listed was a written policy exclusion. Now find one for “towing overweight”. 

As an aside, I’d look for different coverage than listed above. Not advocating drinking and driving but .08 is an incredibly low threshold. 

And what is valid to put in an insurance contract is likely different in Canada where he is.  

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1 hour ago, granddaddy55 said:

I think he does it every weekend from his previous posts, I remenber my jealousy back then, How does the insurance work though his drive is short and slow speeds I think   

My car insurance thru Progressive covers rental vehicles,  towing insurance is thru my boat insurance, but there are several overlaps. But, for an added $10, U-haul will insure and any damage done is completely covered.

In the end, it is so cheap it's silly. No maintenance, new vehicle, road-side assistance, dont have to insure two vehicles, only one vehicle in the driveway.

Steve B.

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1 hour ago, RyanB said:

That pretty well proved my point. What you listed was a written policy exclusion. Now find one for “towing overweight”. 

As an aside, I’d look for different coverage than listed above. Not advocating drinking and driving but .08 is an incredibly low threshold. 

What you said was (and I quote) " If you get into an accident due to excessive speed or because you were drinking you are covered. "  Clearly, that is not the case.  In fact, it is a pretty standard "out" for the insurer.  Insurance companies work very, VERY hard to find a way to not pay out and certainly a criminal charge gives them that out.  Heck, they'll make $hit up  to not pay out.  And AFAIK, .08 is pretty much the standard; some places are now moving to .05 (or like places in Europe - ZERO!)

 

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