SUV capable of safely towing 25' Safari

[ghaag]

Does anyone have suggestions for an SUV capable of safely towing 25' Safari? I am not comfortable with some of the SUV suggestions where I am exceeding suggested towing capacity. I currently tow with a 2008 Toyota Tundra and it works great, but that is the only thing I use it for. I would like to consolidate to one vehicle and prefer that it be an SUV. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Greg

[c_lewis77]

If you like your toyota, I would think a sequoia might do the trick!

I tow with an excursion...i love it, but would be overkill for a 27' unless you just like excursions.

[dkottum]

For half the cost of a SUV rated to tow your Airstream you could buy a nice little car that could nearly get double the fuel economy of a SUV. Keep the Tundra for towing and fetching the occasional appliance or trip to Home Depot.

We thoroughly researched consolidating to one vehicle, and found better economy all-around keeping the VW Jetta TDI and getting an inexpensive dedicated towing pickup.

I have found vehicles capable of doing everything don't any any of them well.

doug k

[mstephens]

We have a 25 Flying Cloud and tow with a Suburban 1500 4WD 5.3L. No specs are exceeded and it tows wonderful. We do lots of mountain towing and have no issues. We use an Equalizer WD hitch. The Burb is a fabulous vehicle under any circumstances, but for camping it is the bomb.

If I could choose again, I would not have gotten the 4WD, it's not needed by us. I also would have chose a 3.82 rear end instead of the 4.10.

Ours is an '07, but I am sure they have newer ones available. Good luck!

[Phoenix]

We tow our 19-foot Bambi with a 2008 Tundra CrewMax (5.7L, 2WD). Our commuter car is a 2002 Prius, which gets between 42 and 51 mpg, depending on the season. Wouldn't trade either.

The Prius saves money in town to offset the increased fuel costs of towing with the Tundra. You might consider a used Prius or other hybrid (e.g., Camry) that gets good fuel economy. The hybrids are pretty reliable (ours has 128,000 miles on the odometer, and we plan on keeping it another 125,000 miles).

For $5-15,000, you can get a reliable used hybrid, which is still in pretty good shape. If you trade in your Tundra, you may need to put a lot more money with it to get a new SUV.

Just a thought...

[ghaag]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, I appreciate your insight.
Thanks again,
Greg

[Bill M.]

I went on a caravan with a couple towing a much larger trailer than 25' with a Buick Enclave. It seemed to do a good job. We covered 2500 miles and elevations to close to 10000 feet and they always arrived on time. The Cadilliac Esclade should certainly pull it. I have read that the Dodge Durango can be set up to tow well.
Me, I pull a older and lighter 25' with a 3/4 ton truck. I like pickup trucks better than SUV's and cars anyway. But it is only my wife, my self, and the dog when we go. I like having 2 vehicles. But I do have room to park them.

[ghaag]

Do you think the Cayenne Diesel would be a capable tow vehicle?

These are the vehicles I am considering:

Chevrolet Suburban
Toyota sequoia
Cayenne Diesel

[mutcth]

I think the Cayenne Diesel would be one of the most capable, and best-handling, tow vehicles you could buy.

We're very happy with our 2011 Dodge Durango; it can handle your trailer with the Hemi.

Tom

[Chatthayer]

I just bought a 2002 Sequoia to pull my 25' tradewind 1972 and it works great with the 4.7 V8 and suspension.

[RLS]

Put the Nissan Armada/QX56 in the pot. 4WD is the only way to go. We have a 2006 Infiniti QX56 that does the job. JMHO

[ghaag]

Originally Posted by RLS

Put the Nissan Armada/QX56 in the pot. 4WD is the only way to go. We have a 2006 Infiniti QX56 that does the job. JMHO

Great suggestion, I had overlooked the QX56.
Thanks!

[Andrew T]

Recently I had the oportunity to tow a 30' International 250 miles with a Cayanne Deisel. I was extremely impressed with it. Towing at 70 MPH in a headwind it did 16 Miles per US gallon. The new retuned deisel is more responsive than the earlier Touaregs and the 8 speed transmission shifts smooth and always has the right gear. it tows in 7th 98% of the time.

What really impressed me most was the suspension tuning, Porsche just seems to do it at a different level. On the skyway bridge they had wind warnings posted and it just sat there, I barely felt them. Even with the excellent handling the ride is smooth with lots of travel. I would still give the Mercedes R class an edge in ride and handling due to its 126.5" wheelbase but the Porsce is a close second in a much more compact vehicle. We normally do strengthen the hitches on these but this one did not move in the 250 miles.

Andrew T

[ghaag]

Andrew,
Thanks for your insight! I went to the dealership last night to look at one, but they did not have the diesel.
Greg

Originally Posted by Andrew T

Recently I had the oportunity to tow a 30' International 250 miles with a Cayanne Deisel. I was extremely impressed with it. Towing at 70 MPH in a headwind it did 16 Miles per US gallon. The new retuned deisel is more responsive than the earlier Touaregs and the 8 speed transmission shifts smooth and always has the right gear. it tows in 7th 98% of the time.

What really impressed me most was the suspension tuning, Porsche just seems to do it at a different level. On the skyway bridge they had wind warnings posted and it just sat there, I barely felt them. Even with the excellent handling the ride is smooth with lots of travel. I would still give the Mercedes R class an edge in ride and handling due to its 126.5" wheelbase but the Porsce is a close second in a much more compact vehicle. We normally do strengthen the hitches on these but this one did not move in the 250 miles.

Andrew T

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by mutcth

We're very happy with our 2011 Dodge Durango; it can handle your trailer with the Hemi.

Tom

We're happy with our 2012 Durango Hemi as well.

[murreywalker]

Andrew, I'm not familiar with the Mercedes R class.

I drive the GL, and know of three other SUV models in the MB lineup. But no "R" Class.

Is it a Canadian import?

[c_lewis77]

Originally Posted by murreywalker

Andrew, I'm not familiar with the Mercedes R class.

I drive the GL, and know of three other SUV models in the MB lineup. But no "R" Class.

Is it a Canadian import?

It is the "not a minivan" car that MB makes....not sold in the US anymore ('12 is the last year). I love mine...more interior room than the GL.

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by ghaag

Do you think the Cayenne Diesel would be a capable tow vehicle?

These are the vehicles I am considering:

Chevrolet Suburban
Toyota sequoia
Cayenne Diesel

Consider a VW Touareg (TDI) as well - about the same towing, size and space as the Cayenne but a lot less dough. That said, I might also opt for the two vehicle approach.

We recently "downsized" from a 3/4 Chevy w/ a duramax to the Tundra and given the choice between Touareg and Tundra for towing, the Tundra wins hands down. One important consideration is whether or not you're going to actually want to haul camping gear and grubby stuff in your nice new cayenne and while this seems like an odd thing to throw into the decision matrix, the idea of brushing my Touareg with bushes, brush and tree branches in remote camping areas bothers me more than I care to admit.

[mutcth]

Not to argue, but to give the alternative side: I could have bought a very nice Ford F-150 Ecoboost for towing rather than the Durango. But the Durango handles better, has more safety stuff, is more comfy with better seats, and is easier to park. The shorter length makes it easier to shoehorn the trailer into some tight sites too. It is simply a better vehicle for my wife to commute in to work, and I prefer driving the Durango (or a Cayenne) to a truck during long trips. Vacation should be fun, and I enjoy driving - and driving a Durango or Cayenne beats driving a truck. (Even a very nice truck.)

We thought about the Prius + truck route, but we didn't want a truck sitting in the driveway that was only going to be used 40 days a year. After all, I downsized my fleet (including selling my Miata) to reduce how many things I had to maintain and insure.

As always, your circumstances may be different etc. (And yeah, a truck would be nice for hauling stuff, but harder to reach stuff all the way forward in the bed...)

Tom

[Bucky]

Originally Posted by ghaag

Does anyone have suggestions for an SUV capable of safely towing 25' Safari? I am not comfortable with some of the SUV suggestions where I am exceeding suggested towing capacity. I currently tow with a 2008 Toyota Tundra and it works great, but that is the only thing I use it for. I would like to consolidate to one vehicle and prefer that it be an SUV. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Greg

We tow a 25' AS with a 2011 Dodge Durango 5.7 Hemi. Get 13 mpg while towing. Great as an around town veh. & as on the road. Bucky