SUVs and 16' Bambi

[micsch]

We are planning on purchasing our first Airstream, a 16' Bambi. We want an SUV for a tow vehicle to use primarily for running around, but also the occasional weekend trailer outing. It would be just the two of us without a lot of extra gear. I'd prefer a two row seating SUV, but most have a tow capacity of 3500 (with a tow package) - is that enough or should I be looking at a three row SUV with a tow capacity of 5000+? (I don't want to be the guy going up hills with a string of cars behind him, but I'd like to get decent gas mileage while unhitched.) Appreciate the advice.

P.S. Should mention that I currently live in Chicago, but the trailer will be based on Western Washington, which has a few hills and mountain passes.

[LNBright]

Toyota Sequoia, or a Yukon/Tahoe would work well. But there are others that would be fine.

[field & stream]

I promised myself I would stay out of towing threads, but since you are a fellow 16 footer and not getting a lot of help I am going to jump in and out. Certainly any full-size SUV will do a great job, and more robust midsize (like the Ford Explorer) also would work very well towing.

Disclosure: My bias is towards the higher end of performance while towing and margins of safety. I do not envy the tradeoff decision of the smaller vehicle in town vs. the larger vehicle on the road (especially in the mountains and/or at elevation).

[Dennis C]

You should be able to find multiple options to suit your needs. Run the numbers (pay attention to payload, maximum hitch ratings, axle ratings, etc.) and pick the one that makes the most sense for you.

[TravisP]

I pull a 2022 Bambi 16rb with a 2021 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk rated at 7200, payload 1496. It has the 5.7 V8, towing package/cooling, and I use anti-sway bar. No issues so far pulling the camper and the engine is more than adequate. Gas mileage? It has the hemi with the cylinder deactivation technology. Supposedly helps with gas mileage...i get about 16 (bit of a heavy foot) around town and about 23/24 on highway not towing. Towing I get about 12.

It has the airlift suspension which comes in handy when vehicle height and hitch height differ when hooking up and for leveling when driving.

For us, its a great balance of general around town usability not being too large, while having more than enough capability for towing.

[BudE]

Ford Explorer Sport or ST with 6 cylinder EcoBoost engine. It's great on hills and high altitude.

[civeng99]

Originally Posted by micsch

We are planning on purchasing our first Airstream, a 16' Bambi. We want an SUV for a tow vehicle to use primarily for running around, but also the occasional weekend trailer outing. It would be just the two of us without a lot of extra gear. I'd prefer a two row seating SUV, but most have a tow capacity of 3500 (with a tow package) - is that enough or should I be looking at a three row SUV with a tow capacity of 5000+? (I don't want to be the guy going up hills with a string of cars behind him, but I'd like to get decent gas mileage while unhitched.) Appreciate the advice.

P.S. Should mention that I currently live in Chicago, but the trailer will be based on Western Washington, which has a few hills and mountain passes.

Ever consider a van? Can pick one up relatively reasonably, nice long wheel base. Nothing beats being able to load the tools, bike n dogs in and roll.

Cheap and easy to fix and pretty much bullet proof. Tows great.

[AirstreamAbe]

We tow our 16' Bambi with a Nissan Pathfinder (rated at 5k lbs). Only "upgrades" are tires with high load rating and a Blue OX WD hitch. I strongly recommend a WD hitch if the SUV has primarily front wheel drive.

[tjwoods1]

When we had a 16’ Bambi we towed it with a Toyota Highlander (5,000 lb towing capacity). I towed great for us in the Pacific Northwest.

[Runamuk13]

MICSCH,
Reading thru these replies, it's pretty unanimous (and I'd highly recommend) a mid-size SUV or van over a smaller SUV. The Tow Vehicles with a 5000 capacity are significantly better equipped for towing a Bambi.

We tow our 16' Bambi behind a Ford Explorer all over Washington State without any difficulty. Do be prepared for about 12-14 mpg while towing. And about 18-21 mpg when not towing.

Have fun. Good luck.

[AlbertF]

Originally Posted by micsch

I don't want to be the guy going up hills with a string of cars behind him, but I'd like to get decent gas mileage . . .

A higher tow rating is not necessarily going to correlate with better hill climbing performance.

On level ground, trailer weight is a very small factor where fuel economy is concerned. And 3500 lbs is a modest weight.

Any car/small SUV with an engine that produces more than 200 lbs-ft of torque is likely to provide good performance. With a 16’, payload will only be an issue if you carry a lot of heavy stuff in the tow vehicle. The critical factors are having a robust trailer hitch receiver and a properly set up weight distributing hitch.

[Aluminium Falcon]

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is, in my opinion, the Swiss Army Knife of SUVs and has great towing capabilities: 6200 lbs for the V6 Pentastar and 7200 lbs for the Hemi V8 when equipped with the towing package. It would make a solid choice for the Bambi 16’ even though it could easily tow a much larger trailer.

[Countryboy59]

Grand Cherokee would be perfect. I towed a 19’ with mine when I first got into airstreams. Capacity 5000lb for the six cyl, just watch the tongue weight

[Corsa]

A midsize SUV and good/decent fuel economy don’t necessarily go together. I tow an FB23 with a Mercedes ML350 diesel. It’s a 2014, but it gets 30mpg on the highway not towing and 14-16 mpg towing. And because of dieselgate the drivetrain is still under warranty. So I make the case that VW/Porsche (not Audi) or Mercedes diesels make good choice if you can keep up on the maintenance.
You have lots of choices with looking at midsize SUVs.

[dcarris]

My advice: log onto Best Vehicles and Worst Vehicles at carcomplaints.com. Also visit the many Scotty Kilmer videos on YouTube. 99% of the vehicle recommendations in this thread won't survive the cut. The internet is an amazing tool for research - use it.

[rossijfr]

Originally Posted by micsch

We are planning on purchasing our first Airstream, a 16' Bambi. We want an SUV for a tow vehicle to use primarily for running around, but also the occasional weekend trailer outing. It would be just the two of us without a lot of extra gear. I'd prefer a two row seating SUV, but most have a tow capacity of 3500 (with a tow package) - is that enough or should I be looking at a three row SUV with a tow capacity of 5000+? (I don't want to be the guy going up hills with a string of cars behind him, but I'd like to get decent gas mileage while unhitched.) Appreciate the advice.

P.S. Should mention that I currently live in Chicago, but the trailer will be based on Western Washington, which has a few hills and mountain passes.

Bambi 16’ great for two! Towed first with a Volvo XC 90. Was good for short runs, but eventually did seem to be a “drag” even with tow capc. of 4500. Would recommend a “true” tow vehicle or SUV with a muscle engine and/or transmission. You fell much more confident and can trailer at will. We got a F150 with V8 and axle displacement for towing. Solid travels! Now working on other little things. TST tire system, automatic tongue , cellular antenna, etc. Welcome to Airstreaming !! #LittleSilverNugget

[jfreeham]

Bambi 16, excellent choice for you all. You won't be disappointed. My wife and I had a Bambi 19cb (we now have a Caravel 19cb, in which we live full time). We towed our Bambi with a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk w/tow package, which was rated at 4,500 lbs towing capacity and #450 lbs. tongue weight. We used a Blue Ox w/d hitch. We lived in the Ozarks which has short, but very steep grades, steeper and longer than the final mile approach to Panther Pass in BBNP, for example, to where we had taken our unit a couple of vacations. The Cherokee's RPM's would increase and the gears would shift down, but we never had a problem maintaining speed and had insignificant increase in engine and transmission temperatures at highway speeds.

The combination worked for our purposes (weekends and vacations). We had no problems. The Jeep was also our daily driver and our only vehicle.

That's our experience. Other than our experience I make no claims that I know what I'm talking about, except I'll say that a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk w/tow package would have been a better combination, but we already had the Cherokee.

What do we tow our Caravel with? A Jeep Gladiator w/tow package. I can recommend that combo. Our MPG? I can, without exaggeration, report never less than 15.5.

[Mighty Mite]

Towing a 16' Caravel with a Jeep "Overland" Gladiator. Nice combo with Firestone air bags in rear coil springs. Tow "on the ball" and have had no issues with Sway. 520 lbs on the hitch weight. Not sure what a Bambi 16' would be. Printed Airstream numbers are lower then the "real deal". Watch your FEDERAL (on door sticker of any car) Gross Cargo weight rating. That includes adding up your hitch weight, fuel, people, items that you are carry in the back seats or in this case, also the pickup bed.

[Native143]

I towed my 16’ Bambi with both a Toyota Tacoma and then my Jeep Grand Cherokee with the tow package, so 6200 towing capacity. It is a great rig, smooth handling and excellent response for the combo.

[micsch]

Thanks to all who responded. Lots of great comments and they are a big help!