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rangebowdrie · 08-13-2009, 08:46 PM

You know what I'am saying, many of the 3/4 ton rigs, are up in the 7,500>8,000 lb. range, or more when really loaded up. They do pretty good towing trailers of roughly equal weight. It's the 4>5,000 lb. TTs, that suffer when faced with the heavy units.
Yes, I could say that my ZO-6 Corvette has all the HP, and brakes it needs to handle a heavy trailer, but it does not have the weight on the ground to control a unit thats twice as heavy as it is, if the conditions go bad.

All I'am saying, is this; if you want to tow large, heavy trailers, then you should have a large, heavy tow vehicle.

hampstead38 · 08-14-2009, 08:02 AM

My 1/2-ton Nissan Titan has a curb weight of around 5400... which is roughly the same as your '57 Chrysler Imperial. I don't have any problem towing a 7,000 trailer.

The discussion on towing should being with the published manufacturer's "numbers," payload capacity, GVWR, GCWR, etc. I looked at the Chevy website. The Corvette ZR1 doesn't have a GVWR let alone GCWR. I think it's safe to say no one carries a Class IV hitch for the Corvette.

Under your theory, Range, logging trucks that haul 80,000 pounds of timber should have a 40-ton cab. All I'm saying is that towing is more than mass and physics... it's equipment, design, capacity and perhaps most importantly, the operator. I feel safer riding shotgun with a good logging truck driver coming down a steep, single-lane, dirt road fully loaded than I do driving around town with some of my daughters' friends.

We talk alot on the forums about equipment, but the single greatest factor in accidents--towing or not--is the driver. The heaviest tow vehicle in the world can't compensate for a unsafe driver.

Skater · 08-14-2009, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangebowdrie

Yes, I could say that my ZO-6 Corvette has all the HP, and brakes it needs to handle a heavy trailer, but it does not have the weight on the ground to control a unit thats twice as heavy as it is, if the conditions go bad.

Yep. Has everyone seen this video?

YouTube - car towing a trailer way too big

It might be fake but the scenario doesn't seem farfetched.

rangebowdrie · 08-14-2009, 08:29 AM

Of course, you are absolutly right, the best safety mechanism is between the drivers ears.
And the blurb about a Corvette was just being silly, to press a point. Also I forgot to put the sentence about the Corvette in quotation marks, I don't have a zo-6, i wish. (was'nt able to edit)?
I know that lots of people have safe, enjoyable trips, with rigs that are outside my own comfort zone, but I'am not experienced with the "big" units. And it sure is true, that the new modern crop of 1/2 ton rigs are so much more capable than the older 3/4 trucks.

rluhr · 11-26-2009, 08:21 AM

Another tow vehicle & trailer tweaked by Andy T at Can-Am RV ...

11,000 towing miles this summer, including Colorado mountain passes.

pageclot · 05-03-2010, 07:36 AM

Update and new confessional: We bowed to the inevitable, (inevitable for us) and replaced our Caravan with a 4.7 L V8 Jeep Commander. With the heavier suspension, and greater power, I feel a lot more comfortable towing with it.

The Jeep came with a transmission cooler, a Tow/Haul button, wiring for the brake controller, and a hitch. Can-Am reinforced the receiver, and installed our brake controller, and I got a buddy of mine to raise the hitch to the right height. Towing the trailer to my house from storage, I was able to outdrag a pickup truck at a stop light. He didn't know we were racing, though.

Looking forward to long, mountainous trips this summer!

Road Ruler · 05-03-2010, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahab

Actually the Honda Ridgeline is a bit more capable, 250hp. Ford specs say max trailor weight is 3500#, the Ridge is 5000#.

Just yesterday I saw a Ridgeline accelerate aggressively from a stop light. That thing too took off like a scared rabbit.

Road Ruler · 05-03-2010, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pageclot

Update and new confessional: We bowed to the inevitable, (inevitable for us) and replaced our Caravan with a 4.7 L V8 Jeep Commander.

Any pics pageclot??

pageclot · 05-03-2010, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Road Ruler

Any pics pageclot??

Sort of:

You can see it through the front screen. The lumber in the foreground is the beginnings of a dinette, that replaced the gaucho. That's finished now! (thank goodness).

Globie64 · 05-04-2010, 10:38 PM

We have an '05 Ridgeline and an '08 Tundra V6. The Ridge has 75k on it and the Tundra has about 12k, so I set up the Tundra for towing. The Ridge is used for pleasure/work, and the Tundra is used by my partner's crew for work stuff so it takes a beating, but is fine for towing. I much prefer the Ridgeline as a driving vehicle, handling, ride and build quality are far superior to the Tundra and it would've been a lot nicer towing, but the next vehicle will be a Pilot and will be set up for gowing. The Tundra does tow our Globetrotter a lot better than our old 4 liter Ranger pickup did...

pageclot · 05-05-2010, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Globie64

We have an '05 Ridgeline and an '08 Tundra V6. The Ridge has 75k on it and the Tundra has about 12k, so I set up the Tundra for towing. The Ridge is used for pleasure/work, and the Tundra is used by my partner's crew for work stuff so it takes a beating, but is fine for towing. I much prefer the Ridgeline as a driving vehicle, handling, ride and build quality are far superior to the Tundra and it would've been a lot nicer towing, but the next vehicle will be a Pilot and will be set up for gowing. The Tundra does tow our Globetrotter a lot better than our old 4 liter Ranger pickup did...

Both those trucks look like great vehicles. When we decided to replace the Caravan, we looked seriously at crew cab or mega cab pickup trucks, but decided that we needed that third row of seats, even if they are small occasional seats (like in the Commander). When we went to Long Island last year, it was with 6 people, and we needed the room to stretch out.

streamofair1 · 05-05-2010, 07:47 AM

I must say I have really been wondering about the tow vehicle issue. We are looking for a 19-22ft international and plan on towing it with a 03 Dakota 2wd Quad Cab. The truck has the 4.7L v8 (needs to be reprogrammed though) and weighs between 4200-4500lbs. Currently, it can tow 5100lbs and will tow 6100 if i put in a new rear end. I guess my question is, how close to your gvwr's do you guy's get with your vehicle? I have no doubt that I can drag a fully loaded 19' Bambi around, its the 22' I am worried about.....oh and that video is classic!!!

Ahab · 05-05-2010, 08:13 AM

Bought our '06 Ridgeline in April '05. Been towing for 5 years now with no complaints. Our 22' Safari Sport weighs in at just over 4000# fully loaded with 462# on the ball. Most people don't know the Ridge was designed for towing with extra tranny cooling and separate cooling for the power steering. In 115° temps I've never seen the temperature gage move off the mid-point even going uphill to Flagstaff from Phoenix.

Globie64 · 05-05-2010, 03:31 PM

Interesting about the coolers on the Ridgeline. I think I made note of the tranny cooler when we bought it, with the idea of towing. The seats in the Ridgeline are very comfortable for long trips for 4, maybe 5. The Tundra, not the super long one but with the mini back doors, is big enough to be comfortable. One thing, the Tundra is a beast to drive in the city, the Ridgeline not so. I had thought about the new Subaru Outback, which will tow 3300 I believe, or the new Rav4 V6 which will tow 3500, but really prefer Hondas.

Gene · 05-06-2010, 06:25 PM

strfeamofair, towing capacity is not the entire issue. Payload must be looked at too as it can be easily exceeded with certain trucks and SUV's especially.

The difference between the Honda Ridgeline and trucks is that it is not built on a truck frame as I understand it. It may be a more comfortable ride, but does not have truck characteristics which may influence towing potential.

Gene

Globie64 · 05-06-2010, 09:29 PM

actually, the Ridgeline has a full ladder frame AND is a unitized body- it is heavier. Honda did a good job covering all their bases with their first truck. We regularly load the sucker up with full load of cement products for our contracting firm, loading to the maximum capacity, which is half tonish. It handles well with a full load, something that our Tundra doesn't equal.

Ahab · 05-07-2010, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

strfeamofair, towing capacity is not the entire issue. Payload must be looked at too as it can be easily exceeded with certain trucks and SUV's especially.

The difference between the Honda Ridgeline and trucks is that it is not built on a truck frame as I understand it. It may be a more comfortable ride, but does not have truck characteristics which may influence towing potential.

Gene

Sorry Gene but you are wrong. The Ridgeline has 2.5 times the bending moment and 20 times the torsional rigidity of conventionally framed trucks. Remember it was designed for towing.

Gene · 05-07-2010, 09:36 AM

I'm sure I read when the Ridgeline came out that it was not built on a truck chassis and it was built to ride soft. The market was to be suburbanites who wanted a truck-like vehicle because it looked cool, but didn't really need one. That's the same approach some "SUV" manufacturers have taken (Highlander, RAV4 are built on car chassis).

Perhaps I have been in an alternate reality. I think the Ridgeline was designed during Al Gore's administration, maybe in the year the Rockies won the World Series. I'm not sure whether I read it in Colliers or Look.

Gene

Globie64 · 05-07-2010, 08:01 PM

if you go to

2010 Honda Ridgeline - Specifications - Official Honda Web Site

and look under Body/Suspension/Chassis, you can click on Integrated Closed-Box Frame with Unit-Body Construction and Fully-Boxed High-Strength Steel (HSS) Frame Rails and Crossmembers with Internal Stiffeners. "The integrated closed-box frame with unit-body construction is quieter than the conventional body-on-frame design. Not only does this greatly minimize the buzz, squeak and rattle generally associated with body-on-frame trucks, but it also greatly enhances the Ridgeline’s ride and handling, especially when fully loaded. The two integrated, fully boxed and reinforced frame rails and seven fully boxed cross members give it added strength and class-leading torsional rigidity."

People say we live in an alternate reality here in CA. Colliers and Look I think both disappeared before I was born, maybe the current Ridgeline is a remake of an earlier Honda truck, maybe with the 360cc 4 stroke twin, using the small car shell?

pageclot · 05-18-2010, 06:38 AM

Pictures of our latest TV and trailer:

The power of the 4.7 L V8 is nice. Gas mileage is about 20% better than our previous 3.8L v6 van was, when towing (around 13 mpg (US gallons), in quite hilly country). Ride is very comfy too. A panic stop when someone cut in front of me became non-panic when the whole unit ground to a halt very quickly.

Bring on the long trips!