new car and towing

I'm considering the possibility of buying a new vehicle and am looking for opinions and comments. What I have now is a 2017 Chevy Travesty. It does a good job and has not given me any problems. BUT, I just don't like it. I'm in a position to be able to trade this in for something that I feel more comfortable with. I'm a Ford fan and am leaning towards that, but I also am considering a Jeep. But before I choose a vehicle, here's what my towing conditions are...

6 x 12 trailer... empty weight is 975#
payload capacity 2015#
GVWR 2990#

Load is a UTV with a shipping weight of 1571# and a GVWR of 3300#

Hauling this load is about 4 to 6 times a year with a round trip of approximately 100 miles.

I'm going to assume I might have an additional load of 700# on the trailer for misc. items.
I'm also going to assume I might have up to 4 car passengers that weight 200# each, giving me an additional 400# load.
So my addition tells me I need a towing package that can handle ~3100#

My first question is my math correct that any vehicle that can handle 3100# will be sufficient? But I would want to be able to go at least 4000#?

With the above in mind I think I must look at the Ford Explorer. It has a towing capacity of 5600#. Seems like overkill. And I assume my mileage will not be any better than the 15 to 20 mpg I'm getting now. Or maybe worse!

In the Jeep category I think I'm looking at the Cherokee series at a towing capacity of around 4000#.

Anybody have any comment for or against the Jeep? And as it might compare to the Ford?

If I decide I will look at both used and new possibilities.

 

I think Jeep makes the best stock 4x4 but I've not been impressed with their quality.

 

They had a bad rep for awhile. But lately they seem to be much better.

 

Depends, not so much on load, as on terrain.



If you are towing on flat land, paved roads, on a trailer with brakes, you don't worry.
If you are towing up and down hills, on dirt roads and 2 lane tracks, or off-road, then, yeah, get something with the big hitch.

Given the increased cost of factory towing packages, you might check out "helper spring" kits.

 

Hal, that pic made me laugh

 

Hal, Half the trip is in fact on hilly country roads. Only the approx 1/4 mile up the mountainside is dirt rd. The Chevy handles all of quite nicely.

 

Yesterday I stop off at a Jeep dealer to have a look see. I made it clear to the sales person that I was not going buy a car but wanted basic info at this point in time. So after telling him my conditions he showed me a Cherokee model. That would be the class I'm interested in. I was very impressed with the car. The particular one he brought out was a limited edition. The only thing it lacked was the actual towing equipment attached to the car. He said it would be about $365 to add. I said if I was buying you would throw it in as free. He laughed and agreed. It was a 2020 model. I asked about a 2019 model and he said the price would be the same and a better deal could be had on the 2020 model. I told him when I'm ready to buy I would want the use of the car for a two day trial before deciding. He said one, I said we'll see.

So my next stop is to the Ford dealer to see what they would put me into. I think it' will be an Expedition model which I think is overkill for my situation.

 

Yep, "High Hopes", ants and rubber-tree- plants.

A tool passed down from my grandfather's small coal yard was the hated "railcar bar" or "snubber" a 6" long steel pry bar with a 45 degree angle at the nose. One man (my father or my uncles, depending on who drew the short straw) would move a fully loaded freight car along the freight siding and unload the care. It just took patience, sweat and time because you could only move a freight car about 1 inch at a time...

Same thing for towing - if you're not in a hurry, you can tow 100 tons with 2-mules using the late 1800s US canal system, or scoot a 100 ton freight car along the siding with just 1 person.