Best Towing Vehicles for a 17B or 19' Escape - Page 2 - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Towing and Hitching
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 08-02-2016, 05:01 PM   #21
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: New Westminster, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B
Posts: 218
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
200 mile (300 km) range would drive me crazy.
While researching new vehicles I was surprised at the small size of the fuel tanks on some Toyota vehicles like the Tacoma and 4Runner. Until recently the 5.7L V8 Tundra only came with a 100L tank which made for a very limited range while towing; now it is available with an optional 144L tank.

Our V6 4Runner holds 87L of fuel. The other day I drove 649km from Merritt, BC to outside of Canmore, AB with an empty vehicle and used 78.4L - works out to 12.1L/100km. It is a mountainous drive and I wasn't too concerned about fuel consumption. On the return trip towing our new trailer I averaged about 15L/100km through the same mountainous terrain. I filled up every 400 km (60% of a tank) but that was more to get the cheap price at Costco in Kamloops. I was also less concerned about fuel consumption and more about finishing my 1000km journey quickly.

As a side note, on the trip east I pushed the fuel level to find out how accurate the "range" indicator is and discovered that it is off significantly. The range indicator reported 22km of remaining range when the low fuel level light came on. The manual says the light comes on with approximately 13.1L of fuel remaining so I should have had at least 100km until empty. It appears that the remaining range was calculated based on the current fuel level minus the reserve capacity of 13.1L.
msweet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2016, 05:05 PM   #22
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: South Lake Tahoe, California
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B
Posts: 253
No experience towing an Escape yet, but I'm hoping for 19 mpg (US) with the Touareg TDI and 17B. That would give me 494 miles of range (450 comfortably) with the 26 gallon tank (US). I think it's doable, but we will see.

Other comparables are the Jeep Grand Cherokee TDI and Colorado/Canyon 2.8 Duramax. Other threads have already discussed this but I don't think anyone has any actual MPG numbers yet.

As others have said, MPG is not the primary concern for most people so you need to match the vehicle to your other non-towing uses and usually buy for that. In the end there isn't a huge difference in $ between 14 MPG and 19, so get what works best for you all around.
skyfree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2016, 08:13 PM   #23
Site Team
 
rbryan4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
Range is important to be sure, but it doesn't directly translate to efficiency as in the OP's original question.

Having said that, I hate having to stop for gas all the time, so range is probably more important than mpg to me. Part of the reason I love towing with my truck - a max range while towing of about 550 miles. Not towing, it's over 900 miles.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2016, 08:22 PM   #24
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Kamloops, British Columbia
Trailer: 2024 Bigfoot 21RB
Posts: 254
Like Iowa Dave we get 14 mpg with our 2011 Highlander and Escape 19 and have towed the trailer with this vehicle for about 25,000 kms. I think as long as you meet the towing capacity requirements of your vehicle, perhaps with a bit of a buffer, you will be fine. Anything more in towing capacity is more about the towing experience than ability.
gharper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2016, 09:01 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,532
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
Range is important to be sure.
I agree. That is one thing I did not like about my Pilot, was the small tank. With either my f-150 with the 3.5 EcoBoost, or my 7-350 with the Power Stroke diesel, both having a 130 litre tank, I get just about 2 1/2 times the range that I did with the Pilot.

While towing, the fuel economies are not that different with the 3 vehicles either, but the Pilot would win hands down when not towing.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 02:18 AM   #26
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
Range is important to be sure, but it doesn't directly translate to efficiency as in the OP's original question.
Very true. Also, someone who is full-timing is likely (but not necessarily) traveling relatively small distances per day, so range is less of a concern than those on time-constrained vacation trips.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 06:20 AM   #27
Senior Member
 
Bill and Earline's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Signal Mountain (Chattanooga), Tennessee
Trailer: Escape 21 November 2014; 2022 GMC 1500 3.0L
Posts: 681
When considering tow ratings, the manufacturers now use a standard called J2807, which specifies that the vehicle have a 150 lb driver and a 150 lb passenger and be able to maintain 40mph up a particular grade.

If you have only that amount of weight on board and are comfortable going 40mph up significant grades then you can go by that tow rating. If you have more in your tow vehicle or want to go a little faster, then you need to more tow capability. Very few people say they think they have too much power.

I second eveyone's thoughts about buying slightly used--except I didn't for myself. Test drives are great fun, but tough to arrange with a trailer, so narrow your search down to a few and ask again about those specific vehicles. Good luck.
Bill and Earline is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 08:29 AM   #28
Senior Member
 
Iowa Dave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Benton County, Iowa
Trailer: 2013 Escape 21 Classic Number 6, pulled by 2018 Toyota Highlander
Posts: 8,235
Tow Rating

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill and Earline View Post
When considering tow ratings, the manufacturers now use a standard called J2807, which specifies that the vehicle have a 150 lb driver and a 150 lb passenger and be able to maintain 40mph up a particular grade.

If you have only that amount of weight on board and are comfortable going 40mph up significant grades then you can go by that tow rating. If you have more in your tow vehicle or want to go a little faster, then you need to more tow capability. Very few people say they think they have too much power.

I second eveyone's thoughts about buying slightly used--except I didn't for myself. Test drives are great fun, but tough to arrange with a trailer, so narrow your search down to a few and ask again about those specific vehicles. Good luck.
Hi Bill,
Although I slightly exceed the 150 lb weight standard, I was able to pull Wolf Creek pass twice on our trip to Durango and the Rocky Mtn. rally. I held her steady at 40 mph at 4000 RPM in 4th gear on the way up both sides. Temp was 88 at the bottom and 66 at the top last Friday forenoon. She did not downshift as long as I was steady on the foot feed. Going down, I self shifted 2nd, 3rd and 4th and only braked occasionally to bleed off some speed and RPMs about once a mile. As the old man used to say, "easy does it". Now I'm the old man. Hmmmm
Dave
Iowa Dave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 09:46 AM   #29
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
As Samuel L. Clemens quoted When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 10:48 AM   #30
Senior Member
 
thoer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Galesville, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2017 21 "Blue II" & 2017 Highlander XLE (previously 2010 17B "Blue" & 2008 Tacoma)
Posts: 4,232
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
As Samuel L. Clemens quoted When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
__________________
Eric (and Mary who is in no way responsible for anything stupid I post)

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." George Bernard Shaw
thoer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 10:51 AM   #31
Senior Member
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,532
It took me until I was 22 to make the same realization.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 10:59 AM   #32
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Last piece of financial advice I gave my daughter is, "whatever I say you should do, do the opposite".
So, they went ahead and paid over asking for a condo and it was worth $50,000 more than that when they got possession.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 11:18 AM   #33
Senior Member
 
thoer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Galesville, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2017 21 "Blue II" & 2017 Highlander XLE (previously 2010 17B "Blue" & 2008 Tacoma)
Posts: 4,232
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
Last piece of financial advice I gave my daughter is, "whatever I say you should do, do the opposite".
...[
That advice applies to taking advice from financial "experts" most of the time too. At least about stock market "predictions"
__________________
Eric (and Mary who is in no way responsible for anything stupid I post)

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." George Bernard Shaw
thoer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 03:13 PM   #34
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill and Earline View Post
When considering tow ratings, the manufacturers now use a standard called J2807, which specifies that the vehicle have a 150 lb driver and a 150 lb passenger and be able to maintain 40mph up a particular grade.

If you have only that amount of weight on board and are comfortable going 40mph up significant grades then you can go by that tow rating. If you have more in your tow vehicle or want to go a little faster, then you need to more tow capability. Very few people say they think they have too much power.
The only problem with this is that the grade climbing performance is a minimum standard, and only one of many tests in J2807. A vehicle may be much faster up the grade than required with the rated load, but is prevented from having a higher rating due to one of the other tests, or some other factor not even covered in J2807.

It is common for two vehicles to have the same engine - and so the same maximum speed pulling the same load up a grade - but different towing ratings. For instance, there are multiple Toyota models with the same engine, but different capacities. A current Sienna is just as fast up a grade with a 3500 pound trailer (its maximum allowed) as a current Highlander, but the Highlander is rated for 5000 pounds; the higher rating does not indicate any better grade-climbing performance.

Another illustration of "rating does not indicate performance" is that a vehicle can have similar trailer ratings with two different engines, because both a limited by something such as transmission durability or rear suspension capacity, but one engine is much more powerful and will allow much faster grade climbing. This effect occurs mostly in pickup trucks.

Whenever you see trailer weight ratings that happen to match the weight limits of industry standard classes of trailer (2000 pounds, 3500 pounds, or 5000 pounds for classes 1, 2, and 3), it is safe to assume that the rating does not correspond to the maximum trailer weight with which the vehicle can pass the J2807 tests.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 06:19 PM   #35
Senior Member
 
David H's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Parksville, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 17B
Posts: 148
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyfree View Post
No experience towing an Escape yet, but I'm hoping for 19 mpg (US) with the Touareg TDI and 17B. That would give me 494 miles of range (450 comfortably) with the 26 gallon tank (US). I think it's doable, but we will see.

Other comparables are the Jeep Grand Cherokee TDI and Colorado/Canyon 2.8 Duramax. Other threads have already discussed this but I don't think anyone has any actual MPG numbers yet.

As others have said, MPG is not the primary concern for most people so you need to match the vehicle to your other non-towing uses and usually buy for that. In the end there isn't a huge difference in $ between 14 MPG and 19, so get what works best for you all around.
I have a 2016 Touareg TDI+ 17B and the last long trip from Vancouver Island via the Escape rally to Alberta return my average over >3000 km, nearly all towing was 11.1 liters/100 km. 21.2 mpg US, 25.4 mpg imperial. There's lots of climbing on that trip including 2 crossings of the Rockies. I thought that was pretty decent.
__________________
David
2016 VW Touareg TDI
2014 Escape 17B "Glass Cabin"
2019 KC the Beagle
David H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 08:06 PM   #36
Site Team
 
rbryan4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
Quote:
Originally Posted by David H View Post
I have a 2016 Touareg TDI+ 17B and the last long trip from Vancouver Island via the Escape rally to Alberta return my average over >3000 km, nearly all towing was 11.1 liters/100 km. 21.2 mpg US, 25.4 mpg imperial. There's lots of climbing on that trip including 2 crossings of the Rockies. I thought that was pretty decent.
I should say so. The Touareg has the best towing mileage of any vehicle I've seen so far -- bar none. Of course, many aren't willing to shell out 50k for good towing mileage.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 09:39 PM   #37
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: South Lake Tahoe, California
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B
Posts: 253
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
I should say so. The Touareg has the best towing mileage of any vehicle I've seen so far -- bar none. Of course, many aren't willing to shell out 50k for good towing mileage.
Probably more than that, and they aren't available anymore due to Dieselgate. 2017's might become available if we are lucky. 2018's will be the last year for them most likely as VW has said that it will be very difficult to meet the 2019 emission requirements and from what I've been reading they probably won't even try.
skyfree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2016, 10:25 PM   #38
Site Team
 
rbryan4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
You're probably right Ron. Barring some new revolution in engine design, we'll see fewer and fewer capable and truly efficient tow vehicles that can still meet the ever more stringent emissions standards.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2016, 01:38 PM   #39
Senior Member
 
Dave Walter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 2013 19' & 2013 15B
Posts: 2,634
Selecting the best tow vehicle seems to me to be a pretty easy decision with really only one correct solution. The FJ Cruiser is the one. Unfortunately they are no longer sold new in North America but there are still some good used ones out there.
__________________
2013 19' \ 2013 15B, 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Offroad

"It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it." - 1907, Maurice Switzer
Dave Walter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2016, 01:46 PM   #40
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: South Lake Tahoe, California
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B
Posts: 253
Quote:
Originally Posted by ice-breaker View Post
Selecting the best tow vehicle seems to me to be a pretty easy decision with really only one correct solution. The FJ Cruiser is the one. Unfortunately they are no longer sold new in North America but there are still some good used ones out there.
And it has the highest residual value of any vehicle sold in the last 3 years. There were tons of them at Overland Expo West 2016. One of the vendors we spoke to had one that he estimated was about 1,000 lbs over GVWR with all the stuff he put on it. He was fretting a bit over gas mileage though!
skyfree is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.