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Old 10-09-2015, 10:00 PM   #1
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Pick up vs SUV

All other things (tow rating, mileage, GVWR etc.) being equal would you rather pull your trailer AND camp with a pick up truck or an SUV/wagon body style vehicle?
In other words truck bed (with or without cap/tonneau cover) or fully enclosed hatchback vehicle.
For example Ford Explorer SUV vs Ford Explorer Sport Trac.
Obviously I'm talking about a non 5th wheel trailer here.
Not considering other needs in your life, just towing the camper and using while you camp.
Oh, and of course the big question: Why?
Edit: Just to be clear when I wrote trailer I meant your camper not a cargo trailer.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:11 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimrules View Post
Not considering other needs in your life, just towing the camper and using while you camp.
This is where you lose me. Towing, other than being safe doing it, is the least of my considerations.
I need to be able to park it at the grocery, I need room for four, if I need to haul stuff to the dump I can rent a utility trailer. I need to be able to climb up into it.
Longest tow I've done is maybe 6 1/2 hours. And then I camped for a week.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:18 PM   #3
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I have done it with trucks and SUVs. The combination of a SUV and a small utility trailer works best for me. We pack anything used during the day in the SUV and all night stuff is in the trailer. We include a couple old flannel sleeping bags in the SUV. You can disconnect the trailer and drive away with everything you might need ... Everytime��

The utility trailer is much better to load and unload (it's lower) and you can fill it with whatever and drop it until you need it again.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:27 PM   #4
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I've towed with both and for us personally we find the crew cab PU equipped with a Bak-Flip folding hard bed cover has worked the best. Doesn't mean one is necessarily better than the other, this system has just been the best for the way we trailer.
Easier carrying bbq's, wet camping gear, towing supplies, things you don't want inside a vehicle with you or inside the trailer. The Bak-Flip access to the various parts of the truck bed makes it very efficient.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:31 PM   #5
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Oops, let me clarify. When I wrote trailer I meant camper.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:39 PM   #6
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Klem. I think I worded the question poorly. It's not so much about the towing as much as it s about how you haul your camping gear. As well as the convenience of the things you mentioned like room for 4 and parking.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:40 PM   #7
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one year of towing experience with a pick-up is our context.

As a newbie to towing we like the increased visability when on the road and while backing up. I think an SUV would give you less visability than a pick-up (but I have no real life experience). Plus I think an SUV would be more expensive then a pick-up.

Overall we r happy we have a pick-up rather than SUV. But,we have a Backflip which we use to cover lots of camping gear when we r on the road. We like having a pick-up around for other hauling issues around the house. And THE REST OF OUR FAMILY LOVE BORROWING THE PICK-UP WHENEVER THEY NEED TO HAUL THINGS
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:46 PM   #8
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Depends on if you just need to pull or haul things. I pulled a small trailer with an SUV, but I haul gravel, dirt, timber, and plywood sheets with my pickup - which also pulls a 21. Hard tonneau hides all the camping stuff in the bed - like generator and a gas can.
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Old 10-09-2015, 11:00 PM   #9
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Having driven mostly mid-sized vehicles and smaller all my life, I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy the larger size of my F150. Being up higher, seeing the road better, and knowing that I have tons of towing capacity with room to spare, have all made me very happy with my choice. If this is just an opinion poll, I vote supercrew cab truck, for a number of reasons. Sure, parking it is a bit tougher than a midsize SUV, but it's really not something I notice. The mileage is respectable too, rivaling many smaller vehicles, with much more capability - at least for me.
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Old 10-09-2015, 11:03 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryandLiz View Post
one year of towing experience with a pick-up is our context.

THE REST OF OUR FAMILY LOVE BORROWING THE PICK-UP WHENEVER THEY NEED TO HAUL THINGS
When I no longer had a regular need for my old pick up, I sold it to my brother for this same reason.
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Old 10-10-2015, 07:35 AM   #11
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You can always make your pick up into a SUV via a removable cap over the truck bed, you can not make our SUV into a pick up.
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Old 10-10-2015, 08:10 AM   #12
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I like our Silverado for towing. However, my wife won't drive it. She thinks its too big. She had no problem with our Trailblazer EXT.
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Old 10-10-2015, 08:15 AM   #13
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P/up for me.I hate rattling stuff.When it's in the p/up can't here them.Things like BBQ are best in the p/up.Also is it just me or fire wood pile seems to be at opposite ends of the c/grnd.
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Old 10-10-2015, 08:18 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
You can always make your pick up into a SUV via a removable cap over the truck bed, you can not make our SUV into a pick up.
I agree with Jim!
Once I bought a truck I found I could not do without one!
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Old 10-10-2015, 08:57 AM   #15
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I've only towed with an SUV (my RAV4) and, at times, wished for a pickup. Stuffing my easyup into the RAV4 (particularly when wet) is a pain, and while I don't have a generator, I if I did I wouldn't want to store it & it's fuel inside the SUV. Power is fine, and handling is great, although I do wish for a larger fuel tank.

That said, the RAV4 is comfortable for 4, gets 25MPG highway, 20MPG mixed driving when not towing which is about 1/2 my driving.

I'm going to have to decide between the two next Spring, and since I won't be able to purchase a new RAV4 (they dropped the V6), it is going to be a tough call. My home built utility trailer is getting a bit long in tooth, so a truck makes sense, then again, a 4 Runner is tempting.
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Old 10-10-2015, 09:05 AM   #16
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I have owned a pickup for 35 years now, and have never not had one.

For towing a bumper mount trailer, my preference is an SUV. We put no camping gear in the tow vehicle that is gear related to setting up the camp site, like chairs, chocks, BBQ's (anything cooking), hoses, mats, tables, etc. What goes in the trailer is most of the stuff that we would want with us wherever we go, whether connected to the trailer, or with the trailer left at the campsite, like camera gear, backpacks, water toys, etc. This worked great for us when we had the 19. Plus, everything is inside where it is warm, dry, secure and handy.

Now with the 5.0 on order, we have no choice buy using a pickup. While I love the layout of the 5.0, the fact of having to use a pickup was the one fact that I wasn't so happy with. For starters, I have never had a truck without some kind of topper, and couldn't do that. Lots of research did find me a way to outfit my truck to use for hauling lots of stuff and keeping it secure and dry, at least when not towing, but it seems more of a compromise.

In the end, it just comes down to personal choice, and how you intend to use the vehicle. Either can do the job just fine.
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Old 10-10-2015, 09:32 AM   #17
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Always seen myself as a (Chevy) station wagon guy. Dry camped happily with 6 of them over the years, as far as 50 miles up unpaved roads deep into Newfoundland. My first tow was a used '92 Ford Explorer and I really liked that SUV, (my first Ford, which amazed me). Got lots of leg room, sitting high, big, permanently covered cargo space in back, etc. When it died (blown head gasket) I went for another SUV, '96 Chevy Tahoe. Another great tow. So, when it's time finally came, replacing with a pick-up was clearly not in my plans.

But when the dealership told station wagon guy he couldn't take his Acadia home for maybe another couple weeks (they weren't sure because Detroit was still dissecting their mysterious recall plans) they gave me a loaner, a brand new Silverado.

I even took it camping. Long story short, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. It's my first truck, it's big, it's powerful, it's got all the bells and whistles I would ever need, it's quiet and drives like a limo, and, it hauls yard brush without ever tearing up a headliner.
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Old 10-10-2015, 09:34 AM   #18
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Pick up vs SUV

For us a pickup plus canopy works best.
More space than a tonneau so our belly boats, outboard motor, generator, fishing gear, etc fit. Keeps fuel out of passenger area. Can remove canopy for hauling higher loads. Bed liner makes it a breeze to clean up.
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Old 10-10-2015, 10:30 AM   #19
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Had a 2002 F150 crew cab, what i hated about it was gas mileage and turn radius. With my Rav i can turn around almost anywhere in one swoop. I only hope it is durable and lasts a long time. I just do not want to buy a new suv anytime soon, at my age. Carl
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Old 10-10-2015, 10:38 AM   #20
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We've towed with a Tacoma V6 Extended Cab and now an Xterra V6. One main criteria for both is truly "off road" capable. Both work well as a TV, if anything the Xterra is a little better possibly due to the shorter distance from hitch ball to rear wheels. But it's nit picking as both are similar towing. These two are similar in size.

We had a canopy on the Tacoma enclosing the bed. We moved to the Xterra for a couple of reasons. 1) The Tacoma wore out. 2) The Tacoma bed gets real dusty and the Xterra doesn't (canopies don't have a great seal). 3) There's more room in the Xterra for the dogs. The Tacoma had less cab room but much larger area in the bed.

It's nice to have a pickup, but the canopy negates some of its usefulness. We have a small 4'x8' utility trailer for hauling stuff around town.

I suspect an SUV will generally give a better ride? The Xterra is more like a truck than most SUVs so I can't say for sure.

It would be nice to have a V8 towing an Escape 19. If the criteria of off-road and a manual transmission were lifted we'd have looked for a V8, likely SUV.

So, it all depends on how you travel. But if you want to travel like us, that's our experience.
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