Towing vehicle for 19' Escape

[Selfdoc]

I read that the 19' Escape can be towed with a vehicle with a towing capacity of 5000 lbs. minimum. We have a Toyota Highlander with a towing package with which we tow our 16' Scamp. The towing package on the Highlander brings it's towing capacity up to 5000 lbs. We are close to purchasing a 19' Escape. We are wondering if we can use our current Toyota Highlander to tow it successfully. Does anyone have experience using this vehicle (or a similar one) to tow a 19' Escape? Do we need a higher towing capacity vehicle to ensure a comfortable driving experience with the Escape? Driving up hills, etc.? I know this depends partly on how much weight we'll be hauling in the new Escape. I doubt if we'll ever exceed 5000 lbs. GVWR. Thanks in advance for your help.

[thoer]

IowaDave towed their 19 for many many thousands of miles with their Highlander and now he (as we do) tows a 21' with a Highlander. I have been more than pleased with our experiences with the Highlander as a tow.

We bought the Highlander on the recommedations of Dave and LeonW who also tows a 21 with his.

[float5]

AFAIK, there is a big difference on the GCWR on Highlanders depending upon whether it is 2017 or earlier. Need to look at the numbers.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by thoer

IowaDave towed their 19 for many many thousands of miles with their Highlander and now he (as we do) tows a 21' with a Highlander. I have been more than pleased with our experiences with the Highlander as a tow.

We bought the Highlander on the recommedations of Dave and LeonW who also tows a 21 with his.

Our experience is as Eric indicated. We have towed the two Escapes over 40,000 combined miles. We use a weight distributing hitch , the Pro Tow sold by Escape came with our 19 worked fine. Out Highlander is a 2012 with 180,000 miles on it. Our 19 was a first generation model which weighed 3680 and a 420 lb. tongue weight. The new 19s weigh a little more but not any more than our first gen. 21 that we have now and it tows well also. We have pulled over numerous mountain passes and it’s been our experience that we usually end up behind a truck where we stay on single lane roads. I’ve not had a problem going uphill and have advised many that the technique of downshifting the shiftable transmission and very judicious use of the brakes for a very controlled descent will stand you in good stead. While others with Highlander experience or lack of it may lead them to an opinion other than ours, when I buy my next tow vehicle it will most likely be another Highlander. ( and Toyota doesn’t send me any referral checks) but the fine folks at Escape certainly have. We’ve been coast to coast and border to border and then some as they used to say about clear channel AM radio stations.
Iowa Dave

[Selfdoc]

Thanks, everyone for your quick responses. We are going to call Escape and order our 19 footer in the next few days.

[CarlNH]

I will be picking up my 19 in a couple of months and will be towing with a 2017 Highlander XLE. Was a bit unsure about that too until reading on this forum of the success others have had with this combo!

[rjbny]

New style 19 tows just fine with our 2012 Highlander equipped with the tow package.

[rjbny]

Originally Posted by rjbny

New style 19 tows just fine with our 2012 Highlander equipped with the tow package.

Just a PS for anyone considering a second generation Highlander (2007-13) - we recently learned that the tow package came standard equipment on the 2013 non-Hybrid models. So, if you have a 2013 you are set with the 5,000# capacity, whereas any other year it will be hit or miss.

[Avion61]

What brand of towing product do you use to tow your trailers? I have heard so many good reviews about Blue Ox Towing products. Any other suggestions?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Avion61

What brand of towing product do you use to tow your trailers? I have heard so many good reviews about Blue Ox Towing products. Any other suggestions?

If you're talking about a weight distribution hitch, there are several that will do a great job with a Highlander. The pro series Escape sells works fine, although I'd probably go with the Fastway E2 they also sell as an option.

[Iowa Dave]

I couldn’t let Eric beat me to the top of the mountain so on his recommendation, we bought a 2018 SLE Highlander and set it up to tow from the dealership. Had to fix a fruedian typo as I typed stealership. Seriously, we’re fully confident of the vehicle’s ability and the 8 speed transmission and additional Horses should add a little economy. I drove the new one over 900 miles this weekend not towing. Very comfortable and a lot of nice safety features the 2012 did not have. Here’s a snapshot of the readout as I came back into town. Interstate and US highways and a side trip through Amish country in Indiana.

[cpaharley2008]

Question on the Toyota "eco" mode. with the Ram they have 2 spark plugs per cycle, a hot and a cold plug, thus when deactivation or in "eco" only 4 cyl are in use. I was told that a tune up, with 16 plugs is quite $$$ with these newer vehicles, has anyone experienced that?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Question on the Toyota "eco" mode. with the Ram they have 2 spark plugs per cycle, a hot and a cold plug, thus when deactivation or in "eco" only 4 cyl are in use. I was told that a tune up, with 16 plugs is quite $$$ with these newer vehicles, has anyone experienced that?

The dual plug and the cylinder deactivation features of the Ram Hemi are unrelated.

The Toyota Highlander's Eco mode does not appear to be cylinder deactivation, and does not involve dual plugs.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Question on the Toyota "eco" mode. with the Ram they have 2 spark plugs per cycle, a hot and a cold plug, thus when deactivation or in "eco" only 4 cyl are in use. I was told that a tune up, with 16 plugs is quite $$$ with these newer vehicles, has anyone experienced that?

I had all 16 spark plugs on my Ram replaced with genuine Mopar plugs
Cost was under $200 for parts and labor
My 2011 Ram Hemi had copper plugs which had to be changed every 32,000 miles per owners manual
My 2014 Ram Hemi has a 100.000 mike plug change inerval

[thoer]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Question on the Toyota "eco" mode. with the Ram they have 2 spark plugs per cycle, a hot and a cold plug, thus when deactivation or in "eco" only 4 cyl are in use. I was told that a tune up, with 16 plugs is quite $$$ with these newer vehicles, has anyone experienced that?

Jim - the Highlander doesn't really have an "eco" mode - it just lights up that light when you are driving within certain limits of acceleration - at least that is how it is on my 2017, maybe Dave's 2018 is different.

Our 2014 Corolla has an actual "eco" mode button, but all it does is make a software modification that sort of dulls the gas pedal -forcing you to be more gentle in acceleration. For those of us old guys who were taught the "egg between your foot and the gas pedal" method by depression era fathers, it is pretty superfluous.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by thoer

Jim - the Highlander doesn't really have an "eco" mode - it just lights up that light when you are driving within certain limits of acceleration - at least that is how it is on my 2017, maybe Dave's 2018 is different.

Our 2014 Corolla has an actual "eco" mode button, but all it does is make a software modification that sort of dulls the gas pedal -forcing you to be more gentle in acceleration.

The 2018 Highlander does have the selectable Eco mode, which works just like that Corolla.

[Iowa Dave]

I can barely figure out how to turn on the radio. Engine shuts off at stop lights , dashboard tells me it’s time for a cup of coffee, tells me to get my hands back on the steering wheel, and I don’t know what else. I gotta go for another lesson. I never was one for coming up out of the hole but I always liked the deuce coupe line “ she”ll do a hundred and forty in the top end, floored.”
Saw the nicest magenta metallic lead sled merc this weekend I’ve seen in a long time. Dual lake pipes both coming out of the same side. Magenta tail light lenses too.
Iowa Dave

[cpaharley2008]

I'm afraid to even open the hood now......the car even talks to your phone now.....schedules it's own appointments with the dealer.

[Oldtimer]

I just wish they’d also drive to the dealership do the arguing with the techs then come back home so I dont miss my naps

[John in Santa Cruz]

these are all reasons why my cars are somewhat older. my daily driver is a 1993 Mercedes 300CE Cabriolet. analog instruments, the ONLY computer in the whole car is the Motronic fuel injection/ignition, everything else is analog. My previous tow vehicle was a 2008 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 4.0L V6 with a 6-speed stick shift. I know there are actually more than a few computers hidden in there, but all the controls are simple switches and analog instruments. My new tow vehicle is a 2002 Ford F250 4x4 7.3L diesel, ditto, while I know there's a few computers hidden under the dash and hood, the instruments are mechanical, and the switches and controls are all direct.

now, I am not a ludite, I am using my cellphone for spotify music streaming and google maps navigation on a trip. and in all these cars I replaced the funky stock stereos with late model Pioneer CD decks with bluetooth.