Escape 17B and Durango/Jeep GC -- V6 or V8

[gbaglo]

The problem is that different people have different expectations.
I'm not surprised that my RAV4 slows down when climbing a steep grade. I'm not surprised that my RPMs are high when making the vehicle work.
I am pleasantly surprised that I can accelerate to 60 mph, towing my trailer up the on ramp, to merge with traffic.
Some expect their vehicle to tow over the summit without ever pressing on the accelerator.

You have to read a lot of posts to figure out where people are coming from.

[sunrisetrucker]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I'm talking about litres converted to US gallons since fuel in Canada is sold by the litre.

I dare you to find a single gas pump in Canada that sells fuel in imperial gallons.

God save the Queen doesn't mean what it once did.

The reason I asked is because those of us raised in the 50's and 60's or earlier (And I believe that includes you) still relate to miles per gallon. And those of us raised in Canada during those same years (And I believe that includes you) still mostly relate to imperial gallons over US gallons. (But I guess that doesn't includes you)


And I actually saw the Queen when she visited Vancouver Island in the 80's.

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by DebiT

I'm not concerned that I will want a larger trailer. I'm very sure about that. I just don't want to find out that I've bought a wrong vehicle. I don't expect to be racing up hills. But I don't to overheat either

Verify this with the dealer about the specific vehicle you have in mind but the JGC factory tow package consists of

"Trailer Tow Group"
Engine oil cooler
Auxilliary Transmission Oil Cooler
Heavy duty engine cooling
Trailer Tow Wiring Harness
Class III receiver hitch
7 and 4 pin wiring harness

VERIFY just what the factory tow package includes no matter what vehicle you decide on. It should be quite similar to the above.

When I say ‘verify’, I mean telling the sales person that you don’t want to *hear * what they are telling you, you want to *read * what they are telling you.


The V-6 in my JGC has towed my 4,500# 21’ up and down mountains with minimal effort. My model is rated to tow 6,200#.

I can’t imagine that it could not do the same with a 17.

As I said in an earlier post, Different JGC models may have different rated towing capabilities.

Carefully VERIFY the rated tow capacity of the model you are specifically interested in.

The JGC tow package DOES NOT include the trailer brake controller. As part of your negotiations, have the dealer provide and install one. No matter what tow vehicle you decide on, ask about the brake controller.

The modern electronic keys are horribly expensive retail. Have the dealer throw in a third key as part of the deal. The key doesn’t cost them very much. That way you can hide one in the trailer just in case.

Have fun.

There is a good selection of capable SUV’s to chose from.

Ed

[Chris & Patricia]

Originally Posted by DebiT

I'm not concerned that I will want a larger trailer. I'm very sure about that. I just don't want to find out that I've bought a wrong vehicle. I don't expect to be racing up hills. But I don't to overheat either

Try looking through this.

http://webcontent.goodsam.com/traile...wGuide2019.pdf

It will give you the tow ratings of all the vehicles under the sun and you can check out what model with trim etc that you are looking at.

To tow a new fully loaded Escape 17B, you should count on up to 4,000 lbs of trailer weight.

If the vehicle you are considering has at least that towing capacity, your vehicle should be fine. However, if you choose a vehicle that is only just above the towing capacity, you will find (we had personal experience of this) that on long steep grades, you will experience considerable slow downs, so just take your time.

You should of course, as has been suggested by other replies in this thread, check that the vehicle comes with all the correct towing package options such as trailer brake controller. You should also consider the vehicle payload as well to make sure that anything you are putting in your tow vehicle rather than the trailer is within allowable vehicle overall weight limits.

Happy hunting.

In the interest of full disclosure we towed our old 17B with an older model Honda Pilot with a tow capacity of 3,500 lbs and we probably had slightly more than that when we were fully loaded. It was barely adequate, but I think that your suggested choices will be better than that. However, when we upgraded to a bigger trailer, we ended up going for a vehicle with a much bigger tow capacity, which as we plan on quite a few longer trips, makes our towing journey up the steeper slopes much more comfortable.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

Go with the v-6 Much better mpg Unless you need to burn rubber every time you tow I would go with the Dodge v-6 .we almost bought one but decided on a Ford Expedition with the v-6eco boost We tow the E21 and a 5200lb boat So we needed the extra Hp Good luck try them first then decide JimW

We tow with a V8 powered vehicle yet have never felt the urge / need to burn rubber or be the first one to the summit . If we ever meet on the highway I can assure you that you will feel the urge to pass this old fart doing just under the speed limit
I’ve had both 6 cylinder and V8 tow vehicles and the V8’s got better gas mileage

[DebiT]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

Verify this with the dealer about the specific vehicle you have in mind but the JGC factory tow package consists of

"Trailer Tow Group"
Engine oil cooler
Auxilliary Transmission Oil Cooler
Heavy duty engine cooling
Trailer Tow Wiring Harness
Class III receiver hitch
7 and 4 pin wiring harness

VERIFY just what the factory tow package includes no matter what vehicle you decide on. It should be quite similar to the above.

When I say ‘verify’, I mean telling the sales person that you don’t want to *hear * what they are telling you, you want to *read * what they are telling you.


The V-6 in my JGC has towed my 4,500# 21’ up and down mountains with minimal effort. My model is rated to tow 6,200#.

I can’t imagine that it could not do the same with a 17.

As I said in an earlier post, Different JGC models may have different rated towing capabilities.

Carefully VERIFY the rated tow capacity of the model you are specifically interested in.

The JGC tow package DOES NOT include the trailer brake controller. As part of your negotiations, have the dealer provide and install one. No matter what tow vehicle you decide on, ask about the brake controller.

The modern electronic keys are horribly expensive retail. Have the dealer throw in a third key as part of the deal. The key doesn’t cost them very much. That way you can hide one in the trailer just in case.

Have fun.

There is a good selection of capable SUV’s to chose from.

Ed

Ed,

Thank you for these specifics. It's strange that some towing packages include some things and not others. I'm printing it out, and thanks for the key suggestion as well.

Deborah

[cpaharley2008]

Something else to consider with the "Tow" package....a full sized spare, not one of those temporary use items, you can not tow without one.

[Justus C]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Hmmm- where did you get that 1000# difference between "the old model" 21 and the new one? When I bought my 2014 the dry weight posted at ETI's website was 3050 for a 21 with no options. Currently that figure is 3210, which is a 160# difference.

Whoops, turns out the weight increase is for the 19' after the design was changed for 2017. And 1,000 lbs is an exaggerated; I think I saw that posted on Facebook and took it to be true. http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...tml#post226871

But even in that same thread, on Page 2 there is a screenshot of "real world" weights and it doesn't seem to be much different.

[Nindy]

I tow a 17B with the diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee and it tows like there's hardly anything back there. Average of 18 mpg while towing, but diesel is more expensive most places.

[DebiT]

I'm starting to zero on on Dodge Durango. Factory tow package has every thing, including brake controller and full size spare, but not transmission cooler. Guess they do that after market. 6200 lbs capacity.

Jeep Grand Cherokee doesn't work out as well with their options, and their tow package additionally lacks a brake controller All the other "regular" SUVs are 5000 lbs tow capacity

[Rossue]

Have been intrigued with the Durango for some time. It is not quite as big as our Yukon and the wheelbase is almost 120 inches which is great. The Pentastar V6 would be very good for the 17B, and it is rear wheel drive. Most Crossovers are mostly front wheel drive and means AWD would be best for towing(been there: FWD Murano vs. AWD Highlander) The negatives for me are the weird shifter and the view over the dash is not nearly as good as my Yukon or Highlander. The Ford Explorer is similar in that regard(low seat position).

So spend some quality time test driving, or better yet rent one for a couple of days to be sure the ergonomics are good for you. For a 17B you could go with a lot of AWD Crossovers.

[EdColorado]

" but not transmission cooler."

Make that part of your deal if you decide that's what's best for you.

Install a transmission cooler plus an extra key.

Enjoy.

Ed

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Chris & Patricia

Try looking through this.

http://webcontent.goodsam.com/traile...wGuide2019.pdf

It will give you the tow ratings of all the vehicles under the sun and you can check out what model with trim etc that you are looking at.

Listings like that are a good way to find potential tow vehicles, but keep two limitations in mind:

• they normally list the highest available tow rating for a model/trim combination - to get that rating specific optional equipment is often required, so don't assume that every vehicle of that model has that rating; and,
• there will be errors, and even complete omission of some models.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Rossue

The Ford Explorer is similar in that regard(low seat position).

The Ford Explorer will be a new design for the 2020 model year, which should be considered if buying new later this year. Unlike many "all new" vehicles which are just mild modifications, this one is actually unrelated to the current Explorer, so features such as seating position and visibility may change (although of course the general shape and size of the vehicle is staying the same, because it is designed for the same market segment).

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by DebiT

Factory tow package has every thing, including brake controller and full size spare, but not transmission cooler. Guess they do that after market. 6200 lbs capacity.

Or an additional cooler is not needed. The factory towing rating is based on factory equipment, not an added transmission cooler. Every new automatic transmission vehicle has some sort of transmission fluid cooler, so it seems bizarre to me to assume that it must be inadequate in all vehicles.

[Mike G]

What Brian said is true. It's possible, for example, that the Durango's grille allows better air flow into the engine compartment for sufficient cooling. Even so, an auxiliary cooler shouldn't harm anything... unless one of the hoses going to it ruptures some day, then good-bye transmission (as happened to my Windstar van when it was 12 years old).

[bdornbush]

We tow our 2015 Escape 19 with a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee V-6 with towing package. This package included a full size spare. I installed the brake controller. It was a simple plug in to the existing connector on the JGC. We have towed over the Donner Summit at 7000 feet on I-80 several times as well as numerous other Sierra Nevada and other mountains. We don't go 65 MPH over the peaks but I never felt that I was in any trouble. We generally tow at 60 MPH as this feels comfortable to us and is consistent with CA law. We always use a WDH. I have checked the transmission temperature using the gauge built into the JGC and the temp is the same with or without the trailer, and in level or mountain towing. In 4 years of towing, our mileage is about 16 MPG with the trailer. We got the V-6 partly because we didn't want to sacrifice the 3 MPG difference in regular driving. I have not regretted getting the V-6 at all. I expect that towing a 17 would be equally as pleasant.

[DRY]

We’ve towed our 19 over many many mountain passes in the past three years with a 4L Tacoma. We do slow to 45-50 mph on the steepest grades, but what’s the hurry, we’re camping!

[Dlawseth]

Originally Posted by Dave & Penny Smith

Deborah:

We happily tow our 2015 17B with our 2008 Toyota 4Runner (4.0 L V6). We made the choice for the Escape over the Casita, in part due to the Escape being quite a bit lighter than the Casita. We've been very happy with the trailer and the 4Runner. We tow the trailer frequently in the mountains and find more than adequate towing performance with the V6.

Dave

Ditto here. Our 2017 V6 4Runner does just fine with our 17B climbing around Vancouver Island.

[Happycamper me]

We have a Classic 17B and a Jeep Cherokee (3.2 litre) with tow package. The gas mileage is fine, 21 mpg (imperial) and up to 24 on the flats with cruise control on. Speed kept around 55 mph. The jeep hardly notices the trailer is there and the BC mtns are no problem. Good luck!