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Old 09-14-2014, 12:12 PM   #1
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Tow Vehicle

Greetings;
New to the forum and considering a 19' for Spring. Anyone towing with a Chevy Equinox or similar with a 6 cyl. motor? Form stats on camper and Equinox is looks marginal. I think it would work if I don't overload trailer, use leveling hitch, and drive reasonably. What are your opinions?

John
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Old 09-14-2014, 12:27 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by spanielcamper View Post
Greetings;
New to the forum and considering a 19' for Spring. Anyone towing with a Chevy Equinox or similar with a 6 cyl. motor? Form stats on camper and Equinox is looks marginal. I think it would work if I don't overload trailer, use leveling hitch, and drive reasonably. What are your opinions?

John
Welcome,

I believe the Chevy Equinox would not be a good choice for a 19 see the spec page here :Available 3.6L V6 engine delivers best-in-class 301 horsepower and 272 lb.-ft. of torque, and gives you the power to go from 0-60 in 6.7 seconds with AWD or even tow up to an impressive 3,500 lbs.† when properly equipped. 2015 Equinox: Fuel-Efficient SUV | Chevrolet

My 19 Sticker states 1818 KG ( 4008 Lbs ) trailer weight cargo 386 KG ( 851 Lbs) .I use a Tacoma Dbl Cab Short bed 6500 lb tow rating though ,I would never want that much on the back and it is also dependent on where you will tow flat vs mountains etc.

We are having a small Rally in PA if you want to come up and view several types etc.
Ist Annual Eastern US Escape Rally...

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Old 09-14-2014, 12:32 PM   #3
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Hello,

We are wrestling with what type of vehicle we should look at to tow our new 17B. What is a realistic weight we should look at?

Thanks.

David
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Old 09-14-2014, 12:38 PM   #4
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Here you go ,

Thanks To John V for posting this. http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...orld-2298.html

Cypher
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Old 09-14-2014, 12:44 PM   #5
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Hello,

We are wrestling with what type of vehicle we should look at to tow our new 17B. What is a realistic weight we should look at?

Thanks.

David
For what it is worth, we towed our 17b with a Toyota Sienna. The towing capacity (with a tow package) was 3500 lbs. It was just fine, uphill and down hill, and on several very windy days. We go 55-60 MPH. We also used a weight distribution hitch.
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Old 09-14-2014, 12:50 PM   #6
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John, I’m having the same issue, will my tug be sufficient to pull the trailer? For what I was originally looking at it would have been quite marginal at best. Can it be done? Perhaps but at what price to your peace of mind and the wear and tear on your vehicle?

Others here are much better informed and should soon be offering a more educated reply.
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Old 09-14-2014, 01:00 PM   #7
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Thanks Cypher for your input. Will have to do more research. John
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Old 09-14-2014, 01:02 PM   #8
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No worries , if you want to see one live contact ETI they can give you some references to folks near you who will show you their trailer.

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Old 09-14-2014, 01:08 PM   #9
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Hi Dave and John

You asked for opinions so here is the reasoning Liz and I used: We are new to towing and wanted to be conservative. I had heard horror stories about a friend and his family being pushed down the Coq and wanted nothing to do with that or to have the constant concern about our tug making a hill, or if that last item we put into the trailer would push us into an unsafe situation. So our tug is a Nissan Frontier (6200 lb limit) and we tow a 17b.

We've just returned from a trip starting in Chilliwack (where we store our Egg) to Merritt, BC across to Peachland, to Manning Provincial Park then back to Derby Reach by Fort Langley. This put us into all types of towing situations, up and down high summits, lots of twists/turns on mountain highways, driving through small towns and in city traffic.

We never felt "pushed" going down 9% declines although we certainly were aware the 17b was behind us. Going up the Coq (quite the incline) the Nissan slowed down but we never felt that the truck was being overly taxed.

You can guess what our advice will be: don't bother pushing the limits, be conservative. Especially if you are new to towing. For newbies learning how to back the thing up, learning how to drive safely in traffic, learning about the multiple systems within the trailer itself is enough. Even with our safety cushion in terms of towing capacity we still had to be aware of how we placed items within the trailer and truck bed because that had an impact on towing.

FYI - we are just back from our 11 day maiden voyage. I hope to post some reflections of our experience with the Escape systems for any other interested newbies (we love the solar). A heart felt thanks for all the advice we've received from our fellow Escape Forum members.
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Old 09-14-2014, 01:20 PM   #10
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I ordered a heavy duty tow vehicle to tow a 17 ft. Casita that we were sure we were going to get. We then discovered Escape after we had the truck and were sure it was going to be the 19. After comparing trailers we ended up ordering a 21. Just be sure to have some capacity in reserve as things will weigh more than you think. And Reace still recommended a weight distribution hitch with the final setup we will have. He said it eliminates "galloping" My concern is high winds out on the great plains. Loren
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Old 09-14-2014, 01:44 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by spanielcamper View Post
Greetings;
New to the forum and considering a 19' for Spring. Anyone towing with a Chevy Equinox or similar with a 6 cyl. motor? Form stats on camper and Equinox is looks marginal. I think it would work if I don't overload trailer, use leveling hitch, and drive reasonably. What are your opinions?

John
We have a 2010 Equinox ( 4 cyl) and an Escape 19. I cannot imagine that even with the 6 cyl that the Equinox would be a suitable tug for a 19'. For a 17', the Equinox may be ok, however, I would suggest a minimum in the range of about 5000 lb tow capacity for towing a 19'. We use our 2011 FJ for toing our 19'. Has a 5000 lb tow limit and does a great job.
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Old 09-14-2014, 01:55 PM   #12
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LarryandLiz said it better than I did. I ordered a heavy duty tow vehicle to pull a 17 ft. Casita. Then we discovered Escape and it was going to be the 19. After seeing the trailers we chose the 21. I like a lot of capacity in reserve. If anyone has to small of a tow vehicle at least get vinyl or leather seats so the mess is easier to clean up. Most of us will take our trailers into some rather steep terrain sooner or later. Some day I'll tell the story here how I burned up a set of brakes and warped the rotors pulling U-Hauls biggest trailer with a Chevy Astro van, towing capacity over 5000 lbs. Trailer had a surge brake. I didn't know that grade was on our route. Loren
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Old 09-14-2014, 02:04 PM   #13
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Welcome,

I believe the Chevy Equinox would not be a good choice for a 19
I would concur. It would be borderline for a 17 based on the max towing capacity and the gvwr. For a 19, get something with more towing capacity.
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Old 09-14-2014, 03:03 PM   #14
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My wife and I were undecided between the 17B & 19 Escape. We figured the Equinox/Traverse for the 17B & the Acadia/Terrain for the 19. When we decided on the 19', we bought the Acadia and are glad that we did. Not only did it handle the 19' well, but the mileage is actually rated higher than the smaller Terrain. We were very happy seeing 15.5 MPG average over 6700 miles of towing with the Acadia. Like others have said, better to have excess capacity than to be undersized for your rig.
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Old 09-14-2014, 03:37 PM   #15
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I have no problem with the idea of running right up the tug's trailer weight rating, but every rating must be observed, and even you kept the cargo in a 19' down enough to stay within 3500 pounds, I suspect you would max out an Equinox's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and Gross Combined Weight Rating; hitch weight would be a problem without a weight-distribution hitch (WDH), and a WDH may not be a good idea with an Equinox.

I have considered a 19' with our Toyota Sienna (3500 lb trailer rating, used so far to tow another brand of 17' trailer at about 3000 lb loaded), but the Sienna is a long-wheelbase vehicle with substantial margin for cargo/passengers in the Sienna even with the maximum (3500 lb) trailer attached.

Not all vehicles with the same trailer weight rating are equal, and the engine power is only a small part of towing capability.
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Old 09-14-2014, 04:09 PM   #16
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Great input

Thanks everyone for the very good advice Re the Equinox and the 19' Escape. I'm taking your advice to heart and beginning the thought of what vehicle to move up to. Thanks all.

John
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Old 09-14-2014, 04:17 PM   #17
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the engine power is only a small part of towing capability.
That's exactly right. The wheelbase, width, frame/unibody type, power to weight ratio, rigidity, and a number of other factors besides engine displacement are used by the manufacturer to come up with the gvwr, gcwr, towing capacity, and max tongue capacity. Exceeding any of these numbers is asking for trouble.

When we first joined the forum after placing the order for our trailer, we fully intended to tow with our Lincoln MKX. After months of listening to real-world experience on this forum, as well as researching many other sources, we realized that was too close for comfort -- and was not the best choice for either safety or for fuel economy.
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Old 09-14-2014, 04:26 PM   #18
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Picking up our 17B on Tuesday! Following advice from some others and staff at ETI, we bought a used 2009 RAV4 V6. Slow and steady, keeping it in 4th.
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Old 09-14-2014, 07:52 PM   #19
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We had a RAV 4 V6 towing a 17B - it was OK, and maybe would be OK for short distances, I think some of it depends on the driver - we were very close to the edge on all weights, had a weight distribution hitch as well.
We drove from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Florida and back- did it once then traded it in on a longer wheelbase -
We now have a Silverado (5.3) , towed a 17b 3100 lbs, got 15 mpg (imperial) in rain/wind- get 22 on the highway not towing -lots of power and great towing. Had a RAV 4 6 cyl towing the same trailer, generally got 13-16 mpg towed 8000 Kilometers various conditions, it was OK towing, but didn't like it at all in Florida cross winds.
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Old 09-14-2014, 07:58 PM   #20
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I'm happy with my 17B and RAV4 V6, but I'd be happier with a 19 and 4Runner.
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