Tow Vehicle Expereince for a 17B

[aland]

Hello,

We are shopping for a new tow vehicle that will be used to tow a 17B that we are getting ready to have built.


The contenders are:

• VW Atlas
• Honda Pilot
• Toyota 4Runner

Does anyone have experience towing a 17B with these? They all have a 5,000 lbs tow limit.

Any other suggestions for a mid sized SUV?

Subaru is releasing a new mid sized this year called the Ascent that also might be in the running.... 5,000 lbs but its going to be a turbo charged 4 cylinder.

Many thanks!

[thoer]

We towed our 17B (and now our 21) with a Toyota Highlander XLE and have been more than happy with how it performs for both. Good luck - you are going to get a LOT of opinions here.

[Iowa Dave]

We towed our Escape 19 and our Escape 21 with a Toyota Highlander. I’m sold on Toyota vehicles but also had excellent luck with a Honda but not towing at that time. I gotta make some mini popcorn and get a pop. Here we go.
Iowa Dave

[Rossue]

For a 17B any of those vehicles and more-with at least 3500 or more tow capacity is going to be very good. 5000# capacity even better for the highly infectious 2' itis Personally from experience I would prefer an AWD version though.

[float5]

Originally Posted by aland

Hello,

We are shopping for a new tow vehicle that will be used to tow a 17B that we are getting ready to have built.

The contenders are:

• VW Atlas
• Honda Pilot
• Toyota 4Runner

Does anyone have experience towing a 17B with these? They all have a 5,000 lbs tow limit.

Any other suggestions for a mid sized SUV?

The mid-sized area is quite limited and I think you prettty well have it there. So it should be a matter of which one you like best for all kinds of different reasons, not the least of which might be how comfortable you are in the driver's seat. And hopefully you could tell that well enough with a short drive in each. Other than that, there may be some particular features that you like such as back-up camera or others.

[Rossue]

[QUOTE=float5;233377]

Originally Posted by aland

Hello,

We are shopping for a new tow vehicle that will be used to tow a 17B that we are getting ready to have built.

The contenders are:

• VW Atlas
• Honda Pilot
• Toyota 4Runner

Does anyone have experience towing a 17B with these? They all have a 5,000 lbs tow limit.

Any other suggestions for a mid sized SUV?




The mid-sized area is quite limited and I think you prettty well have it there. So it should be a matter of which one you like best for all kinds of different reasons, not the least of which might be how comfortable you are in the driver's seat. And hopefully you could tell that well enough with a short drive in each. Other than that, there may be some particular features that you like such as back-up camera or others.

Limited? You must be joking. Let's see- Explorer, Highlander, Pathfinder, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Porche, Audi, Mercedes, Buick, GMC Acadia, and others am sure.

[float5]

[QUOTE=Rossue;233382]

Originally Posted by float5

Limited? You must be joking. Let's see- Explorer, Highlander, Pathfinder, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Porche, Audi, Mercedes, Buick, GMC Acadia, and others am sure.

Well, my idea of what is a possibility is not the same as others. But I think he has a good idea.

[rubicon327]

[QUOTE=Rossue;233382]

Originally Posted by float5

Limited? You must be joking. Let's see- Explorer, Highlander, Pathfinder, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Porche, Audi, Mercedes, Buick, GMC Acadia, and others am sure.

A list I found online has 39 mid-size SUV's listed suitable for towing.

http://axleadvisor.com/towing-capacity/

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

We towed our Escape 19 and our Escape 21 with a Toyota Highlander. I’m sold on Toyota vehicles but also had excellent luck with a Honda but not towing at that time. I gotta make some mini popcorn and get a pop. Here we go.
Iowa Dave

Hi: Iowa Dave... Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[aland]

There is also a nice 2018 tow vehicle guide here from TrailerLife.

[alan in alberta]

We have towed our 17 for a few years now with our 2012 v6 rav 4
Lots of trips to the....... oregon yukon and alaska
No issues at all

Any SUV with at least a v6 and 3500 towing capacity should be okay

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by aland

There is also a nice 2018 tow vehicle guide here from TrailerLife.

Guides like this can certainly be a good start, but they necessarily leave out a lot of detail... so check with manufacturer's web sites for full information. This year's version of this guide looks okay... at least the couple of vehicles that I checked were correct, for a change.

Also, it seems like none of these publications can handle assembling information without putting some incorrect junk in without checking it (they blindly accept information from contributing advertisers). In this case in a quick skim I noticed that it includes (on page 32) a table of hitch class definitions in which both Class III and Class IV numbers are riddled with errors; it also lists Class V, which doesn't actually exist.

[War Eagle]

The Rhino GX might be overkill, but it would make a statement!
http://new.usspecialtyvehicles.com/gx

[dfandrews]

[QUOTE=Rossue;233382]

Originally Posted by float5

Limited? You must be joking. Let's see- Explorer, Highlander, Pathfinder, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Porche, Audi, Mercedes, Buick, GMC Acadia, and others am sure.

We tow a 17A with a 2011 Honda Pilot 2WD. It is a great tow vehicle, with 250 HP and about 250 ft.lb. torque, so it does the job, even in the mountains of the Western U.S. We get, overall, 13 mpg towing (ranges from 11 to 18), with about 2600 lbs. of Escape and all our stuff. If we would pick anew we would get AWD, mostly for those instances where you are on gravel or slippery surfaces. With 2WD you can have very limited power on the road with one wheel slipping; essentially one-wheel drive.
We started our research by developing a list of possibles (what Ross listed above), then reduced the choices based on reliability, first cost, maintenance cost (and availability of quality shops to do it), features, ... We came down to Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander, hands down.

[War Eagle]

Let me add to the above lists, seat comfort for long trips including absence of the recently pervasive head-forward (way too far forward for us) headrests. When you add in seat comfort and headrest position, it's hands-down Toyota Highlander for us unless the new Subaru Ascent lives up to its hype. But comfort is certainly subjective, so YMMV.

[h2owmn]

I've had two Highlanders and I highly recommend for comfort and towing, with v6 and towing package. I'd also suggest that 3500 towing capacity as suggested above would be too close for comfort for me with a 17 b. Highlander back to at least 2013 has 5,000 capacity. My hitch is aftermarket. If you can, try to get factory hitch. It's a bit higher up than aftermarket.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by alan in alberta

We have towed our 17 for a few years now with our 2012 v6 rav 4
Lots of trips to the....... oregon yukon and alaska
No issues at all

Any SUV with at least a v6 and 3500 towing capacity should be okay

I also towed a 17B with a RAV4 (2010 V6 & Tow Package) almost 100,000 miles over 6 years. No problems with the combination, other than low ground clearance, and a too small gas tank. A very stable & maneuverable combination.

[float5]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

We tow a 17A with a 2011 Honda Pilot 2WD. It is a great tow vehicle, with 250 HP and about 250 ft.lb. torque, so it does the job, even in the mountains of the Western U.S. We get, overall, 13 mpg towing (ranges from 11 to 18), with about 2600 lbs. of Escape and all our stuff. If we would pick anew we would get AWD, mostly for those instances where you are on gravel or slippery surfaces. With 2WD you can have very limited power on the road with one wheel slipping; essentially one-wheel drive.
We started our research by developing a list of possibles (what Ross listed above), then reduced the choices based on reliability, first cost, maintenance cost (and availability of quality shops to do it), features, ... We came down to Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander, hands down.

Yes, we know that quite a few here have used the Pilot, which the OP mentioned, and liked it, and also the Highlander has been talked about a lot lately here. Plus quite a few with Highlanders have looked at 4Runners and vv. Vehicles given by the OP were ones that many here use after passing up a lot of the others for various reasons, especially insufficient towing capacity. I expect that the OP wanted not a list but recommendations based on experience towing an Escape. I do not wish to give ones that I passed up but I would say that he is on the right track.

And I would suggest again to anyone to look at the GCWR as well as GVWR for any vehicle being considered, in addition to just towing capacity. Dry weight of a prospective trailer should not be used. Adding 1000 pounds to dry weight gives a good idea of loaded weight that will include options and cargo, although your weight may be higher. The OP would do well with ones he mentioned.

[Fox hunt]

i towed my 17B with a Toyota Highlander no complaints. Great comfortable tow and all around car.

[hughharden]

Towed my 17B with an FJ Cruiser (5000 lb tow capacity) and worked great without WDH