Tow vehicle for 21C

[KPJMP]

Hi Folks

We have put in our deposit in for a new Escape and are leaning towards the Escape 21C.

As Escape RVers with lots of experience over the years, what in your opinion(s) are the best tow vehicles for this model?

Appreciate your feedback!

[cityofdestiny]

Congratulations on your purchase.

You'll get lots of varied opinions on this forum in response to that question. You'll see everything from a Toyota Highlander up through full size pickups.

I'd be looking for something that gives a comfortable margin on the tongue, tow, and gross vehicle weight rating so that you can vary a few passengers, as well as a vehicle that isn't very exotic and can be serviced in an emergency in the places you will likely be camping.

[JeffreyG]

Start by getting an realistic understanding of what your trailer will weigh, what the tongue weight will be, what a WDH will add to that, and how much weight you really will have in the vehicle.

All of the capabilities of a vehicle are set by a combination of safety and durability. If you are at, or below, these limits with your load, you know that your vehicle was tested in that configuration and found to have predictable and acceptable performance.

But there will still be a continuum of performance. For example, test the stopping distance of your vehicle empty and at GVWR. The distance loaded will be "OK" per the engineers, but it will always be longer than the empty vehicle stopping distance.

If you want to be "safe", the most important numbers to obey are the roof loading limit, GVWR, and the front and rear GAWR. Most cars will only let you put 150 lbs on the roof, while trucks will often allow 750 lbs on ladder racks (these limits include the rack itself). Exceed these, and your car will be prone to rollover if you have to make an abrupt maneuver. Worse, the rollover behaviour may be unpredictable.

Exceeding GVWR can also make your car handle poorly, because the springs will be deflected outside of their expected operating range. This includes GAWR, and staying under the rear axle GAWR can be tough if you are pulling a trailer with a high tongue weight.

Finally there is GCVWR. This number largely is driven by durability. Test vehicles are loaded up with trailers and driven in places like Baker grade CA (for high ambient sustained load) and the Eisenhower Tunnel CO (for high altitude sustained load). If you are at or below the GCVWR, then the vehicle will not be having performance issues that lead to catastrophic failure.

That said, passenger cars are not designed or tested to operate at GCVWR all the time. A semi is designed and tested to run at 40 tons for a million miles. As trucks, they're supposed to be loaded all the time. Your car is not supposed to be loaded all the time. Most cars spend their lives hauling one driver to work and back daily. If you hitch it to GCVWR and drive that way all the time, it will wear out prematurely.

My recommendation for most people is as follows:
1) Understand the actual limits of your vehicle and obey them. A lot of people read the marketing material (Like "tows 5000 lbs") and they don't read the actual manual. Look for all of those critical limits like GVWR and GCVWR and make sure you won't be over.
2) If you are a typical user who spends 80% of the time commuting and 20% of the time towing, go a head and buy a vehicle that is ideal for commuting, and just be sure you are within limits for towing.
3) If you are non-typical and always towing (perhaps full-timer retirees always on the road) then I would suggest buying a tow vehicle with capacities much higher than what you will use.
4) If you are near the capacities of your vehicle towing, invest in a good quality WDH that includes sway control. It will make the tow more predictable.

Finally, attached is a list of some possible tow vehicles in configurations I selected for me, against my specific cargo and tow needs.

[cpaharley2008]

I have had good success with the Ram 1500 truck, quad or crew cab. With a tonneau cover we have protected storage and room for us and 2 dogs on long cross country trips. The hemi engine cuts back to 4 cyl sometimes while towing and while using mid range, we can avg 12-14 mpg towing a E21C. Un hitched, we can get closer to 18-20 mpg.

[Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I have had good success with the Ram 1500 truck, quad or crew cab. With a tonneau cover we have protected storage and room for us and 2 dogs on long cross country trips. The hemi engine cuts back to 4 cyl sometimes while towing and while using mid range, we can avg 12-14 mpg towing a E21C. Un hitched, we can get closer to 18-20 mpg.

I get the same gas mileage as you do but with our 1500 Silverado 4x4 5.3 engine. Tows very smooth. Never have had any issues with wind or semis blowing by on the high ways. Plenty of power for the mountains and don’t have the issues of down shifting when climbing.

David

[cpaharley2008]

Dave,
Do you also use the mid range fuel? I find that helps also.

[Oldtimer]

Nope I just use regular

[Vermilye]

From my experience, I can tell you what doesn't work (although others disagree with me), a 2016 Tacoma Off Road (first year for the 3.5L engine). I tried for 9000 miles because I loved the truck, but too much time at 4000 RPM, 10 MPG & a too small a gas tank. I traded it in for a 2018 F 150 Supercab, 3.5L EcoBoost engine, towing mirrors, and a 36 gallon gas tank. Better mileage (12-13MPG), far more comfortable towing at 1600 - 1800 RPM, and I don't need to stop at every gas station.

[KPJMP]

Fantastic info and really appreciate your hard work on this. Looks like we will be trading in to get a safe vehicle - but I kind of already expected that.
Thank you so much!

[KPJMP]

Thanks for this - much appreciated!

[KPJMP]

Great advice - thank you so much!

[KPJMP]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

From my experience, I can tell you what doesn't work (although others disagree with me), a 2016 Tacoma Off Road (first year for the 3.5L engine). I tried for 9000 miles because I loved the truck, but too much time at 4000 RPM, 10 MPG & a too small a gas tank. I traded it in for a 2018 F 150 Supercab, 3.5L EcoBoost engine, towing mirrors, and a 36 gallon gas tank. Better mileage (12-13MPG), far more comfortable towing at 1600 - 1800 RPM, and I don't need to stop at every gas station.

Good to know - and thanks for the feedback

[AndNeitherDoI]

We've been full-timing in our 21C for the past three months with a Ram 1500. We considered a wide variety of tow vehicles before purchasing ours.

I think the best tow vehicle depends a lot on how you plan to camp and travel.

Since we're full-timing, the full-size truck was the right call for us. The truck has more cargo & towing capacity than needed to pull the 21c. Plus it has a larger gas tank than mid-size trucks and that means more miles between fillups. Going through the mountains, navigating offroad, high winds, and the rare moments of needing to avoid a traffic emergency are where I've felt most confident in the truck. I don't think I'd feel as comfortable in an SUV that was towing near its capacity.

I'll also note I do not use a WDH on the truck.

If I were just doing weekend travel and occasional camping, I think I would be ok with an SUV or mid-size truck towing. But that's just me.

[KPJMP]

Great feedback - thanks very much

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by AndNeitherDoI

If I were just doing weekend travel and occasional camping, I think I would be ok with an SUV or mid-size truck towing. But that's just me.

A lot of people confuse a CUV(Crossover Utility Vehicle) with an SUV- which historically means Body-On-Frame. There is a big difference between the Highlander/Pilot/Telluride/Ascents, etc.. vs. Tahoe/Expedition/Sequoia, etc. The true SUV ranks have been shrinking over the years, yet there is clearly still a place for them- especially as tow vehicles.