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Old 06-26-2018, 01:10 PM   #1
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Towing 17 and 19

Does anyone tow a 17 or 19 with a short wheel base SUV. If so, how do they handle? I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee rated to pull 7200 lbs but my experience pulling a 21' box trailer has been lots of sway from wind and passing trucks even with WDH and sway bar. I'm hoping the aerodynamics of the Escape will mitigate this. What's your thoughts?
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Old 06-26-2018, 01:22 PM   #2
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I towed an Escape 17B (actual weight 3100 pounds, tongue 340 pounds) for almost 85,000 miles with a RAV4 (V6 & Tow Package rated 3500/350.) No problems with handling, in fact it was more stable than towing with a Tacoma (although the Tacoma was a better overall tow vehicle).

I suspect the reason the RAV4 worked so well was the very short distance between the trailer ball & the rear wheels. Very maneuverable, and solid with no sway from trucks, buses, etc from either direction. I did use a weight distribution hitch, no sway bar.

That said, the small gas tank & low ground clearance made it less than ideal. I would not recommend it for a 19 - both tongue & overall weight would likely be over the RAV4 rating, plus you would have to look at a 2012 or earlier to get the V6. There is a new 4 cylinder version released this year that is suppose to have a 3500/350 rating, but I haven't seen any reports on it. The V6 had plenty of power; I'm curious about the 4...
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Old 06-26-2018, 01:28 PM   #3
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We towed our 19 from Chilliwack home to Calgary via Washington State with a V6 Grand Cherokee. No anti sway or weight distribution installed. No issues what so ever.
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Old 06-26-2018, 01:34 PM   #4
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I tow a 17B with a RAV4 V6 Sport.
I concur with everything Jon Vermilye said.
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Old 06-26-2018, 02:03 PM   #5
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We tow our 19 with a Nissan Pathfinder. We do use the Fastway E2, and have had no issues with that combination.
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Old 06-26-2018, 02:27 PM   #6
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Wow, lots of mileage and almost maxed out weight wise. Aerodynamics is so important.
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Old 06-26-2018, 03:10 PM   #7
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We tow our 21 with our Grand Cherokee Diesel. We use the E2 weight distribution (required by Jeep for trailers over 3500 pounds) and anti-sway. I think that it handles quite well in both wind and truck traffic. We finally weighed the hitch weight on our last trip and it seems to be 500 pounds.

We bring it a short distance home from storage on just the simple hitch and the handling is much worse.
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Old 06-26-2018, 03:23 PM   #8
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I towed my E19 with a FJ Cruiser, other than rear squat, no issues.
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Old 06-26-2018, 04:06 PM   #9
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I have towed my Escape 19 over 20,000 miles with my Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 using a WDH, and I have had no issues with sway or anything else towing related.
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Old 06-26-2018, 04:21 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I tow a 17B with a RAV4 V6 Sport.
I concur with everything Jon Vermilye said.
Same with us.
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Old 06-26-2018, 05:39 PM   #11
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And we tow our 19 with our Jeep Rubicon unlimited. Last trip to a Osoyoos hubby wanted his Ford 150 in front. So we did. His remark on the way there: "Jeep pulls just as nice". His remark when we got to Osoyoos: "Next time we take the jeep".
We did have a classs 3 hitch installed, and do use WDH.
Our 19 is the classic model, with a lower weight then the new version
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Old 06-26-2018, 06:18 PM   #12
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We tow our 19 with a 2015 deisel Grand Cherokee. We use a weight distribution hitch with no sway control. About 6000 miles so far with no sway.
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Old 06-26-2018, 07:28 PM   #13
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No problem

We have towed our 19’ with a Lexus 400H and 450H at least 20k miles in all kinds of weather and over many mountain passes using an Andersen Hitch. Aside for feeling kind of out of place with a Lexus in a campground or RV park, the SUV has towed flawlessly and comfortably on the road.
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Old 06-27-2018, 12:32 AM   #14
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I towed my 17A with a '98 Cherokee Sport at first. No WDH but careful attention to trailer loading / tongue weight … always aimed at about 11%. Ultimately decided that the 4l in line six (195 hp) had good torque but wanted more horse power. Traded in for a '09 Tacoma V6 same displacement … gave me about 235 hp and I forget the torque for both. I'm happy but somewhere from 275 - 300 hp would be great for a 17 or 19.


I know … its the torque that gets you over the mountains and the hp gets you down the freeway or something like that.


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Old 06-27-2018, 09:36 AM   #15
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We tow our 2011 19’ trailer with our 2007 4 Runner without a WDH. We’ve been very happy with it.

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Old 06-27-2018, 10:14 AM   #16
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You probably have enough answers but I tow my 17B with a diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee with a WDH with no problems. I sometimes skip the WDH bars when traveling 10 miles to and from winter cave storage but it feels a lot better/stable with the bars on.
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Old 07-11-2018, 11:12 AM   #17
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Towing our 19 ft trailer with no special attachments with a Jeep Grand Cherokee v8. No sway issues at all
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Old 07-11-2018, 11:42 AM   #18
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We tow a Casita 17' with an '08 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel. No WDH nor antisway. We do have an airbag leveling system. We tow with it slightly hitch down, without the airbag suspension we had a 4"drop with the Casita attached. We are buying an Escape 19 in Oct and have no plans to change anything.
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Old 07-11-2018, 04:00 PM   #19
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I tow a 17B with a Volvo xc70, and made a long trip in the mountain with no issues.
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Old 07-11-2018, 06:20 PM   #20
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17 A with a 2018 toyota highlander v6.
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