Age of tow vehicle

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

Total length of the 2x2 shank I had to get is 16".

My Curt 45260 ball mount is 12.25" from center of hole to center of hole, with a 2" drop. a standard one is more like 8"

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

My Curt 45260 ball mount is 12.25" from center of hole to center of hole, with a 2" drop. a standard one is more like 8"

Well, the distance from the top of the ball on my E2 ball mount to the opening of the receiver is 14". Distance to the receiver pin hole is another 2".


It's long, I know, but seems to work OK. I wonder if it might contribute to some vertical pitch, though.

[CE Vogel]

I don't tow an Escape, but I do tow my ATC trailer with a 59-year-old 1963 Kenworth with over 3 million miles on it. I just completed a 5000 mile, 14 state trip with it, and the only repair was a $2 O-ring.
I also occasionally tow a small trailer with my 2009 Subaru Forester.

[ghosthunter]

Using a 2012 Nissan Frontier 120 K.

[peteanddarlene]

We tow our 19 with a 2008 dodge ram 1500 with the 5.7 hemi......has the tow/haul button....the cruise kicks in about 104 km/hr. and we run about 1700 rpm between 105 and 110 per hr.....truck has about 155,000 kms. on it and we average close to 15 mpg with loaded trailer, the wife and dog and truck stuff.

[MyronL]

140K miles, 40K towing, and my 2014 Silverado 1500LT, 5.7 liter V8, still kicks arse.

[Bowman andy]

2006 Chevy 1/2 ton van, AWD 168,000 miles. goes to Woodstock Oregon twice a year from Harbor Springs, Mi. 5-6000 miles each trip. Pulls our 2016 21 classic/ classic fine, but we avoid the interstates as much as possible. Cruise at 62-62mph.
Big long climbs are big long climbs...We do not mash the throttle. We get between 10 and 15.5 MPG depending on terrain and the WIND...

We are 150 years total, evenly split. We have been doing the trips for the last 13 years. Sometimes only in the Fall. AWD is a must in the mountains because it almost always gives us some snow and very slippery roads.

We have ordered a Ford Transit Crew van with AWD and the 3.5.
It is easily rated to tow our Escape which weigh 4200-4300 lbs loaded lightly.
The passenger vans can only tow about 4200.

Rust will kill our van but I hope the Ford shows up in time for the spring trip in 2023...

Andy + Mary D.
Chicadee

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by RBRV

Just curious about how many here tow with older vehicles? 10-20 years old, or more?

Tow our 2013 19 with our 1992 F250 with a 5.8 Windsor engine . Previous to the trailer had a 1992 91/2 camper for 12 years and I am second owner previous owner towed his boat .wouldn’t even consider a new truck . She has 137,000 mi . I keep her maintained , new battery, new blisteins shocks , brakes , change oil replaced with new modern radio . Forgot she has Firestone air bags too from her camper days .She is reliable and a workhorse . Back in 1992 had air bags too. One of the best trucks Ford ever made . Lots still on the road . Pat

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by KarenH

I think I have y'all beat with my 1993 Ford 150 XLT. When it turned 100,000 miles at 25 years I gave it a major facelift and it's beautiful. Or at least it will be again soon. It's in the shop now getting a Christmas Day phoo-bah fixed on the passenger side. Yes, it's taken seven months to get replacement parts.

I love my truck.

Think I have you beat Karen 1992 F250 XLT. We also Love this truck ! Best years for Ford 1989 - 1997 Pat

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by DanandDaphne

It's not all bad, I wouldn't go back to carburetors for anything and I'll keep the electronic ignition as well.

I might not be able to fix it but they break down a lot less often. I can't remember the last time I was stranded somewhere because of a breakdown.

1992 Ford F-250 ,electronic ignition, no carb Pat

[MichaelS78]

Really loving our 2006 Toyota Sequoia. Bought it one year ago with 184k miles on it for $7k and it's performed flawlessly over and over towing this last year. It feels like a vehicle 1/4 it's age and mileage.
Rides great, oil stays clean and oil doesn't burn. Doesn't sag a bit pulling our 21NE and we are within 50lbs of max payload. It's definitely true that Toyota is VERY conservative with their towing/payload ratings and also over engineer the mechanics to last a really long time.

We had planned on towing with this 2-3 years until new vehicle prices dropped but I think we are going to just drive it until it dies. I wouldn't be surprised if it tows well into the 275-300k mile range with no real issues.

Only complaint (and this was mentioned in a previous post), the lack of gears can be a bit frustrating at times since it really wants to rev up in the mountain passes, but I just let people pass and take our time. It's my first time towing and I don't know what I'm missing so don't really care. I don't think a 10 gear transmission and a little better fuel mileage are worth spending around $50k more dollars on. And a new tow vehicle would have its fair share of things break. All parts on a vehicle have a lifespan and new vehicles also have parts that can break almost immediately from manufacturing issues.

[Tom&Joan]

Originally Posted by CE Vogel

I don't tow an Escape, but I do tow my ATC trailer with a 59-year-old 1963 Kenworth with over 3 million miles on it. I just completed a 5000 mile, 14 state trip with it, and the only repair was a $2 O-ring.
I also occasionally tow a small trailer with my 2009 Subaru Forester.

,
Your post really caught my eye, as I had a 1974 K100 I would have driven to the ends of the earth. It is now in BC. Interestingly I was friends with two Vogels from PA, both old truck nuts. I did live in NY, now in TN.

[Radar1]

Up until 2 years ago we used our 2004 Dodge Dakota to pull our campers. Used it on our Alaska trip in 2016 also. Still have it, but our Ford Ranger turbo pulls better and gets better MPG.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by MichaelS78

Really loving our 2006 Toyota Sequoia. Bought it one year ago with 184k miles on it for $7k and it's performed flawlessly over and over towing this last year. It feels like a vehicle 1/4 it's age and mileage.
Rides great, oil stays clean and oil doesn't burn. Doesn't sag a bit pulling our 21NE and we are within 50lbs of max payload. It's definitely true that Toyota is VERY conservative with their towing/payload ratings and also over engineer the mechanics to last a really long time.

We had planned on towing with this 2-3 years until new vehicle prices dropped but I think we are going to just drive it until it dies. I wouldn't be surprised if it tows well into the 275-300k mile range with no real issues.

Only complaint (and this was mentioned in a previous post), the lack of gears can be a bit frustrating at times since it really wants to rev up in the mountain passes, but I just let people pass and take our time. It's my first time towing and I don't know what I'm missing so don't really care. I don't think a 10 gear transmission and a little better fuel mileage are worth spending around $50k more dollars on. And a new tow vehicle would have its fair share of things break. All parts on a vehicle have a lifespan and new vehicles also have parts that can break almost immediately from manufacturing issues.

Toyota is a great vehicle too . I have friends with new 3 year old trucks and they have transmission trouble . Crazy what they want for new . As long as she works you should be good to go ! Pat

[iamcmv]

Until we purchased a new pickup in March of this year, we towed with a 2008 Nissan Titan for the last 3 years.

[hitectoys]

This was a great TV. Always had to check the rear view mirror to make sure my Casita was still there.

[brroberts]

I don’t think I’ve ever posted a picture of my ‘98 C2500 here. This is the trailer before the Escape. It was destroyed in a windstorm, but I still use the truck all the time. The Ranger pretty much only gets used for long trips with the E19. Otherwise we use the 2500.

[vetilden]

I use a 2007 Toyota 4Runner to tow my 2012 Escape 19. I've driven it across the United States 5 times. I keep it in 4th or lower as needed (watch the RPMs on hills), and I'm not in a hurry. The 4Runner now has 190,000 miles on it and doing just fine.
The gas mileage does go way down, from 22 to as low as 13. That means I have to stop for gas pretty often, as the tank only holds a bit over 20 gallons.

[nepaweb]

Originally Posted by vetilden

I use a 2007 Toyota 4Runner to tow my 2012 Escape 19. I've driven it across the United States 5 times. I keep it in 4th or lower as needed (watch the RPMs on hills), and I'm not in a hurry. The 4Runner now has 190,000 miles on it and doing just fine.
The gas mileage does go way down, from 22 to as low as 13. That means I have to stop for gas pretty often, as the tank only holds a bit over 20 gallons.

Wow, an Escape owner from Hohenwald. Do you ever feel out of place? I wonder if there are any Oliver owners in Chilliwack.

Congratulations to you and and everyone else who are getting long life out of their tow vehicles. I'm hoping my truck will still be going strong after making 200,000 miles of happy towing memories.

[vetilden]

Originally Posted by nepaweb

Wow, an Escape owner from Hohenwald. Do you ever feel out of place? I wonder if there are any Oliver owners in Chilliwack.

Congratulations to you and and everyone else who are getting long life out of their tow vehicles. I'm hoping my truck will still be going strong after making 200,000 miles of happy towing memories.

Ya, pretty funny to be here. I met the Oliver founder's son, and he and his brother are very involved in the company. They are very passionate about their product and good members of the community.