Towing Part 1: Picking Your Tow Vehicle

The pandameic has created a booming industry - RV sales/outdoor motorsports. Between Covid guidelines, regulations, travel restriction, social distancing, state lockdowns and an in general a strong desire to not spread or get this virus, people are heading to the outdoors en mass. While all of our locations will generally get inquiries about towing capacity, especially with brands like Nissan and Ford that have trucks, occassionally, we are now seeing a huge rise in questions regarding towing. Why? Well, the short answer is people are looking to the RV life to get away from the house, and create memories with their family. Why RV's? Well, a night at a state park for a family of 4 is a lot less expensive than travel + hotel+ food. It is also a little safer (Covid thinking), you are self contained with your family bubble. So, what we are seeing, is a lot of people buying Tow Vehicles (going forth we refer to these as TV's), or coming in wanting to adapt their existing vehicle to tow. There are, of course, a lot of things you can tow, and we are going to touch on that as well. What we are really seeing is a lot of people aren't 100% clear on the intricacies of towing, and what you should be towing with. As we delved into this topic, we also realized that this is a big topic, so we will be breaking this down into a multi part series. For today's topic we are going to in a very broad way, discuss picking your tow vehicle. This is a hot topic on social media groups across all platforms, and in some ways it is a little concerning, because we are seeing some bad advice based on lack of knowledge or misunderstanding of the information available or lack of experience. So, our goal, is to help give you a few bullet points to start your educational process. We will discuss, and possibly link you to some outside sources that we believe will help you on your journey of discovery. Ultimately our goal here is to help you get the information you need to make well informed decisions that will get you down the road to adventure safely. So, on to our topic. Picking Your Tow Vehicle. This article is aimed directly at those who are new to towing or thinking about towing, and rv leaning. The very first question you need to ask yourself is....what are you towing. Trailer? Boat? Cargo? Even those 3 categories branch out into a tree with multiple branches and roots.

Now that you have anwered that question, you need to ask the next most important question....how much does it weigh. Every trailer regardless of size has GVW: Gross Vehicle Weight and GVWR: Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and then you have payload capacity. These are often confused or viewed incorrectly. We are going to touch on this briefly: GVW stands for "gross vehicle wieght". This is the total amount of weight your trailer will weigh with your cargo included. GVWR is the maximum amount of weight the trailer is able to safely hold and transport, as rated by the manufacturer. `GVW vs Payload Capacity: A trailer's GVW is NOT how much it can haul, or its "payload capacity". Payload capacity is the maximum weight that a trailer safely haul. Towing capacity is the maximum weight that vehicle can pull (we will get to that in a minute) Payload capacity = (GVW- (Trailer weight) Knowing this number is important for consideration during the evaluation of your TV. A common mistake is to look at the UVW (unloaded vehicle weight) this rating is the "typical weight of the unit as manufactured at the factory. It includes all weight at the unit's axles(s) and tongue or pin and LP Gas (if applicable). The UVW does not include cargo, fresh potable water, additional optional equipment or dealer installed accessores." For travel trailers (and some others) you will see a CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity) This is the amount of weight available for fresh potable water, cargo, additional optional equipment and accessories. CCC is equal to GVWR minus UVW. Available CCC should accommodate fresh potable water (8.3lbs per gallon).

As you can see there is more to consider, so paying attention to the trailer weight max are very important. Each Trailer once it is built is weighed and measure, so each unit is different, each boat, each cargo is different, so you need to go by the weight rating plate on each individual vehicle. Now when you are shopping for the trailer, you can get a lot of "averages" and will keep you in the ball park. Example: Geo Pro G19TH Travel Trailer by Forest River (built trailer specific vin) Hitch Weight 641lbs Dry Weight: 3407 lbs Cargo Weight: 1584 You need a TV that has a hitch allowance of over 641lbs and tow capacity that exceeds 4,991lbs. Ok, what else do you need to know? Does it have it's own brakes? If it has it's own braking system you will need a brake controller and a ypin trailer plug. For smaller trailers without their own brake system it will have a 4 pin plug. Now, if you have a 7 pin plug on your TV the good news is you can go down in trailers, and with the purchase of a simple adapter convert a 7 pin to 4 pin. Next, where are you towing? Here in the PNW you can count on some mountain driving, I mean let's be real, you can't go too far in any given direction (once you are off I-5) without hitting some kind of grade or hill, at so it is important to keep that in mind. We are also talking about West of the Cascades in this reference, and we do not want to exclude our Eastside with its wonderful open spaces and long stretches of flat land, which present its own considerations such as summer temperatures. So, the question is, are you going to be criss crossing the country with a travel trailer, or hitting the local lake on the weekends with your boat. Starting to see why this is a multi part series?

TOW VEHCILE (TV) Ok, on to what type of tow vehicle. Now, you know what type of trailer you will be hauling: cargo, flat bed, travel trailer, boat etc. You have your GVW, and you know you are going to be hauling locally, and have the terrain in mind. Now you are looking at your existing vehicles owner's manual, or you are cruising SUV's/trucks that would be perfect for your family, and you see that it has a tow rating of 5,000lbs Great, the trailer you are looking at has GVW of 4500. Perfect! - nope. There is more to that number. See, nothing about this is simple, but it is what makes it confusing and why there are a lot TVs out there pulling things they weren't designed for. When researching TVs that rating is truly a max, unlike a limit or an estimate, it is a max, it is there for your safety. Also, just because a vehicle has a tow rating, does not mean it is designed for it. Just because it can, doesn't mean it should. Think fat cats in small boxes. One of our favorite vehicles is the Subaru Ascent. This AWD rig is simply amazing. It's road handling and driving experience is exceptional, the 3rd row can accommodate real adults, and of course, it is a Subaru, what's not too love. The most exciting part was when they introduced the Ascent it actually had a tow rating! yippeee! It is one huge draw back in the market of Subaru lovers. But wait...there are some things to consider, and why we are going to use the Ascent for this example. While the Ascent has a tow rating of 5,000 lbs, it is not a weight you should max out. Which is actually the truth of most tow ratings. You should consider it more of a tug weight. Need to pull someone out of a ditch, no problem. Across the country? maybe not. Not all Ascents have that tow rating. This is true of many brands, what you hear about is the higest trim level. A base model Ascent has tow capacity of 2000lbs. So, you can haul a small utility trailer or a perhaps a Sea Doo type water craft, but not much more. The highest trim level has the 5000 capacity, comes with a class II hitch, and 277lb-ft of torque. When looking at your existing vehicle, or shopping for a new/different tv, you also need to ask yourself if the vehicle has the manufacturers Tow Package, or was the hitch added after. Now there is nothing wrong with an after market hitch, however, just adding a hitch does not make the vehicle tow ready. When vehicles have a factory tow package, there is more than just a hitch involved, the wiring for brake controllers and lights (4 pin/7 pin), often a transmission cooler, and possibly, depending on brand, additional / sturdier struts, springs or reinforced axles. So we always recommend finding a TV with a factory tow package installed. Ok, we are going to use the trailer information in the example above. What are some good vehicles for this? This particular trailer is in the "lite" range. As far as travel trailers go, it is pretty light, and they are making and marketing more and more smaller lighter trailers to the SUV crowd. This is a good thing, but just because it says "lite" doesn't mean it is.

Ok, back to finding a TV for this trailer. So, while it is absolutely at the possible max of the Ascent, probably not a good choice, but if it is what you have and you go out 3 times a year to the lake 2 hours away, meh,maybe, but not ideal. Ford Ranger (new) It's a truck it can handle anything. Nope, max tow capacity: 4441 Ok, so let's go up one: Ford Explorer: with the 6cy and tow package equipped 5600 - and has a max tongue weight of 1000# Winner, put this on the list and, of course, andthing bigger, like the Expedition. See the process? Here are some other good options for this size: Ford Expedition Nissan Pathfinder Ford F-150 (with the correct tow package and trim package) Jeep Grand Cherokee Jeep Gladiator

It is important when you start shopping for your TV that you have your research, and know what size vehicle you will need, or you may end up driving off the lot with the wrong vehicle for your needs. Another example,if you walk into our Ford store where trucks and large SUVs are a part of their daily, and you say you bought a trailer and want to buy an escape, or used Edge, they are going to know to ask you some questions, and will immediately start steering you into a more appropriate direction because they work with towing vehicles and the people that buy and use them more. They are going to see the flaw, or lack of knowledge in your plan. However, if you walk into "XYZ Motors home of the used car specialist" they may be honest, and well versed in the varying models on the lot, but have zero experience in towing. You say, hey, I have a trailer and I want to buy that used Toyota 4runner. They will be quick to say - ok, Toyota is a great brand. Off you go. Only to find out that the hitch was put on after market and the tow capacity is only 5000#, and so you are already almost maxing out, or you travelling with less than you would prefer to keep the weight down, (based on our example we used above) The point is, to enjoy your new found trailer life, know what you can do comfortably, the right equipment is crucial for safety and long term enjoyment. While our example was rv focused, the basic information applies to anything you will be towing. We will continue to hit some more points on towing as we go forward. Happy Travels!