So what does everyone tow...

[David Roder]

Just curious here.  I know a lot of you have a list of your toys/vehicles in your signatures but what does everyone tow their pop-up with?  I tow mine with a  1995 Nissan Pathfinder and it does great!

[NightOwl]

Hi David, welcome to PUT :W--you'll have a lot of fun here and  "tow vehicles" is always an interesting subject for us.

We tow our  17 foot  2001 TrailManor 3023 with our 1997 6 cyl Ford Aerostar and use an E-qualizer WDH class 3 hitch (with swaybars)  The van has a 5,000 payload and  when it  everything is fully loaded, including passengers and gear we come fairly close to our tow limit.  Still, we manage to get over the Smokies just fine  without having to get out and  push

PS--I see you live in Durango--GREAT town!  Some years ago we camped  out at Vallecito and loved  going into town  to Franciscos for margaritas and burritos.  Is the place still there?

[Tim5055]

Well, the last few years we towed with a 1995 Ford F-150 with the 5l V-8 (325hp, 560 ftlbs Torque).  This winter we got the itch for a new vehicle, so this year we will be towing with a 2004 Ford F-250 Crew Cab with the 6l Turbo Diesel.  I think we should be able to pull the Santa Fe with that

Seriously, we have been thinking about a new Highlander or Caravan so the added tow capacity (20,000 GCWR/10,600 tow rating) will not go to waste.

[brainpause]

see signature

[wiininkwe]

Talk about, "see signature"!!!   I almost cracked up when I read Dave's.   Too funny!
T

[JonesFamilyJayco]

We tow with a Ford Explorer.  It has 106,000 miles on it and it is still going strong.  I get to use the 4 wheel drive when we travel to my father in-law's camping property in the NC mountians.  We get to cross a small river and cross the same creek 4 times to get to the site.  High ground clearance is the most important here.  We try to keep the camper floor empty and load things in the back of the Explorer in case the river is up and the floor gets wet.  It has never been flooded, but a little water can make its way inside.  The last segment is steep, so it takes 4 wheel to make it.  I tried it once with a 2 wheel drive F-150, but could not make it up the last streach.

This is our favorite place to camp; nothing like cool, quiet mountian living.

[Steve-o-bud]

We tow with a '96 Acura SLX, also known as an Isuzu Trooper. It has the 3.2 liter V-6, (195 HP, 180 lb/ft torque) which in latter models, was replaced with a more powerful, higher torque, more efficient 3.5 version (215 HP, 230 lb/ft torque). It has the 4 speed automatic, and 4 wheel drive.

This tows our Bayside pretty well. It is rated for 5000 pounds. The handeling is pretty good, we only had one real big problem with sway which was due to my poor loading, and having the water tank filled up. We do not (yet) have a sway control, which I'm hoping to have prior to going to Yosemite this summer.

The power is only adequete. We can make about 40 - 45 mph up the Grapevine in summer, and about 50 mph over the Cajon pass. I have a fantasy of towing with an Expedition, being able to make the same grades at 65 mph.

Overheating hasn't been an issue. One thing the SLX has is great brakes, 4 wheel discs, no fade, and great feel.

The ride is comfortable, and there is quite a bit of cargo space (about 43 cu ft) behind the 2nd row seats. There is no 3rd row seating.

The SLX handles the tongue weight pretty good, and we don't forsee the need for a weight distributing hitch set up.

We are now at 110K miles, so I wouldn't mind tradng up to the Expedition or Tahoe, or perhaps the Toyota Sequoia. The VW Tourag seems nice, but a bit small, the V-6 is not horrendously expensive, but the V-8 is. The new Nissan Armada is a possiblity. The new Dodge Durango looks good, but, I don't think I have the courage to get a Dodge. Too many bad experiences with the Dodge RAM trucks in our fleet at work. Since we bought our SLX a few years ago used, for less than $20k, I have a hard time swallowing buying a new SUV for $35k - $40k.

[kimrb266]

We have been towing with a 2001 Chev Venture, 3.0L V6, power is OK but climbing grades becomes a problem, I do not have a tow package and veh tends to run hot. With various trips planned this year we just bought a 2002 Ford F-150 Supercrew and will tow this season with that.

[Miss-Teri]

Our 1999 Ford Windstar has towed our large '00 Starcraft through mountains and prairies for the last three or four years from Albequerque to Orlando and everywhere in between.  It's been a great tow vehicle!

[Miller Tyme]

Started towing our current rig with a '90 F-150 4x4 regular cab. Unfortunately, with 3 kids, Linda had to follow in the Caravan for most trips.

 
BUT- this past week, picked up a '93 Chevy Blazer 4x4, 4.3 w/ all the toys, that will more than handle our Pal and all the rugrats!:D
 
C'mon, camping season!!!:!

[aw738]

I live by the saying MOPAR or NO Car. I would have to say that I have one of the older TVs on the board. I have a link to pictures in my signature. It may not look all that good but after replacing the tired high mileage 318 with a 360 and manual transmission it does really well here in the mountains of WV. I don't use a WD hitch or sway control. I haven't seen a need for the sway control yet. One thing I do have is truck rated tires and not passenger car rated tires. I believe this has a lot to do with not having sway. On the maden voyage with the PU I kept seeing something in my rear view mirror and thought someone was tailgating me. After taking a closer look it was just the PU. I forgot it was back there.

[tlhdoc]

We have had an Explorer for the last 2 years.

[dee106]

see our sig

[Campntime]

For 2 years now a 2000 Chevy Blazer 4.3L on a '01 Coleman Bayside...nothing special on the hitch.  Been in the Rockies and did fine, but glad the PU had its own brakes!

[copcarguy]

Oh man, the way we are around here who knows!! Those of you that we have camped with have probably seen a different tow vehicle with each trip. If you missed a trip, you have probably missed a tow vehicle!! :p I'm 31 and have had 34 vehicles since I was 16. Seven of those were brand new. I'll work backwards from what's currently in our "fleet" (tow vehicle wise), I am sure I'll forget something.
 
2003 Ford E-250 van
2003 Ford Ranger XLT
2001 Ford F-250 Crewcab Powerstroke
2001 Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor ("the blue one")
2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Quadcab Laramie SLT
1999 Ford Explorer Sport 4x4
1999 Ford F-150 Supercab XLT 4x4
1999 Ford E-150 conversion van by "American Vans"
1998 Dodge Dakota R/T 5.9 Clubcab
1997 Ford Crown Vic PI ("the white one")
1995 Ford F-150 Supercab XLT
1995 Ford Crown Vic PI ("the tan one")
1994 Dodge B-250 conversion van by "Primetime"
1992 Ford Ranger XLT
1991 Ford Ranger Supercab XLT
1989 Ford F-150 4x4
1977 Ford E-150 van (handed down to me from my parents, who bought it brand new)
 
Well I think that's the best I can do memory wise... I have pics of most of these vehicles on my webshots page, click on the link under my profile. We sure do have a car addiction around here - I am thinking of checking into the Henry Ford clinic. :p