What should I buy to tow a 16 ft with?

[dogs_rule]

I tow with a Honda Pilot rated for 4500 and with a really good sway-bar control. that said I was advised to always tow with ‘overdrive’ off, which in the case of the Pilot means flicking the d3 on.

[tnt99218]

I tow our 16 ft with a 01 dodge durango. 5.9L in it. I also have a 14 hyundai santa fe that I will be setting up to tow the trailer with too. IE tranny cooler, flat 4 to 7 pole wiring, with electric brake regulator, air bags for the hyundai and at minimum an antisway bar for the trailer.

Both rigs will pull the trailer just fine. I figure we have about 3000lbs when it is all said and done with our gear.

[CRay]

How about a cargo van? Looking at Dodge Promaster 3500 vans.

[Silverado]

A 2500 or 3500 cargo van will be fine especially if you are traveling full time.

[wishuwerehere]

Originally Posted by twinster2

Guys, come on. We are talking about a single axle 16 foot trailer. The OP does not need a pickup truck to tow it. A FWD Grand Caravan with a tow package will tow it just fine since it has a 3600 tow capacity. I tow my 189 FBR just fine with a Toyota Highlander and Weigh Distribution hitch and it tows just fine on even moderately heavy hills and feels locked in even with cross winds. Sure my setup gets sucky mileage (11 mpg) but everyone gets that kind of mileage towing. Just keep the 16 footer light (under 2800 pounds) and a mini-van is big enough to actually break some of the wind resistance. If you want, you could actually go to a full size van with a big six or V8 if you want a little more power.

We are towing a 160X with a Kia Sorento AWD V6 and it does just fine without a WDH.

[APD]

Vans rule.....



At least for the tiny rigs.....

[twinster2]

Originally Posted by Hotwife

I have a 2008 Fund Finder X 16'.

I pull it with a 1996 Cadillac Deville. I did replace the rear shocks with heavy duty outside spring assist.
It pulls just fine using an ad-on sway bar.
I drive 65 and enjoy the ride.

Like "Ash vs. Evil Dead" pulling a 26 foot Airstream with an Oldsmobile Delta 88. 😝

[wishuwerehere]

We use a 2017 Kia Sorento AWD, with 290 hp, I get 18 mpg towing our 08 X160

[APD]

Originally Posted by APD

Vans rule.....



At least for the tiny rigs.....

We love our van. We really do. It only has 65K miles which is low miles for a 1995 model. And it is like new. BUT it has serious short comings as a tow vehicle. Compared to modern day more technically advanced vehicles it would be a poor choice for most people. While it has all the tow options, HD cooling, aux trans cooling even an engine oil cooler it has no "tow/haul" features. No computer backup.
And while it's technically a four speed automatic, for towing purposes that's a misnomer. It's a three speed with overdrive. It is programmed for emission control and is very prone to short shift. My "work around" is to frequently manually shift in order to stay on the torque curve. We tow for short trips and we forgive the shortages.
Modern vehicles with towing options have six (and sometimes more) gears to chose. The computer can look at air density, throttle position, manifold vacuum (or boost) even individual spark plug firing voltage to make a gear selection. And can do that at 6000 times a second or faster while using adaptive programming! Our rig can't do that....
Having the proper drive train is important but, nowadays, the tech side is important as well. When we change it will be for a "tow/haul" programmed vehicle for sure...

Alan

[wishuwerehere]

Tow vehicle 2017 Kia Sorento AWD,

[Xerofall]

I tow with a Jeep Wrangler and it's hard on it. I only have a tiny 139 too.

I am going to replace the thermostat and see if that had something to do with it. I think it might've gotten stuck, allowing my engine to run super hot. It was so hot it cooked my spark plug wires into a brittle mess.

Jeeps aren't tow vehicles, normally... but damn... you'd think I could tow their 3500 rated rate.

[Eagle]

Would never make it in one of those tiny rigs.

When first looked to purchase a camper, found a nice 20' unit at a fair.

Wife would have nothing to do with it as she is claustrophobic - difficult to get her into an elevator!!

[RhythmMachine]

I realize this is an old thread, but I'd encourage anyone pulling it up for research to look at a diesel vehicle. We had a Grand Caravan (base model, no tow package) and when I started to do the math for what it would cost to get it up to a very modest towing capacity I realized it wouldn't be worth it. We picked up a 2009 Mercedes ML320 Bluetec and though I miss the extra storage space in the van, using a midsize SUV to pull our 189FBR is sooooo easy. The 3L turbo has a towing capacity of 7200lbs (about double our TT dry weight) but provides way more utility to my family than a pickup would (we rarely need more space to carry things that would stick out, but always appreciate more space inside the car where stuff is safe instead of in a truck bed).

Driving it without the trailer we get great mileage (25-30mpg), and our last trip with the trailer we did about 16L/100km (14-15mpg), and can accelerate to highway speed (or pass, if we need to) easily. The downside of a shorter wheelbase vehicle is that a weight distribution hitch becomes more important to reduce the porpoising, but it's very agile and I don't care how big the hill up ahead is going to be...

[RipVan]

Choosing an appropriate tow vehicle is not always a simple endeavor. As the OP soon discovered, a Grand Caravan would have been a poor choice as a tow vehicle for the 189 or any TT of similar size. The 3L Diesel motor in the Mercedes has the power but IMHO, a TT the size of the 189 is at the limit of a mid-sized SUV’s capacity (tho I’m sure to get replies to the contrary). The 7200 lb towing capacity is not the only factor to consider. TV payload, hitch capacity, TT tongue weight, wheelbase, all need to be considered.
While mostly impractical when not pulling a TT, vehicles with truck frames are better choices for pulling things and I definitely agree with the need for a Diesel motor (more contrary replies expected ).
I bought my 3/4 Ton, Diesel powered pick up expressly to tow our FF but it also became my daily driver. I’m here to tell you that if I need to haul anything that doesn’t require a trailer, my wife’s Acadia has WAY more useable space and IS the vehicle that I would use!

[RhythmMachine]

Can I go with "agree, but..."?

In my case, the overall payload and tongue weight are not at all an issue, and we get very little side-to-side movement... a bit when passing semis on the highway, but hardly noticeable apart from that and never a problem.

Having never pulled this trailer with a truck, I can only speculate, but I would guess that the most significant impact of the short wheelbase would be the bouncing/porpoising. I wasn't sure if, given the compact size and light weight of the trailer, we'd actually need a weight distribution hitch or not, but the combo of short wheelbase and low bumper (and even lower hitch) meant that there was way too much up and down with just a basic ball hitch to the trailer. We got an inexpensive WD hitch (no sway control) and when I get those chains tight it makes a world of difference.

So, I have no doubt that it would be a nicer towing experience with a truck. But, in our case, not nice enough to have the less-nice experience of driving the other 330 days a year in a truck. If we had either the money to have a dedicated tow vehicle or different day-to-day needs I would have gone with a truck in a heartbeat.

It's super important when you're shopping for a vehicle, though, not to make assumptions either based on the format or the size. Our mid-size SUV can tow more than a lot of pickups (again, in terms of weight, even if the ride suffers from the short wheelbase), as well as most bigger SUVs (even with factory towing packages). Bigger vehicles often do tow more, but the devil's in the details when you're trying to find one that fits your towing needs, budget, and (in our case, at least) daily driver requirements, so take your time and shop carefully.