Tow Vehicles Need Opinion

[sailorkane]

Folks, this car market is nuts! I have a RAM 1500 and can tow almost any boat. My truck is worth an insane amount of money, so thinking to buy a new mid-sized suv; the trade up cost is pretty low. Was influenced by the "5000 pound tow capacity". How about bait and switch!?! Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade actually have 1650 pound limits if the trailer doesn't have brakes. In my state, 3000 pounds is the limit for trailers not to have brakes. So my boat trailer would need brakes to be towed by the Kia or Hyundai. The Toyota Highlander is even worse, 1000 pounds without brakes. What's the concensus? Stick with the RAM? "Upgrade" to a mid sized suv and add brakes to my boat trailer? Eventually I'd like to be able to tow a small travel trailer with whatever vehicle I end up with and getting one under 5000 pounds is a struggle. So, I'd be maxing out the capability of the suv if I did the TT thing. THoughts?

 

[Julian]

Kind of depends on what else you use the truck for. I prefer and suv....

 

[Babin Farms]

Like stated above, depends on what else you use your truck for. Me, I'd keep the truck just due to it's capabilities in towing and hauling. The truck gives you more options when it comes to the size of a TT and if you ever get a larger boat. With even a mid size SUV you'll probably be right on the edge of it's capabilities and may not feel comfortable pulling larger loads. We don't know your situation, where you live and what you do with your vehicles so in the end only you can make the decision which will be best.

 

[2kwik4u]

Have you looked at the Rams manual? Bet it has something like 3500lbs without brakes in there. This kind of rating is pretty typical across the board.

You don't say what your towing, but I've towed my 190 with several mid-size SUVs. In general the one with a 5,200lb rating was the worst. The other two were rated at 6,800lbs and 7,700lbs. Those were much more comfortable to tow with. Vehicle weight, power available, and other such factors really effect your comfort level.

Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding though. Ask for a test tow with any new vehicle purchase. Show up with your boat attached to the Ram, swap it over to the new vehicle and go for a drive. If it's still comfy and reasonable for you then it might work.

Keep in my your typical load. I was able to get within 3k lbs of my GCVWR on a 9,200lb rated Sierra with my 190, a family of 4 and packing the bed full of "stuff" for a week in the mountains. All the stuff you take with you takes away from your tow rating.

For me, anything larger than a 190 needs more than a 5k rating.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Folks, this car market is nuts! I have a RAM 1500 and can tow almost any boat. My truck is worth an insane amount of money, so thinking to buy a new mid-sized suv; the trade up cost is pretty low. Was influenced by the "5000 pound tow capacity". How about bait and switch!?! Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade actually have 1650 pound limits if the trailer doesn't have brakes. In my state, 3000 pounds is the limit for trailers not to have brakes. So my boat trailer would need brakes to be towed by the Kia or Hyundai. The Toyota Highlander is even worse, 1000 pounds without brakes. What's the concensus? Stick with the RAM? "Upgrade" to a mid sized suv and add brakes to my boat trailer? Eventually I'd like to be able to tow a small travel trailer with whatever vehicle I end up with and getting one under 5000 pounds is a struggle. So, I'd be maxing out the capability of the suv if I did the TT thing. THoughts?

Stick with your pick up and spend the cash on fuel and other goodies associated with boating operations…set an outrageous number of boating trips this season and see if you can reach that goal.

 

[BlkGS]

I just went through this for a very long time (seriously there's 2 years of my rantings in a thread on here).

First off, I would absolutely add brakes regardless. It makes a big difference and is worth the small investment.

Secondly, 5k pounds is often the rating with a weight distributing hitch as well as the brake issues. And it's my understanding that most WDHs don't work with surge brakes, so you're in a one or the other situation. I'd probably rather have surge brakes than WDH I think.

I think your 20 foot 2 stroker boat would probably be fine at a 5k pound towing, but if you upgrade you'll be wanting more. My Sx230 is technically within the 5k pound tow rating, but when you add coolers, the wife, kiddo, dogs, stuff... It quickly get to or over the rating. You can eek up a little bit in tow rating in that class, explorer does 5300 or 5600, pathfinder does 6000, Durango does like 8000 or something nuts if you go with tow and go (Durango R/T is a favorite in these parts).

We ended up with an expedition and can tow whatever we ever need. But we also needed the larger vehicle for a family hauler.

 

[Alexegan88]

2021 Jeep GC V6 6200lb tow rating. Towing 2022 252SE 6200lbs fully loaded.