Unibody Tow Vehicles

[ricksterv]

Anyone interested in seeing how others have towed with their "non-truck" tow vehicles? Maybe sharing numbers if you want, pictures if nothing else.

There are many examples of vehicles that are capable towers when staying in the numbers .. like the grand cherokee, even though the close cousin M class mercedes states that you should not use WD. And BMW going the 8% tongue limit like VW and Porsche.

Then you have the limited but usable ford explorer that IS unibody but states that WD MUST be used to get to the 5000Lb max. While the Honda ridgeline is going the European route of saying no.

I would love to see what people are towing without pickups as the pickup people have had the run of the industry so far..

no flames intended or wanted ..

[coupevillefish]

We towed over 25,000 mikes with a Ridgeline. TT was molded fiberglass, 3300 pounds loaded with a tongue weight of about 315. We never felt the need for a WDH or sway control but we were comfortably under the rated tow capacity.

[ricksterv]

sounds perfect, just needed more space?

[coupevillefish]

Originally Posted by ricksterv

sounds perfect, just needed more space?

Yes, the Casita became too tight, so we went big time. Still have the Ridgeline but tow a CRV.

[BobBaron]

I know this one will put the weight police on my tail...
Nothing in the SUV except the wife and kids. Everything else is packed in the trailer. I'm stretching all limits to the max but at least using a ProPride 3P to eliminate all risks of sway. Breaking is not an issue as compression on the diesel helps a lot and I never go over 62MPH - usually cruise at 55-57 and I do keep my distances just in case. Knowing what this setup can and can't do is what keep us safe.

I had the hitch reinforced since it's rated at 680# and I am at 750# tongue weight with the PP3P. Also have extra load tires (XL) on the SUV to add to the comfort of the ride.

[marknuthut]

2010 Honda Pilot. We tow 2016 MicroLite 19FD. Dealer installed WDH. First trip was from Boise area to Sandpoint thru Oregon and Washington. Mountains, 4 lane, 2 lane, rain, wind, even some snow over the Blues in Oregon. Stayed between 55-60 mph. MPG average about 10. Really no big issues....went just fine. Trip was great confidence builder....ready to go again!

[wickedwyrm]

2010 BMW X5 diesel. SP220 about 5000#s. Tows well get about 12.5-13.5mpg don't go over 65 and usually tow off freeway at 55mph. Not supposed to use wdh, but I do anyway just don't tighten the bars down very much


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[ricksterv]

nice to hear about and see some fine combo's. Funny how in three post you covered ideas I had considered b4 the touareg although the MB was going to be stretching the limits. The latest x5 seems to have been crippled by a bad choice of hitch choice by BMWNA. Limited to a 2 inch ball on the factory setup i think.. My only other idea would have been a grand cherokee. The Honda is just a great design all around. Nice storage below the bed.

[thebrakeman]

As long as the OEM gives it enough rating, and you use the right equipment as specified (brake controller, WDH, etc), use it.
I towed a 3000 lbs loaded popup camper with 2 Chrysler minivans for 7 seasons. That's about as unibody as it gets (rolling jelly bean). Used a Prodigy brake controller (same one I have now), and a 400 lbs Single Bar WDH kit.

A unibody will be very stiff and a good vehicle. The question comes when you see how the trailer hitch is attached. On a true truck, you are bolting/welding the hitch to big beefy frames directly. This allows big tow ratings that are likely only limited by the drivetrain.

On my minivan, the hitch bolted to some lighter frame-members, which were welded to the unibody. Not as strong. But then again, it only had a 3800 lbs rating (2000 without the WDH). The drivetrains in today's minivan's can probably handle more, but the structure isn't designed for more.

Enter the modern crossover (Grand Cherokee, Acadia, Explorer, etc). These have higher ratings (5000+) certainly because they have beefed up that connection point. An Acadia does not have more engine than a minivan. It has more structure.

[JustB_Rad]

The biggest issue trying to pull a hard sided camper with a unibody SUV is that the wind profile KILLS you.

Whether its 16ft long or 23ft long really makes no difference.

I had a 23ft R-Vision Crossover that we bought specifically because it only weighted 3300 lbs dry and was "SUV Towable". It was only 90" wide and it was under 9' off the ground in height. I tried towing it with a 2011 Ford Explorer with the 3.5L V6 (5K towing capacity). We bought an Equal-I-Zer 4 point hitch. We took it on 2 trips and I traded the Explorer in. Honestly, I was afraid I would have ended up blowing up the motor at some point. Trying to stay at 60-65MPH was a chore for it....and then add a 20MPH head wind, and on our longest trip with it, it never dropped under 3500 RPM on a 4 hour drive. 2 weeks later, my wife agreed to getting a new truck. Unfortunately, we purchased an "SUV Towable" Camper....not the size camper we REALLY wanted....so after 1 year of camping in that, and after getting a bigger truck, we had to take a 15% hit on our camper to get what we really wanted.

Ultimately, I think it depends how far from home you are planning on going as well. If they're shorter trips, you can make it work. You might not enjoy the ride, but you can make it work. If longer trips are what you're planning....you will be highly disappointed.

[B and B]

I towed a 23 ft 5000lb TT with a 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis. Did not look at any ratings at all, threw air shocks in it and EZ Lift Hitch. Ran all over Ontario. The 351 with Variable Venturi Carb gave it all fuel needed to tow. 3 kids in the back seat.

[jgump]

I tow a 33' Wildwood with my 2012 Grand Cherokee Hemi. TT at tow weight is around 6800#. Max tow on the jeep is 7400#. Probably at limits on hitch weight and I use a Blue Ox sway pro and have not had any problems. Wheelbase and total CCC are the big downsides on the jeep. Wouldn't go cross country with it but within a 2 hour radius I don't foresee any issues. 55-60mph on the hwy and right lane it.


John

2016 Wildwood 27RKSS
2012 Grand Cherokee Overland (Hemi)

[GalsofEscape]

2011 Dodge Durango (3rd gen, is a unibody). I do have the v8 5.7L Hemi with the factory tow package giving a 7200 lb tow capacity and max hitch weight of 720lbs. People still call it a truck. The 25 ft Shamrock 23ws GVRW is about 6200lbs with a CCC of about 1400 lbs.

[jgump]

Originally Posted by GalsofEscape

2011 Dodge Durango (3rd gen, is a unibody). I do have the v8 5.7L Hemi with the factory tow package giving a 7200 lb tow capacity and max hitch weight of 720lbs. People still call it a truck. The 25 ft Shamrock 23ws GVRW is about 6200lbs with a CCC of about 1400 lbs.

Attachment 103895

Nice. I gotta think the Durango and Grand Cherokee are basically the same vehicle when you strip off the Dodge and Jeep stuff. Do you have the air suspension in yours? Makes my jeep ride perfectly level with TT hooked up. No squat.


John

2016 Wildwood 27RKSS
2012 Grand Cherokee Overland (Hemi)

[GalsofEscape]

They are cousins, but the Durango is a bit longer wheelbase. I actually am not sure if I have the air suspension. It does ride nice though.

[wickedwyrm]

Originally Posted by ricksterv

nice to hear about and see some fine combo's. Funny how in three post you covered ideas I had considered b4 the touareg although the MB was going to be stretching the limits. The latest x5 seems to have been crippled by a bad choice of hitch choice by BMWNA. Limited to a 2 inch ball on the factory setup i think.. My only other idea would have been a grand cherokee. The Honda is just a great design all around. Nice storage below the bed.

The funky BMW one that is limited is a special motorized one that hides when you aren't using it. I have the oem hitch that just provides a standard receiver. Use whatever size ball you want. It's rated at 600/6000


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[Austintatious]

It's not a unibody but it's not a pickup either - I was towing our little 3,000 pound TT with my 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (first picture). Has the max tow package (3500 pounds) and a P3 brake controller.

The Jeep pulled it just fine until we hit the highway where wind is never a Jeep's friend anyway. Seldom see 5th gear, mostly 60-65mph at around 2800rpm in 4th gear with 11mpg but add the slightest headwind or grade and it's downshifting to 3rd (3500 rpm) and sometimes even 2nd (4500 rpm). Which is really strange because the same 3.6L Pentastar V6 is rated for much more towing capacity in other vehicles. But that just seemed like I was asking too much of that engine for anything more than an hour's pull.

So last week I bought a Ram 1500 Ecodiesel (second picture). So far I've towed the TT a couple of times. Today, in fact, for about 30 miles with the cruise set at 65 and got 19mpg.

But pulling 6,000 pound trailers with mid-size SUV's is something I just can't get my head around.

[ricksterv]

Originally Posted by GalsofEscape

2011 Dodge Durango (3rd gen, is a unibody). I do have the v8 5.7L Hemi with the factory tow package giving a 7200 lb tow capacity and max hitch weight of 720lbs. People still call it a truck. The 25 ft Shamrock 23ws GVRW is about 6200lbs with a CCC of about 1400 lbs.

Attachment 103895

I would like to see the design and metal work put into the dodge unibody. It may be the future of all SUV's if it can prove its worth.

All that is left with frames...
Complete List Of Every Body-On-Frame SUV Sold In America In 2016, And How Well They All Sell - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

[thebrakeman]

Originally Posted by JustB_Rad

The biggest issue trying to pull a hard sided camper with a unibody SUV is that the wind profile KILLS you.

Whether its 16ft long or 23ft long really makes no difference.

I had a 23ft R-Vision Crossover that we bought specifically because it only weighted 3300 lbs dry and was "SUV Towable". It was only 90" wide and it was under 9' off the ground in height. I tried towing it with a 2011 Ford Explorer with the 3.5L V6 (5K towing capacity). We bought an Equal-I-Zer 4 point hitch. We took it on 2 trips and I traded the Explorer in. Honestly, I was afraid I would have ended up blowing up the motor at some point. Trying to stay at 60-65MPH was a chore for it....and then add a 20MPH head wind, and on our longest trip with it, it never dropped under 3500 RPM on a 4 hour drive. 2 weeks later, my wife agreed to getting a new truck. Unfortunately, we purchased an "SUV Towable" Camper....not the size camper we REALLY wanted....so after 1 year of camping in that, and after getting a bigger truck, we had to take a 15% hit on our camper to get what we really wanted.

Ultimately, I think it depends how far from home you are planning on going as well. If they're shorter trips, you can make it work. You might not enjoy the ride, but you can make it work. If longer trips are what you're planning....you will be highly disappointed.

You went from a non-turbo V6 Explorer to a Ram pickup.
I think there is a lot more benefit than just unibody vs full-frame!
1. non-turbo V6 vs V8 (I assume)
2. larger frontal area (which is a big deal to your wind-resistance concern)
3. drivetrain final drive ratios

I think the comparison the OP was really looking at here was a similar type of vehicle architecture, with either type of structure.

The Durango and Explorer are great examples.
Both used to be full-frame, but are now unibody.
Ford wimped out, and limited things to 5000 lbs on the V6. Even the Ecoboost is limited to 5000 lbs, which means the structure can't handle any more.
The Durango used to be full frame, like the older Explorer. But the new unibody Durango gets 5000 lbs in it's most basic V6 trim, even without the HD tow package. V6 with tow package gets 6500! Hemi V8 with tow package is around 7400. My point is that the new Durango's unibody structure (regardless of drivetrain) is beefy, and good for 7400 lbs (or more). The rating is limited by the drivetrain, just like most trucks.

So it's not just a simply question of full frame or unibody. It's about how it's designed. Take a full frame truck, and use thinner gage steel, and you will need to reduce the ratings, right?

[m2kamp]

We used to own a 2011 Durango V6 though never pulled a TT with it. We put 90k miles on it before trading. It was very solid, owing to the chassis Mercedes DNA. IIRC mine had a very high payload/carrying capacity for an SUV something like 1800 lbs. The tow package included Nivomat rear shocks that self leveled.

Though the Durango switched to unibody, it retained RWD which also helps its towing ability vs. the minivan based FWD Explorer.