New Tow SUV Help Please... Jeep Maybe?

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by brian372lok

I am surprised to be the first to say that I think the Jeep is too small, but I think the ml350 is too small as well. With the weight I would want a full size suv. The exhibition is awesome but Tahoe would be solid choice as well.

Might be part of the reason it Died..

[Roy5019]

Depends upon how many people are always with you, how you use your tow vehicle, if you tow with a dolly or all 4 tires on the ground, and the weight of the vehicle verses your RV overall tow rating. I have the ability to tow two separate vehicles, one for comfort and one for the great outdoors. Love my great outdoors Jeep Rubicon because I can go just about anywhere. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has a v-6 and it has all the power your need and is easy to tow, but certainly not as comfortable as a road car. Need to be careful about tow bar and hitch ratings on your RV. Might get a copy of the new 2018 35th Tow-Vehicle ratings, Guide to Towing from Trailer Life. It might be helpful. Happy camping.

[No more shoveling]

Originally Posted by DieselDrax

Check out the newer Durangos with the HEMI. Up to 7,400/7,200 pound tow rating depending on 2wd/4wd. The HEMI is a solid engine and the ZF 8-speed automatic is a great trans.

I second the Durango, my sister pulls a 32 ft TT and the Durango doesn't even know it's there. The Hemi is a awesome engine.
You could also look into the Grand Cherokee with the Eco Diesel they can tow up to 7000 I believe and when your not towing they are averaging almost 30 mpg

[Mainframe]

We have a Tahoe, it really tows nice, great vehicle all around, if I was looking now I would check out the new Ecsursion from Ford, I am thinking about getting a 2017 F250 powerstroke Diesel crew cab, I would like to have the bed part for a generator and wood and bikes, and just retire the Tahoe to family transport.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Roy5019

Depends upon how many people are always with you, how you use your tow vehicle, if you tow with a dolly or all 4 tires on the ground, and the weight of the vehicle verses your RV overall tow rating. I have the ability to tow two separate vehicles, one for comfort and one for the great outdoors. Love my great outdoors Jeep Rubicon because I can go just about anywhere. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has a v-6 and it has all the power your need and is easy to tow, but certainly not as comfortable as a road car. Need to be careful about tow bar and hitch ratings on your RV. Might get a copy of the new 2018 35th Tow-Vehicle ratings, Guide to Towing from Trailer Life. It might be helpful. Happy camping.

Roy,
The OP is talking about a TOW vehicle, not a TOAD.
They are towing a travel trailer.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Mainframe

We have a Tahoe, it really tows nice, great vehicle all around, if I was looking now I would check out the new Ecsursion from Ford

Ford is not coming out with a new Excursion.
They do have the Expedition with Ecoboost that I mentioned.

[jackconn]

Lots of Jeep critics in this thread (and that's ok), so let me chime in that we've been thrilled with the combo we've got. Note it's a 2014 diesel JGC, so great torque and 7400lb rated towing capacity. You can't get the diesel any more so that changes the story if you're looking for new. I agree completely about considerations around frontal area, but keep in mind the impact on the engine is something like the cube of the speed and we drive around 60mph max, getting about 12-14mpg when towing (and close to 30mpg when not). If you want to keep it at 70 or 75 then the Jeep not as pleasant. Regarding wheelbase, while it's very true that longer is better for towing, we haven't noticed any sway or instability after one trip at 12,500 miles out west and back, and another at about 4,000 miles that we're currently finishing up, mostly in north Florida.

[thebrakeman]

If you want a newer vehicle, Explorer is out. If willing to get an older 4th gen, 2009 or 2010 Explorer or Mountaineer V8 with HD tow package is good for 7000+. Our camper is 5200 lbs loaded, and our '06 Mounty handles it well. Your camper is about 4500 lbs dry, and likely around 5500 loaded.


Expedition would be great, if not overkill. However, if hubby wants to protect for a larger camper, this would be a strong contender. 9000 lb rating with HD tow package, it would handle a loaded camper up to 7000 lbs or more, depending on how much goes in the truck with you (people, cargo).


I agree the Durango should be considered, for this camper. In fact, the V6 with tow package gets at least 6000 lbs rating (6500?), so might be enough for you (again, depending on what else goes in the truck). But the Hemi would be sweet. If my Mounty got totaled, I'd be looking at a Durango V8.


Good luck.

[njfishing]

Originally Posted by No more shoveling

I second the Durango, my sister pulls a 32 ft TT and the Durango doesn't even know it's there. The Hemi is a awesome engine.
You could also look into the Grand Cherokee with the Eco Diesel they can tow up to 7000 I believe and when your not towing they are averaging almost 30 mpg

2X on the Durango... I have a friend who tows his 7000 pound travel trailer with it (hemi) and loves it. the 5.7 liter displacement hemi makes it pretty torquey and it's also a nice daily driver. It's a little small inside for my taste but if you're coming out of the Mercedes SUV, I think it will have as much if not more room.

The problem with a lot of the SUVs is they tend to squat in the rear end when you put even the slightest of tongue weight on them but nothing a weight distribution hitch can't solve.

I've also heard a lot of great things about the new Expeditions but they are a totally different animal and can get very pricey.

Having said all this, I prefer a 1500 series pick up with a crew cab... Lots of room inside, the utility of the bed and the newer ones have a much improved ride as well as fuel economy and can also be used as a daily driver. They are however pricey too and a pick up isn't for everyone...

[slottere]

Originally Posted by tmlogo

We are currently towing our 2018 2104S with a 2008 Mercedes ML350. Everything has been great, but now the car has a very serious engine problem and is basically going to become worthless.

We are looking at Jeep Grand Cherokees and are concerned that a v6 is not great enough. Do we need a v8 and is 5.7 enough or do we need 6.4?

We are open to other SUV brands also. Hubby wants V8 so we have more power and possibly if we want to get a bigger trailer someday.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

We have been very happy with our 2015 Jeep GC towing our 2016 Coachmen Apex 249RBS. The Jeep is a 4x4 LTD, 3.6 V6 w/ 8-speed transmission, tow pkg, Reese 12K WDH & electric brake controller. From the specs, it appears that your 2104S is about 200 lbs lighter than our 249RBS & a few feet shorter. We generally travel from SC to IL twice a year and head to FL for part of the winter. I just had the 45K svc on the Jeep & have had no problems since new.....considering that of those 45K, I have estimated that about 19K was pulling the trailer!!!

Unless you travel with lots of people +/or cargo, the Jeep should be fine for your current needs. I do agree, though, that if you have ANY inclination of getting a larger TT in the next few years, a larger SUV w/ V8 would probably be a better choice.

Hope this helps & !!!

[Heymirth]

Originally Posted by DieselDrax

Check out the newer Durangos with the HEMI. Up to 7,400/7,200 pound tow rating depending on 2wd/4wd. The HEMI is a solid engine and the ZF 8-speed automatic is a great trans.

I have the Durango RT with the Hemi V8- it pulls 7600max. It pulls my inlaws Roo 21' no problem what so ever.

[nytmare]

I have the same trailer as the OP and tow it with a 2014 JGC Summit. It has the 5.7L engine, tow package, 8 speed tranny, and all the bells and whistles (I use an Equalizer WDH). I have absolutely no problems towing our 2104S on flats or over mountains. The Jeep has never struggled a bit and I'm quite happy with it performance. The only thing that sucks (no pun intended) is that I only get 10 MPG on the highway, as opposed to the 24 I get w/o the trailer.

BTW, I initially towed the trailer with a 2013 GMC Acadia Denali AWD. It was a good vehicle, but struggled with the trailers weight.

I hear the diesel JGCs tow pretty good as well, but as one poster pointed out... Jeep doesn't provide that engine any longer in the GC. You could still find an excellent pre-owned though.

[dustman_stx]

Ford Expedition EL- EL is the longer wheelbase version and will add stability. Lightly optioned XLT for max payload. Get the HD towing package. 3.5L Ecoboost will outperform any current production V8 for towing. Broad torque band coming on at the lowest possible RPM is best for towing. However, a good HP rating is beneficial for inclines. This is what makes the Ecoboost shine- low end torque but can also rev if needed. The Ecodiesel puts out good torque down low, but falls flat on it's face and is incapable of revving and making HP when you need to drop gears and maintain speed on steep inclines. Naturally aspirated V8 engines of today have good peak TQ and HP numbers, but they have to rev to almost double the RPM of the Ecoboost to achieve them. This means more dropping gears and revving while towing.

[m2kamp]

If you can wait a year or so Jeep will be re-introducing the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, based on the next generation 2019 Ram 1500. It will be at least as luxurious as your Mercedes.

It will be fullsized with two wheelbases in the same manner as Tahoe/Suburban and Expedition/L-EL-XL (or whatever its called now)

https://www.allpar.com/news/2018/02/...wagoneer-39579

[mxdad]

I used to tow with an 08 Escalade ESV. Great tow platform and plenty of room inside. Can’t beat the 6.2, long wheelbase, and versatility.