A-frame owners ONLY: your experiences towing with mid-size SUVs?

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by jflarin

Since the Venza is no longer available, my next truck would be a Rav4 Trail edition which is rated for 3500 lbs.

jf

RAV4 is a TRUCK?[emoji23]

[Bluepill]

Originally Posted by bikendan

RAV4 is a TRUCK?[emoji23]

That's what they said about my Datsun 1975 pickup!

[RichardEB]

I have a 4-cylinder Subaru Outback that gets 31 mpg city/highway when not towing my A124 A-frame. The camper has a dry weight of 1958 lbs. the Subaru has a tow rating of 2750 lbs. I have towed the camper with the Subaru over 40000 miles while racking up over 150000 miles on the Subaru in 5 years including taking it over the Rockies at 11000 ft with a 7% grade incline. Haven’t had any problems and kept a speed of 45 mph going up at 4200 rpm. Hope that helps.

[jflarin]

Originally Posted by bikendan

RAV4 is a TRUCK?[emoji23]

Hi,

I may be biased by the translation from French to English that occurs in my head, but yes I think insurance considers it a truck. In fact our current Venza is considered a truck and not a car by our insurance and it is clearly written in the contract...

That being said "bigger is better" is more an american thing... With the price of fuel un Québec, Canada and the commuting I have to do every morning, I try to keep my Tow Vehicule light. When I want to drive something stronger and heavier, I take my backhoe...

jf

[SYOTR]

I have been using a Toyota Highlander to tow my 2400 lb A194 HW. It handles fine and gets good gas mileage, about 16.5 or so. We live in the mountains and have no problems towing here. My only concern has been that the tongue weight pushes the back of the SUV down more than I would like, especially if we have the car already fully loaded.
I recently bought a Toyota 4Runner which I like much better. The rated tow capacity is the same but it just feels better. The rear end does not sag as with the Highlander.

[WolfPup2018]

I have 2018 4Runner v6, max tow 5k.

Towing wolfpup 16BHS at 3200 dry, 3800 fully loaded. W/0 generator so far. Water alone is around 318 lbs. I’m considering taking the rack off the back and save 200 lbs.

We went from Utah to Idaho hotsprings, pretty much flat with moderate hills. One large summit which we bogged down to 45. Overall gas mileage was horrible and rpm pegged at 4K the entire time.

Going up to bear lake will be the ultimate test this summer with steep wavy roads, fully loaded with kids and gear I’ll hit the 3800 or just under w\o water. I’m sure.

Would be nice to have a F150 for towing only, but can’t fit another vechicle on the property.

I would suggest staying in the lightweight class like no more than 3200 fully loaded 2300 dry, with v6 SUV. Can it tow it at 4000 lb sure it can but sluggishly and wears on it pretty bad. I also have a huge WDH which probably adds 150 lbs

[Rcbigjeep]

I am a life long jeep owner. I currently use my 2001 Cherokee 4.0l (200,000 miles, well maintained) to pull my Aframe. It does just fine. I recently took a trip to Colorado and I will say I wish I had a more capable tow vehicle as the mountains were brutal on my little jeep. I guess if you are planning on staying at sea level, a 6 cylinder will be just fine. If your going to see hills, you would be best to get something like a 1/2 ton pickup at minimum. Hope that helps!

[Rcbigjeep]

I got air lift air bags and it was a game changer. It would fix your tongue weight problems.

[Bud1967]

We use our 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe SE FWD V6 to pull our A192HW A-frame pop up camper.

In 2018, we pulled the camper from Northern Arkansas through Nashville, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, up to Kentucky, back through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and down into Northern Arkansas. The Santa Fe pulled it with no issues and we still averaged about 18 miles per gallon across the whole trip.

We cruised at about 65 mph on the interstate. With the weight distribution hitch and the electric brakes the camper handled beautifully behind our Santa Fe.

I’m not sure how much more the 21 foot version weighs vs our 19 footer, but we were careful not to over pack it.

[Bluepill]

Originally Posted by Rcbigjeep

I got air lift air bags and it was a game changer. It would fix your tongue weight problems.

A lot of the 3-row SUV models (Highlander, Pilot, MDX, etc.) use a coil-over strut design in the rear and will not accept an airbag. I agree that airbags are great when you can use them.

[rye]

We tow a Rockwood A122 with a 2011 Xterra. Has a 4.0 Liter V6 and works great. I also use a brake controller.

[Cowboybarry]

I have a 2016 T12rbth and have had 3 TV now. The first was an SUV, 2001 MBZ ML320. It had fuel delivery problems but a VERY capable TV. I had to give it up because if it breaks down in a small town, I'm SOL. 2nd was a 2008 Honda Pilot 2wd. This is the WRONG vehicle because, as I found out, you really need a RWD. Much depends on how far you travel. I'm at about 30K a year so I now use a 2016 F-150 Lariat with tow package. This is the correct TV. It gets better MPG than the Pilot both towing and not.
IMO you need a RWD to properly tow long distance. BTW I have my WDH for sale in Tucson. 600/6000 lbs version, no chains.

[2shoes]

I have a Rockwood A122SESP, that I towed for a while with my 2016 V6 Mitsubishi Outlander GT which has a 3500 lb towing capacity. Everything was alright with that arrangement except the sagging of the rear end of the vehicle. I found out its shocks are not compatible with air bags, so the sagging became a deal breaker. Now, I almost exclusively pull the popup with my parents older Land Cruiser. The feel is much nicer with its auto height adjustment. I can even see over the top of the camper in the rear view mirror, which wasn't possible with the smaller SUV. Moral of the story is, don't consider just towing capacity and engine, but also tow vehicle ground clearance and suspension.

[Alben]

2016 Viking V12RB A-Frame. 1,944# dry. 2,760# fully loaded.
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit V6. Tow rating 6,200#
24-25 mpg not towing.
19-20 mpg towing at 62 mph.
No WDH or sway control used.

[pgandw]

To the OP:

As you can see from the responses, comfort with towing an A-frame with a mid-size SUV is going to be a personal thing. Some refuse to tow with anything less than a full size pickup; others are happy with a 4 cylinder SUV. Before you buy, you should have an idea of where your personal comfort level is.

It comes down to how you feel. Do you have the need to go 75 up mountain grades in Colorado while towing? A 4 cylinder might not do that, but might be quite fine at 45 or 55 on the mountain grade and a happy 65 the rest of the time. Gas mileage while towing is almost totally dependent on frontal area, wind speed and direction, and vehicle speed - weight makes no difference unless on an upgrade.

If you really want to do without a WDH, you need something that can handily support 400lbs on the tongue without sagging too badly. OTOH, I find my E2 600/6000 WDH/anti-sway adds about 4 minutes (some could do it faster) to hook-up time, and gives me a stock ride on my minivan in return. And I have absolutely no sway with the WDH. Again, it's your preference.

When you are vehicle shopping, have 2 people stand on the rear bumper and see how badly the rear sags/doesn't sag. Check the towing instructions/specs for a frontal area limitation in addition to the weight limitations. Your A-frame is going to be under the frontal area, but it gives you a hint of the tow vehicle limits. Unfortunately, you don't get to do a trial tow with a new vehicle to really know in advance.

Again, sooner or later, you have to make a choice. With a tow rating of 3,500+ lbs and a tongue weight rating of 400+ lbs, the tow vehicle should be safe towing your A-frame. Comfort is personal opinion.

just my experiences
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[Gramps42]

I picked up my 2019 Aframe yesterday but as soon as I hooked it up on my 6 cylinder Toyota Highlander the tail end of my TV dropped 3 inches. I opted to install a WDH and it made all the difference in the world-no sag and I did 700 miles yesterday at 60-65 and hardly knew I was pulling anything at all. My mileage from Shipshewana IN through West Virginia averaged 16.5 mpg

[Cksb]

Good morning. I pull my Rockwood high wall a frame with my Nissan Pathfinder. It pulls very nicely, the car is rated for 5,000 lbs, and I get about 23 mph. Perfect.

[OYO]

Originally Posted by Cksb

Good morning. I pull my Rockwood high wall a frame with my Nissan Pathfinder. It pulls very nicely, the car is rated for 5,000 lbs, and I get about 23 mph. Perfect.

You get 23 mpg towing a HW? Wow!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by OYO

You get 23 mpg towing a HW? Wow!

I agree, WHATTT?

[tlspencer]

Originally Posted by Cksb

Good morning. I pull my Rockwood high wall a frame with my Nissan Pathfinder. It pulls very nicely, the car is rated for 5,000 lbs, and I get about 23 mph. Perfect.

What year and model detail is that Pathfinder that you get that good of mileage on it? I have a 2012, the last year they were actually trucks, built on a truck chassis, and yes, according to my insurance co, a truck. Max tow is 6000lbs.. I don't get that mileage even when not towing, so I know there is no way I get near that while towing. Larger Nissan's, SUVs and trucks, generally get fairly crappy gas mileage compared to some other comparable vehicles but we went with that Pathfinder because of the tow capacity and because of the fact that it's a "truck". The price went up way too much once you get past that 6000 tow limit in a pickup truck so we stuck with the Pathfinder at the time. The 2013 year is when they kind of wussified them, dropped off max tow weight and turned them into cars. When it comes time to replace hubby's vehicle, I want an Armada. Max towing around 8000 (I think someone in this thread told me that) because I know we will eventually want to replace the a-frame with something we don't have to fuss with as much setting up. But I also know we're still giving up better gas mileage.