Tow Rig Daily Driver, 4500lbs That Isn't A Pick Up

I know this is a well worn topic and I'm sure I've asked before but it's come up again.

I'm 4-5 year out form retiring and we are starting to research RVs. We've found the type we like but many of them are only rated to tow 3500lbs. 

First and foremost; over the years I've used 3 pickups as daily drivers and I absolutely hate them. 

Also German cars are out; I have a fear of German car maintenance and parts prices. However illogical that may seem it's where I'm at.

I'm also looking for something sub 15K (because I am cheap).

One of the candidates I've seen that interest me are Lexus GX models / Toyota Sequoia. While these drive like the trucks they are, they're comfortable and quiet inside so I'd be OK with that. 

So does anyone have any other picks they like?

What about full-frame sedans, like the Ford Crown Vic?

LanEvo said:

What about full-frame sedans, like the Ford Crown Vic?

If there was one that could actually tow that much I wouldn't be opposed.

First... what kind of RV.  I'm assuming travel trailer?  If so, never, ever, ever, ever, ever use the tow capacity of the tow vehicle to determine the combo.  Full stop.  I've seen this so many times:  Someone wants to buy a travel trailer so they look up their vehicle's towing capacity and let's say it's 5000 lbs.  They then go out and shop for 5000-lb travel trailers.  Even worse, sometimes they fall into the trap of "well this 22-foot trailer is GVWR of 5000, but this ultralite 26-footer is bigger with the same weight."  Then they hook it up and realize that they just put a 26' billboard behind their short wheelbase SUV and they HATE life, or worse, end up in a ditch.

A flatbed with a Miata on it?  Sure.  A huge flat sheet of solid wall?  Not so much.  TTs are a unique situation.

Tom1200 said:

LanEvo said:

What about full-frame sedans, like the Ford Crown Vic?

If there was one that could actually tow that much I wouldn't be opposed.

I wouldn't be surprised if they actually could.  If you go back to 1995, they were rated for 5000 lb.  Even further back it was 6000.  I wonder if the mid-2000s re-done suspension was a killer for tow capacity.

Agree with Curtis on making sure you've got extra capacity for any enclosed trailer/travel trailer.

Ignoring that, though, if you don't want a pickup truck, or a truck-like ride, Toyota Highlanders starting with the second generation (2008 model year) could be rated for 5000 lbs towing capacity.

And of course, there's always the Buick Roadmaster if you are willing to go all the way back to the 90s.

In reply to Tom1200 :

I once leased a Chevy Traverse with the tow package (5000lbs) and I thought it towed really well.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Not a travel trailer.

We've found some class B RVs we like but will only tow 3500lbs. My current Class B will tow 5000lbs but it's 35 years old and nowhere nice as as the newer ones.

I'm thinking something Toyota Lexus SUV.

I've pulled a loooong rv in a 2nd gen sequoia many thousand miles and it was fantastic. Terrible gas mileage but that's what you get with the most reliable v8 ever made. 

$17,000 

tows everything for me

great dd

great roadtripper

love them so much - have 3 of them

In reply to Tom1200 :

I remember reading about the mid-1990s Cadillac Fleetwoods having a tow package that raised capacity to 7k LBS. Some car journalist wrote about it. I assumed a Crown Vic with police package would be good for at lest 5k. 

9-7x aero. 

You said nothing German, didn't mention anything about weird Swedish/GM love children 

A Ridgeline drives exactly like an suv with the added bonus of being able to carry 1500lbs and tow 5000lbs.

2017+ Nissan Armada?  $15K should get you a 2017-18 with under 120K miles.  A bargain relative to the Sequoia or LandCruiser.  Not hating on the LandCruiser, I've had 2.  But 15K is going to have really high miles.  Granted, they run forever, but those miles take their toll on the interior and other wear items.  

The GX does seem to depreciate a bit quicker for a Toyota product.  We had a GX470 and it was a great road trip vehicle and the power was great.  I despised the rear barn door and always felt I should have gotten a 4Runner instead.  But now that we have a 5th gen 4Runner, it isn't near as nice for trips (noise, comfort, power).  The GX460 still has the barn door, but it also has a hatch to mitigate the stupid rear door.   

I've driven some Armadas and QX80s.  The HBMC on the QX80 is hard to find, but makes it feel more nimble than it has any right to be.  They're good places to spend a lot of time.  Awful fuel mileage.

Before 2019, though, they apparently had one machine that was boring the blocks at an angle or something?  So watch for scuffing of the #7 that turns into a knock which requires a new engine.  At least, that's what I read on the Titan forums.

The most recent Durango/Grand Cherokee  can tow up to 7k as well.

My GX470 towed like crap in comparison to my Cayenne Turbo.  I've got two TDI's in my garage right now, a Cayenne and a Touareg.  Highly, highly recommend them.  They're fabulous DD's and tow wonderfully, while still getting decent mpg. 

If you're really that afraid of German, how about a 3/4 ton suburban?  Really hard to find a 200 series worth buying under $20k and they get horrific mpg unloaded not towing, I can't imagine what they get towing something.

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

9-7x aero. 

 

You said nothing German, didn't mention anything about weird Swedish/GM love children 

Just make sure it's never been on salted roads

Tom1200 said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Not a travel trailer.

We've found some class B RVs we like but will only tow 3500lbs. My current Class B will tow 5000lbs but it's 35 years old and nowhere nice as as the newer ones.

I'm thinking something Toyota Lexus SUV.

 

So what are you towing? The RV discussion seems unrelated, right? As in, you have an RV but need something to tow with that's not a pickup. Is that for your race car trailer?

In reply to dculberson :

I am towing a 8 x 16 enclosed trailer. The front of the trailer is slanted at a 60 degree angle so it's not quite as bad as a flat front trailer.

The trailer is 2500lbs, the Datsun is 1652lbs, extra wheels 124lbs and 60lbs of misc. stuff so 4336lbs all up. 

I'm towing between Vegas and SoCal; longest tow is 327mi / 5.5 hrs. My E250 Campervan averages 7.5 mpg.  I have 3 steep climbs (two on Baker Grade and one on Tehachipi) the steepest of which is 6.2%. Most of the grades I'm down to 45mph but there is a 6 mile section of North Bound I-15 Baker Grade that I am down to 35mph.  

docwyte said:

My GX470 towed like crap in comparison to my Cayenne Turbo.  I've got two TDI's in my garage right now, a Cayenne and a Touareg.  Highly, highly recommend them.  They're fabulous DD's and tow wonderfully, while still getting decent mpg. 

If you're really that afraid of German, how about a 3/4 ton suburban?  Really hard to find a 200 series worth buying under $20k and they get horrific mpg unloaded not towing, I can't imagine what they get towing something.

Pretty much all of this. 

I'm the anti-German car fan. I despise complication for the sake of complication and nobody is better at it than the Germans. However...

The Touareg TDI is one of the best tow vehicles I've ever driven. I put 660 miles on mine this past weekend towing my flat deck trailer and averaged 24.6 mpg. Empty it gets north of 30 mpg. It has a 7700-pound tow capacity and a 1331 payload capacity. Towing, it's a beast. Empty, it's as tame as you could ask. It's a pleasant place to spend time. Probably my only complaint is the nav system is crap. 

The maintenance costs are higher than your average Chevy but the fuel savings pays for it and the capabilities make it worth the hassle. That said, don't buy it if you have a short commute. It needs to get hot enough to keep the DPF burned out unless you can delete it. 

This is an F250 Super Duty behind mine. 

My second choice is also going to be a Suburban or Tahoe. Dollars spent they are hard to beat. 

3rd generation Ford Expedition.  If you can find one with rust free Rockers and a quiet engine (no timing chain clatter), they are fantastic.  My 2011 just turned 172k miles and runs great.  It's got every possible amenity and it seats 7.

Nice ones can be had under $10k and if equipped with the max tow pkg (as mine is) they tow 9k lbs.

Plentiful, reliable, super cheap to repair and literally less than half the price of anything from Toyota/Lexus.

Based on my ownership experience with an 08 Tundra, I'm going to highly recommend the Sequoia or maybe the equivalent Lexus. The 4.7 or 5.7 with the 6 speed is fantastic at towing. 
 

GMT900 with the 6 speed and big engine is probably a good bet as well. 

Interested to see what you decide to get, as this type of rig might be in my future. 

In reply to amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) :

yup the 5.7 L 6 speed is pure million mile sex machine 

my 4.7 L although an amazing machine in my 100 series - is a dog comparatively 

We tow a lot on our farm daily