Tow vehicle, ideally an SUV, to tow 7500lbs or less and is reasonably sized

Well, the F250 has to go back to the shop again and I'm frankly getting tired of the $500-$1000/month repairs that it seems to be raiding my wallet for every time I'm not looking.

I'll have to have a closer look  but KBB suggests that the Alfa might be worth more than the remaining lease payments + lease payoff, so I might look into ending the lease early. But either way, it's time to go look for a new vehicle that can both tow up to 7500lbs and is still nice enough so I can go visit clients with it (which the F250 definitely isn't). A bit smaller than a full size pickemeup truck would also be nice.

Ideally I want to keep it under $20k, too, but in such a way that I don't end up spending the balance at the local shop getting it fixed up. So "indestructible" crossed my mind, but given my ability to break just about anything mechanical, that's more of a nice to have.

So far I've come across the following vehicles that I think might work:

• 'burban/Tahoe/Escalade - probably the easy choice but not fond of the size when having to park the things at the airport.
• Lexus LX470 or same generation Land Cruiser - drinks like a fish invited to a frat party, but supposedly unkillable other than, well, frame rust. 6500lbs tow capacity should be OK but is pretty close to the limit
• VW Touareg, something like a V6 Dieselgate one.
• Ford Expedition/Lincoln Navigator - not sure how well they tow, but the Excursion is simply too big
• Land Rover LR3 / same generation Range Rover meet the towing requirements and I do have enough backup cars, but I'm not sure this household needs two LR products.
• Toyota Sequoia (frame rust) or Nissan Armada - IIRC the Armada has the highest two rating of the bunch, but again these are probably one size too big for my needs.

Anything else I'm missing? I don't really need a pickup truck as I can just use the trailer if I need to transport something bulky and SUVs are a bit cheaper and in a sense more practical.

The GMs are the easy answer. 

I find the 2017 and newer Armada to be nice. These are Nissan Patrol based and not Titan based like the earlier generation. It's worth noting that the Infiniti version offered the Patrol based QX56 in 2011 (then rebadged the QX80. )

This means you might find a low mileage 2012 Infiniti cheaper than a 2018 Nissan but both are Patrol based. 

Make note, 4wd was not standard on these, many are just rwd and should be priced accordingly. The tell tail is a rotory knob on the center console. 

Wiki

Sample, quickly sourced 

Dodge Durango or Jeep Grand Cherokee? 

at that max tow the only options are the Armada/QX80, Durango, GC, or the GM options

I know you said SUV but I still kep an eye on these Fastenal Trucks.  They are 2wd, V8, single cab, long bed trucks in white.  They leave the factory specifically with no trailer hitch.  It seems to me they are never over worked.  

Right now, the Fastenal Site lists a 2016 in New Jersey with 42k miles for $14.7k.  In this new world, that seems like a good price.    That's a lot of low mileage reliability for a reasonable price.  Even if it needs 4 tires that shouldn't be $1000.   These trucks are plain but not completely stripped.  They do come with some chrome and interior features.  Is this too basic to be seen at a customer with?    They offer recent 4wds too but they do not stay in your price range.  

$24k for the same and I'll guarantee this is an old Fastenal truck too.  

$21k for another Former Fastenal truck

Ram will show you the window sticker from vin on sites like this.  The two truck above are:

$24k truck

$21k truck

Notice the last few items of the options.  Both are trailer hitch delete, spray beliner delete and fleet discount.  

I have an '04 Sequoia and a '12 TDI Touareg. For a while, I drove both and did more 'truck stuff' with the Sequoia. Here's a string of comments....  10' long lumber fits in the Sequoia and the interior is easy to reconfigure by removing or folding seats. The Sequoia burns about twice as much gas as the Touareg to do the same thing. About a month ago, my daughter borrowed the Sequoia and has kept it since. I don't miss it. 2005 and Newer Sequoias have significant improvements. Sequoia maintenance is cheap, easy, and well documented. The 4.7L V8 engines regularly last for over 500,000 miles. TowPig (Touareg) gets about 30 mpg cruising and about 21+ mpg towing a trailer with a Boxster on it. Touareg brakes are the same as a Cayenne -great. The Touareg interior is like a car/family SUV interior and does not fit big stuff very well. I took the Touareg to a VW dealer for some warranty work for a '#2 egr cooler bypass valve error' and paid to have them do the next-due service while it was there. They kept it for a week and only gave me updates when I called in to ask. It was dirty when I picked it up and had a check engine light again 100 miles later. I'm not going back to that dealership again and hope they are not all like that. I love the Touareg and do heavy towing with it regularly. It's easy to go 500 miles on a tank of diesel, but it can also be difficult to find a good 'auto diesel' station if you let the fuel get too low.

Love our '15 Cayenne Diesel.  Easily gets 30mpg+ on the freeway, 600 mile+ range on a tank of fuel, handles great, super comfy, looks nice.

What are the specs on your current F250?

If it is of the Super Duty generation,  '99-06 GM trucks feel considerably smaller to me.  I've had an '06 super duty and currently have a '03 2500 chevy and the chevy feels like a midsize compared to the ford.  A tahoe has a much shorter wheelbase than any fullsize pickup as well.

If '06 is too old for you, my vote would be Tahoe that has the 6 speed or better and do the DOD delete.  I only have experience with ford and GM so take that for what its worth.

I'll put my vote in for the Touareg TDi as well, our 11' doesn't have a hitch ( yet ), but it's the best highway long trip cruiser we've ever had.  Maintenance has been nill the last 2+ years and 25k miles, oil changes and fuel filters, haven't even needed brakes yet, but tires will need to be replaced by spring. 

Mine's always for sale.  Dirty ol fleet truck with mismatched body panels.  It's big, but will last until the sun burns out. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/16590/

In reply to Crxpilot :

I'm interested. 

MrChaos said:

at that max tow the only options are the Armada/QX80, Durango, GC, or the GM options

Ahem. 

How are the diesel cayennes for living life with 30 minute trips? Is that good for getting them into regen? 

One of my neighbors tows a lot with his 2013 GL450. 4.7 biturbo v8.

STAY AWAY FROM THE DIESEL GL. 

Fueled by Caffeine said:

In reply to Crxpilot :

I'm interested. 

Sent you a message, thanks.

Thanks for the replies so far. A couple of notes:

• My current F250 is a 96 single cab, long bed truck. I don't really have the space to store anything much longer due to landscaping constraints when it comes to turning the truck around.
• Appreciate John's suggestions regarding the Fastenal trucks - that would be a great idea if I was looking for purely a truck to do truck things. However part of me veering towards an SUV is that I would probably end up taking the truck/SUV for client visits (so I don't have to get another daily driver) and appearances matter a bit, so I'm looking for something that has a bit less of a "I'm here to fix your plumbing" and more of a "I'm here to help with your IT issues" vibe. Although fixing the plumbing might also be a lucrative career .
• Same goes for beater SUVs. I'm all for cheap vehicles, but said vehicle has to be presentable - doesn't have to be new, but beater truck/SUV would not be a good idea
• Not considered a Mercedes GL yet, might be something to look into a bit more. Hear you on that generation Mercedes Diesel.
• How hard is it to find a Touareg or Cayenne with the factory tow package? Some additional research suggests that the 7700lbs tow rating is only for factory tow package equipped ones, and of course every shady dealer advertises every SUV with a badly fitted U-Haul hitch as having a "tow package".

In reply to BoxheadTim :

I bought ours when the stop sale was over.  The dealer had 15-16 of them.  Most of them had the tow package.  You can add the factory tow package without too much difficulty.  Most don't have the air suspension, so if you're going to tow something heavy I recommend a weight distributing hitch...

In reply to BoxheadTim :

All 11' and newer Touareg's have a trans cooler and 850w cooling fan, beyond that I'm unsure how to differentiate between dealer port installed or Uhaul level.

I've towed a good bit with my 2012 X5. I think the tow rating is 7500. And I absolutely love the thing. 

Our '21 Durango R/T has the lower level tow package (2 speed transfercase) and still has the a trailer brake controller and is rated around 7,200 lbs IIRC. If you get the fancy select track type one for snow and mud it gets you to the 8700 lb rating with more coolers

I did a quick look at CL and FB

Make a lowball offer on a Cayenne GTS: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/599803687850864/?  https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ctd/d/washington-2013-porsche-cayenne-gts/7383688199.html

Here's a Touareg TDI: https://baltimore.craigslist.org/ctd/d/finksburg-2012-volkswagen-touareg-tdi/7375074762.html

BoxheadTim said:

• Appreciate John's suggestions regarding the Fastenal trucks - that would be a great idea if I was looking for purely a truck to do truck things. However part of me veering towards an SUV is that I would probably end up taking the truck/SUV for client visits (so I don't have to get another daily driver) and appearances matter a bit, so I'm looking for something that has a bit less of a "I'm here to fix your plumbing" and more of a "I'm here to help with your IT issues" vibe. Although fixing the plumbing might also be a lucrative career .

Pipes for water, pipes for bits, what's the difference? :)

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Indeed, pipes is pipes, innit?

Re the Durango/Grand Cherokee recommendation - when did the higher tow limit start? The ones I can find within the budget have a much lower tow rating and the new ones with the higher tow rating are well above the 20k budget.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

GL450