Just don't lose sight of the fact that this is a special case. A Ford Escape will easily tow an empty single-axle hybrid travel trailer, and even some of the smallest tandems, to ferry it back and forth from the campground to storage.
We're not talking about loading up the trailer and going on the road. We're talking about the "poor man's park model," figuratively speaking.
I'll add my .02, having towed a 3000 lbs popup (fully loaded w/ H2O) with my '02 Escape without issues the power to get going is there, but towing a TT might be too much due to the increased wind resistance at 60 MPH. With that said, I saw the other week an '07(ish) Escape pulling a Kiwi hybrid TT up a good size hill and it didn't seem to be having any trouble. Speed must have been around 45 MPH which was the limit for this road.
I would like to thank everyone for thier input, suggestions and comments. They are all gratefully received.
Here are my comments and views...
1. as noted by someone, this will not be a real rv, but more of a getaway place. We don't plan on pulling it all over the province. Our destination is about a couple of hours away on Lake Erie and we'll leave it there for the season then store it somewhere. The amount of actual towing will be minimal. If we change that, then I would not be surprised to have to upgrade my vehicle. At this point, we are a single car family, so I don't want a big gas guzzler in daily use. All that to just do 5 or 6 hours of towing for the year.
2. I understand and accept the issue of the frontal area causing load. The manual acutally specifies a 30 sq/ft frontage included in the tow limit of 3500 pounds. So my V6 might be a little stressed, but it sounds like it will handle it as long as I don't push it and keep everything light.
3. I'll have to get a class 3 hitch with weight distribution and sway and probably a tranny cooler as well.
4. Definitely, I will have to stay light and under 20 feet TT or HTT for this to work.
5. Not sure I buy the wheelbase thing being a huge problem, I see lots of TVs with realativly much longer trailers behind such things as a Ford Sport Tracs and things like that. So as long as I keep my miles down and my speed low, I think I'm ok.
Thanks again to everyone. I'll report back and let you know how it goes.
I met a guy in Edmonton who pulled a 17" hybrid that weighed around 2800 empty and he had an Escape. He said he had no problem towing it whatsoever so long as he was driving like a human and not trying to pull 70 mph.
I wouldn't do it. I owned an '05 Escape V6 with tow package and my manual specifically stated that the frontal area of the trailer could not be more than 30 ft squared. Pretty much limits you to a regular PUP. I believe even highwall PUPS exceed the max frontal area (although not by much), but they are too heavy by weight anyway. The HiLo's also exceed the max frontal area. I think one of the smaller TrailManor's could be acceptable.
I took a look at the '03 Escape manual and the numbers seems the same. It should be on page 144.
* This post was
edited 08/04/08 10:46pm by SilverEscape *
2005 Fleetwood Victory
2008 Acura MDX Elite (tow vehicle)
2005 Ford Escape Limited (former tow vehicle)
I'd be interested in knowing how your MDX tows. When you are cruising at 60 mph on a level highway, what gear are you in and what RPMs is your engine working at?
you will definitely be exceeding the limits of vehicle, and there are things you can do to limit the amount of strain you put on the vehicle 7 ft wide TT, keeping it very light, etc..
Keep in mind you'll be over on tongue weight most likely, especially after you put two or three people in the Escape, add the weight of the hitch, etc.
I still think you can do it, but I wouldn't want to subject one of my vehicles ot that type of 'overuse' more than a few times a year, and only short distances and not in extremely warm temps. Definitely wouldn't be surprised if you experience early drivetrain failures if you tow more than rarely with this setup, and the Escape is a robust vehicle overall.
02' Ford Explorer 4.6 V8 4x4, prodigy and equalizer
07' Crossroads Sunset Trail ST19CK
03' Ford Focus SVT my daily driver
04' Volvo S40 wife's daily driver
One of our HiLo club members here in Michigan tows her HiLo Towlite with an Escape. Another member tows theirs with a Jeep and another with an Explorer. None of them have had any issues and they have been towing with this setup for several years now.
Bruce & Terry
2003 F250 Lariet CC w/7.3 PSD Fx4 Full gauge pack
1990 27' HiLo (TT with a Vertical Slide)
2 Chi's, Spencer and Lexi
symyrozum wrote: I'd be interested in knowing how your MDX tows. When you are cruising at 60 mph on a level highway, what gear are you in and what RPMs is your engine working at?
Sorry, I missed this question! Are you still interested in an answer to this? If so, I'll check with my co-owner who did all the towing this summer. For the hour I towed, I honestly couldn't even tell we had a trailer behind us, the MDX didn't see to be driving any differently than without a trailer. But, our current trailer is approx. 3000 lbs loaded which is quite a bit less than the MDX's 5000 lb max towing capacity.
rpm2203 wrote: 2. I understand and accept the issue of the frontal area causing load. The manual acutally specifies a 30 sq/ft frontage included in the tow limit of 3500 pounds.
There's your answer. 30 sq. ft. is about the profile of a popup. A hybrid is going to be 50-80 sq. ft., depending on the model. That's double your rating.
rpm2203 wrote: 4. Definitely, I will have to stay light and under 20 feet TT or HTT for this to work.
As others have said, weight is important, but your primary issue here is frontal area. Aerodynamic drag plays a much greater role in flat-and-level highway travel than does weight.
rpm2203 wrote: 5. Not sure I buy the wheelbase thing being a huge problem, I see lots of TVs with realativly much longer trailers behind such things as a Ford Sport Tracs and things like that. So as long as I keep my miles down and my speed low, I think I'm ok.
Sounds to me like you're rationalizing against wishful thinking. The wheelbase "thing" is at least as important as other considerations, probably even moreso because of its role in stability.
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