Sir Buffalo
Long Island, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 03/23/2007
View Profile
 Offline
|
Again, you should not have any worries.........
Note, its not that your wife is 5'3" its that she is not comfortable w/ driving a larger vehicle. Thats okay.
Note, my wife is the daily driver of our TV....see sig and she is 5'2"
Sir Buffalo!
2006 Zinger by Crossroads 27BHS
2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 5.7
|
ccattie
Smyrna, DE
Full Member
Joined: 06/18/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
You have to be comfortable in the car you drive. If you are uncomfortable or anxious you can get in trouble. Folks here love the Tahoe. I think they are great but we are not considering one for the same reason. My wife just doesn't like driving it and she's going to be the one driving it unless we're towing. The Jeep is a great vehicle to have when you're not towing and in most cases that is like 95% of the time? I'd rather move a Grand Cherokee around town and in the city than a Tahoe.
-c
2006 Jeep Liberty CRD - sold
2005 Ford Expedition NBX
2002 Keystone Cabana
3 Dogs 1 DW
|
Woodstockdog
Woodstock, GA
New Member
Joined: 07/15/2008
View Profile
|
That's pretty much what my wife's thoughts are. She's seems open to either the Grand Cherokee or the v8 Explorer. I think she prefers the size and features of the Jeep. I think the Explorer might be a little bit better of a tow vehicle. It has a marginally longer wheel base and the max tow capacity is around 7300 I think, (though the Jeep has a large engine option also).
We'll most likely look at both and get which ever one we can find the best deal on at the time. I'm thinking something around the '05-06 model years.
Thanks again everyone for your advice.
|
Caddywhompus
Southeast WI
Senior Member
Joined: 06/27/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
What is the current tow vehicle that you need to upgrade? Just curious?
'04 Ford Freestar (Primary tow vehicle)
'05 Subaru Forester (Backup tow vehicle)
'65 Bethany popup (best popups ever made!)
Looking for a tow vehicle
Minivan towing
|
Woodstockdog
Woodstock, GA
New Member
Joined: 07/15/2008
View Profile
|
There is no current tow vehicle. We have an old Honda Civic that is on its last legs. Figured as long as we were in need of a new vehicle, we could use it as an opportunity to get something that would allow us to tow the camper we've always wanted.
We also have a newer Honda CRV that we plan on keeping, that we can use for the majority of our driving around town, and commuting. The Civic is just too small for our growing family and it's starting to act its age.
|
|
|
cmack
Massachusetts
New Member
Joined: 08/04/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
We haven't had any issues towing with our Explorer (7k lbs rating) and our TT weighs 5k lbs with water. We do keep the speed to around 60 mph. Pay attention to what the rear axle gear ratio is.
2003 Ford Explorer XLT (4.6L V8, 3.73LS rear)
2007 Freedom Spirit FS180
Equal-i-zer 1000# hitch
Voyager brake controller
Tow-N-See mirrors
SAF-TTE TPMS
|
mkirsch
Rochester, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 04/09/2004
View Profile
|
Don't skimp on the sway control and you'll be fine. Reese dual cam or equal-i-zer for sure. Between one of these advanced sway control systems, proper setup of said system and vehicles, and proper loading of the trailer, the whole rig will move down the road as a unit regardless of the TV's wheelbase.
The relatively low value of anecdotal evidence aside, a friend of mine towed a 30' travel trailer for years with a 2WD shortbed regular cab Dodge 1500. He was a complainer so if he didn't like the way it handled, you would've heard about it. IMHO, wheelbase has less to do with things than proper equipment and proper setup.
|
Sir Buffalo
Long Island, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 03/23/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
mkirsch wrote:Don't skimp on the sway control and you'll be fine. Reese dual cam or equal-i-zer for sure. Between one of these advanced sway control systems, proper setup of said system and vehicles, and proper loading of the trailer, the whole rig will move down the road as a unit regardless of the TV's wheelbase.
The relatively low value of anecdotal evidence aside, a friend of mine towed a 30' travel trailer for years with a 2WD shortbed regular cab Dodge 1500. He was a complainer so if he didn't like the way it handled, you would've heard about it. IMHO, wheelbase has less to do with things than proper equipment and proper setup.
Agreed.
But you have to admit? Just a questions I realize the proper set up with your WDH but a good wheelbase is great.
|
Caddywhompus
Southeast WI
Senior Member
Joined: 06/27/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
Wheelbase is not as important as the ratio of wheelbase to rear overhang (distance from rear axle centerline to hitch ball). One can't look at wheelbase alone without considering the overhang. Overhang can be thought of as the trailer's leverage on the tow vehicle, and the wheelbase is the tow vehicle's leverage against the trailer. The two are linked.
To determine towing stability, we want lower ratios. A pickup truck with 130" wheelbase and a 48" rear overhang has a ratio of 37% (not bad), where a minivan or SUV with a 120" wheelbase and only a 36" overhang has a ratio of 30% (much better). Or you could look at an extended van with a 150" wheelbase and a 60" rear overhang that has a terrible ratio of 40% (horrible). If one was looking at wheelbase alone you would have missed the whole story.
Read the link "Looking for a tow vehicle" before you commit to either of the vehicles you are looking at. It's very illuminating and could prevent you from making an expensive mistake. Picking a tow vehicle by tow rating alone is about the worst way to judge the real world towing ability of a vehicle. I wouldn't choose either of the ones you are considering for towing myself, but there are a few lower-rated vehicles that would do better and cost less.
|
Ductape
On the Road
Senior Member
Joined: 11/15/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
That's a good link Caddy. I'll agree with most everything he stated except "Twin I beam is better than a live axle".
I've driven -and towed with- a lot of both, and never observed that. Twin I and its cousin TTB are the worst.
Live axle is too broad a category anyway. Leaf; coil with twin radius; four and five link etc.
Personally I found the older GM's with the leaf springs and first steering link parallel to the frame steered and handled quite well.
Surveyor SV-234 >Equalizer> H3
Previously a fiver crew.
|
|
|
