The Suburban does make a good tow vehicle, but for me it was too big to
drive around town and to work, so I ended up getting a V8(5.0) Explorer. I
have used it for occasional towing of IT and autox cars (MR2s, Miatas,
RX7s) on a heavy steel open trailer, plus wheels/tires, tools, wife, dogs,
canopy, etc. I'm probably towing well over 4000 lbs., and it has done just
fine, even in the West Virginia hills. I've been doing this for 3 years,
the Explorer has around 50K miles on it now, and no problems at all. It has
the full-time AWD and is excellent in the snow. It is great for ski trips,
bad weather, and hauling things, and it handles and drives pretty nice for
an SUV and is easy to park. I turn off the overdrive in the hills, but I
tow in overdrive on the flats. I get around 18-19 mpg freeway, 14-15 in
town, and 12 towing. I know some people who towed with V6 Exploders, and
they frequently had to replace transmissions, but the V8 Explorers seem to
do pretty well.
Brad Burns
'97 M3, A-stock
'98 V8 Exploder (with new Michelins)
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