Anyone have experience towing with mid-size SUV's? For '07 I will be towing a
2200lbs miata and a 1500lbs trailer. I'm not looking for a dually diesel,
Suburban, etc. A full size truck or SUV will not be practical for everyday
driving, nor do I have a place to store it. Currently I'm thinking a 1st gen
Durango. They appear large enough, and the the used car market has made them
very inexpensive. They don't offer much more interior room than my current
Jeep Cherokee, but have a larger wheelbase, hopefully more stiffly sprung than
the Jeep. I live in IL, and my longest tow is to Mid-Ohio. No mountains. It
will be used for everyday commuting and probably 2 tows per month (maybe one
local autox, and one road race weekend per month). I've never had much trouble
getting to highway speeds, even with under-powered vehicles. I'd also consider
another Jeep Grand Cherokee. Ford Exploders seem too small, and poorly
suspended (IMO). I can't think of any <$10k Foreign SUV that can handle
pulling.
To all the guys who say bigger is better - you're right. I just can't go any
bigger and fit in the garage. I also have experience towing and balancing the
weight.
Any recommendations on brake controllers?
Vehicles I've towed with in the past:
Jeep Cherokee 4.0L - OK power, but too light, squats with ANY tongue weight
'94 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2L - no complaints
'05 BMW X5 3.0L - no complaints, 5spd auto made use of the available power
very well
Ford Ranger 4.0L - too light, auto trans felt over-worked
'88 Ford F150 4.9L I6 - worked pretty well, man trans had decent gear ratios
'86 Ford F150 4.9 I6 - Carb'd engine heat soaked real bad, lost power once
warm. 4 spd man trans had nasty ratios. oh the stories...
Btw I don't plan on keeping it more than a couple years and maybe 20k miles.
FS a 27k mile Honda S2000 6 spd trans, make offer
FS Four brand new Nitto NT-01's, 275/40/17, make offer
Allen Skillicorn<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
847/417/5611
847/271/8175
www.allenskillicorn.com
"Racing is LIFE..everything before and after is simply waiting" - Steve
McQueen
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