Another Tow Vehicle Discussion

[mls6722]

My 2005 Sequoia is starting to show its age. I am thinking of getting something to replace it, so I headed to the Ford dealer and took a beautiful f150 Platinum crew cab with ecoboost. My wife loved the auto deploying running boards. No one was comfortable in the rear seat. The truck was pretty nice, but it was much bigger than the Sequoia and I am thinking that we will probably look at another SUV rather than the f150. I am thinking of looking at the Grand Cherokee with the eco-diesel. Has anyone driven one? Thoughts. I wish they offered the 5.4 l in the four runner. Any suggestions?

[Ewok]

I'm not sure what your price range is but if look at the new Explorer with boost (2015 model) and the new sequoia. You can get a nicely broken in sequoia for new jeep Cherokee money. I'm not sure on pricing but if they stay similar, a new expedition is about 10k less than a new sequoia. The new Tahoe looks nice too but when we were looking at them last year they didn't have a fold flat third row seat.

[retox1]

If i was looking at a New tow vehicle i'd either be looking for a new GMC Denali 1500 crew cab with the 6.2 or a newer duramax 3/4 ton. There are rumors of Nissan and Toyota both coming out with 1/2 ton Cummins diesels in the next year or two that might be worth a look. I currently have a 2011 F150 Platinum Ecoboost that is an absolutely awful vehicle. There are a few nice things about it but its built like junk and has had more problems than all the other vehicles i've ever owned combined. If your a Ford guy, stay away from the ecoboost and get the 5.0. Better yet, just stay away from Ford altogether. I know that GMC/Chev have the new Yukon/Tahoe out now but i'm not sold on the looks yet. Seems some people love them. Might be worth checking out.

[Carter13]

My wife bought a Grand Cherokee Eco Diesel Overland and now has 1400 miles on it. She is getting 24 MPG on average and it drives really nice. Does stellar in the snow and has great safety features.
We have yet to hook the boat up to it but I have no doubt it will pull it fine. She used to have a 10 F150 and wanted something a bit smaller.
Funny you thought the F150 was larger than the Sequoia. We looked at a Sequoia and felt it was as large as the F150. Plus the third row seating was not a benefit for us.

[talltigeguy]

The new diesel for the Nissan Titan has so much talk that it seems like more than a rumor. It is supposed to be in the 2015 models, but is a smaller diesel than the traditional Cummins. No one has posted specs on the engine, so I have no idea what the towing capacity will be, but I am hearing something in the range of 9-10,000 pounds. But substantially better gas mileage unloaded than you can get with a gasser. Tundra is supposed to then get the engine in 2016. The lack of real numbers worries me that it may be a rumor too.

[Iwndr]

This should get interesting. ....

[Duncan]

I have always loved our 2009 Nissan Armada. The new ones have not kept up with the market though.

If I had to get a vehicle now, it would be the newly redesigned 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban.

In the future, when someone puts out a big SUV with a diesel, I will jump on that. As if that will ever happen.

[TeamAllen]

I am in a similar situation. We have an 04 Sequoia. I was thinking of replacing it with either a new Tundra or another Sequoia. With the rumor of a Diesel Cummings in the 2016 Tundra, I've decided to hold on until then. I will just keep listening to the rumors, maintain hope and enjoy what I've got.

[ChrisBarnes05-12-84]

I bought a new Chevy 1/2 ton this year. It has the 5.3 and I'm here to tell you it pulls the boat awesome. They increased the power and tow rating and it has proven to be the best tow vehicle I have had to date. Previously had an 08 Tahoe and an 04 1/2 ton. Can hardly tell boat is behind new one while my older tow vehicles would sound like a po'd weed eater climbing hills.

[Ewok]

One more vehicle to look at is the Dodge Durango, with the Hemi it's rated for 7200 lbs in the AWD Limited, R/T and Citadel trim lines.

http://www.dodge.com/en/towing_payload/2014/

[nmriordan]

Of course everyone has different vehicle needs with criteria that goes beyond towing so you’ll probably get recommendations all over the board, but since you mentioned looking at Fords I’ll note that I’m towing a 20v with a 2013 Expedition (with the deploying running boards that both our wives like… me, not so much….). Anyway, my 20v is obviously lighter than your boat, but I do traditionally have it loaded down pretty considerably with gear, supplies, gas, and a full SUV of people. We’ve only towed one summer with it, but were very pleased. Lots of hills in central Missouri and no issues with them. The MPG without towing is averaging 16… while towing it is south of 13.

I previously towed with a 2001 Silverado 1500. She’s still around, but not being used for towing the boat anymore. Because of the Silverado’s age it’s certainly not an apples-to-apples comparison, but no contest… the Expedition is much better.

Finally, I will note that although I’m not a big Dodge fan, my brother-in-law’s Ram 1500 is the best tow vehicle I’ve ever used. I’m not a car/truck guy and don’t know what’s different about the Hemi engine, but there were plenty of times that I forgot the boat was behind me… I’d look down at the speedometer and be shocked at how fast I was going and instantly do a sweep in the rearview mirror for red and blue lights.

[Dandy]

I started a thread a little while back regarding info on GMs SUVs and towing, see link below:
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...ight=ford+flex
After looking into these, and being set on the 2015 due to the fold flat seating above, I decided to look at other avenues due to cost. Chev Tahoe LTZ MSRP around $69K and Tahoe Denali's can hit mid $70s. I then started looking at the Toyota Sequia - still have to drive one and the Ford/Lincoln Line up. Personally I hate the interior on the Expeditions, but there are factory incentives of around $k and dealers are marking them down an additional $4k in our area. Nicely loaded Expy for around $48K. Becasue of coming out of my Flex Limited, I have really started to lean toward the Navigator (more Navis are ordered in with self leveling suspension). They are not being discounted as heavy as the Expys. Even though they are both outgoing models, they are a proven drive train with the 5.4L engine. Not sure if you were looking for a truck or SUV, but thought I would chime. I did contact Ewok and it appears that they have had good luck with their Toyota.

[skippabcool]

One more vehicle to look at is the Dodge Durango, with the Hemi it's rated for 7200 lbs in the AWD Limited, R/T and Citadel trim lines.

http://www.dodge.com/en/towing_payload/2014/

I have a 2013 Citadel with the Hemi but have not pulled with it yet since I have a truck for that. I have been wanting to try it out but I only got out three times last year.

[mls6722]

All great input - I swung by the Dodge / Jeep dealer this afternoon and just checked out the Ram, Grand Cherokee and Durango. The rear seats in the Ram looked no better than the F150. Carrying 5 comfortably is more important than a pick-up. I have loved my Sequoia. It is probably 85% the size of today's Sequoia and is the perfect size. It is a bit underpowered for towing, but I does the job. Too bad we need to go either smaller or larger. I compared the Expedition to the Sequoia in 2005 and not much has changed - Ford has more features for the same price - more options and more selection out there. Then Ford discounts about $8-$10K off the sticker. Toyota not so much. The Expedition with an Ecoboost might be worth a look.
I found this video on towing with the Diesel Cherokee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Li7w0keVI
not much information, but entertaining.
I think I'll be keeping my Sequoia another year while looking for a deal on a late model used Sequoia. It is not easy for me to part with $50K +++++ for a new vehicle just a bit better than the paid off vehicle I am driving today. Maybe I'll test drive a few more like the Cherokee and Silverado / Tahoe. Thanks for all the insight and ideas - keep them coming. Everyone has been so polite, it's like no one stirred any pot at all.

[tigeidaho]

http://cumminsengines.com/cummins-5l-v8-turbo-diesel
Directly from cummins. I have a Titan now and am watching this intently. I can't wait to see their new body style. The new dodge 1/2 ton will have better fuel mileage but the cummins is a torque monster.