Pics of your tow vehicle?

With a 2400 lbs tow rating, is towing that that thing not like sticking an automotive carb on a 351 under a boat doghouse?

8122pbrainard wrote:

Pete - how did you illuminate the license plate.? I like how you did that for interweb posting...... how did you accomplish it? Was it just plain old flash or post-processing technology?

rebel skier wrote: With a 2400 lbs tow rating, is towing that that thing not like sticking an automotive carb on a 351 under a boat doghouse?

Richard,
I'm safe since the heaviest boat/trailer combination I have at this time is my X55 that comes in at about 2200lbs. The X rides on an old MC trailer that had a 3500lb spring set. It road so hard that I downsized the springs to a 2500lb set. I also just this morning checked with my Subaru mechanic in town and asked him about towing. He said it can handle more than the 2400 rating but they rate it lower so people don't overheat the trans when it's out of lock up, the torque converter is slipping and producing all the heat. I asked him about a aux. trans cooler and the response was it's not needed.

rebel skier wrote: It seems to me that people often don't calculate the weight of gear, beer, and gas into their equation.

You're exactly right Richard, I had 2 people this past summer tell me how much they were towing, and when I questioned the weight, knowing roughly what their boats should weigh, in each case the person wasn't adding the weight of the trailer. When I told them that their trailer was 800-1200 lbs. they were surprised.

How much abuse a small SUV's tranny will take is very vehicle specific. I have no experience with Suburu's so no idea what they will handle, but for the couple of miles Pete is towing it's not worth adding coolers, it's going to be fine.

john b wrote: Very true on the make/model specific trans capabilities, and they aren't always what you would think. Either. I burned out the trans on a 60K mile Jeep Grand Cherokee towing an M38 from Omaha to Chicago and it had a tow package and was rated for far more than I was towing. I think they have a much better trans than the 42re in the new ones like Alan's. I tow now and then with my wife's Ford Escape 2.0 and it's rated at 3,500. It has a 6 speed auto and doesn't have an O/D off switch. The manual says the electronic controls are all it needs. We will see, it has 270 lb-ft torque compared to the Subaru 170 lb-ft so it can give the trans a workout. Don't think I tow stuff with an automatic trans Ion, it's a 5 speed manual. The auto in most FWD little cars are generally weak.

The 42re wasn't all that strong, my 5.9 Durango had a 46re that was better but not bulletproof. My '06 Liberty CRD has a 545rfe, same tranny they used on a lot of 5.7 hemi vehicles, and though the transmission is excellent and up to the task of handling the torque of the diesel, they put a very weak torque converter on it. It tows amazingly well, but the last few times I towed it had chatter as the converter was failing so that would need to be fixed if I planned to do much more towing, my son drives it now and I doubt we'll bother.

Worth looking into for anyone planning to tow much in a small SUV, take the time to see what the transmission is and what the online chatter is about it's capability.

Pete, that's a really nice looking Subaru Forrester that you have. Subaru's are really well made vehicles.

I'm interested in the Toyota Sequoia for my next vehicle. What's all of your opinions on it?

I did a bit of looking around, probably same way you did, saw some forum posts about it. Strange that in the US they don't recommend towing but in Europe like you say it's over 4,000 lbs. I saw one comment that said the drivetrain is OK but brakes are not, but can't imagine the brakes are any different in the US.

Crazy to not be able to tow with a vehicle that solid and powerful.

The Haul Website gives you a little bit of a guideline:
https://www.uhaul.com/reservations/RatesTrailers.aspx

You have to go in and pretend that you're renting a trailer, to the point of putting in your dates and location.

Then, there is a tool that lets you put in your car. It then shows all the trailers you can tow (which is every trailer, I even put in a Mini Cooper and still got the largest trailer). But, the trailer/hitch/vehicle combos that won't work will have 0's next to how much weight you can tow or very low numbers.

Kind of a backwards way to get into it, but if you compare your boat to one of those trailers, it will give you a good approximation. You just have to do a little math.

DayTony wrote: That would look nice under the water at the bottom of the ramp. seriously? don't do it. Those are nice cars. don't put a tow hitch on it! If your dropping bank for a new benz than just bite the bullet and pick up an older used 2500 pickup and leave it hooked to the trailer as a dedicated tow vehicle. at the end of the day your in a much better place.

I've towed more with lesser vehicles, including my old E class with the diesel 6 that pulled the boat really well. My current E class has the 5 cylinder diesel that just isn't up to the task. I could give a **** how it looks, people are towing 3000lb trailers in England and getting 28mpg

Hussler wrote: DayTony wrote: That would look nice under the water at the bottom of the ramp. seriously? don't do it. Those are nice cars. don't put a tow hitch on it! If your dropping bank for a new benz than just bite the bullet and pick up an older used 2500 pickup and leave it hooked to the trailer as a dedicated tow vehicle. at the end of the day your in a much better place. I've towed more with lesser vehicles, including my old E class with the diesel 6 that pulled the boat really well. My current E class has the 5 cylinder diesel that just isn't up to the task. I could give a **** how it looks, people are towing 3000lb trailers in England and getting 28mpg

I understand that it "can" do it. I move my 24ft enclosed trailer(fully loaded) around my yard with a 10HP tractor. doesn't mean i would ever take it down my street. The question is never whether a car can phisically "pull" any said trailer or not. Because with the right setup and enough traction you could theoretically "pull" your house down the road with a yugo.

The part that a lot of people overlook is the vehicles capacity to stop the trailer from passing by them coming down a hill at highway speeds when the traffic all of a sudden stops. Those who have felt the feeling know that its not a good one.
The most important things to consider when looking at a tow vehicle is not the engine HP. It is the Brakes and wheelbase. In a perfect world the brakes have to be able to stop what you want to tow and the wheelbase has to be able to keep that trailer in tow and not the other way around.
It would still be a new Benz with a trailer hitch. which in england I believe they may say, is a bit "silly"

And I wouldn't trust the cars are manufactured the same, here and there.

Wheels for instance. We must manufacture wheels to a MAXIMUM strength here in the US to absorb energy in a crash. The same car with [similar] wheels in Europe are significantly stronger. This is what I was told from the largest cast wheel manufacturer in the US.

Just a little FYI about the Ford /Firestone issue. I was a traffic crash investigator during this period. The NHTSA determined after reviewing actual accident data that the Ford Explorers were no more likely to roll over than any other SUV after a tread separation. The issue was that Ford recommended the tire pressure should be 26 psi, relatively low compared to other SUVs. Firestone supplied a tire that was marginal at these pressures, and due to the low recommended pressure there was little margin between the recommended pressure and being dangerously under inflated. Owing to the average drivers neglect of the tires and the lack of tire pressure monitors that are common today, the tires were regularly run overloaded and under inflated causing an unusually high incidence of tread separation.

Just a heads up David. My friends call me Frank. That may explain a lot.
Doesn't leave much margin for error with changing atmospheric conditions and neglect.

DayTony wrote: The part that a lot of people overlook is the vehicles capacity to stop the trailer from passing by them coming down a hill at highway speeds when the traffic all of a sudden stops. Those who have felt the feeling know that its not a good one. The most important things to consider when looking at a tow vehicle is not the engine HP. It is the Brakes and wheelbase. In a perfect world the brakes have to be able to stop what you want to tow and the wheelbase has to be able to keep that trailer in tow and not the other way around. It would still be a new Benz with a trailer hitch. which in england I believe they may say, is a bit "silly"

Okay I can be more scientific about it
Jeep Cherokee Xj 5000lbs towing capacity
Wheelbase 101.4in
Weight 3386lbs fully optioned
Brake rotor diameter 280mm
Rear drum 254mm


E320 diesel Mercedes
Wheelbase 112.4in
Weight 3681 lbs
Brake rotor diameter 312mm
Rear Brake rotor diameter 300mm
(the Mercedes also has 4 master cylinders, one for each wheel and an electric power booster that keeps vacuum the same no matter the engine speed)


But anyways, uhaul was no help, I guess I should just go to the source and try contacting the highway authority. I'm really just concerned about the legality. You can get away with towing almost anything with anything in NY but as far as other states I have no idea