Usually a 5k tow rating isnt necessarily going to come with a 500lb tongue load rating. You want around 12-13% of the total trailer weight on the tongue or you're going to have a bad time with sway.

So if you have a 3000lbs car, 1200lbs trailer (my $7k alum trailer is about this weight), 1000lbs in tools, straps, spare tire, race tires, etcs, then you'll realistically be pulling 5200lbs. That should have about 660+ lbs of tongue weight. Just not going to really control that load in your standard mid sized SUV.

You also need to look at the GVCW (combined weight). Its really common in the RV world to give some absurd tow rating that is totally unachievable considering the standard weight once the basics are being carried (like co-pilot, water, food, etc.).

Ive been pulling with an 08 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel witha 7200lb tow rating, and a Touareg TDI with 7800lb tow rating. Both tow like a beast with a 12% tongue weight and a weight dist hitch.

The RV tows like ****. Its white knuckle driving, dont recommend.

 

brakes i can handle. there's a company that sells massive 6pot and 4pot f/r calipers & rotors for the car i'm looking at.

what specifically did you mean by vehicle dynamics? as i think about it intuitively, brakes & cooling are what jump to mind foremost when I'm looking at anything that can tow. Will strength of subframe/frame/steel be tested if I address brakes & cooling and I'm a touch over in towing?

 

What car are you talking about in this case? Its my understanding that a tow rating is essentially the weakest link of said vehicle and it is most likely not going to be as easy as upgrading the brakes. Also keep in mind that just because you can do something does not mean that you should do it. If a car is rated for 5k I would not recommend towing 5k youre going to have a bad time. Not enough tongue weight and the trailer is going to wag its tail at speed. Too much tongue weight and your front wheels will be in the air and will be hard to steer.

Moral of the story dont bother unless youre using an SUV with a decent tow rating in the 7000# range at the very least.

 

For business reasons, we are heavily considering getting rid of the RV and open trailer for an F150 (babystroke) and ~28ft enclosed trailer.

 

Dallas you love your little diesels, lol Obvi tq is kind in towing but you think a 28' enclosed is a little much for a half ton?

 

got it, good info all.

7k for a 3 row launches me back into the full-full sized market, which is not what I'm looking to do, so it'll be back to the drawing board for me. I was looking at 18+ honda pilots, which tow 5k and have 3 comfortable rows, a really nice family car. Otherwise, the full sized would be the massive toyota sequoia. Awesome car, but not really practical.

Otherwise, split family hauler and tow car into two separate cars, but we're already pushing 4 cars right now. evo, m3, prius, corolla. Replace corolla with family car, prius with whatever the lady wants. Was thinking the family car could be all-in-one, comfortable daily, 3 row for future expansion, and weekend hauler for towing duties. Getting a car just for towing duty seems a bit impractical. Otherwise the evo's still fully a street car, this is more for a case where something happens on track, thinking about it more lately as I begin the move into road racing.

I hadn't considered sway, I assumed that was somewhat built into the trailer part. Obviously not planning to haul like 7k, just trailer (~1400), Evo (~3200), me, tools, etc. on those weekend excursions.

 

The touareg tdi was the best compromise we could find for a one vehicle does all. Size is perfect to fit just about anywhere, no prob driving in the busiest of cities, and interior space is really good. Plus its a really solid vehicle. Q7 is same chassis just like 15" longer.

Jeep Grand Cherokee (2015+) apparently had trans overheating issues but the 08 I had was a champ. Trans being the old 5 speed was the only real slug in that SUV. But on the freeway it never had to even downshift to cruise up the steepest of passes at 70.

 

touareg would be nice if it were 3 row, I actually looked at the Q7, which checks all the boxes, except the 3rd row access is the most wretched thing I've ever seen.

 

As Dallas already explained, what I meant by vehicle dynamics was the weight of what you're towing vs the vehicle, as well as the tongue weight.

Do not buy a vehicle for towing with the intention to modify it so it can handle towing your car. Buy something that is properly capable from the start. Not sure why you need a 3 row vehicle. Are you planning on having a small sports team for a family? Also not sure why you're against a full size SUV or truck as those will be the best options to comfortably tow with.

 

just for economical purposes. i guess i dont REALLY need a 3-row, just provides extra storage and there are a few family vacations we'd like to take as an extended family - us, her parents, my parents, etc. that kind of thing

 

You want to shove 6 full size adults into something plus luggage, you need a full size SUV. A 3 row mid size crossover would SUCK. By full size I pretty much mean a suburban...

 

kyoo, braking capacity of the tow vehicle isn’t that crucial with decent trailer brakes. What you need for safe towing is the trailer not pushing the tow vehicle around. More curb weight in the tow vehicle itself and a longer wheelbase are key. I used to tow with a 2 door Yukon, which is like a super short Suburban. It had the power, but you really had to steer that thing and keep highway speeds down. I later got a full size pickup and now a Suburban. Much safer and more stable.

 

 

I feel like my Touareg and old Jeep were both Upper-mid sized vehicles? Not sure where they fall but they certainly arent as big as like a Tahoe or Land Cruiser. Id say anything in that upper mid-sized is probably going to work just fine. Basically, does it weight around 5k lbs, then its big enough. Is it more like 4k lbs, its probably not going to have what it takes.