Tow Vehicle options

[Chris24]

I am currently towing a 2016 Wildwood 28DBUD that weights 6100 dry and is about 7200 loaded up and has a tongue weight of 805 (a beast). The two vehicle is a 2013 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4L Triton V8 and eavy duty tow paxkage equipped. We went on 9 trips this year and overall towing seems ok, but hills scare me for future trips. I think the Navigator is at its capacity. I know a pickup would be the best, but I prefer to have an SUV. I would switch to another SUV if it made sense, but I am not sure it would.
Wanted to get some thoughts on replacing the Navigator with one of the following:

2013 Yukon Denali 6.2 L V8
2013 Cadillac Escalade 6.2 L V8
2013 nfiniti QX 56 has 400 HP

Again if it won't make much difference in towing, I won't switch. Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[nukerj]

The GM 6.2 is not the same motor as the ford 6.2, You will really need to sit down and look at the numbers as well as the vehicle weights. Pick one that gives you the greater peak tq at a lower rpm, which makes it more usable for hill climbing.

Another option is to go with a ford excursion diesel, best of both worlds.

I know gm is rolling out a duramax version of the Yukon as well.

I have a 2012 duramax gmc denali and it runs smooth , quiet with plenty of power.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Chris24

Again if it won't make much difference in towing, I won't switch. Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

It won't make much difference if you stick to a half-ton SUV. And nobody makes a 3/4-ton SUV today. Back in the day, both Ford and GM made 3/4-ton SUVs that would tow your trailer without bein overloaded, but nobody makes one today.

A crewcab pickup with fancy trim is probably your best bet. Have you looked at a 2017 Ford F-350 SRW with King Ranch or Platinum trim? They're as nice as your Lincoln. Add a camper shell over the bed, and you have a really nice hauler, with no concerns about overloading your tow vehicle.

But if you need room for more than 4 adults to ride comfortably, then consider one of the new European-type vans, such as the Ford Transit.

Just for grins I build and priced a 2017 Ford Transit commercial van on Ford.com the way I would order it for me. Lots of other options are available, but I'm not willing to pay for them. This van has leather front seats, but a bare metal floor behind the front seats. You would need to add floor covering and another row of seats if you went this way. I did that back in the day, and had a wonderful family hauler/towing machine for a small camper. That Transit van is also available as a passenger van with 8 or more seating positions, but the GVWR of the passenger van is limited to a lot less than the one I "built" on Ford.com.

With the interior upgrade pkg and the front/rear AC, the interior is finished the same as a passenger van, except for no back seats and the bare metal floor behind the front seats. On my family van, I added a layer of plywood to smooth the rear floor, then a layer of 2" high-density foam, then covered it with high-dollar plush carpet to result in a nice bed for my two kids. Then in a bone yard I found excellent back seats that matched my front seats. Then I added a separate sterio system with headphones, so the kids could blow out their brains with their rock music while DW and I enjoyed our "elevator" music.

Here's the 2017 Transit commercial van I built on Ford.com:

$36,805 Base MSRP
$6,275 Total of Options
$1,195 Destination Charges
$44,275 Total MSRP
Model
$36,805 2017 Ford Transit Van XL, Low Roof, Regular Wheelbase, 3.5L EcoBoost® V6 Engine, 6-Speed Automatic Overdrive with SelectShift® Transmission, 9500 GVWR, 3.73 Limited Slip Axle Ratio
$1,495 Interior Upgrade Package
$360 Exterior Upgrade Package
$485 Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package
$300 Privacy Glass
$175 Rear-Window Defogger
$0 Spare Tire and Wheel
$0 Tow/Haul Mode with Trailer Wiring Provisions
$450 All-Around Windows, Fixed $450
$220 Long-Arm Power Heated Mirrors with Turn Signals (tow mirrors)
$0 16-inch Steel Wheels with Full Silver Wheel Cover
$0 235/65R16C 121/119 R BSW All-Season Tires
$0 Front and Rear Vinyl Floor Covering
$0 Vinyl Sun Visors with Illuminated Vanity Mirror
$230 Trailer Brake Controller
$0 Cruise Control with Message Center
$0 Lane-Keeping Alert with Driver Alert
$0 6 Speakers (4 Front / 2 Rear)
$1,270 AM/FM Stereo with SYNC® 3 and Navigation
$1,290 Pewter Grey Leather, 10-Way Power Driver and Front-Passenger Seats

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[RGene7001]

If your rig is stable and and not grossly overloaded hills should scare you the least. They definitely dont scare me with 6 cylinders and about 6000 lb behind. Been there, done that. In Vermont and North Carolina. Did not have a chance to go to Colorado where elevations may be well above the sea level. Triton is not the best and brightest motor in the world but I cant imagine how it may be unable to do the job. Definitely, it will spin around 3500-4000 rpm but it will not hurt if the vehicle is well maintained and has heavy duty cooling system.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

$0 235/65R16C 121/119 R BSW All-Season Tires
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That tire size is misleading unless you pay attention. That tire has load range E, not C. That's clarified by the 121/119 load rating. So you won't need to upgrade tires on that van to haul up to the GVWR of the van.

Here is a full description of one tire with that size:

Firestone Transforce HT
Highway All-Season
Size: 235/65R16C
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Load Range: E
Serv. Desc: 121/119R

The load ratings are the numbers, 121 for single rear wheels (SRW) and 119 for dual rear wheels (DRW). The R is the speed rating. 121 load rating = 3,195 pounds max load. R = max of 106 MPH.

I don't know what that "C" stands for in the tire description on Ford.com, but it's not load range.

Maybe it's just a typo and they meant to put 235/65R16E on the sidewall. But load range is an obsolete term, replaced a couple of years ago by service description. The tire manufacturers continue to include load range on the sidewall of LT tires because us old folks understand it, and probably don't understand what 121/119R means.

If you don't know what the service description means, click on the following link: and get educated:

Tire Tech Information - How to Read Speed Rating, Load Index & Service Descriptions