What is good SUV to pull nice camper for two

bushmaster1313

bushmaster1313

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We are not getting a pickup and a Suburban is too big.

What SUV to double as a primary car and a tow vehicle for a nice camper (kitchen toilet shower AC sleep two comfortably)
 
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My family towed when I was younger
I have considered it recently
and have done a good amount of research

First decide on exactly the trailer lenght/weight/GVWR you want
Then look at SUVs from your preferred manufacturer

Also, Safely towing a trailer is related to the wheelbase of the Tow Vehicle
Short wheelbase Shorter trailer

Also good Brakes/Brake Controller and Weight Distribution Hitch are Vital

Here's what to look for in a towing vehicle | Autoblog
 
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I suggest that you consider the tow vehicle in the same way I consider my tools. It is always better to have more capacity than we think we might require. It is never a good idea to use any tool to the limits of its capacities on a regular basis.

A tow vehicle may have a manufacturer's rating for pulling 7000 lbs., or it might have a rated capacity for 12,000 lbs. The vehicle rated for 7000 will work at or near rated capacity nearly all of the time, and may easily be overcome by hills, mountains, high altitudes, or other challenges. But the vehicle rated for 12,000 is likely to pull the same load with ease under nearly any conditions, and with far less strain on the engine, transmission, cooling system, etc.

More than you think you may need is always a good thing, in my opinion. Beyond that, all I can add is that vehicles with a longer wheel base and wider track are generally more stable under any and all conditions.
 
I am looking for a shorter Airstream, say 18' or less. I'll start with the P/U I have but will go to a Tahoe ASAP. There is just the 2 of us, but the possibility of some of the 8 grandkids!

Ivan
 
I'm with LoboGunLeather. There is really no such thing as too much capacity. Everything you do with a trailer is impacted - starting, stopping, curves, hills, every condition. I would much prefer a pickup with a 5th wheel if I were going pull a trailer - there is a reason most OTR trucks are set up the way they are. (My real RV preferences run a different direction not relevant here.)
 
Very few small- to mid-size SUVs have a towing capacity over 5000# so I would check the total weight of your camper first before selecting a tow vehicle. And as mentioned earlier, it would be better to get a vehicle with a tow rating as much over the weight of your trailer as you can. It is much easier and safer when you are towing at 50-75% capacity than if you are towing at 90-100% capacity. Unless you actually take your camper to a scale after you have it fully loaded you may not realize just how fast the weight adds up.

A few other towing preferences I have cultivated over the years:

- I prefer a pick-up with a shell or bed cover over an SUV. The dirty, wet, greasy and smelly stuff gets thrown into the bed instead of in your vehicle or in the camper.
- Rear-wheel-drive is preferable over a vehicle that is front-wheel-drive only.
- 4-wheel-drive is preferable over all-wheel-drive.
- The longer the wheelbase the better.
- A full-size pick-up with a very short bed (they offer beds now in the 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 foot range) would be preferable over a mid-size pick-up with a standard size bed.
- There are three important features to consider in a pick-up truck: Crewcab, crewcab, crewcab. Did I mention get a crewcab?
- I would only consider towing with a vehicle that is built with a body-on-frame. Many smaller and mid-size SUVs use a Unibody (where the body IS the frame) to save weight. Essentially, these are not true trucks, but only a family sedan with a very high roof.
- I don't care what the salesman, your best friend, your brother-in-law or any article on towing says, don't get any truck or SUV that you will tow with that has a 4-cylinder engine. Period.
- Invest in a good, modern weight-distributing hitch with sway control, even if you don't think you will need it. Yes, they do make a world of difference. I can strongly recommend the Recurve R3 (or the R6 if you can find it on a really good sale). I use the R3 even though my truck is a 3/4-ton diesel towing at less than 50% capacity and I would never consider towing my camper without it.

Good luck!
 
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My short answer would be none.

How “small” of a camper? How heavy? How long? It’s not just a weight factor/issue, length plays a role in this, wind can be your enemy. Some under rated little suv won’t handle or more importantly stop as well as say at least a half ton or suburban.

I’ve been shopping for campers, some of your 20-22 foot options average around 3500-4500 pounds on your lighter side. I’d consider that “smaller” unless you went with one of those little things with no kitchen or a pop up, but have you priced those? Might as well buy a real camper for the money.

My next point, I had a 2011 Silverado with the 5.3 and 3.73’s our back. Iirc it had the max tow package rated for almost 10k. I hooked about 8k to it once, power wise it did ok. The *** end was sagging, the front end felt kinda light and sketchy and stopping was interesting until I cranked up the trailer brakes.

I traded it last fall for a 2017 3/4 ton 6.0 gas, I’ve hauled the same load and it’s night and day difference. Better power, feels a lot more stable and stops a lot better without having to crank up the brake controller which means less wear on my trailer brakes. This truck is rated for 14k which imo is a stretch, not saying I couldn’t do it but I’d imagine if doing so every day you’d smoke a tranny and a set of brakes pretty quick. If I wanted to pull that much Often I’d suck it up and go a with a diesel.

I’m on the road every day for work and see lots of folks towing stupid big stuff with vehicles they shouldn’t. Last fall I saw somebody towing a 20 plus foot camper with a Honda CRV smh. I’ve been down around the Ozarks and have seen people pulling massive fifth wheel campers with these Eco boost half ton Ford F-150’s.

I take “tow ratings” as a suggestion, all your newer vehicles mainly trucks are going for the nose bleed section. Just because that’s what it’s rated for doesn’t mean you should unless you’re getting into HD trucks. I’d suggest at least the suburban or a half ton truck and keep the camper under the 5k mark. Lastly you should check out the big truck big rv channel on YouTube. He has a awesome channel and has some valuable info on there.

Good luck
 
Why no pickup? A crewcab pickup with a topper is the ideal vehicle to tow a hitch mount camper. If you are think a small camper trailer there won't be room to stow the grill, lawn chairs and all the misc gear, so into the back of the truck it goes.

Shop for the camper trailer first. You may decide you don't want "small"
 
Wife and I own a camper similar to what OP describes, it’s 26 feet long and weighs 6800 pounds empty. We tow with a Chevy Silverado half ton and have zero problems.

As others have mentioned, a weight distribution hitch makes a big difference and is much easier on the tow vehicle. You will NOT get maximum tow capacity out of any vehicle without having a weight distribution hitch.

Enjoy your camper and truck shopping!
 
I subscribe to the theory that bigger is ALWAYS better so I tow a 30’ camper (it’s a lightweight, only about 8500 lbs.) with a 1 ton Chevy Duramax pickup. I also use load levelers and a sway bar as we have a lot of wind here. I can tow that rig over the Big Horn Mountains and not even know it’s there. I think maybe I could pull a house off the foundation if I were inclined to try. 😜 I’ve seen too many people buy a smaller vehicle that was “rated” for X pounds of towing, then have nothing but trouble when they try to tow a trailer that is just under that rated weight. I say get something that is “rated” at about double what you’re going to pull. Then you can be pretty sure you won’t have major problems. And, as noted above, do not go with a 4 cylinder engine under any circumstance.
 
Determine what trailer you want FIRST. And, just like a gun safe, you are going to wish you got something bigger. :)

Having towed vehicles with an SUV, there is not a trailer that fits your description that I would tow using an SUV again. I did for 6 months. I now tow with a 1/2 ton truck that on paper is towing a trailer that is about 50% capacity.

This past Fall, a truck caught fire going to a campground in GA. Too much trailer, not enough truck. Fortunately, the trailer was saved. Family was truck shopping the next day.

I am not as mechanically knowledge as others above, just relaying my experience. I would not tow with an SUV unless it was a pop up, or something of that nature.
 
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I have to agree with more is better with the tow vehicle. We pulled a 26’ trailer with my Chevy 1500 with IIRC a 5.3 v8. It worked but struggled in the mountains and longer trips.
I replaced it with a Ford F-250 and the difference is easily noticed.
It would have eaten up the Chevy in time.
Much depends on where and how often you will tow the trailer. Short occasional trips on flat terrain are much easier on the tow vehicle than long hilly trips.
And as mentioned, a load leveler on your hitch will work wonders and ease the workload.
You can do it with a smaller vehicle but you’ll need to size your trailer accordingly.
 
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Be very wary of car salesmen and RV salesmen. They are bird of the feather.

We were looking for a big pickup once and the salesman kept reassuring us it was big enough because the engine was a Hemi!

We were looking for a bumper pull camper and the salesman kept reassuring me that my truck was enough to pull the camper. When I pressed him for why he thought that he said that if they made a bumper hitch for a particular model than that meant the vehicle could tow a camper.

A common mistake I see people make is they do not have enough vehicle to comfortably pull their camper. This is especially noticeable even when pulling in low hills.

My suggestion is first shop for a camper. Get actual empty and loaded weights.

Once you know what camper you want then go shopping for a vehicle. I suspect many of us learned the expensive way by starting out with my underpowered vehicles. You can not have too much vehicle but it is easy not to have enough towing capacity. You have already limited your options by not wanting a pickup.

Our tow vehicle is a Chevy 2500HD with 6.0 liter gas engine and factory tow package. When we were looking for a truck my wife asked what we will we do with a truck that big? I replied anything we want. Not once in the last ten years either one of us has wanted a smaller truck for towing. (We pull horse trailers which can get heavy when loaded).

Without more information a pop-up camper might best meet your needs.
 
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bushmaster1313 said:
We are not getting a pickup and a Suburban is too big.

What SUV to double as a primary car and a tow vehicle for a nice camper (kitchen toilet shower AC sleep two comfortably)
Click to expand...

2021 Dodge Durango R/T + Tow N Go Pkg // 5.7L V8 // AWD will pull 8,700 lbs.

Prices start around $52K for brand new.

We had a 2013 R/T and loved it, would buy another one in a heartbeat!

2021-dodge-durango-body-builders.jpg.image.1440.jpg


2021 Dodge Durango | SUV for Towing
 
Here is another Travel Trailer line from Forest River that I am considering
they're about the same dinmesions as the RPod
But give you more room because their squared off rather than rounded

Flagstaff E-Pro | Forest River RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes

pawngal said:
Look over this line of camper trailers if you are determined to have an SUV.
But I doubt the wife would be very pleased with the shower & kitchen.

r-pod | Forest River RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes
Click to expand...
 
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