Looking to get a Nautique, Can I tow with a v6 SUV?

[SkiTower]

I always have a chuckle to myself when I read these posts. There is a very different viewpoint to tow vehicles in Europe v's the US.

How far do you tow? Usually big diff between States and Eu is travel distances.

[TravisFling]

I lived in EU for a long time and they would tow stuff all the time with cars and whatnot. Seemed crazy, but they couldn't believe that my family of four had four or five vehicles. Truck to tow with, car to drive, etc. etc. Crazy Americans, we are!!!

[GoBig]

Classic Travis! Yeah, I was young and dumb once as well and thought that I had to have an F350 PowerStroke 4x4 CrewCab long bed to tow my '97 sport. Granted, when I bought that truck, diesel was $1.25/gallon. I don't miss it, my wife's 4Runner is more than adequate.

[SkiTower]

Now that gas is $1.80/gal, my F150 does just fine!

[Nautiquehunter]

I tow with a 2001 GMC safari van this is my third one since 88.
4.3 V6 plenty on power holds 8 passengers and gets 14-15 mpg towing.
Best of all remove the rear seats and it becomes a camper.

[AirTool]

I tow with a 2001 GMC safari van this is my third one since 88.
4.3 V6 plenty on power holds 8 passengers and gets 14-15 mpg towing.
Best of all remove the rear seats and it becomes a camper.

Can your dog back the trailer in too? ...or just pull it straight out when you say "hit it"?

[Nautiquehunter]

I tow with a 2001 GMC safari van this is my third one since 88.
4.3 V6 plenty on power holds 8 passengers and gets 14-15 mpg towing.
Best of all remove the rear seats and it becomes a camper.

Can your dog back the trailer in too? ...or just pull it straight out when you say "hit it"?

Did you notice the white life jacket he has on? He loves to swim but when he was young he wasn't very good at it. Waves would go over his head the life jacket gave
some extra flotation. To answer your question he sucks at driving but he is great at
eating and sleeping.

[TravisFling]

Sticking to what you do best isn't a bad quality to have!!! In EU I would ALWAYS see these guys pulling boats with Audi cars or BMW Station wagons and I was just horrified after growing up pulling a four horse trailer with a Cummins turbo diesel long bed, or ford f250 diesel. They would just take their time, but tow the crap out of them things. I can't WAIT to get the boat behind the new tundra double cab, though... I put in some GPS and video for the haul to Cumberland!!!

[ally606]

I tow a massive distance of 10 miles to and from where I launch my boat so as long as I am towing within the allowable limit for the vechicle that is fine for me.. If I was towing hundreds of miles then yes I agree a bigger vehicle would be more appropriate in terms of longevity.

Some of the big differences between here and US are the price of cars (we pay alot more for the same thing) and fuel is a LOT more expensive over here. The result being we make do with what we have and it is very rare to have any more than 2 cars per household.

[SkiTower]

ally606, that's my point. Yes it costs a LOT more in Europe, but in the end you don't tow very far so you can get away with a smaller vehicle. I have a minimum 20 miles, but usually 60-180 miles depending on how much time I have.

[ally606]

Skitower, whereabouts do you ski/ride. I've spent a little time in Raleigh and Greenville? I'm jealouss the water must be nice and warm in summer compared to the frigid conditions we put up with!

[SkiTower]

Yeah, June-Sept the water is nice.

For afternoons I go to Buckhorn Resevoir outside of Wilson. If I have a good day I hit Harris Resevoir in Holly Springs. For weekends I go to Lake Norman, N. of Charlotte, and we spend a week or two at Whitelake every summer. We also like to explore other lakes when we get a chance (my wife really wants to go to Lake Keowee in South Carolina, I like Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia).

So yeah, I need a tow vehicle that can go the distance.

[Teleman]

This works okay for the few times a year. Even those times I have towed it across VT and NH. Not great but for the 98% of the rest of the year I have the smaller truck to deal with.

[CraigH]

I have towed in the past with everything from a V6 Cherokee to a V8 Mountaineer and a GMC Safari. I now tow my Air 216 with a V6 Honda Ridgeline. I have towed short and longer distances as well as through Mountains, etc and it actually does quite well.

As SkiTower mentioned, it often has more to do with wheelbase and vehicle weight than the horsepower (IMO). I would occasionally have the very unsettling feeling of being pulled a bit down a slick boat ramp when I had the Cherokee due to its relatively light weight, even though the power was fine.

[TravisFling]

I took a hard look at the Honda when I was buying a new truck and I wish I had posted here before I bought now. I just didn't think it would have the umph I needed, but they're really neat trucks. I also really wanted a big bed that I could put mulch and whatnot in. Tow a big trailer with the Porsche on it, etc. We;'re thinking of getting a tow behind camper, so in the end I'll probably be happy I have the bigger truck, which I love so far, I must say.