Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

[jkust]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Just a thought..I've got a Rainier which is just a jazzed/fully featured version of the Trailblazer. The difference is it has a 5.3 liter engine in it with 3.73's and my boat weighs 4000lbs. (You couldn't get the 4.10's if you got the 5.3 liter v8 but you can also get the G80) As it is, it is rated at 6500lbs capacity. The Rainier is so competent and under loaded it begs for more weight to tow. While the Rainier did not come in the extende length, you can get a Trailblazer EXT or the Envoy Denali with the 5.3. The heavier the vehicle and inclusion of 4wd, etc, however in this platform, the less the tow capacity.
I mention this because there is no better value for the money than the GMT 360/370 series when fully optioned up. If I were you however, I'd look at the pre 2007 Tahoe/Yukon too.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Can you still get a diesel in the suburban?

 

[bigdee]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

my trailblazer is factory rated at 5000k lbs and it realy struggles on the hills around here.

What do you mean by "struggles"?

 

[emilsr]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Can you still get a diesel in the suburban?

No. I checked on this when I was truck shopping late last year; was thinking about replacing my old 1500 Suburban with a new 2500 Suburban but wound up with a pickup instead.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Picking up the new to me tow vehicle tomorrow. 2005 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer, 5.4 litre V8 4x4 with a 3.73 rear axle. Factory rated 4x4 to tow 8600 lbs. I think that should do it thanks for everyone's input.

 

[jkust]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Good choice. That should do it. Those are bargain basement but competent enough.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Its hard to find a good third row suv, with a V8 and tow package that doesn't have a ridiculous amount of miles.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I was going to say the 2nd generation BOF Durango would be a good choice...our '05 Hemi 4x4 Limited gets almost 16 mpg pulling my Bayliner at 65 mph and empty I can get around 22 out of it doing 70 mph. Tons of torque and 5 speed automatic help

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I know this is after the fact but I tow the outfits in my signature with a regular length Trailblazer 4.2 litre inline 6 with a 3.73 axle.
Regular driving is around 15 mpg around town
Highway is 20 mpg on it's own.
Towing boat outfit is around the 13 mpg mark overall.
Towing the 26ft travel trailer (5,000lb) ish depending on what we put in it gives around 9 mpg.
I have a big additional tranny cooler and an electronic adjustable brake controller fitted.
Vehicle is rated at 5,700 lb
Do you know you are towing ????.........absolutely. Does it do the job competently...... Yes.
That is unless you want to tow at what are crazy speeds in my opinion. 60 to 65 mph max for me.
Very satisfied with the Trailblazer for what we need it to do.

Good Luck with the new vehicle.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I know this is after the fact but I tow the outfits in my signature with a regular length Trailblazer 4.2 litre inline 6 with a 3.73 axle.
Regular driving is around 15 mpg around town
Highway is 20 mpg on it's own.
Towing boat outfit is around the 13 mpg mark overall.
Towing the 26ft travel trailer (5,000lb) ish depending on what we put in it gives around 9 mpg.
I have a big additional tranny cooler and an electronic adjustable brake controller fitted.
Vehicle is rated at 5,700 lb
Do you know you are towing ????.........absolutely. Does it do the job competently...... Yes.
That is unless you want to tow at what are crazy speeds in my opinion. 60 to 65 mph max for me.
Very satisfied with the Trailblazer for what we need it to do.

Good Luck with the new vehicle.

I think the Trailblazer may have been competent with my needs IF it would have had the 3.73 axles unfortunately mine only had the 3.42 and it is a HUGE difference dropping the tow rating all the way down to 4900 lbs. Then when you factor that everything around here is an incline it was just to much for it. The second time it over heated was enough for me to throw in the towel on it. Sometimes there is just no replacement for displacement.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I think the Trailblazer may have been competent with my needs IF it would have had the 3.73 axles unfortunately mine only had the 3.42 and it is a HUGE difference dropping the tow rating all the way down to 4900 lbs. Then when you factor that everything around here is an incline it was just to much for it. The second time it over heated was enough for me to throw in the towel on it. Sometimes there is just no replacement for displacement.

Oh, I hear you. The extended wheelbase reduces the capacity as does the axle ratio of 3.42 Too much for it for what you need.

 

[uh6tdrvr]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I think you all are missing the purpose of vehicle tow ratings. Tow ratings aren't about the vehicles HP ability to "pull" the load, its stopping it which is A LOT more important.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I think you all are missing the purpose of vehicle tow ratings. Tow ratings aren't about the vehicles HP ability to "pull" the load, its stopping it which is A LOT more important.

With respect, tow ratings are about a huge combination of things. Stopping power is just one of them but an extremely important one.
Welcome to iboats.

 

[gdeangel]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Late to the party here, but I'll chirp in anyway. I tow with a 9-7x, which was built on the same platform as Trailblazer back when GM owned Saab. It's configured with a 6 cyl, 4.2L, inline I believe. I think the rear axle is the 3.73. It has a auto-leveling air suspension. It's rated for 5500 lbs, and I believe it... after I tow the boat, I can't get the trailer off the ball as the rear rises up like a tricked out low rider - I have to wait around for the shocks to bleed down as I crank on the jack.
I tow around Ohio, local mostly, but there some few hills. We also hit the highway to inland lakes a few times a season. I've never felt the vehicle was underpowered, but you can certainly tell it's got 4000 lbs behind it. My first boat was a 1000 lb. Bayliner, and I towed it with a 92 HP Dodge D50. You have to make adjustments and favor the vehicle when towing... that's normal. If the engine temp went up during a climb (this was Upstate NY with a lot more hill), you'd see me with the windows down and the heater on.

If I started out bouncing around my little Bayliner behind a 383 Power Wagon, I'd probably think that my current vehicle is underpowered as well. But then again, the Power Wagon drove like a truck, so you still had to make adjustments, Today's trucks drive more like cars than trucks. As I read in Mother Jones a long time ago, you used to ask yourself when you bought a truck if you wanted to pull the boat down to the local beach like Barbie, or take it overland to haul timber, hay, etc.

I've towed my current boat around with a Ram 5.3 Hemi 300+ HP with axillary fluid cooling under the hood. It was like an elephant pulling a fly. A nice experience, but not strictly required.

I hope you get what you're looking for with your expedition.

 

[Ming15237]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Picking up the new to me tow vehicle tomorrow. 2005 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer, 5.4 litre V8 4x4 with a 3.73 rear axle. Factory rated 4x4 to tow 8600 lbs. I think that should do it thanks for everyone's input.

The Expidition should tow your weight just fine. One thing of GREAT IMPORTANCE with the Expidition is you MUST change the spark plugs on it regularly. The spark plugs on the 5.4L tend to break off inside the cylinder head, or blow out of the head on their own if left in for 100k miles. A good rule of thumb is change them every 40k and coat the entire metal portion of the plug with a quality antisieze paste. If the plug decides to stick in the cylinder head, do NOT force it you will only break it off in the head, the vehicle will then have to go to a shop that has the tool to remove the broken spark plug electrode from the head. The spark plug design on these engines is the single worse design I in the
Automotive industry have EVER seen! A destroyed cylinder head on one of these trucks is a 20+hour labor job, that's simply redicilious! You can look up online what the ford procedure is to change them, our method takes 2 days, we take each coil off the plug spray a quality penetrating oil in the hole and turn the plug about 1/8 to 1/4 a turn and do that a couple times leaving it 1/4 loose over night. This allows the penetrating oil to soften the carbon on the base of the plug enough for us to remove the plug the next day. After all of the plugs are out crank the engine over a few revolutions to blow any penetrant oil out of the cylinders and install new plugs.
Shy of this we have not really seen any commonly reoccurring problems with the 5.4l Expiditions. I myself am more of the GM fan more torque at lower rpm's with the 5.3L or the 6.2l we have in my wife's Yukon Denali, but just like the ford those engines have their own set of problems...lol. It really is "planned obsolescence ".

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

The Expidition should tow your weight just fine. One thing of GREAT IMPORTANCE with the Expidition is you MUST change the spark plugs on it regularly. The spark plugs on the 5.4L tend to break off inside the cylinder head, or blow out of the head on their own if left in for 100k miles. A good rule of thumb is change them every 40k and coat the entire metal portion of the plug with a quality antisieze paste. If the plug decides to stick in the cylinder head, do NOT force it you will only break it off in the head, the vehicle will then have to go to a shop that has the tool to remove the broken spark plug electrode from the head. The spark plug design on these engines is the single worse design I in the Automotive industry have EVER seen! . . .

Incorrect and misinformed. They are NOT prone to spark plug blowout on a 2005 model. They had some issues with the 2V 5.4L doing that in the late 90's, but the problem was corrected around 2001 or so by adding a few more threads to the spark plug hole. The 2004+ 3V 5.4L had an issue with the 2pc-design SPARK PLUGS, not the head itself. After changing the spark plugs ONE TIME and replacing them with the modern version, there is no more issue. You can add a thin coat of nickel anti-seize to the electrode (not the threads) to further combat any sticking. So after the first spark plug change (which has surely already occured on a 2005 suv), the problem is non-existent. Also, most people have had great success using an impact wrench on the spark plugs to avoid breaking the plugs on removal.

 

[Ming15237]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Incorrect and misinformed. They are NOT prone to spark plug blowout on a 2005 model. They had some issues with the 2V 5.4L doing that in the late 90's, but the problem was corrected around 2001 or so by adding a few more threads to the spark plug hole. The 2004+ 3V 5.4L had an issue with the 2pc-design SPARK PLUGS, not the head itself. After changing the spark plugs ONE TIME and replacing them with the modern version, there is no more issue. You can add a thin coat of nickel anti-seize to the electrode (not the threads) to further combat any sticking. So after the first spark plug change (which has surely already occured on a 2005 suv), the problem is non-existent. Also, most people have had great success using an impact wrench on the spark plugs to avoid breaking the plugs on removal.

I as recently as the last 30 days had a customers 2007 Expidition loose a drivers side spark plug from the cylinder head. Again that was a 2007. Not sure if your area does or does not use rock salt on the roads like we do in Pennsylvania, (which when combined with windshield washer solvent becomes HIGHLY acidic) but the water running off the windshield runs down under the hood landing on the driver side coil packs and eventually fills the spark plug holes with water (which in our area contains road salt) and combined with the electrical charge provided by the coil slowly but surly erodes the spark plug. I have seen this no less than 15x. We work on a fleet of Ford trucks for large nationwide company, and must deal with a company by the name of "Lease Plan" for all maintenance and repairs. The spark plug are such a common failure that we have been required by Lease Plan to replace them by 50k. As per your statement that I am possibly misinformed, I have attached a Technical Service Bulitin also known as a TSB in the automotive industry which is directly from Ford Motor Company, as you will note it is strikingly similar to the recommendation I gave to the OP and most certainly covers his year vehicle. http://www.phila.gov/fleet/Warranty Recalls/tsb08-07-06 FORD.pdf hope this helps clarify any perceived misinformation. My efforts are to assist the OP and help him have a long happy life with his new baby, NOT to call Ford out for what ultimately was a horribly designed ignition system, From the coils that are prone to failure, to the spark plug design, to the fact that they have not even taken proper precautions to properly direct windshield water runoff away from the top of the engines. All of the information I state is from my experience as a 20+ year technician (the last 10 of which I have spent as a "forensic technician" meaning I must determine the cause and fault of mechanical failures in motor vehicle. I am also a cause and origin expert with relation to motor vehicle fires. Of which it is well know that Fords spark plug failures are a common cause. When the plug fails you now have a cylinder blowing the very well atomized fuel onto a hot engine and in the presence of a still sparking ignition coil. This acts very similar to a blow torch effect, ultimately igniting other combustibles materials in the vicinity of the spark plug.
Please also note that on page 2 of the Ford TSB it states DO NOT use power tools of any kind including but not limited to "air power" tools in the removal procedure. Again simply changing the spark plugs on a regular basis negates all of this. Hope this helps.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I as recently as the last 30 days had a customers 2007 Expidition loose a drivers side spark plug from the cylinder head. Again that was a 2007. Not sure if your area does or does not use rock salt on the roads like we do in Pennsylvania, (which when combined with windshield washer solvent becomes HIGHLY acidic) but the water running off the windshield runs down under the hood landing on the driver side coil packs and eventually fills the spark plug holes with water (which in our area contains road salt) and combined with the electrical charge provided by the coil slowly but surly erodes the spark plug.

The TSB you linked was for the spark plug removal procedure which mentioned possible breakage of the spark plugs upon removal (OE 2-pc plugs). They aren't "blowing out of the heads" on the OP's 3V-engine. Rain water from the hood shouldn't be emptying on the engine unless you have a plugged drain line in the cowl. I have been working on these engines (both 2V and 3V) since 1998. I appreciate you helping out the OP, but changing the spark plugs every 50K is excessive in my opinion, except for the first spark plug change. If you follow the TSB procedure you linked, apply the anti-seize to the sleeve of the new plugs, and install to correct torque specs, you can run them to 100K per set just like Fords spec. I've also not seen many COP failures inside of 100K miles. You can buy a whole new set on eBay for $100 or so if it comes down to it; not exactly an expensive or time-consuming procedure.

 

[jkust]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Late to the party here, but I'll chirp in anyway. I tow with a 9-7x, which was built on the same platform as Trailblazer back when GM owned Saab. It's configured with a 6 cyl, 4.2L, inline I believe. I think the rear axle is the 3.73. It has a auto-leveling air suspension. It's rated for 5500 lbs, and I believe it... after I tow the boat, I can't get the trailer off the ball as the rear rises up like a tricked out low rider - I have to wait around for the shocks to bleed down as I crank on the jack.

I hope you get what you're looking for with your expedition.

That's funny. One of my tow vehicles is a 9-7x except I have the 5.3 liter in it and mine is pristine meaning everything works like when I bought it. As you know they cost 49k if you got it with every option but I opted not to get the 6.0 Ls2 option because of the awful mileage. The 9-7x tow rating maxes out at 6500lbs no matter if you got the 5.3 liter of the 6.0 liter v8 regardless if you had the 3.73 ratio on the 5.3 or the 4.10 ratio in the 6.0. In other words it seemed they put a stop to the tow rating max even though the 6.0 had a beefier tranny and a 100 more hp.