Towing Capacity/Vehicle Help?

oldcuda wrote: Sollution 94-96 Buick Roadmaster

I am not questioning its abilities, but I will need at least another 30 years of age to consider this vehicle.

I can picture the conversation upon arriving home with one of those, "I thought we agreed on the sports wagon thing", "No honey, if your going to take the whole clan cross country you need the family truckster!"

storm34 wrote: Not the best from a seating capacity standpoint, but it'll get to the lake in a hurry!

Did somebody get some new wheels???

All I see is three portholes on a car that, if you insist on doing port holes, should have 4.

bnhbutts wrote: Pete - I found a Land Rover Discovery - 2003 for sale, but I've heard so many negative things about repairs and the costs of those repairs that it makes me shy away. Tim: I suppose an 2005 Acura MDX 4x4 would foot the bill too. Thoughts?

I own a 99 range rover. It shares a lot of parts with the discovery. Good solid heavy tow vehicle. But whoever is telling you stories about repairs are not lying! Electrical problems up the wazoo and replacement parts aren't cheap!!

That is your best bet right there.

skutsch wrote: Best Value Tow Vehicle: Jeep Liberty:

What do you Liberty guys think of end of the old Liberty and the coming of the new Liberty(or Cherokee)?

I've been eying a slowly shrinking supply (about 7) of brand new locally available 2012 Libertys with all the factory tow stuff:
Hitch
Wiring
Anti Sway
Heavy Engine Cooling
Power steering Cooler

They unfortunately have a bunch of expensive extras like leather and info-tanement stuff that I don't really need. They've dropped from 29kish to around 23k.

I'm on the fence, cause it looks like the new model coming towards the summer will be car based, so it will likely be less tow capable.

At the same time, it's supposed to get much better mileage, and be better in most other ways, so that may really kill the values of the 2008-2012 generation.

I'm a fan of my Liberty because it's a diesel, tows really well. I saw up above that I posted in April wiht 108,000 miles, now have about 126,000, still running very well.

I know a few people commented on the gas Liberty, and I'm pretty sure the tow rating is 5,000 lbs., but for any distance I don't know that you'd be happy towing with the 3.7 engine. I'm with Zach, it's just not an engine that I find enjoyable to drive, kind of noisy and lacking power, seems like there should be more bang from a 3.7 liter engine. Just my opinion from driving a few of them, I've never owned a 3.7.

Only a little OT, but sort of in the same family... anyone else see that the diesel option returns on the '14 Jeep Grand Cherokee? 3.0L TDI, 240hp and 420lb-ft. 20/28mpg on the 4x4, tow rating of 7400 lbs. Those are some impressive numbers.

Wtf is up with the fuel mileage killing awd though?

I looked at the new Jeep Cherokee in Australia when that new diesel was released about 12 months ago. Previously they were using a Mercedes diesel engine which was a good engine. The new engine is built by a Fiat based company VM Motori (177kW and 550Nm same specs as Tr mentioned but metric) it still used the old 5 speed auto. The auto is due for an update which is supposed to happen either late this year or early 2014.

I was most impressed by the test drive the engine was easily best in class for similar vehicles in Australia but in the end decided to wait for the better auto and to see if the new engine had any reliability issues.

The only thing that worries me about these new high tech diesels is service costs and reliability issues out of warranty. The turbos and high pressure diesel pumps are very expensive items.

after a season of use with our 08 liberty 3.7 towing the 200 sport (4500 lbs) I will say the Liberty can get the job done but I would not recommend it. I use it because it's what we have right now but it will be replaced in the not too distant future.

Surprisingly it gets between 13-14 mpg towing as long as I stay below 60 and that's in the flatlands. If I get in any terrain it really has to work and I don't think I want to push it that hard.

Suspension and braking wise the Liberty handles the big boat fine just doesn't have the balls to be a long haul option.

Nice my uncle has an old plow rig 6.5 that runs good after a new injection and lift pump. I'm glad you know all about the diesel liberty. I was thinking like the posts above and I picked up my gas truck due to the good economy of the new hemi. It gets the same average mileage as a unloaded dodge diesel and the fuel and maintenance is cheaper. Clearly it doesn't do quite as well towing mpg but with my less than 6 minute commute to work and anything else in town I need a diesel was not a good option. Diesels are great but when they break it costs lots more to fix. My weekly commute isn't what you would call ideal operating conditions for an hd Diesel engine.

Chrysler has never quite had it together with their v6 engines. I thought they would have learned from the 318 to 3.9. They chopped two cylinders off a good performing v8 made a under powered engine that had lots of inherent harmonic problems. This caused lots of problems especially with the timing sets. Made them stretch alot and make noise. It also made for a very noisy and not smooth running engine. They did the same exact thing with the 4.7 and 3.7. Terrible performer, bad vibrations,, and timing set problems due to stretching. All the oil galleys the 2.7,3.7, and 4.7 engines were to small by design. If normal service intervals are not observed especially with Dino non synthetic it creates lots of oil flow issues. 08 marked the requirement of semi synthetic. Anyways that's my Chrysler 6 cylinder rant.

Believe me David, if I could justify a diesel truck you'd see me in one every day. I've loved every cummins powered dodge we've owned. I miss one a lot in particular.

As you stated above Chrysler built two of the most durable overhead valve inline six cylinders ever made. Slant 6 225 and the 4.0 Liter. The only way you can kill a 4.0 is to not change the oil and just keep adding it until it turns the oil pan into a solid piece of sludge haha. I would like to drive a hemi vs a new diesel gc. Maybe I'll go fake car shopping haha.

You say renewable diesel. I see diesel being the propulsion of choice for vehicles in the future because of the easier outlets for renewable fuel and clearly the economy.

I'm thinking that maybe my best bet is to wait for the newer 3.6 Pentastar JGCs come down a bit in price. I do like the size of the Liberty, I have an 06 KJ body Liberty. And, it's great in the snow, parks easy in the city, is ok/adequate for the amount of towing I do. It's just getting up there in mileage. Agree, the 3.7 V6 is no Rolls Royce on smoothness or power.

After seeing NYNautique tow a San Juan a great distance pretty easily with a Nissan Frontier, that's definitely on my radar for capable trucks that aren't overly huge.

One cool truck the Australians get that we don't get it the newer style Ford Ranger (the reviewer aint bad either ):


I also found this to be an interesting article on non-full size tow vehicles. The 5,000 plus rigs are towards the bottom. Of those, it also seems the previous gen Pathfinders are a good bargain. I'm seeing many of them with low mileage at pretty reasonable prices.
http://www.rvmagonline.com/features/1008rv-top-15-light-duty-tow-vehicles/viewall.html

63 Skier wrote: I'm very interested in the diesel JGC, am following it closely. I have a feeling the sticker shock will scare me away, but so far I haven't seen pricing.

A similar Toyota Highlander Hybrid starts around $47K, gets 28 MPG, and can only muster 3500 pounds for towing.

And the interior is not nearly as nice as the JGC and it's not anywhere near as capable.

You would be able to get a great JGC Diesel for much less than that.

Chrysler is once again showing that they are the best, most grounded domestic manufacturer. They actually get it. Ford only makes gas guzzling, mediocre appliances that get recalled and GM....well, I'm in no rush at all to replace my 2006 Silverado.