Better Tow vehicle - big SUV or 1/2 Ton Pickup

[NoBones]

Over the last 30 years of tugging my 20 all over the state, every vehicle got
around 11-12 mpg towing ......

Thinking back

1988 Jeep Grand Wagoner 360 CI 8-MPG
(terrible handling 'cause of short wheel base)

1990 Dodge Ram Charger 318 CI 8-MPG (same as jeep short wheel base)

1993 3/4 Suburban 350 CI 12 MPG towing or not....

1994 3/4 4WD 350 CI Chevy 2500 P/U 11 MPG

1999 1/2 Dodge Ram 360 CI 11-12 MPG

2003 Dodge Durango 4.7L 11 MPG (actually tows well with short wheel base)

2016 3/4 4WD Dodge Ram Cummings Turbo (full delete) 23 MPG

Out of all of these my favorite was the 99 Dodge Ram !!

So long story short, good friend & I heading to Miami Dolphins game
in his new 1977 Olds Toronado with the 455, asked him what his MPG was?
Response was, if I found out it was 1/2 of what it should be what do you think I'am
going to do... Turn around and go BACK !

That has stuck with me ever since.

[FishStretcher]

96 F250 with 7.3 diesel gets about 15-16 MPG at 70MPH with the 20 footer behind it and a full bed. Long wheelbase tows great. Not so great in tight spots. Stays in O/D. I don't tow much past 70MPH (state speed limit north of here).

2WD. It will haul up the ramp starting in 2nd gear! There is no low range. Only did that once. The torque converter wasn't loving it.

Doesn't stay in O/D with the 25 footer.

Will get 22MPG unloaded.

It has ABS, and that's about it.

[bumpdraft]

I used to have an old white (oj) Bronco with a manual tranny and straight 6 and in low 4 wheel drive (granny gear) it would pull my boat up the ramp without having to put foot on gas. It felt like I could pull anything out of the water, but, it pulled lousy down the Interstate. Almost put it in the ditch one time when a semi passing me almost pulled me around.
I saw on the news that Ford was discontinuing several car lines and concentrating on p/u and suv's, since thats what was selling with the low gas prices. If gas prices keep going up, I suspect there to be more trucks on the market if that trend continues.

[jtharmo]

I am currently pulling with a manual transmission 4x4. It’s a long wheelbase Ranger and a Seafari 20 is about as much as I would pull with it. It has F150-sized brakes and 8.8 rear end so it’s stout enough just kind of short and narrow. With 4.10 gears and a super low, low range I also idle up the ramp in 1st and just bump the gas in 2nd.

To answer the original question, I wish I looked for an SUV rather then the pickup. I love my Ranger but as a family man, we often take 2 vehicles to the ramp when everyone is going. For the few times I need a pickup, I found that the Uhaul $20 per day around town for pick up or trailer to be a honest deal. I have done it twice. Speaking of Uhaul, the 15’ box truck got, you guessed it, 11 mpg from Homosassa to Buffalo last year.

[manitunc]

They are supposed to be bringing back the Bronco line, based loosely on the new Ranger pickup chassis.

[DonV]

"Speaking of Uhaul, the 15’ box truck got, you guessed it, 11 mpg from Homosassa to Buffalo last year"

I'm seeing a pattern here on mileage, 11 mpg seems to be a popular number. Well maybe not when you have to buy gas!

[FLexpat]

• My 89 full size Blazer (350/4WD) was really good at towing my 20' Bertram which weighed about the same as the 23. My recollection is that mileage was marginal.
• Step-daughter's '05 Cadillac Escalade (4D 'pickup wannabe' with a 6.0L and AWD) even though it has a 7300lb tow capacity is ok for towing smaller loads but poor for anything over ~4000 lbs; it really struggles with a small (2) horse trailer and handling while towing is squirrely with the short wheelbase and soft air suspension. 15mpg not towing, 11mpg towing
• My '14 2500 Silverado diesel (3/4 ton) w crew cab and 6.5' bed doesn't care if anything is behind it and tows (and stops) a 10,000lb horse trailer at 7000' altitude and up mountains or at stupid fast speeds just fine. I did put on slotted rotors to keep from warping them on steep grades. Significant overkill for a boat though. Depending on speed; 18-22mpg not towing, 10-14mpg towing (really drops over 80 though).

[agsmoke]

I have had pickups and Suburbans and IMO you can't beat a 2500 (3/4 ton) Suburban for towing a boat and retrieving a boat on a steep ramp. A 2500 Suburban comes with a 39 gallon fuel tank for extended range.

[SailorChlud]

I'm in the suburban camp. We've had two, a 1993 that lasted until 2007, and a 2002 bought 5 years old to replace it in 2007 - at a price of $15,000 with only 70,000 on the clock. Now a comparable 5 year old suburban is $35,000 ! Crikey!

But, I have 3 boys, 2 of around 6 foot tall, and the associated duffel, toys and such that goes with that. Suburban all the way. And yes, the 4WD is sooo useful when the river mud coats the ramp at low tide!

[Ed]

My tow vehicles:

1996 Ford Bronco XLT with the 5.8L. Awesome truck to drive. Loved to have the rear window down while driving. Towing was so-so. Once the dreaded rust bubbles showed up on the rear wheel wells, I sold it with 155,000 on the odometer.

1995 Chevy Tahoe with the 5.7L. I bought it with 15,000 miles on it. I blew a transmission at 50K and another at 105k. Unknown to me at the time, these were prone to transmission problems due to a design flaw. I held on to it longer than I wanted because I wanted to recoup my investments in the transmissions. Awesome vehicle in the snow with Goodyear Wrangler TD's. Other than that, I thought it was a piece of crap.

2001 Ford F250 Lariat Crew Cab with 5.4L. I bought it with 39,000 miles on it sight unseen and had it shipped out from California. No problems with spark plugs spitting out or breaking off in the motor. Tows great locally - if I was doing a lot of long distance, interstate towing I would want the diesel. Wheel base is long for close quarters maneuvering but you get used to it. Incredibly strong, well built truck. Still driving it today with 150k on it.