tow vehicle

[Skipster]

We have been towing our Elite 1 for the past 3  years with our 2017 6 cylinder jeep trailhawk grand cherokee.   we have been happy with the towing.  but we see the need not to go up hills at 35 and 40 mph in 3 rd gear.   would anyone care to  comment on whether the same vehicle with a v8 motor would do better on the slopes?   looking to upgrade my tow vehicle but really don't want a big truck .   thanks in advance 

skip nielsen

Edited September 19, 2023 by Skipster
typo

[jd1923]

Certainly, a similar Jeep with the V8 engine will pull better! Check the advertised torque rating of your present 6-cylinder Jeep to one with the V8. You should see quite a difference. It is torque that first moves the truck and trailer and torque that pulls it up mountain inclines. I'd say you would want a 3/4-ton pickup with an Elite II, but the 1/2-ton V8 Jeep should be quite enough for your Elite I.

[John E Davies]

Rule of thumb for towing…. If you cannot maintain a minimum safe highway speed going up steep grades, you need a bigger engine. Otherwise you will just wear out your drivetrain and wear out your patience, and the patience of the people stacked up behind you. It simply is not safe. Have you looked at a newer Ram 1500? They are very carlike, have great interiors and one would be a perfect TV for your LE1. These are small trailers but they are deceptively heavy, like armored battle bots.

An alternative would be a body on frame full sized SUV like a Tahoe or Sequoia. 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Skipster]

Thanks for the replies, just what I needed to know

[Bill and Nancy]

We have a GMC diesel Canyon and we love it. Will pull our elite II at hi-way speed up and over every thing we’ve been over. Been over the smokies Aderondaks in NY and the Whites of NH with no problem. on Average we get about 24MPG and 19MPG while towing. The small truck fits in my garage and it’s my everyday driver. 

[ScubaRx]

On 9/19/2023 at 12:42 PM, Skipster said:

We have been towing our Elite 1 for the past 3  years with our 2017 6 cylinder jeep trailhawk grand cherokee.   we have been happy with the towing.  but we see the need not to go up hills at 35 and 40 mph in 3 rd gear.   would anyone care to  comment on whether the same vehicle with a v8 motor would do better on the slopes?   looking to upgrade my tow vehicle but really don't want a big truck .   thanks in advance 

skip nielsen

 

For your Elite I, you don't need a "big truck". I would highly recommend a Mid Sized Pickup like the GMC Canyon or the Chevy Colorado with the 2.7L I-4 Turbo DOHC VVT DI with Active Fuel Management engine. This engine is standard in the GMC and the high end option the Colorado.

https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2023/05/2023-gmc-canyon-vs-chevy-colorado-spec-by-spec-comparison/

There are some owners that use this small truck (or its diesel predecessor) to tow the larger Elite II. All report success towing the 2000+ pound heavier trailer. But, that "success" is dependent on what your expectations are of a good towing experience. To me, it's being able to carry anything I desire and still be able to power up a 12,000 foot pass at the legal speed limit and coast down the other side never having to touch the brakes, using only the exhaust brake and downshifting. This is easy East of the Mississippi River where the highest point you can drive to is 6400 feet. Compare that to the highest paved road in North America, Mount Evans Road in Colorado that rises to a height of 14,130 feet. Since you hail from Montana, I'm sure you're all too familiar with navigating the western highways.

We've owned 5 different tow vehicles including a 1500, 2500 and now a 3500. I've towed with all of them - a lot. For me, I could have my choice as we own both a GMC Canyon with the 2.8L diesel and a Silverado 3500HD 6.6L diesel but anything smaller than our 3500 is too small for our Elite II. We get better towing fuel mileage with it than with any of the others.

 

 

 

[Golfnut]

Skipster, I just got back from a 5600 mile round trip to Glacier NP and Banff, Canada ..my Ridgeline performed good,but going up a down the continental divide was a little tough to keep the speed up..looking to upgrade to a Toyota Tundra..  one bright spot got between 15 to 17 mpg on the trip..  price of new trucks 😳. Stay safe out there!!

[Patriot]

We are camping in the in Colorado Rockies as I write this post. I can’t begin to express how happy we are towing our LE2 with our F350 6.7 PS Diesel. You can get by with a half ton towing the E1 for sure.
As our LE2, we prefer a 1 ton to get the job done for many more reasons than I care to write. Safety and long haul comfort is at the top of our list. 

We just could not pass up the Cabelas in Lonetree Colorado yesterday.😊

Patriot🇺🇸

[jd1923]

On 9/20/2023 at 6:35 PM, Bill and Nancy said:

We have a GMC diesel Canyon and we love it. Will pull our elite II at hi-way speed up and over every thing we’ve been over. Been over the smokies Aderondaks in NY and the Whites of NH with no problem. on Average we get about 24MPG and 19MPG while towing. The small truck fits in my garage and it’s my everyday driver. 

It's the diesel that makes the difference in your truck! I was always interested in your model but have never touched one. Good to hear. Same truck, gasser, will not pull up the mountains with an EII and MPG will be much less. 

[bugeyedriver]

My 2018 F150 SuperCab, 6.5 ft bed, Coyote 5.0L V8 has pulled up over the Rocky Mts several times without having to lose any speed at all.  The RPMs may rev high in the 3500-4000 range for a brief time, but that is well under the red line.   While towing my 2008 Elite, I always put the drive train in the "Tow-Haul" mode, which locks out the 9th and 10th gears on the 10 speed transmission.    "Tow-Haul" mode greatly reduces transmission gear hunting and reduces stress on the transmission.

Non towing MPG is around 23 at posted highway speeds and 14.0 while towing at 65MPH.

(My truck is short enough to fit inside my garage)