New Tow Vehicle Recomendations? - Event Date: 01 Nov 2016

Newby here.  Longtime browser of this fantastic forum.  We love our 2015 model 179 and have used a '92 F250 diesel PU for our tow vehicle and am looking for suggestions on a replacement full size PU.  The new Ford F-150 with the 3.5L ecoboost V6 engine sounds good but living in the mountains of Idaho I wonder about all the steep mountain passes I have to negotiate to go anywhere.  I'm afraid the little V6 will be running in turbo mode full time - how could that be good?  Does a V8 make more sense?  I like the Chevy & GMC 1500 models equally as well with the larger engines.  My '92 F250 had plenty of pulling power but still struggled pulling the R-pod at sustained speeds up big hills.  Any thoughts or suggestions from the wonderful contributors of this forum?  When spending around $50k for a new tow vehicle I want to be sure it will adequately do the job for me.  Thanks!

Some of the newer Diesel engines would be great. I don't know if the '92 diesel was turbocharged. The newer models are and would perform better. I understand that Ford will be coming out with a Diesel powered F150 for the 2018 model year if you can wait. Other options are the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Chevy Colorado, the Dodge Ram 1500, the Nissan Titan XD, or (if VW gets the permission to sell them again) the VW Tuareg. There may be others as well.

The 3.5L Ecoboost V6 would probably be up to the task. I am towing with a Ford Escape with the 2L Ecoboost 4 cylinder. It has sufficient power to tow our 179. We have probably towed about 10,000 miles with it so far. The down side is that you will need to use premium fuel when towing. The cost of premium in most places is significantly higher than regular and in most places we have been is significantly higher than Diesel fuel as well. Another thing to consider is that a turbocharged Diesel will outperform a turbocharged gasoline engine and both will outperform a naturally aspirated engine at higher altitudes.

Air resistance also comes into play. At higher speeds, the pod acts like a big drag chute. Limiting your speeds to 60 mph helps. I use an AeroPlus by PurpleLine wind deflector to help also. Both of these have contributed to me getting significantly better mileage than when I was trying to hit higher speeds without the wind deflector. It also helps with head and cross winds.

Hopefully, this has been useful.

Volkswagen will likely never sell another TDI product in North America.

Don't discount the Ford V6 Eco-boost engines. Lots of towing power, and somewhat better gas mileage.