It is a pretty important question actually. There are a lot of vehicles available in the market for this price point so why? For me, it is always all about payload and towing numbers. Whatever I drive must be capable of carrying the weight of our weight distribution hitched Airstream trailer. It must have enough power and the right gearing to pull up some long hills and it must handle well when towing. Then, it has to carry some of our gear too. Finally, whatever tow vehicle we own becomes my daily driver so I have to like driving it!
I’ll start with the weight part of the equation. Our trailer has a tongue weight of 880 pounds and our hitch weighs 195 pounds for a total of 1075 pounds. Of course this is before weight distribution. Once I get the weight transferred back to the front of the tow vehicle, the weight is down to about 700 pounds or 67% of the total tongue weight with the remaining being carried by the trailer… That doesn’t seem like a lot but… by the time you add in my wife, our two pups and camping gear, that number can easily rise to 1300 pounds. That is all considered payload and although I have driven in overloaded state before, I try hard not to. So payload is important.
Towing numbers are what most people fixate on and we typically come in at about 6500 to 7000 pounds all in.
Lots of vehicles will pull this weight so it is not a limiting factor most of the time.
Now, let’s look at the vehicles that can actually serve as a tow vehicle for our use. The first choice for many is the ubiquitous American pick up truck in either 1500/150 or 2500/250 flavors. Most, but not all of the trucks available in these sized can easily pull an Airstream like ours. The larger trucks have payload to spare the lighter duty trucks typically have enough and all of them can carry huge volumes of “stuff” in their beds. They are the go to for many people and in fact, I’ve driven 4 of them for something approaching 300,000 total miles.
Some have huge Diesels with incredible torque some have recirculating ball steering, some have independent front suspension and they all make the Grenadier turning radius a joy to behold. My GMC 2500 required an impressive 53’ to make a circle! The more annoying thing for me when towing with any truck is the way they feel with weight distribution dialed in. Even the stoutest pickup frames are unsupported between the back of the cab and the rear so they flex…a lot! Man, do they move and man, can you feel it!
The first thing I noticed when I drove my loaner Grenadier with our Airstream attached was how much more solid the combination felt. It was a huge difference.
A couple of other “issues” with using especially a 2500/250 rated truck. They ride like, well, trucks. Stiff suspension is the order of the day to get these payloads and you feel it over every bump. The trailer can feel every bump too! As soon as I traded my GMC for an F-150, the incidence of open lockers and drawers while towing dropped dramatically. Then there is the modern clean Diesel maintenance/repair cost issue. $200 oil services are stiff but nothing compared to fuel contamination recovery or a common rail fuel pump failure where the entire fuel system must be cleaned and replaced. That job often costs in excess of $10,000!
So, if you are like me and tired of driving pick up trucks what is next? Of course vehicles like the GMC Yukon make great tow vehicles although you’d be surprised at how low the payload can get in some of these.
They have plenty of space behind the second row of seats for storage, a good indecent suspension front and rear, decent drive trains and all of the modern conveniences you could ever desire. A surprising addition to the list is the Porsche Cayenne. Great payload numbers, great power, impeccable handling and braking but not much room in the back. We could easily make it work though and I have always been interested in one. The New Defender has apparently got good towing and payload numbers although I am more than a little frightened by Land Rovers reliability record and the vehicle is not that appealing to me aesthetically.
In the end, once you decide to leave the truck off the list, there are a number of decent choices but in reality, none except the Grenadier and the Cayenne really appeal to me. The Cayenne is a good 40% more expensive, it has not got good resale value, it is expensive to maintain and well the Grenadier is really cool! This is why I have one on order.
View attachment IMG_0056.jpeg
I’ll start with the weight part of the equation. Our trailer has a tongue weight of 880 pounds and our hitch weighs 195 pounds for a total of 1075 pounds. Of course this is before weight distribution. Once I get the weight transferred back to the front of the tow vehicle, the weight is down to about 700 pounds or 67% of the total tongue weight with the remaining being carried by the trailer… That doesn’t seem like a lot but… by the time you add in my wife, our two pups and camping gear, that number can easily rise to 1300 pounds. That is all considered payload and although I have driven in overloaded state before, I try hard not to. So payload is important.
Towing numbers are what most people fixate on and we typically come in at about 6500 to 7000 pounds all in.
Lots of vehicles will pull this weight so it is not a limiting factor most of the time.
Now, let’s look at the vehicles that can actually serve as a tow vehicle for our use. The first choice for many is the ubiquitous American pick up truck in either 1500/150 or 2500/250 flavors. Most, but not all of the trucks available in these sized can easily pull an Airstream like ours. The larger trucks have payload to spare the lighter duty trucks typically have enough and all of them can carry huge volumes of “stuff” in their beds. They are the go to for many people and in fact, I’ve driven 4 of them for something approaching 300,000 total miles.
Some have huge Diesels with incredible torque some have recirculating ball steering, some have independent front suspension and they all make the Grenadier turning radius a joy to behold. My GMC 2500 required an impressive 53’ to make a circle! The more annoying thing for me when towing with any truck is the way they feel with weight distribution dialed in. Even the stoutest pickup frames are unsupported between the back of the cab and the rear so they flex…a lot! Man, do they move and man, can you feel it!
The first thing I noticed when I drove my loaner Grenadier with our Airstream attached was how much more solid the combination felt. It was a huge difference.
A couple of other “issues” with using especially a 2500/250 rated truck. They ride like, well, trucks. Stiff suspension is the order of the day to get these payloads and you feel it over every bump. The trailer can feel every bump too! As soon as I traded my GMC for an F-150, the incidence of open lockers and drawers while towing dropped dramatically. Then there is the modern clean Diesel maintenance/repair cost issue. $200 oil services are stiff but nothing compared to fuel contamination recovery or a common rail fuel pump failure where the entire fuel system must be cleaned and replaced. That job often costs in excess of $10,000!
So, if you are like me and tired of driving pick up trucks what is next? Of course vehicles like the GMC Yukon make great tow vehicles although you’d be surprised at how low the payload can get in some of these.
They have plenty of space behind the second row of seats for storage, a good indecent suspension front and rear, decent drive trains and all of the modern conveniences you could ever desire. A surprising addition to the list is the Porsche Cayenne. Great payload numbers, great power, impeccable handling and braking but not much room in the back. We could easily make it work though and I have always been interested in one. The New Defender has apparently got good towing and payload numbers although I am more than a little frightened by Land Rovers reliability record and the vehicle is not that appealing to me aesthetically.
In the end, once you decide to leave the truck off the list, there are a number of decent choices but in reality, none except the Grenadier and the Cayenne really appeal to me. The Cayenne is a good 40% more expensive, it has not got good resale value, it is expensive to maintain and well the Grenadier is really cool! This is why I have one on order.
View attachment IMG_0056.jpeg
Last edited:
