TOPIC: Tow vehicle question - FWD or AWD?

We've towed for years with my little 4 cyl, 5 speed standard GMC Canyon. Problem is, it only has a capacity of 2100#s, and we want something that can tow more. So we hope to test drive a Traverse soon. We have been looking at new models and considering ordering one tailored to our liking that would include a factory tow package. They will tow up to 5200#s.

So here's my question - how many of you folks tow with FWD vehicles? How do they work at the boat launch?

I would really rather not pay the AWD premium if I don't have to. I'm not worried at all about FWD for towing our travel trailer, it's coming out of a boat launch with the Power Cat behind me that has me wondering.

Any suggestions, experiences, etc. greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Frank

I have used two wheel drive's as my tow vehicle from my little two wheel drive ranger and E-150 conversion van to my 2003 Taurus with no problems. The Taurus being front wheel drive and I do use some pretty steep ramps. I had a few times where I was on the edge of traction but was OK. But when it comes to those steep launches I seen many a two wheel drive having traction problems. Some were due to the give it more gas mentality and some not. If you always use the same launches and had no problem with two wheel I say OK but if you are always going to different places I may want to opt for the 4 wheel. There is nothing like confidence when towing and launching.

frank, i have launched and pulled out the mantaray at a couple spots with the fwd malibu. i would not attempt it at a steep launch ramp.

Hope a FWD will work, or know an AWD WILL work. Which would give you more peace of mind? Is it worth the extra cost to you? If you know the ramps you will visit are FWD friendly, OK. If not sure, AWD is worth it. And I won't mention the winter advantage. Oops, guess I just did. Sorry.

Steep ramps that are wet, sometime partially coated with bilge oil or wet autumn leaves are a problem that can only be handled with four powered tires with good tread. Personally, I opted for a 4x4 truck because the traction is always a shift away when I need it. I drop into low range when bringing in larger boats.

I find the extra 2 wheels handy on some ramps. Not to say I couldn't get up them with some careful coaxing in 2 WD. I really like my Honda Ridgeline for towing. It will only go into FWD in 1st, 2nd or reverse, so it's not for driving like an AWD.

A lot more consideration needs to go into the choice of a tow vehicle than simply 2 or 4wd. Is it going to be used as the primary daily driver? how often do you tow and is 5500lbs (that rating on the Traverse seems a bit high considering that it's a CUV based on a front wheel drive car chassis) a realistic need or would 3500lbs do for you? I see your current vehicle is a truck, do you plan on keeping it for "truck" use or is it being disposed of when the new vehicle comes along? If your getting rid of the truck would another truck be a better choice, the Nissan Frontier comes to mind as an excellent choice, the 4 door cab has room for 4 to sit comfortably and the 4 litre V6 is bullet proof (not to mention that the overall quality is vastly better than GM) I am not sure if the 4 door is available in 2wd in the U.S. but only Nissan offers a choice of 5 or 6' boxes on a mid size 4 door truck. If the Crossover type of vehicle is what you want also consider the Hyundai SanteFe sport with the 2.0 litre turbo 4 cyl great economy and power, if larger is better the SanteFe XL is a larger version with a 3.8 Litre V6 that has just been introduced, warranty is excellent as is the overall quality (we have 4 Hyundai's in the family) . There are literally dozens of CUV's out there today from every manufacturer (take the time to look at all of them) but if I was going to use one for towing a boat that could weigh anything over 1500#'s I would absolutely go with the AWD version. My current tow vehicle is an exceptionally well cared for 1998 GMC Sierra SLE 2wd with limited slip diff and a 5.7 litre V8 Vortec. I have never had an issue pulling our 18' Regal (3500lbs)bow rider up any ramp, paved or gravel, keep in mind that when you are pulling out all the weight shifts to the back which helps a RWD and puts FWD at a huge disadvantage. It's amazing how fast a FWD minivan can bury it's front wheels in a gravel ramp trying to pull a 1700lb boat out of a lake (don't ask how I know this) on just a slight incline

Hey did I pull you out once?

Nope (unless you live in Northern Ontario) a friendly fellow with an F150 4X4 came to my rescue

al lockhart wrote:

A lot more consideration needs to go into the choice of a tow vehicle than simply 2 or 4wd. Is it going to be used as the primary daily driver? how often do you tow and is 5500lbs (that rating on the Traverse seems a bit high considering that it's a CUV based on a front wheel drive car chassis) a realistic need or would 3500lbs do for you? I see your current vehicle is a truck, do you plan on keeping it for "truck" use or is it being disposed of when the new vehicle comes along? If your getting rid of the truck would another truck be a better choice, the Nissan Frontier comes to mind as an excellent choice, the 4 door cab has room for 4 to sit comfortably and the 4 litre V6 is bullet proof (not to mention that the overall quality is vastly better than GM) I am not sure if the 4 door is available in 2wd in the U.S. but only Nissan offers a choice of 5 or 6' boxes on a mid size 4 door truck. If the Crossover type of vehicle is what you want also consider the Hyundai SanteFe sport with the 2.0 litre turbo 4 cyl great economy and power, if larger is better the SanteFe XL is a larger version with a 3.8 Litre V6 that has just been introduced, warranty is excellent as is the overall quality (we have 4 Hyundai's in the family) . There are literally dozens of CUV's out there today from every manufacturer (take the time to look at all of them) but if I was going to use one for towing a boat that could weigh anything over 1500#'s I would absolutely go with the AWD version. My current tow vehicle is an exceptionally well cared for 1998 GMC Sierra SLE 2wd with limited slip diff and a 5.7 litre V8 Vortec. I have never had an issue pulling our 18' Regal (3500lbs)bow rider up any ramp, paved or gravel, keep in mind that when you are pulling out all the weight shifts to the back which helps a RWD and puts FWD at a huge disadvantage. It's amazing how fast a FWD minivan can bury it's front wheels in a gravel ramp trying to pull a 1700lb boat out of a lake (don't ask how I know this) on just a slight incline

A lot of consideration is going into this Al, trust me. For istance, do we need a vehicle that seats 8 people (like the Traverse)?

Whatever we buy will get driven by the wife every day. I'll lose my wimpy 4 cyl GMC Canyon with a tow capacity of 2100#s (and 4wd) and we'll keep the Outback that can tow 2700#s to tow the boat f necessary. We plan on getting a larger travel trailer that loaded may weigh up to or around 4000#s. Hence, we're looking for 5000#+ tow capacity so we don't exceed 80% of capacity.

So, wife needs to drive this new vehicle everyday. I get the Subaru...

Frank

Wow for what you looking at doing I would only consider a few vehicles and no CUV's would make the list they just don't have the chassis for the duty you are describing. Here's my list in the order I thought of them
Ford Expedition
Chevy Suburban /GMC Yukon XL
Nissan Armada
Toyota Sequoia
Mercedes Sprinter
Chev or GMC full size passenger van

Much of what a person chooses has to do with brand loyalty and I have mine also. After putting so many hundreds of thousands of miles on my F-150's I've owned I just went back to a Ranger. It will do with my needs nicely. My Mother bought it as a present for me. She always wanted a Ranger after I had my first one so many years ago. It is hard to get used to a small truck after driving full size all those years but I love it. Any vehicle will get stuck. Although I have never helped a four wheel or all wheel drive off the ramp I have in the past dropped my trailer and helped someone a few times get off the ramp. I certainly meant no disrespect asking If I pulled anyone out. It is just a thing I'd do. Just like towing someone back in who has broken down on the river or lake. I never leave nobody stranded. I'm the guy who dropped a quick ride on my ATV in single digit temperatures to go home and get my truck to pull out to very stupid kids driving over very large holes covered in ice with their Honda with the coffee can size exhaust. They were sleeping inside with the engine running. I only mentioned how stupid it was once and left them go their way. I honestly do not think they knew how bad off they were. Just say'n lets get the right tool for the job.

al lockhart wrote:

Wow for what you looking at doing I would only consider a few vehicles and no CUV's would make the list they just don't have the chassis for the duty you are describing. Here's my list in the order I thought of them
Ford Expedition
Chevy Suburban /GMC Yukon XL
Nissan Armada
Toyota Sequoia
Mercedes Sprinter
Chev or GMC full size passenger van

Al, we are looking specifically for a vehicle that will tow at least 5000#s, not 6000, 8000, 10000, etc. So we go here and look for what we need (and can afford): dcd96xmek71bc.cloudfront.net/trailerlife.com/2013%20Tow%20Guide_reduced%20file.pdf

By the way, I don't remember asking for vehicle recommendations. My question here was about AWD or FWD for pulling my 1200-1400# boat and trailer out of a boat launch. I think we've already figured that out, so thanks for all the comments folks.

Frank

Frank, have you considered a chevy silverado 3500...8000lb.tow capacity (legal)...hehe...or just come down and get my truck, your welcome to use it. I hardly use it anymore. All new tires and brakes. Ron

PC1000 wrote:

al lockhart wrote:

Wow for what you looking at doing I would only consider a few vehicles and no CUV's would make the list they just don't have the chassis for the duty you are describing. Here's my list in the order I thought of them
Ford Expedition
Chevy Suburban /GMC Yukon XL
Nissan Armada
Toyota Sequoia
Mercedes Sprinter
Chev or GMC full size passenger van

Al, we are looking specifically for a vehicle that will tow at least 5000#s, not 6000, 8000, 10000, etc. So we go here and look for what we need (and can afford): dcd96xmek71bc.cloudfront.net/trailerlife.com/2013%20Tow%20Guide_reduced%20file.pdf

By the way, I don't remember asking for vehicle recommendations. My question here was about AWD or FWD for pulling my 1200-1400# boat and trailer out of a boat launch. I think we've already figured that out, so thanks for all the comments folks.

Frank

Sorry I misread your last reply and I thought that you needed a vehicle that would carry 8 people and tow 5000lbs hence my suggestions. Also sorry I made vehicle recommendations but I was in the car business for 10 years and saw many people buy the wrong vehicle for their intended purpose due to brand loyalty or falling in love with something in the showroom. Anyway in answer to your first question I would go with the AWD. In future I will try to limit my responses to directly answering the question, again sorry.

No problem Al, and thanks man. It's funny, I thought maybe you were selling cars!

I get where you're coming from. The trailer we want to get ( www.casitatraveltrailers.com/showroom/spirit/spirit-schematics.html ) has a dry weight around 2500#s and a 365# tongue weight. Of course, dry weight is the lightest the trailer will ever be, no fluids, no anything. So I figure if we're going cross-country, between the TV and the trailer I should figure another 1500#s on top of the weight of the trailer. 4000#s is 80% of 5000#s, so A TV that would have 5000#s capacity should give me the margin I want.

Right now, my 4 cyl/4wd truck tows our small trailer a lot better than the Subaru, but has a lower tow capacity (only 2100#s). I think when we go camping I'm towing more than 2100#s, even though the truck handles it well.

I really want something that will pull me up a hill with less problem, but of course am limited by $. Retirement is right around the corner, maybe early 2016, and this stuff needs to get paid for before I retire!

Frank

I pulled my pontoon with my fwd Cruze the other day, just around the block. I was surprised at how well it did, but I certainly wouldn't want to attempt it at a boat ramp. I accidentally spun the tires just a little bit when pulling out of the driveway.

We're looking at 4wd's Jon. Want to be prepared. Thing is, if we're getting rid of one (4wd), probably should get another.

Thanks!

Frank