Diesel SUV's

[five o'clock]

So I was reading an article in Boat US Magazine and they talked about towing with diesel and all of the benefits vs. gas.

They mentioned some SUV's with diesel, the two main ones they mentioned were the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the VW Touareg. In the article they said that both have a towing capacity of over 7,000lbs. My question is how well do you guys feel that these types of vehicle would tow a 22 foot 5,000lbs Tige?

[chpthril]

So I was reading an article in Boat US Magazine and they talked about towing with diesel and all of the benefits vs. gas.

They mentioned some SUV's with diesel, the two main ones they mentioned were the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the VW Touareg. In the article they said that both have a towing capacity of over 7,000lbs. My question is how well do you guys feel that these types of vehicle would tow a 22 foot 5,000lbs Tige?

My both are a little narrow and a little short on the wheel base. More to towing then going.

[hoopykat]

Yep...definitely. You need the correct power train hooked up to the diesel engine to get the best performance. No sense having a diesel engine and a crappy tranny and drivetrain that implodes the first time you try and tow something. I'd be especially wary of the VW rig. Shouldn't tow anything more than a pop-up camper with that thing.

-Mike

[Lucky 275]

they've got a video of that VW towing a 747, which is pretty cool. What's not cool is the 75K price tag on one of those. And the v10 only gets about 10-13 mpg.

[hoopykat]

Now that would be funny to see!

-Mike

[chpthril]

Yep...definitely. You need the correct power train hooked up to the diesel engine to get the best performance. No sense having a diesel engine and a crappy tranny and drivetrain that implodes the first time you try and tow something. I'd be especially wary of the VW rig. Shouldn't tow anything more than a pop-up camper with that thing.

-Mike

The Touagreg is a VW/Porsche venture. i have no doubts abouts it's power train being stout. It's not like the Germans to throw an over powered engine in front of a week tranny like some US auto makers would do.

My concern is the Gross Weight and wheel base of these 2 vehicles.

IMPO, you are more like to see a non-towing Dodge/Chrysler with a blown drivetrain then a towed with Import.

[talltigeguy]

The Ford Diesel Excursion does the job very nicely. Unfortunately, since they were so popular, Ford quit making them...typical of an American automaker.

I would worry about that feeling you get when you are not sure who is driving who as the boat pushes the vehicle around. The wheel base would seem too short and narrow for my comfort at highway speeds.

[spenchey2]

I drove a liberty diesel a few times, and holy cow, it put me in the back of my seat.

On a trip to Wisconsin we saw a cherokee pulling a 30 ft enclosed trailer and flip the trailer. When the trailer flipped it took the jeep with it and then hit some thing poping the trailer up right and did the same to the jeep. The trailer tossed that jeep around like a little toy. I'd be scared to tow a boat at highway speeds after witnessing that in person.

[five o'clock]

My concern was the wheel base on both models. I towed my Tige with a Chevy Blazer once and it was hell. The boat pulled me more than I pulled it. I wouldn't use a small SUV again.

I was just curious to what the rest of you thought. Because I read the article in a boating magazine I thought maybe I was thinking incorrectly.

[Timmy!]

I guess it just depends on how far you are really towing it. I looked at a bunch of used Excursions but I couldn't bring myself to pay $30k+ for a 2-3 year old vehicle with 60k+ miles on it.

[Jason B]

IMO that diesel Excursion is the Ultimate tow vehicle. My buddy had one and it rocked.
Huge towing power, abundant seating for a small army and it still had room in back for gear.

Too bad it's American made junk--if it was a Toyota it would last more than 60K miles. Sad to say that--but it's true.

[chpthril]

Too bad it's American made junk--if it was a Toyota it would last more than 60K miles. Sad to say that--but it's true.

There is a small amount of truth here. The imports to engineer in a little more longevity, but you pay for that on the front side. The biggest difference between the imports and domestics, is the owners, not the quality itself. After 17 years turning wrenches, I've worked on almost all of them and import owners believe in preventative maintenance far more then domestic owners. This is due to how the manufactures train their dealers to sell cars.

If a vehicle is properly maintained, it will last as long as any other with only minor/acceptable failures. I have a 2002 GM SUV nearing 100k with no major problems, and nothing since the warranty period ended.

We have also become a "disposable" people. We don't want to pay the price for products that last, but raise h3!! when they break.

[kana12]

long live the "cummins" just get a dodge truck.... you wont be sorry you did... i use mine to pull my boat and compared to the 30,000lbs on my float trailer you cant even tell its back there. not to mention the cummins will go 300,000 miles no pronlem. a pretty good investment with how expensive these vehicles are gettin now.

[da.bell]

kana12, what about the turning ratio? My GF Dodge Ram 1500 doesn't turn on a dime like my Ford Expedition does.

[gman]

Jason B
I don't know what you are refering to as American Made junk. I had a 99 GMC Yukon and it towed the 21 ft sea ray and the 24 Tige very well with 150k miles on it and it was still running & towing good when I traded it in. Only changed the water pump and radiator once on it at about 140k. No other problems. Had a ford Bronco and it towed the Sea ray with no problems and it had 165k miles when I got rid of it. Had a 04 toyota Camry (piece of s..t) and it never ran as smoth or as nice as my 97 dodge intrepid which went for 217k and only had one water pump and radiator change at 205k miles and that was the only major repair.