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Old 01-12-2020, 11:25 PM   #21
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Well, my next SUV will have a backup camera and all the proximity sensors I can get.
This afternoon, I backed into my trailer hitch for the second time in three weeks. They are parked at right angles and the trailer hitch extends into the street by four inches.

I might fix the bumper, or I might just not wash the car from now on.
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Old 01-13-2020, 01:05 PM   #22
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Poor man’s proximity sensors...
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Maybe if you attach something to the coupler rather than the car?
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Old 01-13-2020, 01:12 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
Poor man’s proximity sensors...
Attachment 132796

Maybe if you attach something to the coupler rather than the car?

I actually have a traffic cone at the hitch. I was distracted by people who were looking at the house for sale next door and in that I was driving my wife to a medical clinic instead of watching the Seahawks lose.

Just didn't have my mind on the task, which is where bells and whistles come into play.
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Old 01-13-2020, 05:58 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by V'sGlassSleeper View Post
Honda doesn't make an SUV that can tow 7,000 lbs. The Pilot only goes up to 4,500 lbs in the AWD. If Honda made a higher-capacity Pilot, we'd buy it.

The Sequoia is very expensive, so not a contender. We can't pay $30k for something that already has 100k miles on it. That's cray-cray.
I'm not seeing them at that high of a price. Check FB marketplace. Typical newer model like a 2011 with 119K miles is listed for $15,000. Toyotas do hold their value very well so they tend to be at the higher end price wise on the used market.
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Old 01-13-2020, 06:34 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by Osos1 View Post
Sold my cream puff 2013 Yukon SLT last July for $15,500 private party. Bought it in 2014 with 21K miles and sold it with 107K. 5.3 motor very solid and had zero problems with anything. Bought a new Expedition and got the bumper sticker: "We're Spending Our Children's Inheritance ".


Congratulations. I can’t quite bring myself to give up that much retirement pay! We will buy another lightly used one. Nice way to spend their inheritance though.
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Old 01-15-2020, 01:25 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
............I might fix the bumper, or I might just not wash the car from now on.
I vote for not washing. If anyone asks, it's a battle scar.

That's all I got, no opinion on what tow vehicle anyone should consider, sorry that my response is not really salient.

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Old 01-15-2020, 02:06 PM   #27
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Buy my Durango - its ready to tow and it knows how to do it.....

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post765369
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Old 01-15-2020, 09:28 PM   #28
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Thank you for all the additional input and shares. Always good to hear everyone's experiences. Jon, I agree about ignoring overview ratings and looking specifically at various components for high-ticket reliability and safety issues. Also important to look at each model year and often each trim, because some issues show up only in certain model years - for example, I read about 2011-2012 of one maker having serious transmission issues, while another maker had steering column issues in certain years. As one forum member commented, some trims have more problems than others. I am so burnt out on internet research somedays, but it is helpful up to a point.
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Old 01-15-2020, 09:57 PM   #29
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Trailer: Escape 21, behind an '02 F250 7.3 diesel tug
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the *real* reviews of a given vehicle are to hang out in the tech sections of a forum dedicated to said vehicle and seeing what sort of issues people are having with them when they are a few years old.

for instance, my beloved Mercedes E class aka W124 family... 93-95 came from the factory with a bad ('biodegradable' aka 'eco-junk') main engine wiring harness. but high mileage examples almost certainly got their harnesses replaced by the dealer, any harness with date code past 1997 is good. its the garage queens with stupid low miles where they may never have been fixed, THOSE cars are nothing but grief unless you can find a replacement harness and install it (3-4 hours of tinker level work to do it right, and maybe $300-400 for a good harness, unless you pull it from a junkyard yourself).

Ford SuperDuty 6.0L diesels from 2003-2007 were notorious for blowing head gaskets, breaking head bolts, frying EGRs, flakey HPOPs, etc unless they've been 'bulletproofed' by a competent shop.
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Old 01-15-2020, 11:11 PM   #30
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As someone else told a dude seeking validation to tow an Escaape 17B with a Subaru Outback: "You're only convincing yourself". No one else wants an old diesel dog Ford - supposedly "bullet proofed " or not.

Have a BIL with Excursion and a friend with F250- same diesel motor. LOUD!!
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Old 01-15-2020, 11:15 PM   #31
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'loud' usually means they've 'upgraded' the pipes and downgraded the mufflers. some folks seem to associate noise with power.
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Old 01-15-2020, 11:42 PM   #32
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Nope- both stock and very annoying.
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Old 01-16-2020, 06:00 AM   #33
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I've had Silverados for years. They've been making that V8 for seems like centuries. It's very reliable and we'll tow very well. I think the v6 Ford would be working hard to tow your trailer, despite its tow rating
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Old 01-16-2020, 07:51 AM   #34
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OK, Boomer.

Saw your profile nefldiver, and just had to say that. I could also be classified as a “young Boomer,” so something about a shoe fitting... I tend to favor evolutionary change and have a Chevy V8 in the driveway. My real admiration is for the Honda 2.4L I4 in our ‘06 CRV, a bulletproof workhorse, though not for towing. 14 years and 200K, doesn’t use any oil, everything’s original, even the brake pads.

And then there’s the Scamp, a triumph of evolutionary change. Funny... even the Millennials are embracing Scamps!
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Old 01-16-2020, 08:39 AM   #35
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Yeah I had Chevys for almost 20 years. Now I'm driving a tundra though.
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Old 01-16-2020, 11:44 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
My real admiration is for the Honda 2.4L I4 in our ‘06 CRV, a bulletproof workhorse, though not for towing. 14 years and 200K, doesn’t use any oil, everything’s original, even the brake pads.

And then there’s the Scamp, a triumph of evolutionary change. Funny... even the Millennials are embracing Scamps!
Similar experience with our 2010 Honda Element. 180,000 miles so far, did have to replace brakes. Other than that, all original. Also got caught in a hail storm in Kansas. The plastic panels survived with zero damage, the metal panels had several hundred dents. My understanding is the Element shares drivetrain with the CRV.

We are Honda/Toyota fans, although our truck is an F150. Go figure...

Personally, no way I am towing with the Element, even the Trillium 1300. We live in the mountains, the Element could probably do marginally OK, but with the F150 sitting in the driveway, why do it?
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Old 01-16-2020, 12:00 PM   #37
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I've had Silverados for years. They've been making that V8 for seems like centuries. It's very reliable and we'll tow very well. I think the v6 Ford would be working hard to tow your trailer, despite its tow rating
Surprisingly, no. The 3.5EB makes more power entirely than the 5.3L V8. Peak horsepower is less than the 6.2L V8, but it has a much broader power band and doesn't lose as much power with altitude. The 5.3L V8 will be just enough at high altitude (>9K ft) and more than enough anywhere else. The 3.5EB and 6.2L V8 will be adequate to overkill for a 4200lb trailer under basically any conditions.

In general, the 3.5EB will probably get a bit better mileage around town and the V8 will get better towing mileage (the EcoBoost gets a bit thirsty under load). The 6.2L V8 especially gets surprisingly decent towing and highway mileage, though the requirement for premium fuel probably eats most of the gains there other than range.

If you're concerned about mpg, I'd also steer clear of the Lexus/Toyota V8s. They're extremely reliable and durable, but not particularly efficient.
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Old 01-16-2020, 03:37 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
Well, my next SUV will have a backup camera and all the proximity sensors I can get.
This afternoon, I backed into my trailer hitch for the second time in three weeks. They are parked at right angles and the trailer hitch extends into the street by four inches.

I might fix the bumper, or I might just not wash the car from now on.
Last year I backed into a short Telephone pole in a state park. I saw it when I pulled in but do you think I remembered that I had maneuvered in front of it, Noooo. To make matters worse I have a backup camera. Do you think I remembered to look at the screen, Nooo. I was going so slow it practically did nothing but I was so disgusted with myself I really didn't get over it. That pole is no longer there this year.

I bought a new truck because I decided I needed a truck that could tow anything I might want to tow. The new truck has backup sensors and a much larger screen for the backup camera. The truck beeps at me now when I get to close to something. More cameras are in the works too.
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Old 01-17-2020, 01:44 PM   #39
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I drive an 06 envoy denali, 5.3 4wd
Mileage is atrocious and has been from day one, I bought used, 4 years old with 47k miles on it it now has 275k miles and has been reasonably reliable. If I had bought new, I would have been disappointed with constant small dollar repairs and poor quality fit and finish.
The Denali package was definitely just a name, the thing doesn't even have a glove box or underhood light.
overall mechanical has been fair, brake jobs and front wheel bearings being the biggest wear items, lots of electrical glitches, stay away from as many options as possible, still, I would buy one again if I could get a low mileage used one. My biggest issue was comfort, the seating is not that great on a long trip. Rent whatever you will buy and do a 4-500 mile trip before you buy to see how you like it

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Old 01-17-2020, 11:54 PM   #40
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Thank you for the clarification, Defenestrator, it's extremely helpful to know the difference in performance and mpg between the Ford engines. We do want some overkill mainly because we like it when it doesn't really feel like we're towing and we've read plenty of posts where folks have too small a margin and either have a scary ride, destroy the tow vehicle or just barely make it up steeper inclines.
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