RAV4 problems, need new TV

[MC1]

Originally Posted by PC Steve

"Beefy" indeed referred to tow ratings versus my 17 Casita, although it works for some.

Sorry Steve. When I hear the word "beefy" when it relates to towing and vehicle integrity I think of toughness, strength, etc.
In these parts it is common to see many models of Mini Vans towing trailers that look like Goliath compared to your 17' egg. History has shown they work great any way you care to measure.

[MCDenny]

I moved from a RAV4 to a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The RAV was fine but had a lot of miles and a tiny gas tank. No unintended acceleration though.

I posted a thread about my experience (very positive) titled "towing with a 2014 JGC". In September 2013. I'm sure you can find it with a search. A nice thing about the JGC and new Cherokee too is they can be ordered with a tow package that includes a 2" hitch receiver, four and seven pin plugs, a plug in brake controller port and load leveling rear shocks. Thus equipped the V6 GC is rated for 6200# the Cherokee for 4500. 2010 to 2013 GCs are virtually the same vehicle. The main change for 2014 and later is moving from a five speed to an eight speed auto trans.

They get lousy consumer reports reliability ratings. I'm on my fourth one and I'll likely buy another when this one wears out.

I wanted the smallest, best mileage vehicle I could get with the highest tow rating. That's the JGC. Almost any V6 small SUV or minivan is rated to tow 3500#, mid size suvs are mostly rated for 5000. Jeep and its 3 row twin the Dodge Durango are the only medium size SUVs rated for 6200. The European brands tow more but are much more expensive. A VW Touareg diesel would be an awesome tow vehicle but 10k$ more expensive, less luxury and even worse reliability ratings than Jeep.


Denny Wolfe
Wanderingourway.wordpress.com

[honda03842]

My primary concern in buying a tow vehicle is short term and long term reliability. We have been a one vehicle family for 14 years, we tow for 8 months a year and are often way out where the nearest dealership can be 100s of miles. We want a tow vehicle that does not fail. When traveling we are alone, we don't travel with others, partially because we're pokey emmas, taking our time as we travel.

We rarely bring our tow vehicle for service to a dealer. We get our oil changes at places dedicated to changing oil. We carry brake pads and a fan belt, changing the pads as needed. We virtually never touch our brake rotors. We expect our cars to rarely need drive line service. Our CRV never had anything done to the engine and when we sold it, the clutch was original.

Good mileage is a bonus.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by kootenaigirl

Yes PC Steve with a Casita 17 you would be over most mini van's recommended towing capacity (3500 lbs) and over the recommended tongue weight as they are tongue heavy.

We own a 2013 17 ft Casita deluxe . The Casita' s factory listed tongue weight is 365 Lbs . Our Casita when fully loaded for travel (2 full tanks of propane) has a tongue weight of Approx 425 Lbs . The tongue weight of my trailer is well over the allowable tongue weight for most small vehicles (200 &350 Lbs) The idea that any vehicle with a 3500 lb tow rating can tow any fiberglass trailer is flat out wrong . I agree with Bob Miller ,that you need to do the math and not go by someone's opinion ,which may or may not be based in reality . We are looking at purchasing a new Escape and we are not going to assume that because we tow with a 1/2 ton truck that everything is automatically OK

PS ; I have the same view on the value of CR as Floyd .

[VicCT]

Update: spent all day at dealer, test drove a variety of tvs, ended up with Nissan Frontier SV, brand new. Heated seats and backup camera, but no leather. Sirius radio though, which I wanted. Never bought new before but got a good deal. On our way out of town for weekend but will post more on Monday re: RAV. Thanks all!

[MC1]

Very Nice! That's a lot of truck.

[Stan and Carol]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Vic,





You might consider a CRV, it should easily tow a Scamp 13. We towed a bigger, heavier Scamp 16 (or equivalent) with our CRV for 7 years all over the USA and Canada. It was very reliable and got good mileage. Our son tows a Scamp 13 with the same engine in a four cylinder Accord, same engine as our CRV. We have brakes on our Scamp 16, he does not have brakes on his 1977 Scamp 13. We hada manual transmission, he has an automatic with transmission cooler.

Hey, we have a Honda CRV, and it's even for sale. No, probably not a good choice, as it has 211,000 miles, but it is in really good shape. Just bought a 2014 Durango to pull our Oliver II.

Stan

[Del Gue]

Glad to hear you got fixed up. I actually joined this website today because I read this thread earlier and specifically joined to suggest you look at the Frontier. For a mid-sized PU it's got some nice amenities and the price is reasonable. I hope it works out for you! Am also interested to see how things work out with the Toy.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Mike Magee,
Trucker's hitch isn't really a knot. It's more like a pulley system. I'd explain, but I can't.

knot
nät/
noun
1. a fastening made by tying a piece of string, rope, or something similar.

[Del Gue]

As long as the knot's not a knothead... :-)

[PC Steve]

If leather is really important, Katskinz is a well regarded aftermarket option used by dealers and independent upholstery shops. I'm sure you have plenty of money left over....

I hope your new truck works out well for you!

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Del Gue

As long as the knot's not a knothead... :-)

Or as long as the knot's first name isn't Don!

Steve is right, you can get some nice leather slipcovers for under $300. Enjoy exploring your 'new' Frontier!

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

knot
nät/
noun
1. a fastening made by tying a piece of string, rope, or something similar.

That's true, but. First you tie a trucker's hitch, cinch it up, and then you tie a knot to secure it.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by VicCT

Update: spent all day at dealer, test drove a variety of tvs, ended up with Nissan Frontier SV, brand new. Heated seats and backup camera, but no leather. Sirius radio though, which I wanted. Never bought new before but got a good deal. On our way out of town for weekend but will post more on Monday re: RAV. Thanks all!

Welcome to Frontier Nation there are a number of us pulling with them. Like you I was not in the market for truck when I had to replace my Outback but I got to like the truck a lot in short order. I have a fiberglass tonneau cover on mine but if I was to put another on a truck I would go with the BakFlip they have one that you can add a rack too.

[Raz]

What did you get, king cab or crew cab? We love our Frontier. Very comfortable and more than enough power. I have a soft tonneau cover. I don't carry anything worth stealing so i don't worry. If they really want my 10 year old folding chairs.... Thule now makes a roof rack to fit the Frontier. I bought mine from etrailer. It is pricey but very stable. Enjoy, Raz


P.S. When I bought mine it was top rated by consumer reports.

[rdickens]

Vicki,

Glad you found something.

If you hadn't found the Frontier, I would have seconded Floyd's recommendation
of the Ford Escape .... especially with the newer 2.0L Ecoboost engine
and factory tow package.

Our 2014 Ford Escape FWD 2.0L has 240 hp and 270 ft/lbs of torque (versus our
Honda CRV's 180 hp and 170 ft/lbs of torque). We get around 21 mpg
towing at 60 mph. With the factory tow package, the Escape is rated
for 3500 lbs tow weight and 350 lbs tongue weight.

I used a Hopkins Multi-tow to adapt the 4-pin-flat Ford plug to a 7-pin round
(+ 4-pin-flat and added a 12v "hot wire" running up to the battery in the engine
compartment. This avoids cutting into the Ford's wiring harness.

I'll soon be trying out a Tekonsha Prodigy RF proportional brake controller. This will
again avoid Frank's reported problems with cutting into the Ford wiring harness to wire
a brake controller into the correct side of the Ford stop light switch and finding a good
spot in the newer Escape's rounded cockpit to mount a proportional brake controller.

Although the Prodigy RF is more expensive to buy, it can can avoid installation costs
and risks by being an easier "self install". (Just FYI - I've seen some
caveats related to some vehicles with LED tail lights.) The Prodigy RF
should also allow easier switching between our current/future tow vehicles.

Ray


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by rdickens

Vicki,

Glad you found something.

If you hadn't found the Frontier, I would have seconded Floyd's recommendation
of the Ford Escape .... especially with the newer 2.0L Ecoboost engine
and factory tow package.

Our 2014 Ford Escape FWD 2.0L has 240 hp and 270 ft/lbs of torque (versus our
Honda CRV's 180 hp and 170 ft/lbs of torque). We get around 21 mpg
towing at 60 mph. With the factory tow package, the Escape is rated
for 3500 lbs tow weight and 350 lbs tongue weight.

I used a Hopkins Multi-tow to adapt the 4-pin-flat Ford plug to a 7-pin round
(+ 4-pin-flat and added a 12v "hot wire" running up to the battery in the engine
compartment. This avoids cutting into the Ford's wiring harness.

I'll soon be trying out a Tekonsha Prodigy RF proportional brake controller. This will
again avoid Frank's reported problems with cutting into the Ford wiring harness to wire
a brake controller into the correct side of the Ford stop light switch and finding a good
spot in the newer Escape's rounded cockpit to mount a proportional brake controller.

Although the Prodigy RF is more expensive to buy, it can can avoid installation costs
and risks by being an easier "self install". (Just FYI - I've seen some
caveats related to some vehicles with LED tail lights.) The Prodigy RF
should also allow easier switching between our current/future tow vehicles.

Ray
Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

Ray if you have used any of the older technology controllers in the past I think you will be very happy you spent the few extra $'s on the Tekonsha Prodigy. Once you have felt the difference while towing you will never go back to the older technology.

The REAL nice thing about the Frontier with a factory tow package is that it is pretty well plug and play. No need to run any additonal wires or mess with anything in order to have everything work. The Ford Escape like the Subaru Outback and many other smaller SUV cross over type vehicles do come from the factory with the wiring for the trailer lights preinstalled but not the brake controller line and usually not the charge line. Unless you really know what your doing its best to pay the $'s to have those installed by a pro otherwise it can go very wrong.

On the Frontier with a factory tow package the installation of a controller is plug & play - simple plug the controller into the under dash connection the factory installed and its good to go. 1 minute or less job. Can be removed to use in another vehicle at any time - simple unplug it.

[VicCT]

PRaz I got the crew cab. It's a deep red color, not the bright red. I spoke with the dealer about seat improvements -- i really don't care for the quality of the cloth seats it comes with, and the SV does not have a leather upgrade. We are going to purchase new leather upholstery for all the seats and an added lumbar support in the drivers seat. They sew on the leather after removing the cloth. It's an aftermarket service through the dealer. Here's a question -- it would be cheaper by half to just do the front seats. How funny do you think that would look and how much might it affect resale? I would match the colors as close as possible. Not worried about back seat passengers, we only sometimes have them. But don't want it to look really odd. Thoughts?

I will call our trailer guy about removing the brake controller. Glad to hear the Frontier is all wired up! Then have to figure out bed cover and rack. Best to have kayak rack on cab or in the bed? I am thinking cab. I am away this weekend with two other pickup owners with different cab covers, will check theirs out today. I want secure, yet highly accessible.

[drstock]

I wanted a tow vehicle in the 6000 # range, 6 cylinder, rear wheel drive, with a tow package. The tow vehicle is second vehicle in our two-person household, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a vehicle that would be used primarily for snowbirding in the winter months. I kept coming back to the late models of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and its sister car the Dodge Durango as two vehicles that checked all the boxes. At $30k plus, I just could not pull the trigger.

A few weeks ago, I was searching with that criteria and up popped a bunch of new 2014 Chevy Silverado standard cab trucks on clearance as last year's models and deeply discounted. I got a 2014 standard cab, standard bed, 2 wheel drive, 6 cylinder, 6 speed with tow/haul mode, tow package, bedliner, chrome appearance package, power windows doors locks and mirrors, cruise, satellite radio, and upgraded upholstery. I put some credits I had from a GM credit card toward it, and it was out the door at $20k.

I never considered a pick up truck, but after a long, quiet, and smooth test drive, the price made it an easy decision. I think it will serve us well with a small fiberglass trailer (and in later years, if I can't shake this idea that eventually I'll end up with an Escape 5.0 TA!)

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by drstock

I wanted a tow vehicle in the 6000 # range, 6 cylinder, rear wheel drive, with a tow package. The tow vehicle is second vehicle in our two-person household, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a vehicle that would be used primarily for snowbirding in the winter months. I kept coming back to the late models of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and its sister car the Dodge Durango as two vehicles that checked all the boxes. At $30k plus, I just could not pull the trigger.

A few weeks ago, I was searching with that criteria and up popped a bunch of new 2014 Chevy Silverado standard cab trucks on clearance as last year's models and deeply discounted. I got a 2014 standard cab, standard bed, 2 wheel drive, 6 cylinder, 6 speed with tow/haul mode, tow package, bedliner, chrome appearance package, power windows doors locks and mirrors, cruise, satellite radio, and upgraded upholstery. I put some credits I had from a GM credit card toward it, and it was out the door at $20k.

I never considered a pick up truck, but after a long, quiet, and smooth test drive, the price made it an easy decision. I think it will serve us well with a small fiberglass trailer (and in later years, if I can't shake this idea that eventually I'll end up with an Escape 5.0 TA!)

I bought a new Ram pickup in Oct of 2011 for $23,800 , I traded in the 2011 truck with 60,000 miles on it in Dec of 2014 for $19,500 . I loo looked for a 2014 Chevy during the model year clearance but there was not a dealer within 50 miles that had any left. So congratulations ,hope you enjoy your new truck . Once you get used to driving a truck ,at least for me ,it is hard to go back to a small cramped car . My wife likes driving my truck more than her Pontiac G6 .
I may end up trading in her car for the new Chevy midsize truck or buy myself another truck and give her mine.