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Old 05-13-2022, 05:23 PM   #21
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Grooves in the pavement! Heck, one more thing to worry about.
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Old 05-13-2022, 07:47 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by Raspy View Post
Maybe what we need is a heavy duty Jaguar tow vehicle.

I don't enjoy droning along hour after hour on the highway, so much, but do like being on back trails and getting the trailer way back into a remote spot, or down next to the water at the lake, etc. The truck becomes kind of an all purpose vehicle as I take shipments to town, tow my side-by side or my tractor. In a perfect world, I'd have a lot more vehicles for specialized purposes. The worst place for the truck is in town.

You just made the most salient and valid point.
That is that it is important to have a tow vehicle which can meet your needs/other purposes when not towing as well.
So important in fact that some compromises must be made which deviate from the ideal of one purpose to satisfy the needs of another purpose.
I.E. If I had a boat I would probably opt for a 4WD option as many boat ramps can be treacherous. (partly why I own no boat)



I am blessed to have several vehicles, so I can settle for a few expedient compromises. My TC is close to that mythical "heavy duty Jaguar tow vehicle" analogy.
A couple years ago I saw a late model Ford Mustang equipped for and towing a 17Casita....Amazing! And I'm sure that hitch did NOT enhance the car's track performance.


The hitch company is famous but I can't remember the name.
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Old 05-14-2022, 08:48 AM   #23
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tow vehicle

We tow our 13f scamp with a 2017 ford edge 2.0! Always use 2nd lock out of o/d if you want to have a transmission!


we are over scale a tad but only run 55mph. average mph 20 to 22, no brakes we have been over the mountains use transmission for braking and drive the slow lanes!!



on vacation right?
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:03 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by k0wtz View Post
We tow our 13f scamp with a 2017 ford edge 2.0! Always use 2nd lock out of o/d if you want to have a transmission!


we are over scale a tad but only run 55mph. average mph 20 to 22, no brakes we have been over the mountains use transmission for braking and drive the slow lanes!!



on vacation right?
The OP asked "what makes a good tow vehicle".

It seems your answer to that specific question is one that is overloaded, has a weak transmission and has no brake controller. One that has to be driven way below the speed limit, in order to be "safe". I'm not a proponent of speeding, but when everyone else on the road has to go around you, and you refuse to go faster because you have no brakes and it's not safe to do so, I'd say you are a hazard.
Not really a solid recommendation for a "good tow vehicle".
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:07 AM   #25
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Nothing wrong with towing at 90 kmh (55 mph). It’s actually the law in many parts of the world...or slower.
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:11 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by k0wtz View Post
We tow our 13f scamp with a 2017 ford edge 2.0! Always use 2nd lock out of o/d if you want to have a transmission!


we are over scale a tad but only run 55mph. average mph 20 to 22, no brakes we have been over the mountains use transmission for braking and drive the slow lanes!!



on vacation right?

We don't lock-out overdrive on our 2016 TC when towing our 13Scamp and see no reason to do so. (Check with a qualified Ford service rep.)
I assume your 17 is a 6spd?


I did upgrade to an RV plug with a brake controller and a factory ClassIII receiver along with a charge line, the transmission is stock across the model line.
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:16 AM   #27
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Nothing wrong with towing at 90 kmh (55 mph). It’s actually the law in many parts of the world...or slower.
In CA the towing speed limit is 55 everywhere. No problem there, except most people ignore that limit. But in other areas the limit is 75 and even 80. Ridiculously fast for towing. The problem is towing with no brakes at far below the average speed with everyone trying to pass. Secondary roads are much better in that case, but even then, on the way to Idaho for instance. Two lane road and everyone going about 80 MPH. Everyone passing any slower vehicle. It's terribly dangerous.
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:21 AM   #28
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In CA the towing speed limit is 55 everywhere. No problem there, except most people ignore that limit. But in other areas the limit is 75 and even 80. Ridiculously fast for towing. The problem is towing with no brakes at far below the average speed with everyone trying to pass. Secondary roads are much better in that case, but even then, on the way to Idaho for instance. Two lane road and everyone going about 80 MPH. Everyone passing any slower vehicle. It's terribly dangerous.
I’ll respectfully disagree. It’s more dangerous to have people towing trailers at speeds exceeding the tires speed rating.

We have travelled all over Europe. Left lane speeds are much higher than right lane speeds. And towing over 90 kph is a huge no no in many places there.
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:45 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by Raspy View Post
The OP asked "what makes a good tow vehicle".

It seems your answer to that specific question is one that is overloaded, has a weak transmission and has no brake controller. One that has to be driven way below the speed limit, in order to be "safe". I'm not a proponent of speeding, but when everyone else on the road has to go around you, and you refuse to go faster because you have no brakes and it's not safe to do so, I'd say you are a hazard.
Not really a solid recommendation for a "good tow vehicle".

Above 70MPH is outside the parameters of J2807.
It is unsafe to speed with traffic when towing.
10 over the minimum is far safer than 10 over the maximum (with traffic).
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Old 05-14-2022, 09:49 AM   #30
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My Carlisle load range D tires are speed rated at 81mph as are many others.
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:01 AM   #31
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My Carlisle load range D tires are speed rated at 81mph as are many others.
And many are not.
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:06 AM   #32
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Originally Posted by Travellers View Post
I’ll respectfully disagree. It’s more dangerous to have people towing trailers at speeds exceeding the tires speed rating.

We have travelled all over Europe. Left lane speeds are much higher than right lane speeds. And towing over 90 kph is a huge no no in many places there.

I'm certainly not advocating speeding, just looking for the right balance of safe speed and working with the traffic at the moment. It's probably better to tow at 65 and be a closer match to the traffic, than having a rule to never go over 55 no matter what. And a good tow vehicle should be able to tow at 65 without a problem. The trailer should have working brakes too. Being out on the open road requires responsible behavior, over dogmatic personal rules of always going slow and not having brakes. Unfortunately, over time, highway driving is becoming more of a free-for-all where there are no speed limits and everyone must be passed.
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:19 AM   #33
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I'm certainly not advocating speeding, just looking for the right balance of safe speed and working with the traffic at the moment. It's probably better to tow at 65 and be a closer match to the traffic, than having a rule to never go over 55 no matter what. And a good tow vehicle should be able to tow at 65 without a problem. The trailer should have working brakes too. Being out on the open road requires responsible behavior, over dogmatic personal rules of always going slow and not having brakes. Unfortunately, over time, highway driving is becoming more of a free-for-all where there are no speed limits and everyone must be passed.
I kinda agree with much of that. But many RV’s below 1400 kilogram GVWR’s don’t even have brakes. This includes everything from some teardrops to foldable etc. And even many trailer manufacturers don’t recommend towing above 55. Just googling recommended max towing speed or something like that will return that same number again and again. It’s no surprise people want to follow the advice of the industry experts...and their insurance companies. The physics of towing at 65 is a lot different than towing at 55 (90 kph).

Not to mention the economics of towing at higher speed sucks.

I’ll leave it there. Wishing everyone a safe tow day. 😊
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:32 AM   #34
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Originally Posted by k0wtz View Post
We tow our 13f scamp with a 2017 ford edge 2.0! Always use 2nd lock out of o/d if you want to have a transmission!


we are over scale a tad but only run 55mph. average mph 20 to 22, no brakes we have been over the mountains use transmission for braking and drive the slow lanes!!



on vacation right?
This alone would disqualify the combo from any "good tow vehicle" discussion.
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:56 AM   #35
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slightly disagree

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This alone would disqualify the combo from any "good tow vehicle" discussion.

my friend an opinion was asked right? I know I am at the edge of my Edge!



but i have seen trailers pulled by vastly underpowered tugs!



Common sense applies in all things!


This alone entitles me to an opinion just like you!
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Old 05-14-2022, 11:11 AM   #36
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81 mph

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Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
My Carlisle load range D tires are speed rated at 81mph as are many others.



seems to me 81 mph pretty scarey!!!
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Old 05-14-2022, 11:13 AM   #37
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This alone entitles me to an opinion just like you!
Everyone can have an opinion. That doesn't mean everyone is correct.
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Old 05-14-2022, 11:15 AM   #38
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You are entitled to an opinion, certainly. Ford says your opinion is in error. Possibly you are trained as an engineer, are privy to all the aspects Ford considered and have determined that Ford was overly cautious in the specs for your car. Otherwise, you are just choosing to ignore folks who know more about this stuff than we do.
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Old 05-14-2022, 12:00 PM   #39
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Originally Posted by k0wtz View Post
my friend an opinion was asked right? I know I am at the edge of my Edge!



but i have seen trailers pulled by vastly underpowered tugs!



Common sense applies in all things!


This alone entitles me to an opinion just like you!
Pay no attention to the naysayers, my own 4cyl Sportage/Trillium 4500 combo isnt supposed to work EITHER lol...but it does and has for almost 80 k tow miles. I will say tho that I would never tow without trailer brakes with such small combinations, vehicles in our size range aren't equipped with brakes of their own designed to stop towed loads much over 1,000 pounds and are stressed even with that weight. And even with trailer brakes I've been occasionally"pushed" by the trailer (panic stops e.g.)- always a danger with lighter tow vehicles like ours.
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Old 05-14-2022, 12:19 PM   #40
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Pay no attention to the naysayers, my own 4cyl Sportage/Trillium 4500 combo isnt supposed to work EITHER lol...
You seem to be able to pick and choose.
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