Tow vehicle for 16’ scamp

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by RM Northwest

Oh and just as a general question — is all-wheel drive better or worse than 4-wheel drive for towing a vehicle? Better or worse than front-wheel drive? All other things being equal.

Basically AWD is optimized for use on hard pavement and is set up so that the wheels won't bind as they try to turn at different speeds on corners, while 4WD tends to be set up so that driving on hard dry pavement causes binding and severe stresses on the tires and drivetrain. Naturally, there's exceptions.

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...36/awd-vs-4wd/

Personally I think you would be better served by AWD than FWD, both for towing and in general.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by RM Northwest

* We’re going to be cutting it close with the payload limit.

* The other one we’ve missed seems to be the Volvo XC 90.

* Yes, we’re out west and we’re planning to deal with some mountain passes in WA, CO, etc.

* Fair point about the Sienna hitch scraping the pavement and front tire spin. I’ve seen other reports of that too. As well as reports of the Sienna temporarily losing steering control on hills when towing.

The Volvo XC 90 appears to be a welcome departure from previous models which had very low rated tongue-weight capacities relative to their rated towing capacities. The rated tongue weight for the XC 90 is 10% of the rated towing capacity, which is the same convention as almost all other vehicles.

https://www.volvocars.com/en-ca/supp...-tongue-weight

They do have an interesting "fine print" note there which is actually very similar to that which can be found on most manufacturer's sites:

"Important
The maximum trailer weights listed are only applicable for altitudes up to 3280 ft (1,000 m) above sea level. With increasing altitude the engine power and therefore the car's climbing ability are impaired because of the reduced air density, so the maximum trailer weight has to be reduced accordingly. The weight of the car and trailer must be reduced by 10% for every further 3280 ft (1,000 m) (or part thereof)."

Lincoln's towing guide notes similarly:

"HIGH ALTITUDE OPERATION
Gasoline engines lose power by 3-4% per 1,000 ft.
elevation. To maintain performance, reduce GVWs
and GCWs by 2% per 1,000 ft. elevation starting at
the 1,000 ft. elevation point."

https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/d...owingGuide.pdf

So, elevation matters.

An AWD configuration should help reduce the front wheel spin experienced by FWD configurations. In Lincoln's case, the manufacturer increases the rated towing capacity for vehicles equipped with AWD.

Losing steering control (Yikes! ) could be "cured" by using a weight distribution hitch. However, the 2020 Sienna manual is silent on the subject of WDHs. The lack of such recommendation is a sometimes-hotly debated subject.

WDHs introduce additional costs and complexity in that they are heavy and you have to spend time and effort connecting and disconnecting them every time you connect or disconnect the trailer. Personally, I have always purchased tow-vehicle/trailer combinations that have allowed me to avoid that character-building exercise.

[Glenn Baglo]

XC90 requires premium fuel.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

XC90 requires premium fuel.

From what I've read, most of the 4 cylinder turbo engines require premium. Most are direct injection as well. The horsepower and torque values of these 2 L engines rivals many 4 L engines. It will be interesting to see how long they last.

[thrifty bill]

IMHO, many of the mid sized SUVs make a fine choice. On some, the third row is cramped, so test that out first. Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, and Kia Telluride come to mind. The Telluride gets high marks for 3rd row room.

On the Volvo, I am not a fan. Consumer Reports, who some trust, some don't, rates it poorly: "The 2021 XC90 ranked as the least reliable brand-new Volvo in Consumer Reports' list. According to Consumer Reports, the most troubled spots are the drive system, suspension, brakes, body integrity, and power equipment. The result is that XC90 problems have been reported across a variety of crucial components." New, the Volvo has a premium price over the Toyota. Honda or Kia. Used I would think much of that evaporates.

Myself, given a choice between a mid sized V6 and a small turbo'd 4, I am picking the V6. Telluride has a nice trailer package option, that includes 7 pin wiring. You have to look hard to find a Telluride that is not marked up over MSRP, but they are out there (just may not be your local dealer). Until supply improves, used Tellurides are very close or higher than brand new!

[Civilguy]

Wowza! The CR reliability rating on the Volvo XC90 is 26/100 as compared to the Aviator, which is next-to-bottom with a score of 2/100 in their luxury midsized sport-utility vehicle reliability rankings.

I don't care all that much for the way CR's aggregates their composite scores on vehicles, and there's always various points to quibble with any reviews from any source. However, the reliability ratings are based on the problems reported by vehicle owners so I don't understand all the objections I see on that front.