Built to Tow or Marketed to Tow?

Featured image for Built to Tow or Marketed to Tow?Above: This is a customer’s 2008 Enclave, shown towing their Airstream. The Jenkins’ bought their first trailer in 1969 and they have had over 20 different tow vehicles of every type over those years. They purchased this Enclave in 2008, towed extensively with it, and replaced it with another Enclave in 2015, it is easily their favourite of all the tow vehicles they have owned.




Dear Andy:

I just read your article about towing the Lance trailer from California to Ontario, using a little Jeep Cherokee – but on some of the RV forums people tell me I that have to buy a pickup if I want to tow anything bigger than a fold-down camping trailer.

My current vehicle is a 2015 Buick Enclave with the factory tow package and 19” tires. We would like to tow a 25’ Trailer – is there any way we can keep the Buick? It seems to have a lot of power and it handles great on the highway. We love the car and it is still like new.

David


Hello David:

Thanks for writing.

It is interesting to see how the participants on the various forums talk about towing. Many well-intentioned people seem to be very eager to tell others what they should buy to tow a trailer, even though they may have very little background information. They feel as if there is one vehicle that is going to solve all the towing issues for everyone.

It always amazes me how many people feel they are qualified to give an expert opinion about a combination that they have never driven.

As I mentioned before, much of the advice that is given is well-intentioned, for example: someone may have had an uncomfortable experience towing a badly hitched 6000-pound 26’ trailer with their half-ton truck. Likely, all they needed was a proper hitch set up and possibly better tires on the truck. Instead of providing the accurate answer, they jump to the conclusion that to tow a 6,000-pound trailer you need a three-quarter ton truck.

Our customers at Can-Am RV Centre have been using Buick Enclaves for towing since the introduction of the model in 2007


In fact, the three-quarter ton truck is very heavy and the handling can be rather vague, so even if the trailer is unstable you don’t feel it in the wheel, indeed, you may feel very little in the wheel at any time. If you are a race car driver, you hate that vague steering – but for those of us not used to being in touch with our vehicle, no feeling from the steering wheel beats an uncomfortable feeling. Ironically, the three-quarter ton truck is not likely to be as safe a tow vehicle as the half-ton truck they replaced, since neither truck was hitched properly. They don’t feel the effect the trailer has on the truck, so they think the larger truck must be better – however, gut feelings do not always reflect reality.

So, the RV enthusiast looking for answers to towing questions sees someone online asking about towing a 31-foot trailer, and automatically thinks: “oh that would be worse than my 26-foot trailer” so with the best of intentions the on-line respondent says, “you have to get a three-quarter ton truck, like I did.” The weakness to this logic is that they never ask the specs of the trailer – all they focus on is the length and weight. They don’t realize that length and weight alone are a terrible way to assess a trailer’s towability. Far more important factors are the aerodynamic drag, the balance, centre of gravity, the trailer suspension, and of course the proper hitch set up.

The other factor that feeds the “bigger has to be better” mindset is the advertising you see on TV and elsewhere. The truck builders spend millions every year trying to outdo each other, to convince you that their pickup tows better than their competitor’s pickup. The truck builders know that people look at tow ratings when they buy a pickup, but few people will actually tow anywhere near the truck’s so-called stated capacity. Therefore, the perception becomes more important than the reality.