What is best launch/tow/daily driver?

Arminius

Arminius

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2019
1,061
Seattle
Boat Info
Bowrider 200 Select, 2003
Engines
5.0L MPI, 260 hp w/Alpha 1 Drive
XT5 is in shop and I think it will be totaled as lake is low, ramp is muddy, my launch was unsuccessful and Hal (vehicle computer) drowned. Here in the 49th Commissariat, I would get repairs and flood damage caused diminished value so I don't expect to see it again.

2020 Tahoe looks best as it is last year of live rear axle. I need clearance in back and weight. I would prefer a 4WD Grand Cherokee as I only have one passenger and the package is smaller while V-8 option would be heavy. What do you think? I already know I was stupid but this was familiar stupidity.
 
Suburban. If you’re thinking Tahoe, go with the extra room. Same gas mileage. Love my Suburban. I’ve told myself that I will always own one.

My neighbor and I were talking about Suburbans. They are looking at one that is being sold by Enterprise I think. 2020 Suburban with 10,000 miles for $50,000.
 
I just rented a Suburban from Enterprise this week to get all our gear home from our cruise to Seattle. Loved the truck, tons of room and I was surprised to see selective 4WD. It was very comfortable, quiet and I'd buy one in a minute if I had the need.

It's a bit of overkill for our 13' Whaler so the need isn't there.
 
Tahoe fits in my garage. Suburban won’t. Size does matter. +1 on Tahoe.
 
I have towed with Grand Cherokees for 25 years. We also had a Suburban for a number of years.

Depending on the weight if your boat, you might look at a V6 Grand Cherokee Overland. I own two of them. The Overland V6 will tow 6200 lbs, and has plenty of day to day power. Incredibly comfortable daily driver. The air suspension in the Overland really makes towing comfortable.

I always had V8s until we got our current model, but I wouldnt trade it for any of those V8s.

The Suburban tows great, but drives really big. It is a great highway vehicle, we drove it all over the country and towed our Four Winns from Chicago to Key West, but it is really big in tighter areas.

The only caution I would offer is that if you really have a mucky ramp you might want some better clearance and more aggressive tires than what you would get from a typical midsize SUV.
 
Good advice. Thank you.
 
On my 2nd Yukon (6.2)

Here's the old one

IMG_0098.JPG


The longer wheel base of the Suburban or the XL would probably tow better, but for the other 98% of the time....
 
I've towed this boat from NJ to FL. Hardly even felt it behind me. Towed a large Uhaul trailer down there as well.
20180428_174023.jpg
 
We replaced this truck with the samething since this pic was taken but it was a great tow vehicle....The air suspension was really nice for towing... We would take the boat to lake Norris TN from Indy every year.

IMG_1490.JPG
 
I drove and towed with a ML350 for years but my apprehension as to what would happen if I had a tranny meltdown or such in the hinterlands increased until it was intolerable. I even carried a junkyard transmission for a while. All the dash lights would occasionally illuminate on that Mercedes SUV but you could pull over and turn off the ignition and wait in abject fear for a couple minutes while it rebooted. Too much adventure!
 
Bought a Grand Cherokee, Overlander, 2020, 5.7L V-8, Quadra-Drive. It had been custom ordered and had the right mix of tech and luxury. 6200 lb. tow rating. The Quadra-Drive includes true Posi-traction in back and a locking center differential. The block is heavy cast iron over the front wheels. 395 hp should take me and boat over the mountains easily.
Pleasant light colored upholstery which is hard to find in trucks whose selling point is "dirt."
Air lift suspension gets chassis out of water when launching. Crawled under it and routed the power winch lead from a terminal block (battery itself is tight wrapped under pass seat) under hood (room for breakers), down the small hole, and along a plastic wire conduit to a wire path above diff and an Anderson plug alongside the hitch-easy to avoid hot pipes although I used that black corrugated flex-conduit generally. First launch was comic as Parking Assist auto-braking (huh?) was on and brakes kept slamming on.
 
I was kinda surprised to read the 2021 Tahoe has the same towing numbers as the Suburban. Here are the numbers from Motortrend.

Have you considered a 4-door pickup truck? Its easy to find a 1/2 ton RAM, Chevy, or Ford that would have the same, or better, towing numbers.

My wife loves driving a SUV. I, on the other hand, prefer having a pickup truck. I find the pickup to be as comfortable as a SUV. For storage, the bed area stays dry with a cover, and with the cover off I can haul a lot more stuff than I could with a SUV.

Jim
 
2014 Tundra here. Great truck.

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Around town folks stay a good distance from her, dual axial trailer doesn't even make her flinch. I'm getting 18.5 in town.

And when you are ready for the next boat, you won't need a new tow truck.
 

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2019 Tacoma here. Excellent daily driver & plenty of power. Perfect for my family which is two little kids. I will say if my boys were teenagers it would be too small.

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Shenanigans77,

Maybe you should consider adding airbags to the Chevy to help level the truck when hauling such a heavy load! :p

Jim
 
dwna1a said:
Around town folks stay a good distance from her, dual axial trailer doesn't even make her flinch. I'm getting 18.5 in town.

And when you are ready for the next boat, you won't need a new tow truck.
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Grand Cherokee has convenient hooks on the front.
I now have a 12' chain wrapped around the tongue of my trailer. Ramp problems: unhook, drive up the ramp to dry pavement, chain trailer to truck & pull it out, rehook! Live and learn.
 
We have a 2018 Ford F150 (5.0L V8) that gets 21 mpg combined (19 around town) and has a tow capacity of 11,300 lbs. Not the easiest in parking lots but the mpg/towing capacity ratio is pretty good.
 
pdxsearay said:
2019 Tacoma here. Excellent daily driver & plenty of power. Perfect for my family which is two little kids. I will say if my boys were teenagers it would be too small.

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We have almost the same setup. My boat is a '04 185, and my truck is a '13. Never had problems pulling it, but if i was to go bigger, i would think of upgrading!
 

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