Midsize SUVs capable of flat towing a 4xe

[johngcolejr]

I live in the Midwest and my family and I hope frequently take long road trips primarily to go Jeep in various areas. We’ve been to Colorado Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Tennessee, North Carolina, etc.

We have three kids so driving the Jeep those distances with five people in the car can be quite inconvenient. On our last trip my son and I went in the jeep and my wife and daughters drove their own car. This was OK, but it doesn’t provide an environment where we are together.

I’m looking to buy a daily driver (not a truck) and I prefer not to buy a full-size SUV. Are there any midsize SUVs that can tow my jeep? Does anyone have experience doing this? I’ve looked at Jeep Cherokee L, Volkswagen Atlas, Kia Telluride, Hyundai palisade.

The key is three rows of seats so the kids can spread out. Any thoughts or suggestions from anyone that has experience doing this?

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[Punkn89]

Get a Durango. I love my Jeep Grand Cherokee, but it sounds like you need more space. I believe the Durango can tow 8000+. It’s on the bigger end of SUV’s, but it’s smaller than a Yukon or Tahoe.

 

[Zandcwhite]

If you're going to tow distances only a few times a year, you'd be better off renting a full sized truck. Have the tow bar installed on the Jeep, rent a truck when you need it. Then your daily doesn't have to serve double duty and or tow near its limits. You can drive whatever daily you want and tow with a new truck every time. A midsize suv will flat tow a 4xe but you'll feel it back there constantly. Pushing in turns. Flat towed a wagoneer behind our grand cherokee once and it wasn't pleasant. Fortunately that was just about 100 miles. You're looking at towing even more weight, far greater distances, up and down mountain passes. I wouldn't do it. Before you buy I'd get the tow setup on the Jeep and rent whatever suv you're considering and try it out. If you are going to buy, I'd go full sized suv or a truck.

 

[JeepinPete]

I've towed a 29', 7200# camper from PA to Yellowstone a back with our '15 Hemi Durango. Never lacked for power or brakes. Liked the gas though, but that is to be expected.

I would not flat tow a 4XE with it for a long distance. I played that game as a young man flat towing my M38A1 with my dad's pickup. Getting pushed around was fun and all but I had enough after the 100 mile trip.

I would tow it without hesitation if I had a trailer to put it on. The Durango is an underrated vehicle IMO.

Pete

 

[Zandcwhite]

I've towed a 29', 7200# camper from PA to Yellowstone a back with our '15 Hemi Durango. Never lacked for power or brakes. Liked the gas though, but that is to be expected.

I would not flat tow a 4XE with it for a long distance. I played that game as a young man flat towing my M38A1 with my dad's pickup. Getting pushed around was fun and all but I had enough after the 100 mile trip.

I would tow it without hesitation if I had a trailer to put it on. The Durango is an underrated vehicle IMO.

Pete

By the time you put a 4xe on a trailer you'll be pushing the 8kl lb tow rating though. I agree whole heartedly flat towing sucks. I'd just stick it up and drive the jeep, or rent a truck and trailer a couple times a year. Even owning a truck that was more than capable, we found after 1 long trip to telluride and moab that me preferred driving the Jeep. Sold the trailer about a year later as the Jeep never went back on it. With the 5.7L the ram pulled it like it wasn't there.... but the 8mpg made driving the Jeep on 38s seem economical.

 

[Bayrat]

There are plenty of used mid sized motorhomes on the market now following the flood of now regretful buyers during covid. Those provide room for the entire family in comfort and can easily tow a Jeep.

 

[JeepinPete]

By the time you put a 4xe on a trailer you'll be pushing the 8kl lb tow rating though.

The latest Durangos can be had with I think 8400lb tow ratings FWIW.

 

[Br4hm4]

Only ones I am familiar with are the Porsche Cayenne and the Dodge Durango. I loosely want to say the Yukon as well. But that might be getting a little too big in the SUV world.

 

[azwjowner]

Another problem is the max tow rating is for an essentially empty vehicle. You can't tow anywhere near the rating if you've filled your vehicle with several passengers and cargo.

 

[Zandcwhite]

The latest Durangos can be had with I think 8400lb tow ratings FWIW.

Our 2019 JLUR on the trailer weighed in at 8600lbs with camping gear, food, etc for a week. You have to remember a basic steel car trailer is going to weigh ~2500lbs. That's why I'd never look at a midsize suv to tow a Wrangler (especially the heavy 4xe) personally.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Towing a 5000 lb jeep with a vehicle of about the same weight won't be much fun, IMO, even if it's possible.

I've been flat towing my JLUR with my fullsize GMC crewcab 5.3L and it's not a problem. But it's not all fun either.

 

[acomputernerd]

I flat towed mine with a Toyota highlander and would not recommend and short wheelbase. It was sketchy but saved a towing bill . I didn’t feel comfortable doing it but I had the set up and it was a holiday weekend. The jeep was completely dead at the time as well. The 4xe also weighs over 5k so even in an rv you’re limited. My .02$

 

[The Last Cowboy]

So, is this going to be a dedicated tow vehicle or also serve as another car for the family?

You Wrangler with mads and gear is in the 7k pound range. I wouldn't want to tow that with a unibody front wheel drive biased CUV, as most so called SUV are today.

A vehicle with a full frame will provide a much more stable towing platform. So that puts you into the full size category, with some exceptions like the GX460/470 and the 4runner, neither of which are ideal to pull 7k lbs, but will do it.

The advantage of flat towing (towing with an RC type towbar) is that there is no tongue to support, so that relives one part of the equation on tow ratings, as traditional trailers have about a 10-15% weight transfer (tongue weight) to the tow vehicle.

Another thing to consider is how loaded the tow vehicle will be. Each passenger and their stuff will detract from the tow vehicles ability to deal with the load being towed.

Based on what you describe, a full size SUV or even a half ton truck would be ideal for what you say you need.

A side note. A 3.5 liter EcoBoost powered Ford, Explorer will have more than enough grunt to pull the load and is a rear wheel drive biased vehicle. They are also designed to be used as police cars and have a significant amount of reinforcement to the unibody. The Lincoln equivalent is the Aviator. I have no experience with one as a tow vehicle though.

A Hemi Grand Cherokee of the prior generation would work well too. Unibody, but on the old Mercedes platform. I have no idea how well a current Grand Cherokee will do, as ot ises the new STLA large platform. Whiichnis still fairly new.

 

[TrailScooter]

 

[JeepinPete]

Our 2019 JLUR on the trailer weighed in at 8600lbs with camping gear, food, etc for a week. You have to remember a basic steel car trailer is going to weigh ~2500lbs. That's why it's never look at a midsize suv to tow a Wrangler (especially the heavy 4xe) personally.

But we are spending the OP's money right? An aluminum car trailer is half that weight so we could still theoretically get under the max.

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