Trucks/Towing Power

[Brad H.]

As an example the new Ford 3.7L V6 6 Speed Auto 302 @ 6500 RPM 278 @ 4000 Torque, does anyone have one and how does it pull the longer hills with a steeper grade, for a car hauler and corvette, I believe dodge has a similar package probably chevy also. Thanks, Brad.

[Dick W.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

Torque is the magic word when towing, and 278 ft. lb. is a little shy of what would be acceptable to me.

[John F.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

My Tundra w/4.7L V-8 pulls my open aluminum trailer and 62 just fine>

[John H.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

As an example the new Ford 3.7L V6 6 Speed Auto 302 @ 6500 RPM 278 @ 4000 Torque, does anyone have one and how does it pull the longer hills with a steeper grade, for a car hauler and corvette, I believe dodge has a similar package probably chevy also. Thanks, Brad.

Brad -

I think you'd be immensely disappointed towing ANYTHING with only 278 ft-lb. of torque.

[Pete B.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

My (American made) 08 Tundra with the 5.7 tows my C3 and C4's almost like you did not know it was there and I got 17 mpg trailering to Waco. The 6 speed transmission is the best!

My Tundra w/4.7L V-8 pulls my open aluminum trailer and 62 just fine>

[William L.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

As an example the new Ford 3.7L V6 6 Speed Auto 302 @ 6500 RPM 278 @ 4000 Torque, does anyone have one and how does it pull the longer hills with a steeper grade, for a car hauler and corvette, I believe dodge has a similar package probably chevy also. Thanks, Brad.

There's more to towing than pulling. There's stopping and handling I wouldn't put my family and prize Corvette in anything but at least a 3/4 ton truck with the best trailer with the biggest brakes I could afford. A light truck & trailer are OK when things are going good but when your coming down that steep grade in the rain and some idiot crashes in front of you. You will wish you had the biggest and the best equipment on the planet. Remember BAD things can happen to good people.
Bill

[Gary C.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

In my experience great brakes and NO frame flex are two things you never know you need until you need them.

3/4 ton truck at a minimum. Prefer 3/4 ton with heavy duty 1 ton brakes.

Am always amazed at some of the car trailer tow vehicles we see at meets.

Gary
....

[Pat M.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

Is there any SUV with the towing capabilities of a 3/4 ton truck?

[Richard E.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

My 2010 toyota tundra 5.7 tows my open featherlite and 67 coupe with no problem ... Has 401ft.lbs....16 mpg.

[William L.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

In my experience great brakes and NO frame flex are two things you never know you need until you need them.

3/4 ton truck at a minimum. Prefer 3/4 ton with heavy duty 1 ton brakes.

Am always amazed at some of the car trailer tow vehicles we see at meets.

Gary
....

I agree with you Gary.
At a meet not to long ago I watched a Father and his son put a a $125,000 car on a open trailer, surge brakes, one tie down in the front and one in the back. When my friend and I started to talk to them, we were more or less told to mind our own business.

[Gary C.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

GMC comparison website - select what SUV's or trucks you want to compare

http://www.gmc.com/gmc/tools/comparator/compareVehicle.do;jsessionid=FFDE4CDC049C9492EB3DA23FD8C921C9.mds02?year=2011&pvc=61131&snType=

links to Suburban and GMC trailer guides with specs - copy and paste into your browser
www.newgmcsierra.com/images/new-GMC-Trailering-Guide.pdf
www.chevrolet.com/assets/pdf/en/overview/11_Trailering_Guide.pdf

As Bill points out everything's cool until you need to do a panic stop or some jerk cuts you off or somebody wrecks in front of you. Sometimes no matter how much cushion space you give yourself, there are somethings you can't control that you need to be prepared for when towing. Torque and HP are the easy two parts of the towing equation. It's the emergency parts that you need to be equally configured for.

JMTCW,

Gary
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[Jim L.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

.... the new Ford 3.7L V6 6 Speed Auto 302 @ 6500 RPM 278 @ 4000 Torque, does anyone have one and how does it pull the longer hills with a steeper grade, for a car hauler and corvette,

If you confined yourself to level ground, you could tow your Corvette on a light open trailer with this vehicle. As soon as you began climbing a grade, though, the wisdom of Dick's words about torque would become apparent.

I know of what I speak.

In the earliest days of roadracing my Grand Sport, I towed with a 4.3L GMC S-15 Jimmy. Great on level roads, 15+ MPG. However....

....I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains and climbing the grade to our home at 4000' was a slow, miserable, 2nd gear experience. I burned up the transmission.

My tow rig now is a Dodge with the 600 ft-lb Cummins Diesel. Night and day difference. Pulling the open trailer into the Sierra is actually pleasant. Even with my enclosed trailer in tow, I can pull out and accelerate to pass while going uphill.

Moral: Size matters. Bigger is better. Don't skimp on the tow vehicle.

Jim

[William L.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

For the life of me I don't know why GM doesn't offer a Duramax and Allison in a Suburban ??

[Brad H.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

All good advice but to tow a car in an enclosed maybe 1 or 2 times a year is it worth spending 20K more for some monster you don't need and twice the fuel year round? Safety vs. cost I guess. Thanks all. Brad.

[Steven B.]

Re: Trucks/Towing Power

278 @ 4000 Torque

That's alot of screaming for a little bit of torque.