New tow-vehicle/family hauler - help me decide

[cstreit]

It's time to replace our '04 Durango. I'm really struggling here with what to go to next... It will be used as a winter car, occasional distance <200mi tower, and be relatively modern and comfy inside as 80% of the use is for family stuff.

My criteria:

1. Must tow at least 8000#.
2. <$25k
3. No crazy maintenance requirements
4. Must seat at least 5

Preferences:

1. If SUV - 3rd row seating preferred
2. Pickups are not out of the question - but needs crew-cab

Right now I've looked at:

1. The venerable Suburban
2. Tahoe
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel
4. Ford F-150 and Raptor
5. Newer Durango

I'm struggling with narrowing it down though, would appreciate any opinions that might help me make up my mind...

[fanaudical]

I'm struggling with the same choice (although I don't need to tow anything that heavy). I've been leaning toward crew cab pickup. I found a couple nice Ram 1500's with the Hemi but my wife doesn't like the interiors. Am now looking at Chevy/GMC full size crew cab, but having trouble finding something in my price range.

[VincentVega]

I was a passenger in a recent Cherokee towing a truck on a steel trailer. Not close to 8k but I wouldnt want to go much higher. The load level suspension worked great but the trailer was pushing the truck around a bit, nothing like a similar load with a bigger truck.

My $$ would be in a Suburban.

[grendiers]

Put a lot of research into a diesel, if that is your choice. I've owned a 2001 Ford F350 4x4 for 10 years now, has 234,000 miles on it. It's on it's second set of tires ($1300), second transmission, a HD version of the original ($4,500), bed is rusty (midwest truck) and they all rust back there (fenders and underneath), second water pump. Needs injectors rebuilt, hard winter start for example. However, love the truck, hauls huge truck camper, aluminum trailer with my 924S track car, 75 mph down the road. Skip the 2004-2009 or so trucks, bad engines. 1999-2003 have the great 7.3L engine. Hauling 8,000 lb with a gas engine won't be fun.

[cstreit]

Well the max I tow is actually 6500-7000 but I'd like a cushion. I like the idea of a pickup like the Raptor, but I'm not sure I really need one....

[porsche4life]

That's a lot of weight, even for the half ton pickups. No way I'd want that behind a durango or Cherokee. I had one as a company car and wasn't impressed with it for towing.

[cstreit]

I'm working off the ratings. Honestly leaning towards the Taho or Suburban...

[cabmandone]

I'd consider a Toyota Tundra. I'd probably go with a 3/4 ton Chevy with the 6.0 gas engine. The 5.4L in the Ford is a dog and a gas hog plus you have the added worries with plugs popping out. If you go diesel I'd probably go with a Duramax (keep in mind this is coming from a Ford guy) I pulled 8K with a half ton a lot of times but it's nice having the suspension so you can load what you're hauling with some tongue weight and not having the back end squat when you do it.

[onewhippedpuppy]

8000 lb towing means you'll need a V8 body on frame SUV or truck. That's the absolute max for a unibody SUV. What I'd consider:

Trucks:

F150 - no way you'll get a Raptor SuperCrew for $25k. Super high mileage examples are still $40k. You can probably find a 2011+ SuperCrew with a 5.0, which more than meets your needs for towing and interior volume. I have a 2012 SuperCrew XLT 4x4 that was our family car for a few years, we have a locking fiberglass tonneau cover and Bed Rug liner that made the bed into a big carpeted trunk. This obviously works with any of the full sized truck options. The F150 has by far the biggest back seat of this price range truck.
Nissan Titan - probably the cheapest option and a damn good (and underrated) truck.
Toyota Tundra - most expensive option, I liked the F150 better.
Silverado/Sierra - smaller back seat than the F150, good powertrains, cheap feeling interior.
Ram - Hemi is great but thirsty, small back seat, cheap feeling interior until the most recent model.

SUVs:

Nissan Armada - SUV version of the Titan, really great SUV. More intelligently designed inside than any of the domestics, cheaper than the Sequoia. Many optional features on the domestics are standard. DOHC V8 is excellent and sounds like a muscle car. We drove one from 60k to 120k and loved it, super reliable and great driving for a big SUV. We would buy another, no question.
Infiniti QX56 - same goodness as the Armada but with a nicer interior.
Toyota Sequoia - good SUV but expensive, same powertrains as the Tundra means you get less power for the same MPG as the domestics
Ford Expedition - really dated powertrain, so/so interior
Lincoln Navigator - much better interior than the Expedition, same mediocre 5.4 V8, failure prone air suspension
Suburban/Yukon XL - again pretty mediocre interiors but good powertrains, they get better MPG than you would think.
Yukon XL Denali/Escalade - much better interior, lots of power, AWD
Durango - current bodystyle is nice, even with the Hemi you better check the tow rating as it is a unibody.
Toyota Land Cruiser - smaller inside than the Sequoia, legendary legacy, incredible off road, holds value forever, expensive to purchase.

[bkreigsr]

Find a Touareg coming off lease.
They are rated at over 7,900 lbs.
Be prepared to replace the drive shaft intermediate bearing at 70,000 miles, otherwise, mine (V6) has been virtually trouble-free over the 38,000 towing miles we have accumulated in the last 4 yrs.
Bill

[bkreigsr]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

8000 lb towing means you'll need a V8 body on frame SUV or truck. That's the absolute max for a unibody SUV.....

I was under the impression that towing capacity was based on chassis/frame strength, not power plant?
Bill K

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by bkreigsr

I was under the impression that towing capacity was based on chassis/frame strength, not power plant?
Bill K

True, but $25k means no diesel and no Ecoboost.

[ckelly78z]

Another thought is getting a conversion van that is like a luxury liner. It has very comfotable seating for seven, and room for luggage and a decent tow rating also. The good news is that you can find them for a fraction of SUV money.

[Cajundaddy]

Personal choice, but tow rating of 8k means a full sized 3/4T truck, crew cab and $40k new, maybe $25K for a used 2011. I just sold my 2005 Silverado and replaced it with a Tacoma V6 because I needed less tow capacity, not more.

I vote Chevy Silverado or Tundra from personal ownership experience. My Ford/Jeep/Dodge did not fare as well.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

Personal choice, but tow rating of 8k means a full sized 3/4T truck, crew cab and $40k new, maybe $25K for a used 2011.

The 8k towing requirement is a hump for any 1/2 ton if distance is involved. I tow that much frequently but only very local and on relatively benign terrain.

We haul horses a bunch and I am never comfortable with more than 6K on long trips.

Our family vacation/long haul ride had been a F150 crew cab for over ten years. With a bed cover, the 1/2 ton trucks are the best.

I own a 2015 Tundra now but would consider any used brand of truck with the right maintenance history in the price range you stated.

[EarlyPorsche]

We got the grand cherokee diesel. Its amazing

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

The 8k towing requirement is a hump for any 1/2 ton if distance is involved. I tow that much frequently but only very local and on relatively benign terrain.

We haul horses a bunch and I am never comfortable with more than 6K on long trips.

Our family vacation/long haul ride had been a F150 crew cab for over ten years. With a bed cover, the 1/2 ton trucks are the best.

I own a 2015 Tundra now but would consider any used brand of truck with the right maintenance history in the price range you stated.

Yep, we hauled horses and boats. 6K lbs was sort of the magic number where we wanted more truck than a 1500 Silverado. Now I only haul the occasional race car on an open trailer so it's 4k lbs dripping wet. Yay!

[onewhippedpuppy]

My F150 5.0 will pull 6000 lb of boat and trailer at 85 MPH all day long, even through moderate grades. Except for the propensity to downshift it's a great tow rig.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

My F150 5.0 will pull 6000 lb of boat and trailer at 85 MPH all day long, even through moderate grades. Except for the propensity to downshift it's a great tow rig.

For us it was never the horsepower but rather the stability and stopping power. We are also in CA with several steep grades within a 1hr drive. In Kansas or TX that is less of an issue.

Choose the right tool for the job at hand.

[chocolatelab]

Nissan Armada

Best combo of price, room, power in my opinion.