Towing Elkmont 24' with Buick Enclave?

We currently have a 2010 Forest River R-Pod 175 that we can easily tow with our 2009 Buick Enclave, equipped with a 3800cc V6 and towing package (rated to 4500 lbs). The Enclave is a sister vehicle to the GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse, and the vehicle itself has a long wheel base and a weight of 4800 lbs.

The dry weight of the R-Pod is listed at 2500 with about 200 pounds of tongue weight. I have never double checked these figures at a truck scale. With the R-Pod, we felt pretty safe towing with an almost 2-1 ratio of TV capacity to trailer weight.

But the bottom line is that we are finding the R-Pod too confining comfort-wise, and would very much enjoy the extra room of the Elkmont 24'.

Is anyone else here towing an Elkmont with a V6 SUV or crossover, and how has the towing experience been? We live in Southern CA, so we do on rare occassions make some fairly demanding climbs /decents. The worst challenge we put the Enclave / R-Pod pair through was an ascent up to Big Bear Lake, where we went from 1500 feet up to 7200 feet altitude in 90 degree weather. The going was a bit slow at times but the Buick was no worse for wear. For most trips, we avoid the large elevation changes, keeping them to 1000 feet or less.

Although we don't use a WDH or sway bar with the R-Pod, if we get the Elkmont I've already decided to use both.

I want to know now how challenging / problematic towing an Elkmont might be with the Enclave before I lay any cash out. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Our Tacoma has a 4L V6 and 6500# tow capacity. It seems to handle the Elkmont OK, but you definitely know that you are hauling a trailer.

Our Elkmont's tongue weight is about 550#. That would cut into your vehicle's payload capacity; it does for ours.

Do you have a transmission cooler for those mountain trips?

One minor correction: the engine is a 3.6L, not a 3.8.

From the brochure:

Trailering provision package: Extends trailering capacity up to 4,500 lbs, includes transmission cooler, wiring harness and factory-installed hitch. Includes compact aluminum spare wheel.

One nice feature is the addition of a trailer towing mode for the transmission. It changes the shift points on the tranny and prevents engaging overdrive.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Bigbit

One minor correction: the engine is a 3.6L, not a 3.8.

From the brochure:

Trailering provision package: Extends trailering capacity up to 4,500 lbs, includes transmission cooler, wiring harness and factory-installed hitch. Includes compact aluminum spare wheel.

One nice feature is the addition of a trailer towing mode for the transmission. It changes the shift points on the tranny and prevents engaging overdrive.

Bigbit

You need a lot more information than just the maximum towing capacity of your tow vehicle. All that tells you is the maximum amount of fully loaded trailer that you are able to tow with your vehicle and often allows only for a driver and no cargo in the TV.

It's important to know what your GCWR is. Also your tire rating, rear axle rating, tongue weight rating etc...... One cannot just pick one rating and figure that they are good to go because the dry weight of the trailer is less than any one particular rating (like the "Tow rating").

It is also important to know what the weight is that you are towing. Also the weight of the passengers and cargo that you are carrying. Dry weight means nothing and GVW of the trailer should be considered as your trailer weight IMO....

I have a 1/2 ton Chevy pick-up and I would find towing an Elkmont to be beyond the capacity of my truck. There is little doubt that my truck would tow it however, I am right at full capacity with my 4000# TM 2720 with a 515# tongue weight and a Class IV trailer hitch now. If I were to tow an Elkmont, I would prefer a 3/4 ton pick up.....but then.....that's just me. I have found that exceeding tow vehicle weight limits (any of them) is risky, at best.

Here's a couple of websites that you may find helpful:
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-...eight-tt.shtml

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-p...hicle/gcwr.htm

We are towing our Elkmont with a 6 cylinder Toyota 4Runner. The Toyota has plenty of pulling power and we are able to drive 70 mph on the interstates. When crossing the Vail pass in the Rockies, we slow down to approximately 45 mph.

HarveyRV is right. I would like to add one other thought to his. I have seen the R-pod on some of my travels. If it is the same as yours, the R-pod is more aero-dynamic than the Elkmont. There is going to be more frontal area, ie sail effect and drag, with the Elkmont. Think about that before you connect up. I know that there are members of this forum that tow lean and mean, but sounds like you are going to be at least borderline with that rig and maybe past it. Borderline is not a good place to be when your safety is what you are really talking about.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Bigbit

The worst challenge we put the Enclave / R-Pod pair through was an ascent up to Big Bear Lake... The going was a bit slow at times but the Buick was no worse for wear.

How do you know?

This is not intended to be a snarky question, but the fact that it didn't cough to a stop at the side of the road, or gush big billows of steam, does not mean that it is no worse for wear.

If you overstress an engine, may give you some warning (cough, gush, or even a light on the dash) before it is badly damaged. A transmission will not. If it is overstressed and it overheats, it may simply die on the spot. And just as bad is that internal damage can happen without any external signs. The result can be a "mysterious" transmission failure later, at some time when you aren't really stressing it, and much earlier than it would otherwise have occurred. And transmission failures are inconvenient, time-consuming, and EXPENSIVE.

In the early days of this forum, RockyMtnRay, our Tundra towing expert, made a good and insistent case for knowing the transmission temp. In those days, adding a decent gauge was a major chore. Over the years the chore has gotten really easy and quite cheap. Simply get one of the gauges that plug into the OBD port that is on every car in America. Scan Gauge and Aeroforce Interceptor are two that come to mind, but there are others. I've used one for about 5 years, and I've been surprised at how the transmission temp behaves, especially since some of it is counter-intuitive and you can easily make the situation worse when you are trying to make it better. In my opinion, it is important to know what is happening inside the tranny, especially if you are thinking about towing near the limit.

Off my soapbox now ...

Bill

Originally Posted by Trekker

We are towing our Elkmont with a 6 cylinder Toyota 4Runner. The Toyota has plenty of pulling power and we are able to drive 70 mph on the interstates. When crossing the Vail pass in the Rockies, we slow down to approximately 45 mph.

I find it curious how many people will state how fast they can tow their trailer with a particular vehicle, but no one ever states how fast they can stop if they had to.

Towing is not just about getting underway, it is also about being able to control and stop without presenting a hazard to yourself and others.

Agreed. We talk about Toyota V6 Tacoma and Elkmont here:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10333

And conclude that pulling power is probably less of an issue than stopping power.

[cochise]

We bought our Elkmont the same place as Brulaz, in Texas, about 1000 miles from home. We had been assured by Mr. Schultz at Texas RV Center that we would have no problem pulling the trailer with out 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe V6, 3.6L engine with the tow package. The dealer did install a brake control and WDH on the Santa Fe.

Well we did get it home. There were a few places where the engine labored, but not too seriously. I have since learned from the hitch supplier, E-Trailer, that the installed hitch is good for a max load of 3500 lb and only 350 on the tongue. So after we got home I decided that it probably was a bit much for the Santa Fe, and got a 2003 Silverado with a V6 4.3 L engine and the GM tow package which included the tranny tow selector. We have been driving around in Southern Arizona and into California and we have had no problems what-so-ever. I am getting about 13.5 miles to the gallon, but I do keep my speed at an bout 55 MPH, as I think it is safer, and besides that’s the law in CA. The Silverado is good for 5000 lb of trailer weight and I keep my generator in the truck bed along with the grill, a 5 gl canister of gas and other necessities.

When we brought it back from Texas we did take it to a truck scale and the numbers came out about what Brulaz mentioned in one of his excellent weight break downs. As far as sway control, we have NO problem with that, although when a big 18 wheeler shoots by at 70 MPH I feel a very slight pull that doesn’t bother me. And we have gone up some steep inclines out here too, with no problems. Truck had about 68 K on the odometer when I got it and we are up to 75 K now.

So with a properly installed and adjusted WDH we have not had any problems. It is important to try to keep the hitch horizontal to and level with the ground so that everything is well distributed. And I have been in contact with Goodyear, and been told that the 65 PSI tire pressure is for the max weight load per tire of 2540 lb. Our trailer weight is under 4000 lb so I am going to let some air out of the tires and see if the ride gets a little smoother for the stuff in the trailer.

I should mention that the Silverado has disc brakes on all four wheels.