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Old 07-16-2007, 08:06 AM   #12
Bill
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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I'm tending to think like grill-n-go. You probably shouldn't get anything larger than a 2720. Especially if you plan to get into any of the mountains, even the modest ones, in California.

The Enclave is an interesting vehicle. It is big - bigger than a Tahoe - which is usually a good thing in the trailer-pulling world. But it has only half the tow rating of a Tahoe. I'm not sure why. Details about the Enclave seem to be sketchy, but it has a tow rating of only 4200-4500 pounds WITH the factory tow package. It is a unibody vehicle, so you'll want to be sure that the factory tow package includes a hitch receiver that will accept a weight-distributing hitch.

A road-ready 2720 will weigh something like 3500 pounds, maybe a touch more. At first blush, then, you have 800 or 1000 pounds of margin, which sounds good. But remember that all the weight you put into the Enclave (other than the driver) must be directly subtracted from the advertised towing capacity. This includes the weight of all factory options beyond the lowest basic model, plus the weight of a full tank of gas, all the passengers, and all the cargo you load into it. You will have a real hard time keeping all this under 800 pounds. And as a "luxury vehicle", the Enclave will probably be easy to load up with factory options (think WEIGHT).

Finally, it pays to remember that all vehicle manufacturers exaggerate the real-world towing capacity of their vehicles. If you get anywhere near the advertised rating, you won't be happy.

On the TM side, considering the age of your youngsters, a 2720 or 2720SD (but not a 2720SL) is probably a good choice of floor plan. But I would be leery of going bigger than a 2720.

Bill
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