Rear Wheel vs Front Wheel Drive

In your humble opinion, which drive is best for a tow vehicle?

[gmferg]

Rear.

[Wavery]

There are advantages to both. If you could find a FWD TV with a decent towing and GCWR, it would be ideal.

Leaf springs are better for towing because they add to the lateral stability of the TV (less chance of swaying) and better spread the load. I don't know that you will find a FWD vehicle with leaf springs.

Also, most (if not all) FWD vehicles are uni-body construction. There can be a long debate about the pros and cons of towing with a uni-body vehicle. I (for one) prefer a full frame TV.

[mcgyver210]

We use both Front & Rear drive to tow our TM so I guess both is my preference

For where I go 4wd and high ground clearance is mandatory, so what I use is probably overkill for you. I tow in the dirt and across dry creek beds.

I am also a fan of towing with a vehicle that has a frame and leaf springs.

I had to switch from a Chevy 1500HD crew cab truck to a GMC 2500HD crew cab truck because when loaded it was not possible to remove the front wheel of the TM. The Chevy just wasn't high enough, after the two motorcycles were loaded in the truck.

There is a lot more to choosing a TV than front wheel versus rear wheel versus all wheel versus four wheel drive.

You probably would not like my gasoline bill.

Where do you intend to go?

I am not an off-road type of guy. My camping is in campgrounds. I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Quadcab with 6400 or 7400 towing capacity depending on axle ratio (?) and a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica with 3500 towing capacity. I am planning on using the Dodge Ram but was curious as to what people consider a better TV.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by Beach Boy

I am not an off-road type of guy. My camping is in campgrounds. I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Quadcab with 6400 or 7400 towing capacity depending on axle ratio (?) and a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica with 3500 towing capacity. I am planning on using the Dodge Ram but was curious as to what people consider a better TV.

Front wheel drive is generally not as good for towing because the trailer tongue tends to unload the drive wheels, creating still one more good reason to use a Weight Distributing Hitch. But front/rear drive is not particularly relevant to stopping or safety, of course, just like the axle ratio on the Ram.

More to the point, a tow vehicle within axle load limits and Gross Combined Weight limits is probably better than one that isn't. Hypothetically, it should be easier to do this with the Ram than the Pacifica, but these are very different vehicles. You'd have to hitch them up and put them on the scale to actually know how the story comes out. I think you'd probably find that you are stretching the terms of your warranty on the Pacifica, but you must have your own reasons for asking the question. If I owned the Pacifica without the Ram, I'd be tempted to try it to see how it handled the TrailManor before going out and buying a pickup. Conversely, if I already owned the Ram, I doubt I'd be buying a Pacifica to tow a TrailManor for substantial distances.

Hope this helps.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by harveyrv

...
Leaf springs are better for towing because they add to the lateral stability of the TV (less chance of swaying) and better spread the load. I don't know that you will find a FWD vehicle with leaf springs.
...

Lateral stability is better when you use a Weight Distributing hitch. It keeps the rear axle from being overloaded, and there are good reasons that vehicles have control problems when they are overloaded in the back.

[scrubjaysnest]

The FWD vehicles I am familiar with wouldn't have the capacity to tow a TM in the first place.