Tow Vehicle

[electritek]

Thinking bout upgrading tow rig this fall from F 150 5Ltr to pull 521L. Will Ford Explorer pull this rig safely with muscle. Friend is General Manager at GMC and says Yukon Denali is the beast.

[TopgunZ521C]

I tow a z521c with a ram Cummins all I can say is yesssssss.

[Whiteboat]

The Tahoe's and Yukon's with a 5.3 engine do a good job of towing a 4,000 boat as long as they have at least a 3.42 rear end. The Yukon Denali has a 6.2 engine and a 3.27 rear end is also suppose to fine towing machine. The GM 3.08 rear end is not a good towing differential regardless of what the brochure says.

I currently tow with a Tundra and it is probably the best towing vehicle I have ever owned. I don't like its length so I will probably look at a Sequoia next time as it is 25" shorter than the Tundra.

Unless you tow on relatively flat land, I would stay away from any of the mid size SUV's.

[Bamaman]

Any half ton truck will do the job, but to tow with authority requires 6 liter gas motors, a turbocharged 6 cylinder or a diesel 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

The Tahoe family of SUVs was upstaged by the new aluminum Ford Expedition in every way. I have an Explorer and it is a great vehicle--but not a great tow vehicle.

[Joe4d]

"an explorer" really cant answer your question,, They are set up different have different options, and engines. Makes a big difference in their rating. But even the maxed out model is only rated at 5k.. I would tow if I had too but wouldnt specifically buy it if you are over 4k towing

[Rangerdawg]

Likely borderline....used to tow with Mercedes diesel ML 350 was great....they just got too expensive

[like2fish2]

I tow a Z520C Ranger with a 2017 Tahoe 5.3 with Max Tow package.

Does a great job and no issues. Additional info:. I had to get an 8 inch trailer hitch drop to level the rig. Good luck.

[22RangerZ520R]

Once you go diesel, you'll never go back to a gasser....

I had a 2007 Tahoe with the 5.3l pulling my 2009 Z520. It did ok, but going up a slight incline on the interstate it would down shift and the rpm's would shoot up to like 3k+. Also, the suspension was "soft" on the Tahoe, the rear end bounced a lot on me even having the right drop on the ball so the boat sat level. I could tell the boat was behind me with the Tahoe.

Then I bought a 2013 F250 with the 6.7l diesel and towing the 2009 Z520 it was night and day difference... Even up steep inclines it doesn't downshift, just stays in 6th gear around 1200-1300 rpm's and rumbles up the hill. It felt like a dog wanting to pull out of the leash on a walk... Had to look in the rear view just to make sure I was indeed towing something...

I'm NEVER going back to a gasser for towing and I could care less about it's gas mileage (although I'm getting around 14mpg with my current 2017 F250).

Good luck with your purchase.

[waknbass]

If the explorer has the 3.5 eco boost it will pull it great.

[Ranger391v]

One thing a lot of people never think about is wheel base size/length and brakes (stopping power). Everybody is worried about 'how fast' and 'how strong'. Just something to keep in mind.

With that said, I use a '12 Silverado CC Z71, 5.3L w/6spd & 3.42's and a '02 2500HD EC 4x4, 6.0L w/4.10's to pull everything from boat to farm to daily drivers. I had a diesel and simply couldn't justify the added expense for the hauling I do. I do wish my '12 was a 5spd w/3.73's (was not an option that year) like a lot of the 1/2 tons I had before it ...... meaning the 6spd w/3.42's pull just as strong, but the transmission downshifts more than I like, yet the trans temp stays cool.

I hope that helps.

[jeremyp]

if you get the 3.5 ecoboost, it should tow it just fine. Have it in my f150, and i absolutely love it. Pulls my bay boat like a dream, and i think it weighs about 3000lbs.

[BigDozer66]

We pull our Baby Ranger with a 2017 F-150 3.5L TT EcoBoost with 3.55 rearend and 10 speed transmission most of the time and it pulls great as others have mentioned.

Some of the time I pull it with a 2014 F-150 3.7L gas with 3.23? rearend and it pulls it but not with authority!

[rangered]

I have a Denali and can say that it's a great puller other than the gas mileage. I really
don't care that much about the mileage as I have a company gas card and can use it
anytime as I own the company.

[Bigbassdaddy1190]

I have a Denali and can say that it's a great puller other than the gas mileage. I really
don't care that much about the mileage as I have a company gas card and can use it
anytime as I own the company.

You own the company so gas is free? I don’t think that’s how it works

[BigDozer66]

You own the company so gas is free? I don’t think that’s how it works

Yeah I try to get the best gas mileage I can when I use my Company card!

[rtfishn]

Any half ton truck will do the job, but to tow with authority requires 6 liter gas motors, a turbocharged 6 cylinder or a diesel 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

The Tahoe family of SUVs was upstaged by the new aluminum Ford Expedition in every way. I have an Explorer and it is a great vehicle--but not a great tow vehicle.

We have a 15 Tahoe Ltz trim package, it’s in no way upstaged by the expedition. The only thing the expedition may do is tow better with the eco boost. The Tahoe does tow good with the tow package and the 3.42 gears.

[brolland]

I have a new F-150 with the 2.7L, dual turbocharged motor and it pulls like the Z521 isn't back there.

[printman71]

I am pulling around a BassCat Puma (sorry Ranger forum). I currently have a 4WD Yukon, 5.3, 3.08 gears. Awful towing is an understatement, especially in the mountains of North Georgia.
I am trading later this week for a 2018 4WD, F-150, 3.5 Ecoboost, 3.55 gears. Hope the Ford is a lot better, can't be worse.

[BigDozer66]

I am pulling around a BassCat Puma (sorry Ranger forum). I currently have a 4WD Yukon, 5.3, 3.08 gears. Awful towing is an understatement, especially in the mountains of North Georgia.
I am trading later this week for a 2018 4WD, F-150, 3.5 Ecoboost, 3.55 gears. Hope the Ford is a lot better, can't be worse.

Without going to a diesel I'm not sure you could get a better towing truck than the one you are getting which is the newer model of our truck!

In the mountains is where the Twin Turbo's really shine over normally aspirated engines.

[sjcorpst]

Your 3.08 gears is what's killing your Yukon towing capability.