A Journey of finding and building the ultimate toy hauler SUV begins
This blog is dedicated to my journey in finding and building the best possible toy hauler SUV to take my family on amazing adventures and spend weekends camping with dirt and mountain bikes. As you'll read below, it's not possible for me to simply go buy a spanking new SUV and call it a day. And I have a feeling more and more families are having the exact same struggle I am. So, subscribe to my adventure and let's see where this journey takes us!
A crew cab truck could work, but 6 people in a crew cab is pretty tight quarters and doesn't allow any additional seats for friends to come along. The idea of all the kids in that close of proximity to each other for 10 hour drives doesn't sound like a good formula for parent sanity either. As much as I LOVE the new Dodge Cummins with the 5-link auto load leveling air suspension in the rear end, I need more seats!
RV Motorhome and motorcycle trailer
We actually did this for a few years and really enjoyed it. We had a Class A Fleetwood Bounder 34B bunkhouse and it was a great RV and something we miss quite a lot but had to sell it after both my wife and I changed jobs multiple times and took pay cuts. On top of being expensive there were a few other drawbacks including limited off-road ability and not having a vehicle to get around in while camped.
SUV and Bumper Toy Hauler
So, now we get to America's favorite vehicle, the SUV. You would think this would be a slam dunk, no brainer, but it's actually not and here is why. First, I will admit that owning a Class A motorhome has spoiled us and although it would be possible to buy a smaller, lighter, less luxurious toy hauler trailer, well....the trailers we are looking at are 9000 lbs dry weight. Once loaded with bikes, gear, food, water, etc we're looking at 12,000+ lbs. Our mind is made up on the trailer, so the bar is set very high for towing capacity.
SUV's I've Owned Past and Present
I've owned a lot of SUV's including a 4Runner, Pathfinder, Expedition, two Armadas, and currently an EcoBoost Flex. I loved each of them for different reasons, well, other than the Expedition which had the old 2-valve 5.4L V8 that was absolute garbage. Not only was it gutless, but it got horrendous gas mileage. Out of them all the Armada (and Flex) was our favorite. Online people really like to talk trash about the Armada, but I've owned two of them and they were spectacular SUV's that I'd buy over and over again. And with the deals you can get on them they are probably the best bang for your buck. I could also go on for pages about the extraordinary Ford Flex with the unbeleivable 365HP Ecoboost...if you're never driving off-road with your SUV, trust me, this is the absolute best SUV in the world and it's unfortunate nobody buys them. Go take one (Ecoboost!) for a test drive, you'll be blown away by it.
Sorry for the tangent, lets get back to why we are here...
Well, look at that, not a single SUV on the market today even comes close to towing the trailer we want to pull once it's loaded up. Towing an empty trailer around isn't going to cut it, so unless we are willing to significantly downsize the trailer we want, all current SUV's are out of the question. And I won't even get into the absurd prices that Detroit is asking for their new SUV's...who the hell pays $71,000 for a Suburban or Expedition??? I'll tackle this problem in a future blog post.
So, just like that, the monster diesel SUV that Ford quit making 10 years ago is my ONLY option!
My Needs
- Minimum of 6 seats including a toddler car seat. 8 Seats is ideal for friends.
- Towing a toy hauler trailer in excess of 12,000 lbs
- Capable of moderate off-roading. Moab White Rim for example.
- Powerful yet fuel efficient (for its size)
- Doesn't cost as much as a house!
The Problem
What kind of vehicle does a family of 6 haul motocross bikes out to the desert, spend days or weeks dry camping, drive off-road, and generally spend time trailer camping with friends and family and toys? We spend the majority of our camping trips with dirt bikes, but also love visiting Moab and Fruita with mountain bikes. We also use our SUV as a support vehicle to do 100 mile mountain bike rides as a family requiring an above average off-road ability. Yes, we are one of those families that actually use an SUV or truck for its intended purpose. I don't need a fancy SUV rolling on 24's to go grocery shopping, my VW TDI Sportwagen does that better than any SUV while sipping fuel at 40mpg. I need a heavy duty truck with a 3rd row!Possible Solutions
Crew Cab Truck and 5th Wheel Toy HaulerA crew cab truck could work, but 6 people in a crew cab is pretty tight quarters and doesn't allow any additional seats for friends to come along. The idea of all the kids in that close of proximity to each other for 10 hour drives doesn't sound like a good formula for parent sanity either. As much as I LOVE the new Dodge Cummins with the 5-link auto load leveling air suspension in the rear end, I need more seats!
RV Motorhome and motorcycle trailer
We actually did this for a few years and really enjoyed it. We had a Class A Fleetwood Bounder 34B bunkhouse and it was a great RV and something we miss quite a lot but had to sell it after both my wife and I changed jobs multiple times and took pay cuts. On top of being expensive there were a few other drawbacks including limited off-road ability and not having a vehicle to get around in while camped.
SUV and Bumper Toy Hauler
So, now we get to America's favorite vehicle, the SUV. You would think this would be a slam dunk, no brainer, but it's actually not and here is why. First, I will admit that owning a Class A motorhome has spoiled us and although it would be possible to buy a smaller, lighter, less luxurious toy hauler trailer, well....the trailers we are looking at are 9000 lbs dry weight. Once loaded with bikes, gear, food, water, etc we're looking at 12,000+ lbs. Our mind is made up on the trailer, so the bar is set very high for towing capacity.
SUV's I've Owned Past and Present
I've owned a lot of SUV's including a 4Runner, Pathfinder, Expedition, two Armadas, and currently an EcoBoost Flex. I loved each of them for different reasons, well, other than the Expedition which had the old 2-valve 5.4L V8 that was absolute garbage. Not only was it gutless, but it got horrendous gas mileage. Out of them all the Armada (and Flex) was our favorite. Online people really like to talk trash about the Armada, but I've owned two of them and they were spectacular SUV's that I'd buy over and over again. And with the deals you can get on them they are probably the best bang for your buck. I could also go on for pages about the extraordinary Ford Flex with the unbeleivable 365HP Ecoboost...if you're never driving off-road with your SUV, trust me, this is the absolute best SUV in the world and it's unfortunate nobody buys them. Go take one (Ecoboost!) for a test drive, you'll be blown away by it.
Sorry for the tangent, lets get back to why we are here...
2015 SUV Towing Capacities
So, let's look at the maximum towing capability of a few common SUV's that are currently available:- Ford Expedition 9200 lbs
- Nissan Armada 9000 lbs
- Chevy Suburban 8000 lbs
- Toyota Sequoia 7400 lbs
Well, look at that, not a single SUV on the market today even comes close to towing the trailer we want to pull once it's loaded up. Towing an empty trailer around isn't going to cut it, so unless we are willing to significantly downsize the trailer we want, all current SUV's are out of the question. And I won't even get into the absurd prices that Detroit is asking for their new SUV's...who the hell pays $71,000 for a Suburban or Expedition??? I'll tackle this problem in a future blog post.
3/4 Ton SUV's of the past...2500 Suburban and Ford Excursion
So, we've established that a new SUV can't meet my needs, so let's look into the past. There is the Suburban 2500 made off and on throughout the years, but I have two issues with them. First, the low ground clearance and difficulty to lift and improve the suspension makes it a poor off-road vehicle without major modifications. And second, the engine choices are not that great with a total lack of a diesel engine, and the 8.1L while having decent power is a massive gas hog...not that I'm expecting high mpg, but it would be nice to get 15mpg hwy. Then there is one last problem with the Suburban 2500, it's only rated for an extremely low (for a 3/4 ton) 9600 lbs which isn't much better than all the 1/2 ton SUV's. I was actually quite shocked to find out how low the towing capacity is of the 2500 burb.The One and Only Solution to my Toy Hauler Needs...a 10 year old Ford Excursion!
That leaves the biggest beast that has ever lived in the SUV genere, the Ford Excursion! Rated for 12,500 lbs towing and available with either the workhorse V10 that you find in most gas powered motorhomes, or two different Powerstroke diesel's depending on the year, either the bulletproof 7.3L or the not so bulletproof but more modern 6.0L.So, just like that, the monster diesel SUV that Ford quit making 10 years ago is my ONLY option!
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