10 Best Vehicles for Towing a Camping Trailer
Camping season is well underway, but many enthusiasts may be wondering if they have the right vehicle to tow their trailer or considering a roomier and more equipped model. After all, bigger is always better, especially during summer vacation!
Whatever your needs and budget are, we present you the ten best vehicles for towing a camping trailer—essentially those with the best towing capacity in their respective segments (among all the models currently on sale in Canada).
Full-size SUV
Producing 470 pound-feet of torque, the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 in the new 2018 Ford Expedition is stronger than many V8s thanks to its dual turbos. Pulling 9,200 pounds is no problem when fitted with the Heavy Duty Trailer Tow Package.
Midsize SUV
The 2018 Grand Cherokee can tow up to 7,200 pounds with any of its HEMI V8 engines, which are rated at 360, 475 and 707 horsepower (though it’s hard to imagine a Trackhawk attached to camping trailer!).
Compact SUV
Another Jeep! When equipped with the 271-horsepower 3.2-litre Pentastar V6, the updated 2019 Jeep Cherokee can’t be beat by any other small SUV. It will pull up to 4,500 pounds, making much larger vehicles quite ashamed of themselves.
Full-size luxury SUV
The new 2018 Lincoln Navigator boasts the same 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 as the Ford Expedition. Output is bumped to 450 horsepower and torque increases to 510 pound-feet, but different equipment and tuning drops towing capacity to 8,700 pounds—still good enough for best in class.
Midsize luxury SUV
Both the new 2019 Porsche Cayenne and the 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Sport (above) manage to tow loads of 7,716 pounds. The latter offers a selection of supercharged V6 and V8 engines plus a turbo-diesel V6.
Compact luxury SUV
The second-generation 2018 Audi Q5 is not just handsome and fun to drive. With a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine developing 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, it can tow up to 4,400 pounds. Who needs a V6?
Heavy-duty full-size pickup
In SuperCrew 4x2 trim with a 6.7-litre turbo-diesel V8 producing 450 horsepower and best-in-class 935 pound-feet of torque (9-3-5!), the 2018 Ford F-450’s max towing capacity is an insane 34,000 pounds. Imagine the size of the camping trailer you could attach to it!
Full-size pickup
Who else but the 2018 Ford F-150? In SuperCrew 4x2 trim with a 6.5-foot cargo bed and 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine (375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque), plus the Max Tow Trailer Package, it can tow up to 13,200 pounds. That’s 450 more than the new 2019 Ram 1500.
Midsize pickup
GM’s twins are available with a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine that supplies an impressive 369 pound-feet of torque. That means the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon will pull loads up to 7,700 pounds—with just four cylinders!
Minivan
Many families turn to minivans and that’s quite understandable. These vehicles can tow a camping trailer, too. None is more capable than the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica with a rating of 3,600 pounds (towing package required).