Flat towing behind '19 View?

[dragoneggs]

In the market for an everyday SUV for my wife that will double as an occasional toad. Eyes are on a Ford Edge ST vs. Ford Escape Hybrid. Curb weight 4477lb vs. 3870. So 600lb difference. Per the specs, I would be 'pushing it' with the Edge (my preference).

Interested in people's experience pulling a 4500lb or so Toad with your View/Navion?

[CarpeDiem]

While I have a different Winnebago, and since you are asking for opinions, here is mine. Go with the lighter vehicle. You will end up loading it with supplies as well which will add to the weight. Safe travels.

[Winterbagoal]

Lighter is better when towing with a View/Navion. Or any tow vehicle. IMO.
Our Wrangler weighs about 4500lbs. loaded for travel with 1/4 tank of fuel. You do tend to use it as a storage container, so that's true.
The Navion pulls it pretty easily, in most terrain. I haven't challenged the I-70 passes yet when towing, but we have done the steeper ones in the Appalachians.
The down hill grades are the greater concerns for me, as the brakes have to be functioning perfectly and applied correctly, to handle the Navion and Wrangler together. No problems to date.
We get around 15 mpg at 62-65 mph solo, and about 2 mpg less when towing.

[dragoneggs]

Thank you, Winterbagoal. Anyone else pulling 'heavy' cars behind a View? We do have mountain passes to contend with here in the PNW on I-5, I-90, and others. Yes, I plan a well incorporated braking system.

I do not plan to load up the toad other than a bike rack to carry our two bikes when the toad is attached (about 100lbs total).

[Winterbagoal]

My towing rig is Blue Ox, bar, baseplate, wiring, and their Patriot II 2016 model aux braking system. The Patriot II 2016 is electro-mechanical, uses a 12V always hot outlet in the Wrangler for power, only draws about 2A when activated and milliamps when not. It has on the fly adjustable braking force, using a wireless remote dash monitor in the Navion, which tells me what's going on behind us. It's a good system that works for us.
I've only ever done the I-90 and I-5 grades in our Roadtrek, no towed, and they were challenging for that vehicle with it's 5.7L V8. I would think the Navion would perform better in those instances than the gas powered alternatives. We did the I-70 passes and the Glenwood Canyon in our Navion solo, and it did them with ease. Towing would have added an extra degree of "adventure", but we were on our maiden voyage when we did I-70, and were in learning mode.
Good luck with it.

[DGundy]

Motorhome.com has a list that they publish. You can go back a few years on the site.

[Philthy47]

The Cheap Seats;
Our “Winner” is a 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport four-door which I purchased with 160k on it for just over $5000 in immaculate condition. With a curb weight (unibody construction) of around 3000 lbs, significantly lighter than- the others mentioned (nearly 1500 lbs lighter than a CJ) and with relatively massive interior space for tag-along stuff, the coach barely feels it unless on a significant grade. Command-Trac 4WD allows a simple three-step “neutralization”; with car running, put transfer case in Neutral, transmission in Park and turn ignition switch counterclockwise until engine stops which leaves the steering unlocked. Takes all o fifteen seconds. The bonus is that it’s a pretty capable off-reader!
Cheers!

[wheelz]

We tow a Mini Countryman 4 door. 3100 pounds, tons of room, highly recommend!

Wheelz55
2017 Navion 24J

[rthagar]

Definitely lighter is better when towing with the Navion. We do a 2008 smart car. Curb weight 1800 pounds. You don’t even know it’s back there. Only minor slow downs even on Hills

[harvestmac]

Originally Posted by dragoneggs

In the market for an everyday SUV for my wife that will double as an occasional toad. Eyes are on a Ford Edge ST vs. Ford Escape Hybrid. Curb weight 4477lb vs. 3870. So 600lb difference. Per the specs, I would be 'pushing it' with the Edge (my preference).

Interested in people's experience pulling a 4500lb or so Toad with your View/Navion?

I saw somewhere towing a hybrid vehicle could fry the hybrid battery. I don't know if that would apply to a SUV.

[RetiredUSCG]

We tow a 2020 KIA Soul with a Blue Ox tow setup behind our 2019 View. The KIA runs great and is a great “kick around” car. It weighs 2800lbs. If I wasn’t looking at it with the back camera I wouldn’t know it was there. I can barely feel it. Average 14 to 15 mpg while towing, very happy with that.

[rthagar]

For a whole complex of reasons, most hybrid vehicles cannot be flat towed. You cannot tow a Toyota Prius except when all wheels are upon a trailer

[Buddy’s RV]

We tow a 2021 Ford Ranger with our 2019 View 24D with Blue Ox and Patriot 111 braking system . Our first vehicle for towing . Tows very well . Simple to hook and unhook . I do not push it climbing mountains in our mountain areas . Averaging 13 mpg with toad 15 -16 without .

[RickoJ]

We tow a 2020 Buick Envision AWD which is toward the upper end with no problem. Very Easy hook up. Using Blue Ox with Demco Stay-In-Play brake system permanetly mounted under hood. Put car in neutral, one switch turns brake on and two switches disable fuses. No speed limit (common sense) nor mileage limits while towing.
Note: The 2021 versions are NOT flat towable!

[Hatrock]

Originally Posted by dragoneggs

In the market for an everyday SUV for my wife that will double as an occasional toad. Eyes are on a Ford Edge ST vs. Ford Escape Hybrid. Curb weight 4477lb vs. 3870. So 600lb difference. Per the specs, I would be 'pushing it' with the Edge (my preference).

Interested in people's experience pulling a 4500lb or so Toad with your View/Navion?

You'll get advice all over the map on this one. First thing people will tell you is that the 5000lb towing load you are looking at is weight on your hitch, not the weight of your load or TOAD. The other common observation or caution is that the brakes on your View cannot accommodate the extra stress of trying to stop a TOAD along with your coach. My experience: I tow a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk behind my View. The Jeep has an after-market onboard braking system the takes the load off the coach. I have a very good Roadmaster tow bar. So far, we have learned that we should disconnect and drive the Jeep if we are approaching a steep, extended grade. Outside of that, the Sprinter diesel View has been terrific towing this car. Had my View serviced recently and captured an oil sample to be analyzed by Blackstone. They found more metal in it than they expected, but if you have watched any of Grandpa Ron's YouTube videos you probably know that he experienced the same thing, and he doesn't tow. Jeep says my car has a 4250lb curb weight.

[DrMack]

2018 View 24J towing a 2017 Jeep Wrangler 4-door. NSA Ready Brute II towbar (surge brake). No issues up or down steep mountain grades.

[OnNTwo]

I pull a 2015 GMC Terrain SLT (automatic) which weighs about 4000 lbs. Great car for a road and around town.

[SeeTheUSA]

2012 Ford Escape Limited V6 ... curb weight 3296 lbs. Roadmaster Sterling tow bar, Roadmaster InvisiBrake, Roadmaster Guardian tow shield, Remco transmission lube pump, TireTraker TPMS. At about 62-63mph traveling, about 13mpg. Have gone over most all of the big mountain passes, slows to about 40mph on the steep long ones, but have never felt the need to disconnect.

[dragoneggs]

Originally Posted by rthagar

For a whole complex of reasons, most hybrid vehicles cannot be flat towed. You cannot tow a Toyota Prius except when all wheels are upon a trailer

The Ford Escape Hybrid version is flat towable. The rest of the Escape line up is not.

[Coffie Drink]

I tow a 17 Fiesta. Keep In mind that you can use the car to carry stuff. I like this when driving because the OCCC is small but the total with trailer allows me to keep my RV and car in line.
Heavy car may be ok but you need to be carful about your weight.