Advice on a Tow Vehicle

[skiyaker]

For a while I owned a GMC Acadia and I decided to tow my boat to Tennessee with it. I figured it has a 5200 pound tow rating so load her up and lets go. That falls into the "what the hell was I thinking" category. At one point I remember having the pedal to the floor with the tach on the redline going about 30 mph up a hill with a semi up my arse. I put a bit of wear on it that trip. The Acadia was the worst damn vehicle I've ever owned. We turned that thing into an expedition EL.

[Wax]

For a while I owned a GMC Acadia and I decided to tow my boat to Tennessee with it. I figured it has a 5200 pound tow rating so load her up and lets go. That falls into the "what the hell was I thinking" category. At one point I remember having the pedal to the floor with the tach on the redline going about 30 mph up a hill with a semi up my arse. I put a bit of wear on it that trip. The Acadia was the worst damn vehicle I've ever owned. We turned that thing into an expedition EL.

That's a pretty puny tow rating for that vehicle, I'm actually surprised and shocked that it sucked that bad. I know people that tow a wake boat with their Traverse, they don't seem to have an issue but again maybe they just deal with it lol.

Plus isn't that the 3.6L? Uh oh GM, I hear you're putting that engine in the new Colorado...guess everybody will have to buy the 4cyl Duramax!

[Buckeye LSV]

Towed old Response(2700lbs) with our Acadia with no problems or complaints for the last couple of years. Decided to take it to pick up the new LSV this fall and it did fine. Yea the LSV is more to the limits of the Acadia. Plenty of motor but the weight ratio is going the wrong way on that combo.

Now... I only tow the boat 1/2 mile to the top of the hill now so we will continue to use the Acadia some weekends. Yea if decide to take the boat on a road trip I going to take one of the trucks.

Just added a '14 eco boost to the line up, we'll see how it does come spring with the boat. If not still have my '10 with 5.4 and still my favorite to drive.( yes I have a truck problem!!)

[skiyaker]

I probably had a thousand pounds of kids luggage beer etc in the Acadia at the time- I'm sure that didn't help

[C.Hern5972]

I have a 13 Ecoboost and it has done great. I sold my 5.3 chevy and a denali 6.6 Duramax. Ive love this new truck and i tow allot with it. Test drive one and you might like it. I know loaded my boat, fuel, gear, people, coolers(fuel), im towing quiet a bit.

[Boatdrinks797]

My wife just got an Acadia and I'm trying really hard to hate it, but it's got more interior room than my Yukon and gets great MPG's on the highway. I was wondering how it would work for towing in a pinch. The biggest hill's we have around here are at the boat ramp so shouldn't be a problem. I hate it when they are right!

[viking]

to the op....we tow the boat with an 05 denali (regular not xl) and 07 duramax cc. Both pull the boat no prob. Of course the duramax pulls the boat as caboose behind our 9K lb 5'er so no yukon pales in comparison. But the yukon pulls the boat extremely well. If not camping, we load up all the gear and 3 kiddos and head out. It does have the 6.0L so that helps but not needed. I'm a bit spoiled though now so doubt when replacing it that I won't opt for the bigger powerplant. Many SUV's out there will do the job. But with kids and all the stuff that goes with them, the bigger the better both on room, HP, and tow load!

[Buckeye LSV]

My wife just got an Acadia and I'm trying really hard to hate it, but it's got more interior room than my Yukon and gets great MPG's on the highway. I was wondering how it would work for towing in a pinch. The biggest hill's we have around here are at the boat ramp so shouldn't be a problem. I hate it when they are right!

Used our Acadia to pick up our LSV and put in and out a few times and it was fine. Wouldn't use it for a road trip with boat and gear, would opt for a heavier vehicle. We will be using both Acadia and F-150 this summer for tow duty. But for us now its 2miles to the gas station and 1/2 mile to ramp.

[skiyaker]

Yeah I agree Acadia is fine for a few miles here and there just not the best choice to load up with gear and head down I75 through TN. We had a bad experience from the beginning because of service issues so I got sour on it pretty quickly. We tend to haul too much crap every where we go so once we had a third child we outgrew it. If they still made the excursion I would probably get one.

[z28ke]

I'm a Chevy man so my vote is a 2000 model year or newer Tahoe/suburban/1500 rado, the newer the better depending on budget. I have a 06 5.3 Tahoe that gets the job done whether towing the boat or car trailer. In 2010 I bought a new 1500 silverado 6.2 liter and it towes like a beast!