Towing with my 2020

[paulyg]

Good morning everybody.

We have a 4000 pound camper that we purchased as we are planning a trip from WNY to the PNW in late summer. My 2020 ST is stock. Does anyone have experience towing a trailer with theirs and how did it go?

Thanks!
Paul

 

[Cmaximst]

I pull a 5,000 pound boat with my 2020 ST. I can hardly tell it is even back there.

 

[paulyg]

That's good to hear! Thanks!
G

 

[Caster]

Does your camper have electric brakes and do you have a brake controller in your ST? If your camper does have electric brakes and you do not have a controller in your ST, you need to get one.

 

[paulyg]

The camper has electric brakes and I did have a controller installed.
G

 

[Caster]

I tow a tandem axle, ATV trailer that is usually at or near the max towing capacity. I did this with my previous 22' ST and now with my 25' ST. All has been good as long as my trailer brakes are working well and I had a brake controller. I recently took a trip from my home state of Michigan to West Virginia for an ATV & dirt bike ride. I was deffinately at the max GCWR for the vehicle and the trailer traveling through the steep Appalachian Mountains. The Explorer did really well.

 

[KNTRDR]

I pulled a 3700lb camper with mine back in 2021. Bone stock, only thing I changed was I filled up with 91 instead of my usual 87. I also picked up a Kurt wireless/bluetooth brake controller, which worked fairly well overall minus a glitch or two. I ran in towing mode, and other than a bit of clunking from the hitch it was pretty smooth sailing and it didn’t struggle with the added load at all. The worst I could say is that the back end squatted a bit more than I would have liked, but I didn’t use a WDH nor do I have airbags, so I just accepted it as unavoidable for that one instance.

 

[Caster]

I have AirL

I pulled a 3700lb camper with mine back in 2021. Bone stock, only thing I changed was I filled up with 91 instead of my usual 87. I also picked up a Kurt wireless/bluetooth brake controller, which worked fairly well overall minus a glitch or two. I ran in towing mode, and other than a bit of clunking from the hitch it was pretty smooth sailing and it didn’t struggle with the added load at all. The worst I could say is that the back end squatted a bit more than I would have liked, but I didn’t use a WDH nor do I have airbags, so I just accepted it as unavoidable for that one instance.

I have AirLift helper airbags and a Traxda lift. It took all the sag of the back end out and I have around 400 lbs. of tongue weight. I don't care for tow mode in heavy hilly or mountain roads. With the GCWR I deal with, there is no benefit to tow mode. All it does is over-rev the engine on declines and it doesn't even begin to slow down the vehicle because of the weight. In heavy hills or mountain roads I use normal mode.

 

[KNTRDR]

I have AirL

I have AirLift helper airbags and a Traxda lift. It took all the sag of the back end out and I have around 400 lbs. of tongue weight. I don't care for tow mode in heavy hilly or mountain roads. With the GCWR I deal with, there is no benefit to tow mode. All it does is over-rev the engine on declines and it doesn't even begin to slow down the vehicle because of the weight. In heavy hills or mountain roads I use normal mode.

It worked well for me as it kept the trans a gear or two lower rather than shifting up to the highest gear…I tried the normal mode at first and found it was dogging the engine and/or hunting gears at the speeds I was going, but the tow mode avoided that issue. I also didn’t have any tremendous hills where I was going so I didn’t have any issues.

 

[Eljaber]

Confirm your numbers at a weight station and drive carefully. Sales people will tell you "ya you can tow that with this", when on paper it can, but the real world says otherwise. There's a picture of a newer Tahoe going around this weekend, where the traveling trailer flipped. Sometimes you might be good on the weight, but the size/height of what you are towing can pull/push you around if you are not careful.