Divecoz wrote:With my Explorer Sport and Delvi's BMW M5 being almost the same size what makes his tow his Mac soooo much better than my truck tows mine $$$$
This is not meant to single out Delevi for criticism. In fact, there are any number of good reasons why two vehicles which are similar in size may behave considerably differently. Height, wheelbase, track width, front/rear weight bias, center of gravity, roll center, suspension stiffness, steering ratio, IRS versus live axle, rear overhang, ball height, even tires can make a discernable difference.
However...
Without going back and reading what Delevi says about his towing experience, a general observation about many towing claims: With the possible exception of those towing with the equivalent of big rig tractors, anyone who makes a statement to the effect, "Tows the boat like it isn't there," is either exagerrating for effect, or hasn't been paying much attention to what his vehicle feels like when it isn't towing.
It has a lot to do with perspective as well. Many are familiar with the fact that after driving 75mph the better part of a day, 60mph seems like Grandma speed. By the same token, if you're towing your Mac for 6-8 hours per day, by the end of the day you're so used to the way it handles, you may well be lulled into forgetting for a moment that it's there. Let me assure you, that feeling will go away in a big hurry if you have to make a panic stop on slick pavement or find yourself going too fast in the middle of a curve that's a little tighter than you anticipated. BTDT.
My point is not to question Delevi's claims, since as I said I haven't even read them, but to point out that towing performance, like many things, is in the eye of the beholder. Everybody is approaching the question from a different perspective.
First there's what I like to call the "I can do it with a Yugo" bunch. They insist that their Yugo (or fill in the blank with other vehicle) tows their Mac just fine, when most of the rest of us can take one look at the vehicle in question and state that it is without a doubt, inadequate for serious towing. The second group is typified by the guy who he won't tow his Mac with anything smaller than a modified big rig tractor. "All other things being equal," even the Yugo bunch would have to agree they'd like to tow with the big rig tractor. But of course all other things aren't equal. Purchase price, carbon footprint (gas mileage) maintenance, insurance, the size of your garage, whether we use the vehicle for other purposes, the list can be pretty long. So both of these arguments are equally irrelevant to most of us. We're the vast majority who are somewhere in between, and that's where most of the discussion ought to center.
Towing performance is as much in the trailer and boat setup as it is in the tow vehicle. I have never towed with either of the vehicles in question, but my first Mac tow vehicle was an earlier Explorer AWD with live axle rear suspension, and depending on tongue weight alone, the towing performance ranged from hair-raisingly, death trap scary, to adequate (but from my biased/unbiased view, no better than adequate). I never got a chance to tow my tandem trailer with that vehicle because by the time I completed the trailer mods the Explorer had self destructed. I had decided my comtemplated frequent long distance runs demanded a heavier and more powerful tow vehicle, thus the "opportunity" to upgrade to an Expedition. Tandem was way better with the Expedition; I suspect the performance of the Explorer would have been better as well.
The only way you can really compare towing performance of two different vehicles is back to back, with the same boat and trailer or one set up identically; over the same course in the same conditions. And with the same unbiased driver. Sorry, but the unbiased tester can't be the guy who has has just dropped $50K on his vehicle and feels the need to justify it to others because in doing so he justifies it to himself, nor should it be the guy who has just cheaped out and needs assurance that by settling on a marginal tow vehicle he hasn't put his vehicle, boat, himself and his family in jeorpardy by settling for in- (or barely) adequate towing performance.
Finally, though it may be beating a dead horse, there's no question that the guy who is towing his boat five miles from his driveway to the launch ramp every two weeks doesn't need the same towing performance as the guy logging 1500-4000 miles on the Interstate every year. Guy #1 may never have discovered that the Explorer I described above was treacherous above 60mph, and might wonder why I (unfairly, in his mind) would criticize his favorite tow vehicle.
to the cape (about a 200 mile trip one way, all highway) with a VW Eurovan...its rated for 5000 pounds towing by VW, but has a V6 200 HP motor - on the weak side for that load. I have to go up the major grades (as major as we get in NY and MA) in third gear or else it hunts between 3rd and 4th under heavy throttle. Once rolling, I dont feel the rig at all (sorry Chip) but indeed if trouble hits in the form of braking or manuevering I know there is a boat back there.