Source
r/whatcarshouldIbuy•
Someguy101

Looking for the best 4x4 truck for towing a trailer in the snow.

I am trying to research a new vehicle for towing a trailer daily (roughly 3000 lbs?). This is for a mobile dog grooming business. There are a lot of hills where I live and we get snow/ice in the winter. We currently tow with a 2016 Ford F-150 (2 wheel drive). It does fine outside of winter but every year we get stuck in the snow/ice during the winter. We service a lot of ranch houses on the outskirts of town with long gravel drives that aren't plowed all that well. I need a vehicle that will handle winter/muddy conditions better than what we currently have.

For budget we have good credit and are willing to pay for what will be the best for keeping us in business. I'm not very knowledgeable about cars/trucks and would greatly welcome any advice I can get. Thanks!

I require a car with [4] doors. I [do] need room for cargo or passengers. - We'll use the truck for family trips (2 adults, 1 three year old boy and 5 dogs)

My price range is... not as important as long as we get something that will last and do the job. Of course cheaper is better but we're willing to pay what we need to for the right vehicle.

This car will primarily be used for towing a trailer for our business 6 days a week. Occasionally used for outdoor family outings in Central Oregon. Camping, that sort of thing.

Minimum # of seats: 4

Must haves (mpg/fast/high seating position/tech): Towing capabilities are most important.

Posted Feb 7, 2021, 4:54 AM UTC

219
Canadianstig77•

Just get a 4x4 f150 and a.good set of all-terrain tires, should treat you well.

3
flya00BMW F10•

Why not just get a 4x4 F-150, since you already have one it won't be much of a change and you will know how most things work already.

2
Someguy101OP•

Would it be worthwhile to upgrade to an F-250 or 350? How much benefit would we see if we did?

2
flya00BMW F10•

Well, I'm no expert but from what I know the F-250 and 350 can tow more and have higher quality parts. I believe they have larger engines too which will lower fuel economy if that matters to you.

1
mgobla•

Absolutely not. That would be a huge mistake. They are designed for much heavier towing, that's the only reason to get them, they have huge drawbacks otherwise.

0
1hotjava•

Depends on the actual payload capacity OP needs. They don’t even know what the trailer weighs so they need to figure that out and then calculate actual payload used from the available. There’s a lot of 1/2 ton trucks with some pretty low payloads by the time they get options on them and depending on which tire / suspension option it was equipped with. Could drive them into a 3/4ton

1
mgobla•

They estimated the weight at 3000 lbs.

1
1hotjava•

First off, you really need to get a handle on this weight thing with the trailer. You say “roughly 3000-4000” but you obviously don’t really know. There are two ways to figure out what you are actually working toward. Every trailer has a GVWR rating, you can use that if you don’t know actual loaded weight. If you want to know actual weight anyone can use a CAT scale at a truck stop. It’s super cheap and gives you real numbers. Google cat scale and find the closest one

A few things:

  • ignore the dry weight of the trailer. It’s obviously not empty.

  • ignore tow capacity of the truck because of the next item. Tow capacities are for the most part marketing nonsense.

  • payload! This is what you need to look at. Assume the tongue weight of the trailer is 15% of the loaded weight. If the trailer is 4000lbs loaded then you have 600lbs tongue weight. Published tongue weight by trailer manufacturer is bullshit as it’s an empty trailer, your trailer isn’t empty. Now take that number and subtract from the payload of the actual truck you are looking at (they are all different, the more options it has the less payload it has). The difference is what you have left for people, cargo and dogs in the truck while towing the trailer. Most 1/2 ton trucks have surprisingly low payload capacities when equipped with popular options. If you are under payload then 99% of the time you are also within the tow capacity

Another thing: while towing and needing 4wd you can enhance the 4wd by using a weight distribution hitch (WDH) on the trailer since it creates a torque about the receiver and thus adds weight (back to) the front axle of the truck which increases traction. Without WDH the trailer takes weight off the front axle.

2
will_mma•

Let me preface this with saying I know fairly little about big SUVs and trucks and towing, but I feel like the first appropriate question to ask is how heavy is the trailer? You may be best off with a 4Runner or a Tahoe with the Z71 package, that kind of thing, rather than necessarily a large truck, depending on how heavy the trailer is. Those are both truck-based vehicles, but they’re a little smaller than the Tacoma and the Silverado respectively, though they both have pretty good towing, better than the comparable crossover. You should plan on getting off-road or winter tires for those snowy months. Traction is half the battle, it’s not all about 4WD.

I’d recommend against a newer Jeep or something like that because from what I’ve read the Gladiator is a little terrifying to drive with a big trailer in certain conditions, if you’re going to be towing most of the time you want something with a reputation for confident trailer-pulling.

1
vixenlion•

I was going to suggest a 4Runner. A gas highlander towing capacity is 5,000.

A hybrid highlander towing capacity is 3,500.

Both can handle average snowfall.

The highlander limited (gas model) would have the dynamic torque vectoring which allows either wheel to have more torque if need in snowy conditional , mud etc conditions

1
Someguy101OP•

We do carry generators and other things in the truck bed. Years ago we towed the trailer with a 2006 X-terra but we lived in California at the time and didn't have hills/snow to deal with.

2
vixenlion•

A double cab off road Tacoma could work as well.

*edit the reason you want the off road is it has a rear locking differential and you can crawl the side of a mountain with it.

1
Someguy101OP•

I'll look into these suggestions further. I know very little about them currently. I guess that's the main reason I'm here, to be pointed in the right direction. As for the weight of the trailer it's roughly 3-4000 lbs. We've had several situations where the weight of the trailer causes issues in the winter. One year my wife was working at a client's house in a hilly area and the truck started sliding backwards jack knifing the trailer. I came out to help her and was able to get the trailer moving again in the right direction but while driving the truck down another hill the weight of the trailer pushed us off the road. This year while driving up a not too steep hill slowly lost traction to the point where the truck stopped and started to slide back slightly. Was stuck there for 2 hours until I was able to get some dirt under the tires and get some traction again. While I was stuck other trucks were passing me with no issues at all, some towing. We currently have decent snow tires on the truck which does help noticeably.

1
will_mma•

Yeah, I mean, if the traction is really that bad, it may be time to consider studded winter tires. I think a combination of 4WD and studless winter tires would do you pretty well though. 4WD is better than AWD in a lot of cases, but there are also a lot of good AWD systems out there. Towing over 3000 pounds though, I think you’re going to want to stick to truck-based SUVs and trucks, so the Tahoe and the 4Runner, instead of say, a Traverse and a Highlander. You don’t need all the towing capability of an F-150 necessarily (don’t they tow twice that at the low end?) but you’re going to need more towing capacity than is on offer in a crossover. A truck-based SUV or a light duty truck is clearly the answer.

2
Cruiserintn•

Came here to suggest an SUV with full time 4WD such as Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Armada, or a Land Rover. All will handle your trailer with ease and the full time 4WD will be excellent for towing in the snow.

1
mgobla•

There won't be a noticeable difference between different trucks regarding driving on snow.

For winter / snow driving the tires are much more important than the vehicle itself. Tires are the only thing that touches the ground and generates grip, the vehicle can't change that. Get high quality winter tires (look for tests, tirerack is a good website or google tests).

If you drive a lot and tow often get a diesel engine. Much better fuel economy, especially when towing, huge difference. Look for used Nissan Titan xd 2016+ model year with the cummins diesel engine, imo the best value amongst big diesel trucks.

1
Majestic-Macaron6019•

Sounds like you need a full-size half ton 4WD pickup. A mid-size is going to struggle a little with a 4000 lb trailer (most midsize pickups are rated to tow 5000-6000 lbs, but uphill is a different ballgame). All the full-size ones will tow 10,000 pounds (or haul 1500 lbs), which gives you plenty of flexibility. I'm not a truck guy, but my dad and brother are. My dad drives a 2016 Silverado 1500, and my brother a 2018 Ram 2500 (the 3/4 ton would probably be overkill for you). Both seem to be satisfied with them. If you like your F150, a 4x4 version would do the trick, too. If Consumer Reports is to be believed, the Toyota Tundra lacks in creature comforts relative to the domestic competition, but is much more reliable overall (Toyota, of course). Payload is a little lower than it's American counterparts.

1