Shopping for new TV ~ need advice

We have been pulling our '09 172 with an '04 Nissan Quest with an after-factory tow package (sorry, I'm not fluent in man-speak).  The Quest currently has 105,000 miles and seemed to have a little trouble returning from our Memorial Day trip.  It had some difficulty accelerating sometimes and also the temp got too high for our comfort level.  When we turned off the AC, it cooled down, but the heat index outside was 105 here on Monday.  So, we're wondering if the old Quest will be reliable for our future outings with the pod.

We'd love to stick with a mini-van because of the ample seating for our family of 4 plus other family/friends.  Our concerns about switching to an SUV, even one with extra seats, is the roominess inside and gas mileage.  Also, I run a book business, and at 5'1" I am able to lift boxes of books into a van, and I'm not sure how high I could get them if we had an SUV.

Any recommendations based on our concerns?  Thanks!

I agree that you need something with a 5000 pound towing capacity, in general that will put the other specs where you want them (horsepower, torque, etc).  While the actual weight of the 'pods is fairly low we've all experienced the unusually high wind load that appears above 50 mph.  Add a head wind with a vehicle like the Quest and you are sitting still.  On a recent trip to FL we had such a bad head wind I had to drop down to 50 mph to keep my minivan from downshifting into 2nd several times a minute - and my mpg dropped to 8.  I decided on that trip that I need to upgrade in the near future, too.  I'm looking at either Nissan or Toyota full-sized pickup, with a full-sized 4 person cab (called different things by various manufacturers). 

Hi Duckbooklady,

Thanks, Outbound. That gives us some place to start looking. My husband would be the first to tell you he is NOT into cars. For us they are just wheels; good when they go and bad when they don't. But I don't like him feeling like a nervous wreck when dragging the Pod. It's not a good start to a vacation. B

We found a new tow vehicle! We are going to be towing with a 2005 Dodge Durango 4.7 V8. It has a hitch and the 7-pin connector for the lights but they are installing a brake control today before we pick it up tonight.