Towing Vehicle for R-pod 178?

Howdy!

I'm new to the Forum and new to trailering, so please be gentle...  My wife and I retired from tent camping last year and bought a new (2015) R-Pod 178.  We took six trips last summer, using her 2006 SAAB wagon to pull the R-pod.  It has a stated towing capacity of 3,500 lbs, which we thought would work out with a lightly-loaded, 2,500-lb R-pod.  It performed pretty well, but we have some pretty steep, long climbs out of the Salt Lake Valley (our home) to get to a lot of our favorite places.  With the SAAB, we just kissed the "H" a few times, but never had to pull over to let the engine cool.

The SAAB is probably getting too old for this and there are many places we'd like to go that are higher and steeper than we've gone.  We'd like to get a vehicle that we'll have confidence in.  Also, this would also be my wife's commuting vehicle, so she'd rather not have a pickup.

In talking to friends who pull R-pods, we've gotten all kinds of often conflicting information.  For example, one friend has an Xterra with a tow rating of 5,000 lbs, but he's unhappy with the power.  Another swears by his Ford 150 truck.  I've learned over the years to simply not believe dealers, so, coupled with my very limited knowledge of cars, trucks, etc., I'm in sort of a pickle.

Ideally, we'd like to get a lease-return, low-mileage SUV (my wife's really not a truck person) that doesn't drive like a tank around town and has more versatility than a pickup.

So, I thought I'd take a survey, of sorts, and see what experienced owners use to pull their R-pods.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,

thegarrs

Anything with a V8 (or diesel), and Factory Tow Package should do just fine.
A mid size would be something similar to the Dodge Durango (or Grand Cherokee).
Many more choices in the large category (Tahoe, Sequoia, Yukon, Escalade, Expedition, etc.....)

http://www.autobytel.com/sport-utility-vehicles/car-buying-guides/suvs-with-the-highest-towing-capacity-for-2016-129968/

Currently saving up to trade my Nissan for a lightly used V8 Land Rover in the near future :)
The Nissan has worked well, but you can tell the trailer is still back there when towing :(

One thing to think about is whether the engine in the vehicle you are considering is naturally aspirated or turbocharged. It does make a big difference. In spite of our Escape only having a 2L engine, the turbocharger meant that the higher altitudes did not affect it as much as it would have a naturally aspirated engine like the one in our former Escape. Although the earlier Escape had a larger engine, it had less power and torque. We had no problems in our cross-country trip via I-40 even though we went to a little above sea level across the continental divide and Flagstaff's 7,000' elevation.

I am sure you can extrapolate that to turbocharged V6 and Diesel engines as well.

31 deer kills? That's an awfully efficient hunting machine you have there.  And I thought the deer were bad around here.

We started off pulling our Pod with a Chevy Astro van.  It was a 6 cylinder and immediately we realized that neither the engine, brakes, transmission or cooling system could handle long distance towing .  We bought a certified pre-owned Ford Expedition EL that had 30, 000 miles .  It has the factory tow package and is rated for 9000 pounds. when we tow the pod, we hardly know it's behind us most of the time. We love it as an all around vehicle as well as an excellent tow vehicle.  We have used it for several cross country US trips and it has been flawless.  We get about 12 mpg when towing at reasonable speeds-not great, but reasonable for it's size and towing.  We get about 18-19mpg during non-towing use. It is comfortable, stable, has plenty of power, brakes, cooling and transmission capability.   You can easily seat 2 in the front, 3 in the middle and 3 in the far back comfortably. The middle and/or rear seats   fold down to make a huge storage area.I would recommend it and would buy it again.

Vann Evans