Shopping for New Tow Vehicle

Agree - longer wheelbase is better.  One just can't be in a hurry to tow a "bill board" in a cross wind.

I'm eying an SUV with an Eco-Diesel for our next TV. The diesel is just good for towing and the turbocharger would allow it to handle just about any elevation. It also gets good mileage in normal use, which is important to me.

The Dodge Durango was supposed to have that option for 2016, but I don't think it made the cut because it's not in the build options on the Dodge website. Hopefully it will appear in the 2017 models. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is also available with an Eco-Diesel.

On my first assignment after training with the Army, I was at Fort Hood, TX. As part of my assignment there, I was assigned as a driver of a deuce and a half. Along with that, I had a stake-side trailer. The truck was much longer than the trailer. Now I have an R-Pod 179, and I have been towing it with our Ford Escape. The trailer is longer than the Escape. What I have found is that with the Equal-i-zer hitch, coupled with the AeroPlus, sway has not been a big issue in the 10,000 plus miles of towing. It was not an issue with the Army vehicle, but backing was a royal pain as the trailer would jackknife in a heartbeat. Backing with the Escape is much easier since it does not have nearly the tendency to jackknife that I experienced with the deuce and a half.

I'm not saying that sway isn't something to be concerned about. Sway control is important. In my case, both equalization and sway control are vital. I would not be able to nor would I want to tow even a smaller R-Pod without them. I also would like to upgrade vehicles. I will do so as soon as it is financially feasible. I have been reading that Ford will have a Diesel F150 for the 2018 model year. Hopefully, I will be able to upgrade by then. Perhaps by then VW will be able to sell Diesel Tuareg models again also.

The distance between the rear axle and the hitch ball on my Escape is approximately 3-1/2' (the hitch is not mounted, so I am estimating the hitch ball to receiver distance). That probably explains why, even though the pivot point is not directly above the axle, I don't experience the sway that a pickup truck with a larger distance between the axle and the hitch would experience. I agree that better would be to have the pivot point at the axle. Better still might be what this setup did, and have the pivot point midway between front and rear axle: VW Beetle Trailer and Ultimate 5th Wheel.

Just to throw a real-world example out there, until 12 years ago I was pulling a 3500 pound 16-foot popup with a Venture, which had about 2 1/2 feet between the axle and the receiver.  That camper was very sway-prone even with a sway bar.  I finally got it to a manageable level and then the Venture detonated on the way home from a trip.  Then bought a Sienna which had about 3 1/2 feet from axle to receiver.  What was manageable was again a big problem, with the only change that extra foot.