Towing a 7X12 with my Cadillac SRX?

[2StrokeMX]

Hi all.

I have a 2013 Cadillac SRX. I want to buy a 7x12 enclosed trailer v nose with 72" height.

I plan on getting the floor done, vinyl walls, cabinets, trailer shelving etc. and towing 2 full size bikes, power washer and water tank. etc.

 

My SRX is rated at 3500 lbs towing capacity. The last 6x12 (single axle) I owned weighed 1200 lbs empty.

I'm thinking this one will weigh maybe 1750-1900 lbs with the tandem axle and walls, flooring, cabinets etc.

 

I am not sure I will have enough power to pull this safely once everything is in there. What are your thoughts?

[2StrokeMX]

BUMP!

[ITLKSEZ]

I'd go for it. Ever notice that nobody drives trucks in Europe? They either drive a van or pull trailers with their cars if they need to haul something. As long as you keep it under the rated limit and take it easy while towing it, you should be fine. I'm assuming the trailer has brakes?

 

FWIW, I tow a bike trailer with my 5cyl volvo wagon. I hardly know it is back there until I hit a big bump and feel it buck a little bit or go over a mountain pass where my little 2.4L engine screams for mercy. Power shouldn't be a concern with your Caddy.

[Chickenhauler]

I see folks towing smaller, lighter camp trailers with Theta-platform vehicles and derivatives regularly. 

 

I'd highly suggest trailer brakes and a brake controller.

 

I do think your weight estimate is way low for what it's going to weigh loaded and ready to go.  I'd say closer to the 3k with all the stuff you want to/end up dragging along.

[rdlsz24]

Last weekend at the local riding park I saw a guy towing one of those huge toy haulers with his Escalade. The Caddy was super sagging in the rear. Didn't look too healthy. I think you will be fine.

 

Rob

Edited October 25, 2013 by 03YZ85

[SnowMule]

Check the tongue weight too.  Make sure the hitch (and frame) can take that.

+1 for trailer brakes, especially since that "Compact SUV" probably isn't built for heavy-duty towing.  Getting the whole thing going is one thing, stopping truck+trailer is another matter that a lot of people overlook.

 

Your weight estimate looks WAY low to me, especially if it's a steel trailer.  Throw in gear, people, fuel, bikes... adds up real quick.  I'd estimate closer to 4k lbs.  Wind resistance is a big thing with enclosed trailers that doesn't show up in curb weight calculations.

 

Also consider altitude and terrain you're towing in.

 

I had a 5.9L half-ton pickup that was rated enough for my trailer.  Going by the numbers, it was on the high side, but still fine.

And you know what?  It did it.  Got me and my trailer/sled/gear to the mountains and back.

But at 10k ft elevation in the mountains, it was pretty miserable.

If I wasn't careful, it was real easy to cook the brakes on the truck coming down the mountain.

Going up, if I didn't get a running start and hold that momentum the whole way up, I'd be stuck doing 15m/h to the summit with the engine revved out the rest of the way up.

 

Loading up that truck with no trailer, it did fine.

It did great with 2-place flatbed trailers with two sleds.  I'm sure it'd pull a 4-place open just fine too.

But you put a big enclosed behind it, and I was left wanting more truck.

I traded it in earlier this month, had a badly burned exhaust valve and a cracked crankshaft.  Considering most of its miles the past two or three years were as a tow vehicle, I really should have had a 3/4-ton truck a few years ago.  Did okay but I was asking a lot out of that truck.

 

Now i've got a 3/4-ton pickup with 4.56 gearing.  The truck is built to pull.  Haven't put my trailer behind it yet but I have no doubt it'll do the job a hell of a lot better than my last truck did.

 

 

And that truck's replacement...

[David_L6]

I guess you can move a trailer that size with that vehicle. Not going to move it very fast. Aerodynamic drag is going to see to that. Not going to easily go up much of a hill either. Buy a trailer with brakes so you can somewhat safely come down any hill you manage to get up.

 

I personally wouldn't even consider pulling a 7 X 12 enclosed trailer with that vehicle but I tend to err on the side of safety. I want more brakes, more tow vehicle weight, and more power than absolutely needed to just move a trailer.

[Chickenhauler]

I guess you can move a trailer that size with that vehicle. Not going to move it very fast. Aerodynamic drag is going to see to that. Not going to easily go up much of a hill either. Buy a trailer with brakes so you can somewhat safely come down any hill you manage to get up.

 

I personally wouldn't even consider pulling a 7 X 12 enclosed trailer with that vehicle but I tend to err on the side of safety. I want more brakes, more tow vehicle weight, and more power than absolutely needed to just move a trailer.

 308HP isn't enough to pull a 7x12?

 

I guess I should NEVER tow my RV with my truck, it's only got 245HP!

 

Ironically, X-over SUV's of today have more HP and TQ than big blocks of 15 years ago. 

[David_L6]

 308HP isn't enough to pull a 7x12?

 

I guess I should NEVER tow my RV with my truck, it's only got 245HP!

 

Ironically, X-over SUV's of today have more HP and TQ than big blocks of 15 years ago. 

 

That engine is going to be wound tight to make 308HP. As you know, it take more than just horsepower numbers on paper to tow a trailer. What's the final drive ratio of the SRX? How much torque and at what RPM range? Is the frame of that vehicle up to the task? (I have no idea.) What about the brakes?

[mikedabike]

I always thought tow capacity was as much a product of suspension and brakes as power.  It seems most cars these days have plenty of power to pull it but can they stop it?

[NoFiddyPilot]

Stick to 80% of max tow rating, use a brake controller and see if you can bag the rear coils (I think it has coils in the rear still). You'll be just fine.

[Chickenhauler]

That engine is going to be wound tight to make 308HP. As you know, it take more than just horsepower numbers on paper to tow a trailer. What's the final drive ratio of the SRX? How much torque and at what RPM range? Is the frame of that vehicle up to the task? (I have no idea.) What about the brakes?

 

I'm willing to bet it's got my old half ton beat hands down in every aspect, including brakes (which aren't a big concern if you have good, properly maintained and set up trailer brakes).  But I dragged my little enclosed from coast to coast with about the same thing he wants to load his with.

 

The platform the SRX is built upon generally receives a 3500 lb tow rating.  I would think the mfgr wouldn't give a vehicle a tow rating it can't handle.

[SnowMule]

To me it's a difference between "handling it" and "handling it well". 

 

My old truck "handled it". 

But it didn't do it well.  It got the job done, just slowly.

 

If you're pulling the trailer a few times a year, sure, roll with what you've got.

If you're out every weekend, driving 2 or more hours... probably worth putting some money into a vehicle that'll handle it well. 

IMO that is cheaper than dealing with the wear/tear on a rig that's not up to the challenge.

[NoFiddyPilot]

To me it's a difference between "handling it" and "handling it well". 

 

My old truck "handled it". 

But it didn't do it well.  It got the job done, just slowly.

 

If you're pulling the trailer a few times a year, sure, roll with what you've got.

If you're out every weekend, driving 2 or more hours... probably worth putting some money into a vehicle that'll handle it well. 

IMO that is cheaper than dealing with the wear/tear on a rig that's not up to the challenge.

 

Just remember, where you live (a mile + in elevation), if you don't have a turbo deisel, towing sucks! Buddy of mine had a hemi in his Jeep Commander. He towed with it ONCE. The next weekend, F350 in the driveway. ? Colorado is diesel territory if you town anything that carries anything.

[SnowMule]

Just remember, where you live (a mile + in elevation), if you don't have a turbo deisel, towing sucks! Buddy of mine had a hemi in his Jeep Commander. He towed with it ONCE. The next weekend, F350 in the driveway. ? Colorado is diesel territory if you town anything that carries anything.

Or 5.7L Hemi with 4.56 gears in a 3/4-ton chassis. ?

 

A N/A 1-ton diesel will pull just fine too. 

[Chickenhauler]

Just remember, where you live (a mile + in elevation), if you don't have a turbo deisel, towing sucks! Buddy of mine had a hemi in his Jeep Commander. He towed with it ONCE. The next weekend, F350 in the driveway. ? Colorado is diesel territory if you town anything that carries anything.

 

I gotta agree-every time I've towed over Vail and through Eisenhower with a NA gas motor, it's been a suck-fest. 

 

Same vehicle, same trailer, same load does just fine everywhere else. 

[SnowMule]

I gotta agree-every time I've towed over Vail and through Eisenhower with a NA gas motor, it's been a suck-fest. 

 

Same vehicle, same trailer, same load does just fine everywhere else. 

:nod

 

She was a screamer from Silverthorne all the way to the summit.

Further up the hill, once I lost momentum, I'd downshift to 2 and it'd be a little happier there, but I was only doing 25m/h by then.  It could hold that reasonably well.

Burn about 1/4-tank in 7 miles.

 

That poor truck.?  I really should have gotten rid of it about 2 years ago.  No wonder the crank cracked. ?

[Chickenhauler]

:nod

 

She was a screamer from Silverthorne all the way to the summit.

Further up the hill, once I lost momentum, I'd downshift to 2 and it'd be a little happier there, but I was only doing 25m/h by then.  It could hold that reasonably well.

Burn about 1/4-tank in 7 miles.

 

That poor truck.?  I really should have gotten rid of it about 2 years ago.  No wonder the crank cracked. ?

 

Remind me to never buy a used truck from you.  I think you trump farmers when it comes to PU truck abuse!

[SnowMule]

Remind me to never buy a used truck from you.  I think you trump farmers when it comes to PU truck abuse!

Any vehicle that finds its way into my garage has been given a death sentence. 

I'll love it long time, ride the piss out of it, then when it's not worth fixing, part it out (or trade it in, with trucks). 

 

Cleaned 'er up all nice and shiny-like.  Polished the headlights/plastics, cleaned inside/out, vacuumed everything...

Looks great, except for... well... "CHECK ENGINE", "AIR BAG", "CHECK GAGES"...

 

Got 'er to Colorado Springs, parked at the used car lot to test drive (and later purchase) the Power Wagon.  Discretely cleared the codes when I parked it, and took my time on the test drive to allow mine to cool off in case they wanted to test-drive the tradein.

 

They saw it was clean inside and out, with a normal amount of wear/tear on the body from 216,000 miles. 

Their biggest concern was a slightly-leaking transmission cooler union.?

Only went around the block on their test drive, i keyed-on after they got back and they didn't drive it far enough for the burned valve to throw the misfire code. ?

Since it had cooled off enough, the rattle from the engine wasn't too bad either.  They never mentioned anything about it, and ended up meeting me in the middle at $1k for trade-in (they initially said $460, yeah, i'll drive it home and go elsewhere for that money; countered with $1500 which is what another dealer was going to give me sight-unseen).  Not as much as I wanted to get out of it, but knowing it was likely gonna blow in <1k miles... hell, i'll take it.

 

It was a great truck.  Served me well for 8 years and over 110k miles.  But once I started towing an enclosed trailer with it, I really should have gotten a bigger pickup.  And since I started commuting by motorcycle, the fuel economy of a big pickup isn't an issue to me.

 

[Chickenhauler]

Probably could have gotten more from a boneyard, and about the same sending it across the scales on the way to the crusher!

 

It's downright insulting what dealers are willing to do on a trade-in anymore.  My sister was offered $300 for a 2500 Suburban, 4x4 with a 454.  Body was pretty clean for it's age, interior was disgusting, but it ran and drove, no issues.  Even had good rubber.  Her husband asked they at least give them what scrap value was ($275/ton at the time).

 

 

Since it had cooled off enough, the rattle from the engine wasn't too bad either.  They never mentioned anything about it, and ended up meeting me in the middle at $1k for trade-in (they initially said $460, yeah, i'll drive it home and go elsewhere for that money; countered with $1500 which is what another dealer was going to give me sight-unseen).  Not as much as I wanted to get out of it, but knowing it was likely gonna blow in <1k miles... hell, i'll take it.