Can I tow something over the vehicle max rating (short trip)

Pulled a Alumacraft Lunker SS 14 ft with a Chevy Luv, it wasn’t a smart idea ! Then I got a 1976 Bronco had it made then .

phoyem wrote:

I ended up not ordering the compass tonight. Not saying I never will, but nothing wrong with giving it some time to look into other options.

Any suggestions for a 4×4 that is rated to tow 3-5k lbs and gets decent mileage?

There is another post at the moment about the Chevy Colorado, or GMC canyon. Everybody on it has nothing but positives to say about them and personally my neighbor has one and loves it., gets 20s for gas mileage and has a 7,700 lbs tow capacity (which is hard to believe) and has 310 horse , so plenty of punch pack in it. Buy it in a crew cab and you are still lyft potential. The horse power is almost double the compass the price is the same. You can get it in a crew cab. And the towing is much higher rated.

Most full size trucks now come standard with a turbo charged V6 which increases their mileage without sacrificing towing capacity.

gimruis wrote:

Most full size trucks now come standard with a turbo charged V6 which increases their mileage without sacrificing towing capacity.

Most? I think it is a common option for ford. But far from most. Biggest thing helping now a days is the 8 and 10 speed transmissions. As long as they hold up.

phoyem wrote:

Any suggestions for a 4×4 that is rated to tow 3-5k lbs and gets decent mileage?

What do you consider decent MPG? Not many vehicles with the ability to tow 5000lbs with upper 20’s MPG.

FDR

Obviously the higher the better. Right now my grand cherokee gets 20 on the highway if I don’t go too fast. City driving is brutal; around 15mpg. I’d be ok with something like a 25/18 or better, but what drew me to the compass originally was the 31/22 mpg.

I think all of us who tow things would love better gas mileage. The reality is that everyone ive known that has attempted to do what you are doing has come away underpowered and disappointed. Maybe the new age mid size trucks present a solution idk. My camry gets 30 mpg and my Durango gets about 15 mpg. Car insurance for older vehicles doesn’t cost much. Ive only put about 10k on the Durango in 2 years as my tow vehicle. Maintenance costs on a secondary vehicle stay low unless you get unlucky. I would go with separate vehicles unless space is an issue for you. just my 2 cents

Test drove both the Compass,and a Cherokee Latitude.The latter cost a little more,and slightly less MPG.But I felt the Cherokee is more capable than the Compass.

Compass had a 2.4L,Cherokee had a 3.2 V6.But you would get a better price on the Compass,the Cherokees sell better.

On a side note,we have a 2004 Grand Cherokee(4.0 L6/auto),and a 2008 Pontiac Torrent(3.4 V6/auto),and the Grand Cherokee only gets about 2 MPG less than the Torrent.But the GC IS far more capable when needed.Torrent is AWD,and the GC is full/part time 4wd.

I’d say keep grand Cherokee for towing and get a Honda Fit for the commute. Mitsubishi outlanders had good towing and mpg I believe. There’s also the best vehicle in my opinion the minivan. Hate to say it but so practical