Smaller vehicle with good towing capabilities

Hey yall I am looking into getting a small teardrop camper, but I currently drive a 2002 Chevy tracker, which only has a 1500 tow capacity. I also own a 2013 town & country, but am looking to replace it with something cinema hd smaller. Any good, preferably smaller vehicles with towing capacity around 3000lbs? Or is there any way to increase the towing ability of a vehicle? (Sorry if rhats a dumb question.. i dont know much about cars past standard maintenance) I have had my eye on the Nissan Xterra, but wanted to see if there was anything else I should look at.

RF-

Good points! I park my Silverado in the driveway lol!

I have a 2018, Z 71, four-wheel-drive Silverado. I average 20 to 23 miles per gallon (summer) highway without any trouble. 

I would add that goes down to about 17 during the winter (consistent with your buddies’ truck), due to the winter blend fuel. 

True, I do see your point. To me it depends on your use. I like the Colorado or any mid- size truck for these reasons. My actual purpose in writing this is to help guys overcome the stigma or fear of a smaller truck. They're far from the Gen 1 Colorado. Which I had also.

1. Purchase price is 5-10K lower with comparable equipment.

2. I can park it in my garage along with my wife's car.

3. Maneuverability in traffic and parking.

4. I don't agree that a full size gets as good gas milage. From buddies' input, 17 is the average

5. Now that they have 300 HP they are quite capable.

It meets my needs. That's the bottom line. If you need a full size, then that's the way you should go.

RF,

A bit off topic, but have a question for you.

I always thought the smaller trucks would get better gas mileage than the full size guys…. But reading your post, the Colorado and the Silverado get identical gas mileage.

If there is no advantage from a gas mileage perspective, why not go with a bigger truck, and have the extra towing capacity / HP in case you ever need it?  Maybe a few years down the road you buy a camper or something? 

Also, with a bigger truck, you’ll have better braking when you’re towing your boat. 

Thanks for the input. I am going to hold out for a full size.  Over the last few years before I wound up with this boat (my dad's previous) and was considering downsizing from my 18' Starcraft (his previous one before that lol), I had my eye on the Toyota Tacomas since I think they're a very sharp looking truck. But now that I have this rig, it's going to be an 8.  I want to be able to pull it without really noticing it back there.  And stop asap if needed. 

Hockey Guy

I have a 2019 Colorado and absolutely love it. Would never go back to a full size pick- up. With 310HP it has no problem pulling my Alumacraft 165CS. Getting up to speed on the freeway is no issue at all. MPG is about 14 when pulling the boat otherwise I get 23 on the highway, 20 all around.

As to whether it would pull your rig, the Colorado is rated 7500lbs. I personally wouldn't do it. In my opinion and it's just an opinion. I would get a V8 for that size rig if you want decent performance.

Good Luck

HockeyGuy - I have a 2004 17' Stratos with a 150 Evinrude, total weight around 3200 pounds. Have been using a 2019 Canyon to pull it (V6-Gas engine). Overall I think it does a very good job, plenty of power, handles the weight well, goes down the road well. Only significant issue is fuel consumption when you go above 65 miles an hour, it will run at higher revs all the time, so it eats fuel (drops below 10 MPG). It does not get hot and will  run OK at that speed. Note that it is a little narrower vehicle so for some trailers you will want extension mirrors.

We're in the market for a new vehicle to tow my boat. 92 Lund 18' proV, 150, 9.9 kicker, three batteries, etc. Basically, a heavier rig lol. Ideally looking for a pickup so I can eventually get a truck camper as well. My brother in law sent me a link for a Chevy Colorado (V6) last night, and in looking into it, I don't feel it really fits the bill. He seems convinced that it would be fine for the typical driving I do when trailering it (usually less than an hour, occasional 3+ hour trips). Personally, in my family we've never had anything less than an 8 pulling our boats over the years. 

Anyone have experience with Colorados and towing?

Jeep - Grand or even the regular Cherokee Trail Hawk (if you want smaller).  Buy American (sort of) !

Followed a guy up I90 with compact pickup and new camper, the wind caught it and got him fish tailing. The whole thing was down in the ditch on its side. Camper was just purchased 10 miles down the road. Not sure if the setup was wrong or what. Scary because he almost took a mini van with a family of kids with him. He was shook up to say the least. 

Some scary setups out there. I always stay away from the small suv and large boat or pontoon. How do they even see back there.

 I had a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee DIESEL(Mercedes) . 7200lb pulling capacity and 26 mpg- It had amazing power

For me you probably want 4 wd not for towing but crappy launchs. As far as towing 02 trailblazer, 2011 Acadia, 2020 Sierra all worked great but my Dakota 2wd R/T edition towed good but steep launch or sand/gravel launchs it was a headache and sold. I also prefer to have the hitch and electric hookup to be factory install which the Dakota was not and the electric hookup was plug and play but corroded connection was a headache. In the end I really liked the 02 trailblazer.

Other trailering things to make sure of is correct trailer to vehicle set up.  My boat/trailer with disc brakes weighs aprox 3400 to 3700 lbs.  Max capacity on my highlander is 5000 lbs.  I like having a margin of error on towing capacity.  You wont find me trying to trailer a 6,000 lb boat with the highlander, that would be wrong.   More importantly,  set your trailer/vehicle up correctly.  You have all seen them on the road .  Not level, wrong trailer tires, weak or unsafe trailer hitch, swaying and bobbing all over the road.

  You do not need a dually 350 diesel to trailer smaller loads.  I have owned and trailered many different boats with suburbans, multiple tahoes, pilots and now a highlander.  My boat and trailer with disc brakes and d range radial tires is level with the correct tongue weight.  The trailer tracks like a train with no sway or bob.   My hitch is way stronger than i would ever need.  I have never locked up the highlander and trailer but I have brought it to a  hard fast stop from 60 mph, and for my weight load, it did as good a job or better then my old suburban with 20 foot glass boat.  If i have to lock up the vehicle, I am doing a poor job of towing.  You lock um up, even if your using a suburban and towing a 16 footer, it's a crap shoot on how it will turn out.  If you set up the vehicle and trailer correctly, smaller vehicles can safely tow smaller loads.  

Love my 4Runner. Don't miss the Ram at all. 

Cambridge.  That's exactly why I went with the Maverick. It checked all the boxes for me and at half or better than half the price of a full sized truck. They are hard to find but I hunted around and when one came available I happened to be in the right place.

I have and old, 98 Silverado... with the 350 motor, pulls my boat like there's nothing back there... don't keep track of mileage because I'm still going to pull the boat...

...but that truck, without towing anything, sucks for emergency stops... the brakes are just undersized... I believe they've addressed that since, but that's a consideration

...frankly, that Maverick with the upgraded engine looks like a nice replacement vehicle for me, I have downgraded boat size to a 16' Alumacraft Competitor, 70 Yamaha tiller... I can push that around pretty easy compared to the boat I had before

voldie ...congrats on your new vehicle !! nice looking deal