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.

I'm interested in the Ford Maverick too,  Not sure if i need to replace my aging F150 with another large truck.  Maverick seems to check all the boxes for what i need it to do.

...because everyone towing anything should be using a 3/4 ton diesel, at minimum.

If you read he did state he had trailer brakes on his boat and his Highlhander should handle that just fine.  I wouldn't want to slam on the brakes towing 5000lbs on the F250 work truck without trailer brakes either.

Safety is important, but not everyone can afford or needs a pickup. SUVs are  great tow vehicles for people who don't have to move large equipment.   Less initial cost, usually better mileage, and more maneuverability in tight spots.  People with big trucks also get in trouble when towing/hauling too much weight too.

Haven't had the opportunity to tow anything with it yet but I purchased a 2022 Ford Maverick.  Has towing package with brake system, claims able to tow 4,000 lbs. Has been better than I expected on fuel. Averaging around 27 mpg, should have no problems towing 16 ft aluminum starcraft with 50 hp Johnson motor.

Just food for thought. with a small vehicle, it’s going to take longer to stop. If safety isn’t a concern, go for it.

Don't know if it's a smaller vehicle than yours, but I tow a 16ft Alumacraft w/45hp Merc and trolling motor, plus all the accessories, with a 2014, 6cyl Chevy Traverse, no problems at all.

A newer toyota Highlander will give you 5,000 lb capacity.  300 hp .  Good gas mileage.  I tow 185 tournament sport alumacraft with brakes.  Zero problem.   18 mpg with trailer, 28 to 30 mpg without.    Some day you may want to tow something a little larger than your teardrop trailer.  You will be set.  

The Xterra has a pretty stout engine so it should pull okay but you will lose mpg and lose cargo room.  A Jeep Cherokee with a V6 might fit the bill.

Town and country should have a 3600 lbs rating,  use to own a 2014 grand caravan and pulled my old 15 foot fiberglass bass boat with it all day long but when I upgraded to my 18 foot fish and ski , that was fun to say the least to use . So went to a pickup . 

Buddy of mine has a teardrop tows it with Subaru Outback with no problem.  

Have a 2019 Kia Sorento says it's rated to 5000 lbs towing. Pull my 17ft Smokercraft with 90hp on back all over and cant even tell it's back there.  

One thing you have to watch out for when comparing towing capacitys of various vehicles is wether or not the capacity is dependent on adding a transmission cooler. That would be an added expense if its not already included in the vehicle

I would look at the midsize trucks like the nissan frontier, toyota tacoma, honda ridgeline. 

I agree with scmuskies about the Grand Cherokee. Bought one new in 2018 and have been towing 20 ft. Bass Boat everywhere. Have had zero issues. Not even the endless recalls like I was having with the GMC I traded in. 

Smallest vehicle I've towed with was a 02 trailblazer which did great towing pretty much everything I tow boat, atv  or camper. I've since moved to a full size truck. But years back we where on a 10 hour drive to northern Minnesota for a fishing trip one guy in our group had a 99 dodge Dakota manual he was towing his 17 ft deep v boat with a 50 hp outboard in the end every hill we would encounter we would maintain 70 mph while my buddy was down shifting and could barely do 45 mph up hill made the trip alot longer and launching the boat was a good it was when he was taking his boat out a week later was a joke. so tracker I'd say no it a xterra I would assume would work great 

Here is a thread that discusses this as well, thought yiu may find it interesting:

Click here

Subaru Outback ... https://www.patriotsubaru.com/subaru-outback-towing-capacity.htm#:~:text=Subaru%20Outback%20Towing%20Capacity%20Chart%20%20%20Subaru,%20247%20lb-ft.%20%2010%20more%20rows%20