Towing Vehicles

Here at Canada in the Rough our vehicles log 10s of thousands of kilometers each year. Most of that involves hauling a heavy trailer filled with hunting equipment, ATVs, and lots of sensitive camera equipment; not to mention our field crew.

Trailering is not something to be taken lightly and choosing a truck that’s built to handle your demands is essential. I always figure that it’s better to have too much than not enough so I’m going to assume that you intend to haul a bit more than a small utility trailer.

Look for a truck that will handle tow loads of up to 16,000 pounds and whether your choice is gas or diesel, be sure the power plant produces plenty of low-end torque. Upgrading to a manual or automatic six speed transmission will provide better gear selection when you’re in slow moving traffic or climbing a long grade.

Specifications like axle ratio, tongue weight, Gross Combination Weight, and Gross vehicle weight will affect your final selection.

• GCW is the total maximum combined weight of a fully loaded truck and trailer.
• Axle ratio determines the available torque at a given speed. A higher axle ratio means more available torque and hence greater towing capacity. The downside of a higher axle ratio is that fuel consumption also increases due to higher engine revs.
• The GVW is the total maximum weight of the tow vehicle including payload. Remember that the tongue weight of your trailer is considered part of the payload.

Finally factory installed accessories like extendable mirrors, a class IV trailer hitch, 750 amp battery and 7 point wiring harness will save the amount of work you will need to do yourself. And if you choose an automatic transmission and intend to do a lot of heavy hauling it might be worth considering the addition of a transmission fluid cooler.

Take the time to understand your needs, choose the vehicle that’s right for you, and happy trailering.