I've got a Triton TR-17 (about 1500 pounds dry, up to about 3000 pounds wet and loaded down with motor and trailer, I'm guessing), and I'm considering selling the pickup (please, it's too sad to talk about right now, I'm hoping it doesn't happen). If I do, it would be to get a Ford Escape with the V6, which has a towing rating of 3500 pounds. Has anyone tried to pull a boat with one of these? I guess my biggest issue with this is that I couldn't tow a bigger 19 or 20-footer if I ever decided to get one. But for right now, do you think this would be adequate or pushing the limit a bit too much?

Don't do it please. Just because it says it can tow 3500lbs sometimes you have to consider "safely" during rain, Dallas traffic? Not sure if you drive amongst the same morons I do. This is one of the considerations I had to look at because for along time I've had the desire to own a Jeep Wrangler as a playtime alternate work vehicle and discovered that they only had a 2000lb towing capacity and only the later model Unlimited's are rated at 3500lb. Not sure if you value the toy your dragging as I do my baby but I decided that when it comes down to when I have to give up my company ride that I'll be buying a new F150 and using the ol' 97 to hump back and forth to work and after all with the little tricks done to her she's still fun to drive too.

Anyone within a 50-mile radius of Dallas drives with the same morons you do. I know 635 and 30 seem to attract the majority of them... :-)

That's a good point, I may be asking a bit too much. And like I said, I hate to think of not being able to upgrade my boat without upgrading my ride. I certainly value my toy enough to steer clear of the Escape if the experts don't think it's a wise move.

The Ford Escape uses the same transmission that a Ford Contour, Mercury Mystic. DO NOT DO IT, this transmission has a horrible track record and is no where heavy duty enough for this type of work.

I have a ford escape as as a work paid for vehicle (my truck is an F350) and no way I would pull anything much less a boat with it. Overall to me seems pretty unstable and would not trust it as a towing platform for anything personally.

Take everyone's great advice--NO--! It's not worth the risk of wrecking your boat or replacing a tranny. They are great everyday vehicles!!

Don't sell the truck, what would you do without it??? Don't get a ford Escape, have a friend whose wife has had 2 of them. First one was a lemon, the dealership had to take it back. She wanted another one, nice little suv, but has been in the dealership for the transmission already, also for the power windows, and some other electrical problems! Don't do the truck wrong, it wants to stay and pull the boat!

I like to be at 1/2 of the tow rating. I think that 3500 is really stretching it with an Escape. I much prefer a solid rear axle for towing. My mechanic noted that my Sport Trac while basically the same as his Explorer had twice the tow rating. Heck his Explorer was only rated for 3500.

So, we have a concensus. I'll hold on to the Silverado. Thanks for the advice. I didn't think it was a good idea, but I thought there was always a chance that there was someone out there who was going to come back with "I've had a ford escape and towed my boat for the last 8 years with no issues."

I'm happy with my Silverado and it only has 82k miles, but my wife has to get something bigger than her Civic with a 1-month old at home. It's just not big enough to fit a car seat and 2 or 3 people comfortably, and I was thinking about taking her Civic for the gas mileage and getting her an Escape for the space. Anyway, yall don't need to know my life story, but I do appreciate the input. I'll probably hold onto the Silverado and get her a Honda CR-V or something in that size/price range. I would hate driving a Civic every day anyway, but the gas savings would be nice.

Good luck, I can certainly feel your pain. I have always driven a full size truck or van and just don't feel comfortable driving anything smaller alot attributed to I'm not a small person at all. I got the bright idea back in 99 and bought my wife a Rodeo boy was that a bad mistake it rode ok and had alot of room but the gas mileage wasn't any better than my pickup but when it came to service it pretty much had to be taken to the dealer to get reliable service done on it. Then it started having mechanical problems and they don't sell a single part for that thing that's less than $300. We ended up getting rid of it and she got a 05 Camry and as it turns out has been an excellent decision as it hasn't given any problems and she gets 27 in town and 30 highway. We recently made a trip to Denison in it with me and her and brother-in-law and his wife and my 19 year old and we all had plenty of room. So sometimes a small SUV is not always the best way. But find something that works best for you and your expanding family.

Front wheel drive vehicles are not meant for towing.

Another consideration is the length and width of your boat trailer vs the Escape will cause it to be very prone to fishtailing.

I currently drive an Escape and I DO NOT DARE pull my Triton with it! It would be better to, at minimum, purchase a reliable old beater pickup that just stays hooked up to the boat if you must get rid of your current pickup.

GOOD LUCK.

While you're looking at getting her a vehicle, you might wanna think about getting something that will do double duty?

My wife, with my input, drives a Nissan XTerra and it tows my boat (comparable size to yours) just fine. Hers is the V6 model with around 235hp. They have some that are 265HP (turbo, I think). It has plenty of power, and handles real well (towing or not). And is on the Frontier frame, so it's a true SUV. It only tows the boat when we go on vacation, about twice a year. But it does a good job. Just hauled the boat to Freeport and back last month. We even used it to go Elk hutning last year. Towed a LOADED 5x10 trailer to 10,000'. There were a few hills where I had to punish it a bit. but overall, I was very impressed with it's power and mild offroad capabilities. I know she'd freak out if she saw some of the stuff I put that little guy through that week.

I have just the opposite problem as you. I have a house full of gas savers but nothing to pull my new boat. My 4 banger Nissan pulled my old 15 ft Skeeter but it was a struggle. My job is 100 miles round trip so the 4 cylinders will have to stay. I am now in the market for a truck or SUV to pull my boat. I really don't care about the gas mileage because I will only put 50 miles or so a month on it. If your truck is paid for or close to it keep it.

Reggie

nix the escape