Little Red Pig Towing an Escape

tulsa · **Posted:** Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:14 pm

I recently towed a 2000# trailer from Tulsa to Seymour, IN to pick up a 3000# Escape. 5000# was not a problem even up the steepest hills on I64 and I44.

RTStabler51 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:43 am

Did ya have a brake controller?
Its amazing though how much crap I (we LIberty guys) get towing that much weight though buy full size trucks. Then when I pass'em on the highway and the pump they are shocked.

tulsa · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 8:12 am

Yes I have a brake controller, would not like to tow that much weight without electric brakes on the trailer.

jinstall · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:05 am

Biggest thing I ahve towed yet was a 1998 WS6 TA with gear and a 1300lb trailer. no issues at all.

geordi · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:11 am

Largest for me was an MQ Power 70 amp generator, 6840lbs fully fueled. I ran it across the scales just for giggles, and that little 4-banger was hauling a combined weight of north of 11k lbs!

And it gave me 18mpg while doing it too!

Before anyone asks, yes, it did have it's own brakes. The trailer had a combination of hydraulic and electric brakes so you didn't need a controller, but if you had one, then you could lock-out the hydraulics. Pulled just fine, and I didn't feel that my stopping distance was much longer than normal.

BBB · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:08 am

Ironic post for me.

We escaped from our 2001 Ford Escape to get into a new Liberty CRD. The Ford POS tranny failed at 50K miles. It was the same tranny used on the 4 cylinder Ford Contour and couldn't handle the torque of the Ford Duratec 200HP 3 litre V-6. . .Sound familiar? :roll:

Hope you got a later model with the revised tranny. I do like the major difference in power, fuel economy and ruggedness with the CRD over the Ford Escape and I'm glad we escaped from it.

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:41 am

Before buying the CRD I looked at the Escape and was sort of interested in the hybrid........until I found out that it would not have even been able to pull the trailer you have hitched empty. 500 pound towing capacity wouldn't even handle most mother-in-laws.

tulsa · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:31 pm

BBB wrote:

Ironic post for me.

We escaped from our 2001 Ford Escape to get into a new Liberty CRD. The Ford POS tranny failed at 50K miles. It was the same tranny used on the 4 cylinder Ford Contour and couldn't handle the torque of the Ford Duratec 200HP 3 litre V-6. . .Sound familiar? :roll:

Hope you got a later model with the revised tranny. I do like the major difference in power, fuel economy and ruggedness with the CRD over the Ford Escape and I'm glad we escaped from it.

The escape on the trailer is a 4cyl, 5 speed manual. I bought it at a very low price to drive around town on less expensive fuel than diesel.

"Largest for me was an MQ Power 70 amp generator, 6840lbs fully fueled. I ran it across the scales just for giggles, and that little 4-banger was hauling a combined weight of north of 11k lbs!"

"And it gave me 18mpg while doing it too! "

Geordi, I also got 18 MPG pulling the Escape through the Ozarks and whatever those hills are on I64 west of Louisville (I was not expecting hills that steep in Indiana).

aandlwoods · **Joined:** Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:53 pm **Posts:** 96

That beast on the trailer has put up with plenty of abuse and soon may be retired (sold).

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:59 pm

I would love to see a CRD towing a Prius :lol:

BTW The Escape drives great, but the Fuel tank is too small, 10gal.

RTStabler51 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:01 am

Since this has turned into a whore fest, I'll have to contribute:
March '07 SVO Coming Home

July '06 Crappy Pic - but towing the Contour SVT home for the last time

April '08 Can't see much but bring the SVO back from the body shop

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:16 am

I'm seeing a trend here, Jeep towing FORD.

CRD Sport · **Joined:** Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:42 pm **Posts:** 22

RTStabler51 wrote:

Since this has turned into a whore fest, I'll have to contribute:
March '07 SVO Coming Home

That's a very nice SVO you've got there. I haven't seen one in that good of shape in a long time.

BTW. I get a lot of comments when when I pull my YJ Wrangler back and forth to where I hunt. I wish I had a pic of it loaded. The wrangler has a 4" lift and 33x14.5"x16" Boggers on it, sitting on a 20' long flatbed trailer kinda like the pic above. Fully loaded down with hunting and camping gear it's probably a little over 5000lbs or so. It looks kinda odd since the YJ's top is at least 4 feet taller than the Libby when it's loaded, but it pulls great and gets 17-18mpg while doing it.

tulsa · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:17 am

warp2diesel wrote:

I would love to see a CRD towing a Prius :lol:

BTW The Escape drives great, but the Fuel tank is too small, 10gal.

I don't know where the 10 gal tank came from, my tank is 15 gal. I just put 13.9 in after driving 340 mi around town.
Lewis

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:22 am

Thats the biggest thing I've noticed - The mileage drop when pulling with the CRD vs with anything gas. I have a gasser Jeep too, an 97 Grand just like in the above pics. Same color too.

Dragging my 4k lb 6x12 enclosed box with that Jeep, it offered a resounding 10mpg at 60mph on entirely flat roads. Thats down from (on a good day, downhill) about 18mpg. The average for that V8 is a paltry 16mpg.

Pulling the same 6x12, loaded even heavier (500lb bike, 30-40 gallons of biodiesel, other crap) at a guess of about 5k... And pulling it up and down hills from Georgia to Albany... 19mpg, at 70mph most of the time!

These little trains have some serious power under the hood.

Since we are all showing pictures, here's mine:

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:32 am

Oh, one other bit of fun, that sadly I never got a picture of:

That Jeep Grand Cherokee that I have? Its set up for towing behind a motorhome, with all 4 wheels on the ground. My VW Jetta was at a repair shop one time just before I sold it, and I needed a way to get the Jetta home, but didn't have another driver available.

So I used the Jetta TDI to pull the Jeep home.

Not the most fun towing, and I could certainly feel the "tail wagging the dog" on the way, but that VW engine put up with it just fine.

aandlwoods · **Joined:** Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:53 pm **Posts:** 96

Hey i used to have a moto plate too... the wife surprised me with it when i was in Iraq

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danoid · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:28 pm

It may not weigh as much as that Cat generator, but it takes the cake for frontal area...

Last tug was about 270 miles with a steady 20 mph headwind. 12 mpg. But I've hit up to 17 with no wind and 15 going through the Great Smokies.

tulsa · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:41 pm

danoid wrote:

It may not weigh as much as that Cat generator, but it takes the cake for frontal area...

Last tug was about 270 miles with a steady 20 mph headwind. 12 mpg. But I've hit up to 17 with no wind and 15 going through the Great Smokies.

Give me the generator any day. With that much frontal area it does not matter if the trailer is full or empty.
Lewis

aandlwoods · **Joined:** Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:53 pm **Posts:** 96

LOL... that pic is awesome... I bet you get alot of people asking all kinds of questions and tons that just think... WTF?

Little Red Pig Towing an Escape

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