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I would think the escalade would be fine with a R5. 3/4 ton suburban might not be that bad for her to drive. My wife is just like yours. She drives the truck. I guarantee she wouldn't care if it's a half ton or 3/4.
They don't ride that bad. I saw most older ones had a 6.0 in them. I wouldn't Make that switch without a 8.1. There are a few of there.

Side note I might try to get my 15 year old son to go to MO state also.

Springtown wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:01 am I think the most realistic option for me would be to trade the Escalade for an Expedition.

I towed my A25 from California to TRL and back last summer behind a Lincoln Navigator L (aka "Expedition Max in a nicer suit").

Great experience, excellent tow vehicle. I tow my 26' race trailer with it, too.

- Mark

Springtown wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:09 am Actually. Re reading some of this. It seems I’d do well to swap into the expedition and stick with the R5 considering the amount of towing I expect to do?

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ST, if you are doing 5-7 hour towing trips then definitely upgrade.
If it’s a quick trip or short haul then you’ll be fine.
.

I pull our R5 with my wife’s F150 all of the time. Last summer we pulled it down to the Ozarks from central MN and it did it effortlessly. I wouldn’t hesitate to pull and R7 with an F150! I save my F350 for the heavy trailers, 12-15000lbs...

mdadgar wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 12:39 pm

Springtown wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:01 am I think the most realistic option for me would be to trade the Escalade for an Expedition.

I towed my A25 from California to TRL and back last summer behind a Lincoln Navigator L (aka "Expedition Max in a nicer suit").

Great experience, excellent tow vehicle. I tow my 26' race trailer with it, too.

- Mark

You should try a schedule the July week of the 21st this year. Do the regatta and etc with us. We’re big on the etc

cmattj wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:17 pm

mdadgar wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 12:39 pm

Springtown wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:01 am I think the most realistic option for me would be to trade the Escalade for an Expedition.

I towed my A25 from California to TRL and back last summer behind a Lincoln Navigator L (aka "Expedition Max in a nicer suit").

Great experience, excellent tow vehicle. I tow my 26' race trailer with it, too.

- Mark

You should try a schedule the July week of the 21st this year. Do the regatta and etc with us. We’re big on the etc

I would love to but it won't be in 2020 - we'll be visiting family in Germany for two weeks in June so TRL will be a one-week vacation this year. One week at the lake just barely isn't worth 5 days of towing.

- Mark

mdadgar wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:20 pm

cmattj wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:17 pm

mdadgar wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 12:39 pm

I towed my A25 from California to TRL and back last summer behind a Lincoln Navigator L (aka "Expedition Max in a nicer suit").

Great experience, excellent tow vehicle. I tow my 26' race trailer with it, too.

- Mark

You should try a schedule the July week of the 21st this year. Do the regatta and etc with us. We’re big on the etc

I would love to but it won't be in 2020 - we'll be visiting family in Germany for two weeks in June so TRL will be a one-week vacation this year. One week at the lake just barely isn't worth 5 days of towing.

- Mark

Oh its worth it

Just fly out there?

WALCOWI wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 4:56 pm FWIW, the Ford Expedition can tow 9,300 lbs when properly equipped.

This is what drives me crazy about manufacture's ratings....."when properly equipped". That almost always means a WDH. There are a few out there that are designed to work with a single pole tongue trailer like our boat trailers, but not many. I think the tongue weight is going to be a huge limiting factor in towing an R7 with an SUV. At 7800, that's 780lbs on the tongue (average). That's a lot and its going to kill your payload. Most hitches are class 3, rated for 600lbs tongue and 6000 carry weight, which seems to be the standard on SUV's. The Expy is around 1600lbs payload. Take that 780 off of the payload and you're at 820 left. Put a full tank of gas in her and 4 adults and you are right at at or over the limit. I'm guessing the Ecoboost yanking an R7 is going to give you low/middle single digits on MPG at best. I can also tell you that the IRS will make a difference as they like to dance. I'm in the exact same boat....my Sequoia is rated pretty close to 10k, "when properly equipped". She does ok with the R3, but not sure how it would work with the R5 and I wouldn't try with the R7. I did add airbags and it's helped some, but still no way for an R7. The other thing I wished I had was more wheelbase. If your Escalade is the shorter version like a Tahoe (the new ones are longer), you might want to look at that as well---the longer the vehicle, the better the tow. On the flat, short trips....maybe, hills and hours, not so much.

Let us know how it turns out.

sailor55330 wrote: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:09 am I'm guessing the Ecoboost yanking an R7 is going to give you low/middle single digits on MPG at best. I can also tell you that the IRS will make a difference as they like to dance.

My Raptor-spec EcoBoost Navigator L averaged 9.7 mpg towing my A25 from TRL to California last summer. Towing speed limits outside of California are ... high. Boats are pretty aerodynamic, though - I definitely get worse towing my enclosed race trailer.

Super stable - little to no movement while towing. My custom trailer probably helped as its balanced perfectly.

- Mark

I bought the R7 because I never really planned on towing it around. Maybe one of these days I will buy a trailer and tow it the 45 miles over to the Bull. But if I had planned to pull a boat around all the time I would have gotten the R5. It is for sure the more trailerable boat. Any 1/2 ton truck or V8 SUV will haul around an R5.

Sounds like you got options and you are figuring out what is best for you and the family!

I pulled my R7 with my Toyota Sequoia 120 miles round trip last year to the lake.... No issues... Do I wish I had a 3/4 ton..? Sure. Am I going to upgrade...? Nope. I did rent a Suburban to to take to FL for the back half of Summer/ Fall and I will tell you I didn't see a lot of difference. Maybe a little better MPG.... But this year renting a dry stack slip so I don't have to mess with the towing... AND I"M A TRUCKER!

What year is your Sequoia? Maybe I'm too cautious

2010.... 210K miles and still running strong!

sailor55330 wrote: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:09 am

WALCOWI wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 4:56 pm FWIW, the Ford Expedition can tow 9,300 lbs when properly equipped.

This is what drives me crazy about manufacture's ratings....."when properly equipped". That almost always means a WDH.

Let us know how it turns out.

I don't own an Expedition (or any Ford product), so I am not an expert (or a fan boy), but my understanding of "properly equipped" refers to the available factory options, such as 4x4 and heavy duty trailer tow package. From the Ford Website:

If you need to tow a large trailer, the standard 3.5L EcoBoost® engine delivers 375 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque,* giving the Expedition a best-in-class 9,300-lb. towing capacity** when equipped with the Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package. Expedition features trailer sway control working in conjunction with AdvanceTrac® with RSC® (Roll Stability Control™ ). Standard BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with class-exclusive trailer coverage helps watch your blind spots not only around the vehicle, but around the trailer as well. Available Pro Trailer Backup Assist™ helps you steer a trailer in reverse with just the turn of a knob. And the limited-slip differential is comforting in slippery conditions. It all adds up to towing made easier.

There is also an optional integrated trailer brake controller, which seems like it would be a must have for pulling heavy loads.

Check the receiver capacity. I would be very surprised if it was rated for more than 500/5000. Even the f150s have that rating without the use of a wdh. Manufacturers are sneaky.