My 2012 Ford Escape had a towing capacity of 3500 pounds, a tongue weight capacity of 350 lbs, 4 pin wiring, and a 1 1/4″ hitch.
Towing capacity is fairly self-explanatory. If the trailer weighs more than 3500 lbs, fully loaded with gear and liquids, the Ford Escape could not safely tow. Additionally, one has to factor in the gear and people added to the Ford Escape. The tongue weight is the weight that is on the trailer tongue that attaches to the Ford Escape. Four pin wiring is the kind used for small utility trailers or boats. All of the trailers that i have looked at require 7 pin wiring, part of which is the wiring for trailer brakes and to charge the trailer’s battery. Finally, the smaller hitch receptacle size was inadequate for using a weight distribution hitch, recommended for smaller tow vehicles like the Ford Escape.
I could have made the Ford Escape work-probably. However, it would have required modification/expense to change over the Class 1 hitch to a Class 2 hitch, change the 4 pin wiring receptacle to a 7 pin receptacle, and to add a weight distribution hitch which redistributes the weight of the trailer over the weight of the tow vehicle. Even after those modifications, I may have been pushing the towing limit after factoring in water tanks and holding tanks.
For safety reasons, I decided to upgrade. The 2013 Nissan Crew Cab below has 6100 lbs towing capacity and a 7 pin receptacle. It’s a bit of overkill, but that isn’t a bad thing. We will have the flexibility to add solar panels, batteries, bicycles, and not have to worry about filling up with water or waste.
The first new vehicle that I purchased was 1986 Nissan pickup. We took that truck on all kinds of adventures across California where we lived at the time. In some ways, it just felt right to go back to a Nissan truck for the next round of adventures.
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