Horsepower & Torque

I think 5K capacity is minimum for any tow vehicle. Factory tow package is VERY IMPORTANT, since it meets the specs for that brand's tow capacity. The larger the engine, the less stress when towing up hills. For me, that means V8 and I consider a 5.3 "small". (322 cu in) Ah, for the old days of cheap fuel...

As far as torque, to me it means what the drive train will deliver. For instance, a low geared rear end provides more power to pull but less high speed. A smaller engine will struggle with a low rear end; it relies on power from RPMs rather than torque. A "torquey" motor delivers more bottom end (or off the line/ start and pull power) than a high RPM motor. The turtle has more torque than the hare...

I'm sure our resident car addicts can explain this better than I can. All I know, is: I want POWER, lots of CUBIC INCHES and enough TORQUE to haul the mail. Heck, engines aren't even described in cu in anymore..

I offer a third thumbs up for the V8. I know there are new V6 turbo charged engines that can deliver high HP but I'm old school and turbo to me means stress and something expensive that can break.

I learned the hard way about tow ratings. When they say 3800 pounds they mean on flat ground without driving into a heavy wind. As more knowledgeable members told me, cut the tow rating provided by the car maker in half. That's the comfortable tow rating.

After one hour towing with our Ford Ranger I knew a V6 wasn't going to do it in the mountains. I bought a Tundra with a V8 5.7L engine and factory tow package. Even heavy grades hardly slow me down. And the transmission doesn't drop into high gear as it struggles to keep up.

Another thing to consider is wheel base. When a semi raced by our Ford Ranger the wind really rocked the truck and camper. With a Tundra I hardly notice it.

Is the 19' long Tundra ridiculously big? Yes.
Is the fuel economy lousy? Yes.
Is the extra space in a pick up great for gear? Yes.

That reminds me of a riddle. How do you turn a $100 tent into a $40,000 hobby?       Buy a vintage camper.

There's no replacement for displacement, so yes, engine size matters. I had a late 90's Chevy Astro with a 4.3 liter Vortec V6 that we would load up with camping gear, 4 kids and towed an 18' speed boat up and over mountain passes. The boat was full of gas and stuffed with more gear so we were really pushing that van. We only struggled on the very steepest hills. Overall I was surprised and quite impressed with how well it handled the abuse I threw at it. I believe the 4.3 motor was available through the 2013 model year. Fuel economy was 16-18 mpg if I recall correctly.

Based on my experience, if I were limited to a V6 for towing, I'd be looking for a 2-wheel rear drive vehicle with that 4.3 Vortec engine. All wheel drive breaks more often, gets less mpg, less power to the ground and isn't well suited to towing. I'd get the biggest radiator and transmission cooler available. A limited slip rear axle would be nice to have and maybe even an external engine oil cooler. These are things that can all be added after purchase.

Take a look at Trailblazers. Ours is an 08 and turns on a dime. Rated at 5K, it does fine with our little vintage trailers. The 5.3 V8 has a "gas saver" mode that helps around town mileage. I love this vehicle.

HP numbers are always quoted at the sweet spot in the RPM band, which is usually quite a bit higher than you'll ever hit in normal driving (unless you're into caravan racing). 6000 rpm? That would be like having a giant fly buzzing around my ears. My V-8 F-150 on cruise control turns about 1250 rpm at highway speed until it hits a hill, then it goes up to around 2200-2400 when it downshifts.

I wouldn't get too lost in those numbers between such similar vehicles, they're more useful to marketing departments than drivers. The difference between the two quoted vehicles' engine specs, as far as just torque and HP are concerned, isn't enough, IMO, to override specs like a longer wheelbase for stability or cargo room or reliability. The chance that 17 HP is going to make a big difference towing a camper is very small unless you're operating at the extreme limit of the vehicle's towing capability, in which case you should have bought something bigger anyway. What bothers me the most is that the Mazda doesn't hit that max power until 6000 RPM. That to me implies slow takeoffs and a shorter lifespan if you dip into the power a lot, say when matting it to enter a crowded highway from a short on-ramp. And I just don't like the sound of high-revving motors that make the door handles buzz and the old french fries leap out from under the seats.

Torque gets you moving, it fights inertia, while HP is more an indication of how hard your motor will have to work in general, although it's hard to entirely separate them. A really "torquey" motor will allow you to take off from a dead stop in 5th gear without stalling, or allow you to accelerate to pass another car without downshifting. A high-HP motor will be strained less in every aspect of driving. It will run cooler and last longer pulling the same load than a motor with fewer HP.

Torque is like the force required to get a big heavy couch to break free of friction and start sliding across the floor, while HP is more like how fast you can slide the couch after you get it moving.

As for 6 cylinders, it depends on the motor. I towed my 3200-poundish 22.5-footer with a 90s Ford van that had a big ol' straight six, no problems whatsoever. That's what the PO used as well, and when he towed it from NH to ME for me, he was only ten minutes behind me after 100 miles. I know, Ford doesn't make straight sixes any more. Too bad, they were great motors.

Turbos, meh. Too much turbo lag, you don't get the power until the revs go way up, which would annoy me greatly (along with those behind me) every time I took off from a stop sign (sounds like the Mazda would do the same thing). I had a turbo bike once that was a dog until it hit 3500 rpm and the turbo kicked in.

I have to look it up every time. I thought our Trailblazer had a 350 for a few years there...

Thanks so much, y'all! Lots of great advice here and I'm understanding things better.