Update: we picked up our 264BHW on May 14 and I had no problems hauling it home. We took it out for the first time this past weekend and it towed very well.
- Going was a little slow going up a very steep hill (
average grade of 5.2% over 4.25 miles, but it varies and is sometimes steeper) and had to drop down to 2nd gear only a couple of times.
- I traveled most of the time with O/D off, but was able to put it on when on flat areas of the interstate.
- Experienced no noticeable sway with trucks passing on interstate.
- GCVW was 11520 (fully loaded and all passengers) at the CAT scale (vehicle limit is 12000).
Equipment that made the tow go well:
- Equalizer 4-point WD hitch.
- Tekonsha P3 brake controller
- McKesh towing mirrors
- Had transmission flushed and filled with synthetic.
- Inflated TV tires to 36psi (would prob go 38 next time)
All said and done, I'll probably look into a larger vehicle when we're ready for a new one, but I'm fairly satisfied with how things turned out -- I just hate to let the Mountaineer go. This hill has probably the steepest sustained grades of anywhere we go camping, so I don't feel like I'm going to run into something the Mounty can't handle -- I'll just have to make sure I know the terrain of my route.
Some future mods to help:
- Monitor transmission temperature with OBD-II monitor and Torque app (couldn't find my Bluetooth OBD-II before the trip).
- Install rear camera and hook it up to the LCD rear view mirror already installed.