New Imagine XLS 17MKE

[bnjhikers]

We just purchased a new to us 17 MKE (2021) from someone who used it once! We're new to RV ownership. Now we need to buy a tow vehicle. Right now the trailer a big box just sitting in front of our house! LOL.
Brought it home with a rental Silverado from U-Haul. Funny the Silverado had the same mileage as the mileage on the trailer according to the previous owner. Lots to learn!

[howson]

We just purchased a new to us 17 MKE (2021) from someone who used it once! We're new to RV ownership. Now we need to buy a tow vehicle. Right now the trailer a big box just sitting in front of our house! LOL.
Brought it home with a rental Silverado from U-Haul. Funny the Silverado had the same mileage as the mileage on the trailer according to the previous owner. Lots to learn!

Congrats and welcome to Grand Design's (Technical) Owners' Forum. A great place to start here is the Welcome Letter to New Members at https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

For your tow vehicle selection, check out the Reference Material section of the Towing and Hitches channel for information that (hopefully) helps. https://gdrvowners.com/towing-and-hi...rence-material

Howard

[Paul & Deb]

We just purchased a new to us 17 MKE (2021) from someone who used it once! We're new to RV ownership. Now we need to buy a tow vehicle. Right now the trailer a big box just sitting in front of our house! LOL.
Brought it home with a rental Silverado from U-Haul. Funny the Silverado had the same mileage as the mileage on the trailer according to the previous owner. Lots to learn!

Hi Brenda and Jay,

First, welcome to the forum and to Grand Design. It's a great group of people.

I have been researching this very questions for over a month now. We just finally ordered our new 17MKE yesterday. For now we will tow with our current GMC Denali 3500 Duramax. Our original hope, to the point we actually were out shopping for one, was to tow it with a new mid-sized SUV like a Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisades, Volkswagen Atlas, etc. Studying all the numbers and talking with 3 17MKE owners at a recent Grand Design Rally, we have shelved that idea. The problem is that while the 17MKE "seems" like a small light weight trailer, it actually isn't that light. You can easily get it up to over 6,000 lbs resulting in a tongue weight of 700 lbs or even more (as some owners have reported). The mid-sized SUVs I researched have a max tow capability of around 5,000 - ,6,000 lbs and rated for a tongue weight of around 500 - 600 lbs. Again I spoke with one owner currently towing his with a Nissan Frontier and he told me it was way too much trailer and was only comfortable towing short distances without towing over any significant grades. He said he did once and the truck struggled mightily. You also have to keep in mind the weight you will be carrying IN the tow vehicle itself, like your partner, camping gear, etc. You will almost immediately be overweight for the vehicle and certainly disappointed in the performance. Now maybe if you live in the mid-west with no grades and you travel within a few hundred miles of home, one of these would work but I wouldn't recommend one anywhere else.

I went from researching mid-size SUVs to full size SUVs and 1/2 ton pickups, which I believe would do fine. We have been towing multiple different trailers for years with a full sized diesel truck and I have a very hard time imagining towing with anything else but in reality, it is probably overkill for this trailer. I also learned that Chevy will be putting a diesel in their Tahoe soon but I know very little about it. If you're a Ford guy (I'm not) a ECO boost F150 would probably work very well especially for towing at grade.

Anyway, hope this helps and doesn't just confuse you more.

[TucsonJim]

Welcome Brenda and Jay. That model sure seems to be popular lately. Congratulations on your new trailer.

Jim

[Canyonlight]

Hi Brenda and Jay,

First, welcome to the forum and to Grand Design. It's a great group of people.

I have been researching this very questions for over a month now. We just finally ordered our new 17MKE yesterday. For now we will tow with our current GMC Denali 3500 Duramax. Our original hope, to the point we actually were out shopping for one, was to tow it with a new mid-sized SUV like a Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisades, Volkswagen Atlas, etc. Studying all the numbers and talking with 3 17MKE owners at a recent Grand Design Rally, we have shelved that idea. The problem is that while the 17MKE "seems" like a small light weight trailer, it actually isn't that light. You can easily get it up to over 6,000 lbs resulting in a tongue weight of 700 lbs or even more (as some owners have reported). The mid-sized SUVs I researched have a max tow capability of around 5,000 - ,6,000 lbs and rated for a tongue weight of around 500 - 600 lbs. Again I spoke with one owner currently towing his with a Nissan Frontier and he told me it was way too much trailer and was only comfortable towing short distances without towing over any significant grades. He said he did once and the truck struggled mightily. You also have to keep in mind the weight you will be carrying IN the tow vehicle itself, like your partner, camping gear, etc. You will almost immediately be overweight for the vehicle and certainly disappointed in the performance. Now maybe if you live in the mid-west with no grades and you travel within a few hundred miles of home, one of these would work but I wouldn't recommend one anywhere else.

I went from researching mid-size SUVs to full size SUVs and 1/2 ton pickups, which I believe would do fine. We have been towing multiple different trailers for years with a full sized diesel truck and I have a very hard time imagining towing with anything else but in reality, it is probably overkill for this trailer. I also learned that Chevy will be putting a diesel in their Tahoe soon but I know very little about it. If you're a Ford guy (I'm not) a ECO boost F150 would probably work very well especially for towing at grade.

Anyway, hope this helps and doesn't just confuse you more.

Paul - Jim Guest has shared some about the new little GM diesel with me in our communications about Carol's new RS Blazer we bought and the new Duramax 3500 we are contemplating. If interested, Jim being a recently retired GM power train Engineer, would be the guy to lean more about this.

Wow a new 17MKE ordered ! Will this be in addition to the 337 or ?

Dan

[Canyonlight]

Wow a new 17MKE ordered ! Will this be in addition to the 337 or ?

Dan

Paul Paul & Deb - Never mind - question answered in another one of your posts which I did not seen until just a bit ago. Congratulations to you and Deb !

Dan

[Guest]

Paul - Jim Guest has shared some about the new little GM diesel with me in our communications about Carol's new RS Blazer we bought and the new Duramax 3500 we are contemplating. If interested, Jim being a recently retired GM power train Engineer, would be the guy to lean more about this.

Wow a new 17MKE ordered ! Will this be in addition to the 337 or ?

Dan

The new LM2 Diesel is powerful and extremely efficient. It will be in my next pickup where yes, it will land in the full size SUVs as well.

Jim

[Guest]

Paul & Deb Paul,

The Yukon 4WD has a payload capacity of 2156 lbs and a tow rating of 7800 lbs with the D Max. But where the LM2 really shines is in its fuel economy. Over 600 miles on one tank of fuel with over 700 miles on the XL. You will have some nice options from the air suspension to the 6.2L rocket. The 6.2L will be premium recommended which in GM language means you can burn 87-93 octane fuel. For towing you would be best served with premium fuel should you want the 6.2L. Max tow will be on the 5.3L due to its light weight and lower compression from the 6.2L

Love the interior on the full size SUVs.

Jim

[GrandDeal3]

bnjhikers I think the big Q is Truck V. SUV. Sounds like a lot of options and yes it is a "light" trailer you have a luxury of going the opposite direction of Trailer then Truck!

Paul & Deb Made a good point on an ECO Boost F150 but if I were to do it again I would consider a 3/4ton with a gas motor (especially if you are looking to commute with the truck) or a well equipped 1/2 ton with payload 1700# or more to be comfortable and give room for growth down the line. I have been really considering the Titan XD with the gas motor as it has a payload of 2300-2500 even in there high end lines. It is more like a heavy 1/2 ton.

The big point here is don't get suckered in on the "Max Tow Capacity" of a truck. You are likely to run out of payload before you ever hit that number and it is a marketing ploy in my opinion. Look at the door sticker, talk to a dealership and tell them to shove their 13,000# Tow capacity with 1400# payload...

[Guest]

bnjhikers I think the big Q is Truck V. SUV. Sounds like a lot of options and yes it is a "light" trailer you have a luxury of going the opposite direction of Trailer then Truck!

Paul & Deb Made a good point on an ECO Boost F150 but if I were to do it again I would consider a 3/4ton with a gas motor (especially if you are looking to commute with the truck) or a well equipped 1/2 ton with payload 1700# or more to be comfortable and give room for growth down the line. I have been really considering the Titan XD with the gas motor as it has a payload of 2300-2500 even in there high end lines. It is more like a heavy 1/2 ton.

The big point here is don't get suckered in on the "Max Tow Capacity" of a truck. You are likely to run out of payload before you ever hit that number and it is a marketing ploy in my opinion. Look at the door sticker, talk to a dealership and tell them to shove their 13,000# Tow capacity with 1400# payload...

There will be no payload issues with the 17MKE. Fuel Economy will be the underlying theme based on rising fuel prices. If traveling long distance, a light duty diesel even with higher fuel prices will be cost effective. Don't plan on a Hybrid truck to save on fuel while towing. Hybrids will help to get a load moving and at a lesser degree to aid in grade prep. These vehicles perform best on the city cycle where regenerative braking can help on the next launch. Not much launching and braking going on during interstate travel while towing.

Jim

[GrandDeal3]

There will be no payload issues with the 17MKE. Fuel Economy will be the underlying theme based on rising fuel prices. If traveling long distance, a light duty diesel even with higher fuel prices will be cost effective. Don't plan on a Hybrid truck to save on fuel while towing. Hybrids will help to get a load moving and at a lesser degree to aid in grade prep. These vehicles perform best on the city cycle where regenerative braking can help on the next launch. Not much launching and braking going on during interstate travel while towing.

Jim

Agreed on the payload but if ever looking to go larger better to buy once, cry once. I would certainly steer away from the new Hybrid Trucks. Don't get me wrong, we have a Prius and love it...just not for towing. There is no replacement for displacement. Even the turbo-charged Fords dont get great mileage compared to a 5.0-5.7L V8, and I cannot stand the MDS On/Off stuff

[Guest]

Agreed on the payload but if ever looking to go larger better to buy once, cry once. I would certainly steer away from the new Hybrid Trucks. Don't get me wrong, we have a Prius and love it...just not for towing. There is no replacement for displacement. Even the turbo-charged Fords dont get great mileage compared to a 5.0-5.7L V8, and I cannot stand the MDS On/Off stuff

We're in line. LOL. Chryslers MDS ( I worked on long ago) and the GMs AFM or new DFM are not my favorite but it has become much more smooth these days. Folks that want pipes will not like the 4 cylinder motor boat mode unless they disable the feature (I would not recommend). Interesting thing about this fancy cylinder deactivation is folks that live out in Nebraska can get fuel economy in the low 30s with a GM v8 providing the road is flat and long enough. I've hit 27.5 mpg on my 5.3 in Toledo OH on a stretch of Rt 2 for 55 miles. Simplicity has value as well as extra torque at altitude for those in the Rockies that like boost.

Some folks may end up getting a larger rig and should plan ahead on the TV. We will never go larger than the 2600RB where I would like to stay in a half ton. And yes I'm an LS kind a guy since I've tuned them all for GM in their performance cars with other folks on the team.

Jim