SUVs That Can Tow a Travel Trailer, Ranked by Rating

The ranked table: every current SUV rating, with what it requires

Each row names the configuration the figure applies to, because the maximum almost never applies to the whole model line. The payload column prints only what the maker publishes; several makers publish none, and the payload for a specific vehicle lives on its door placard rather than in a brochure.

Figures from each maker's own document: the 2026 Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide and Ford's 2026 Expedition specification sheet; the 2026 Chevrolet Trailering Guide; GMC's 2026 Yukon and Yukon XL trailering charts; Stellantis specification sheets for the Grand Wagoneer, Durango and Grand Cherokee; Toyota product information for Sequoia, 4Runner and Highlander; the 2026 Nissan Armada press kit; Honda's 2026 Pilot specifications; and Kia's 2027 Telluride specifications.

Ranked by published specifications, not by testing. There is no separate 2026 Jeep Wagoneer: Stellantis says the 2026 model year absorbed it into the Grand Wagoneer. Kia publishes no 2026 Telluride, so the Telluride rows are 2027. Grand Cherokee figures are marked preliminary; Jeep and Dodge weights are labeled estimates.

The top rating needs a specific axle, package or drivetrain

On most of these SUVs the headline figure is a build, not a model. The same body with the standard axle or without the trailering package is rated thousands of pounds lower in the maker's own table.

Figures from the same maker documents listed above. Ford's Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow equipment requires 4x4, which is why the 4x2 Expedition sits so far below. Dodge states plainly that you "must have optional towing package to achieve maximum towing capacity".

Body-on-frame or unibody does not rank these SUVs

Only some makers state construction in their own specifications. Nissan lists the Armada as "body-on-frame". Jeep lists the Grand Wagoneer as "steel frame" and the Grand Cherokee as "steel uniframe". Ford lists the Expedition frame as "fully boxed, high-strength steel" with an aluminum alloy body, and the Explorer as "unibody". Dodge lists the Durango as "steel unibody".

The ratings do not follow those labels. Dodge's steel-unibody Durango is rated 8,700 lb with a V-8 and a tow package, above the body-on-frame Armada at 8,500 lb and above Tahoe and Yukon at 8,400 lb. Toyota described the current Sequoia at its 2023 launch as body-on-frame and rates it 9,520 lb at the top, so construction and rating line up there, but not as a rule.

Six models here carry no construction statement in the documents reviewed: Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Telluride, Pilot and Highlander. Rank by the rating and the payload, not by chassis type.

Tiers by published rating

Compare a tier to the GVWR printed on a trailer's own label, not to its dry weight and not to a trailer category. No maker document maps rating bands to trailer types above 5,000 lb; Ford's Class IV band simply says "largest travel and 5th-wheel trailers made for recreation" and that most applications in it need a weight-distributing or fifth-wheel hitch. If the numbers leave you short, the next step up is a half-ton pickup rather than a different SUV.

• Over 8,000 lb: Grand Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer L (3.92 axle), Expedition SWB and MAX 4x4, Sequoia in every grade listed, Durango with a V-8 and tow package, Armada, and Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon and Yukon XL with the Max Trailering Package in the configurations shown above. The Duramax 3.0L diesel also clears 8,000 lb without that package on the 3.23 axle: Tahoe 2WD 8,200 lb, Suburban 2WD 8,100 lb and Yukon 2WD 8,100 lb.
• 5,000 to 8,000 lb: Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon and Yukon XL without the Max Trailering Package on the 5.3L and 6.2L V8s (7,300 to 7,900 lb), Durango AWD 5.7L without the package (7,200 lb), Expedition 4x2 (6,000 and 6,300 lb), Grand Wagoneer with the standard 3.55 axle (5,770 to 6,210 lb), Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L (6,200 lb), 4Runner (6,000 lb), Explorer, Telluride turbo, Pilot AWD and Highlander gas (5,000 lb).
• 3,500 to 5,000 lb: Telluride HEV (4,500 lb), Pilot 2WD and Highlander Hybrid (3,500 lb).

Payload, not the tow rating, is what runs out first

Published maximums assume an almost empty vehicle. Ford states its maximum loaded trailer weight assumes "no cargo" and a driver and passenger at 150 lb each, and that the weight of further options, passengers, cargo and the hitch must be deducted. Chevrolet calculates the same way and says its rating "is not specific to an individual vehicle".

Work it the other way, from payload. One worked example, with every input from Toyota's 2026 Sequoia product information, for a Limited 4WD:

• Published payload: 1,485 lb. Published towing capacity: 9,020 lb. Maximum tongue weight: 902 lb.
• Seven occupants at an assumed 150 lb each (the figure Ford and Chevrolet use in their own rating assumptions): 7 x 150 = 1,050 lb.
• 1,485 lb payload minus 1,050 lb of occupants = 435 lb left, calculated from Toyota's printed figures, before any luggage, firewood or generator.
• Ford's rule puts tongue weight at 10% of loaded trailer weight; Chevrolet gives 10% to 15%. At 10%, 435 lb covers the tongue of a trailer loaded to 4,350 lb (435 ÷ 0.10, calculated).

So a full three-row SUV with 1,485 lb of payload is limited near 4,350 lb of trailer by its own payload, not by the 9,020 lb figure in the brochure. Remove passengers and the number climbs; add a roof box and it falls. For trailers that fit a limit like that, see the lightest travel trailers.

What the tow package actually adds

The packages are mostly cooling, axle and electronics, and they differ by maker:

• Ford Expedition Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow (4x4 only, standard on 4x4): upgraded rear axle, upgraded radiator and two-speed automatic 4WD are included; the Class IV receiver, integrated trailer brake controller, tow/haul mode, sway control and Pro Trailer Backup Assist 2.0 are standard on the vehicle. Trailer frontal area limit rises from 55 to 60 sq. ft.
• Chevrolet and GMC Max Trailering Package: Chevrolet says it "offers increased towing capability over the standard trailering package", and its 2025 release lists a high-capacity radiator and cooling fan, integrated trailer brake controller, Hitch View, hill descent control, Blind Zone Steering Assist with Trailering and the trailering app on select trims. The standard Heavy-Duty Trailering Package already includes transmission fluid and engine oil coolers.
• Dodge Durango: Trailer-tow Group IV adds an integrated trailer brake controller, heavy-duty cooling, rear load-leveling suspension, a full-size spare, a Class IV receiver, blind-spot with trailer detection and a two-speed transfer case; Tow N Go bundles a Class IV hitch rated 8,700 lb with performance hardware.
• Nissan Armada: a Class IV receiver with harness and brake-controller pre-wire is standard on all grades, with an integrated trailer brake controller standard on PRO-4X, NISMO and Platinum Reserve.
• Ford Explorer: the Class III package is standard, with a 40 sq. ft. frontal area limit, and Ford notes an aftermarket controller is needed for electric trailer brakes.
• Kia, Honda, Toyota: Kia's integrated hitch is standard on X-Pro and available elsewhere, and Kia says "towing requires additional equipment". Honda says the same about Pilot accessory equipment. Toyota publishes no Sequoia rating that depends on its Tow Technology Package: it is towing technology (digital display rearview mirror, Trailer Backup Guide with Straight Path Assist), not capacity.

Where to confirm the rating on your own SUV

Three labels and one document settle it, and all four are specific to your vehicle rather than to a product line.

1. Read the Tire and Loading Information placard on the driver's side B-pillar: it carries the sentence "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX pounds". That is your payload as built, and tongue weight counts against it.
2. Read the certification label on the driver's door pillar or door edge, required by 49 CFR 567.4, for GVWR and the axle ratings. It carries no trailer rating.
3. On a Tahoe or Suburban, read the Trailering Information Label on the driver-side door jamb, which Chevrolet says lists GVWR, GCWR, rear-axle GAWR, maximum payload, maximum tongue weight and curb weight for that vehicle.
4. Match your engine, drivetrain, axle ratio and package against the maker's towing chart for your model year, then read the trailer's own label for its GVWR. The NHTSA towing pages and your owner's manual cover the rest of the setup, including how towing capacity is defined.

Common questions