Mid-Size SUV Towing Capacity Compared: 5,000 to 8,700 lb

Of the four SUVs most often cross-shopped in this class, the Dodge Durango carries by far the highest published tow rating. Dodge states "best-in-class towing of up to 8,700 pounds" for the 2026 Durango, across the entire lineup. Jeep states a "class-leading 6,200-pound towing figure" for the 2026 Grand Cherokee with its new Hurricane 4 Turbo engine. Toyota states a maximum towing capacity of 6,000 lbs for the 2026 4Runner. Ford states 5,000 lbs for the 2027 Explorer, on every trim and both engines. That is a spread of 3,700 lb from bottom to top, and it means these four vehicles are not one towing class despite sitting in one shopping list. None of the four manufacturers publishes payload alongside those ratings, and payload is what actually decides your trailer. Your own door jamb placard and owner's manual are the authority for your specific vehicle.

The Four Published Figures, With Their Model Years and Sources

Read the model-year column before the number column. Ford's consumer pages have already moved to the 2027 Explorer while the other three brands are still publishing 2026 material, so this is a comparison of what each manufacturer states today, not of four identically dated vehicles. A tow rating is only ever true of the model year attached to it.

The Spread Is 3,700 lb, and That Changes What You Are Shopping For

The Durango's published maximum is 74 percent higher than the Explorer's. In practical terms, the gap between the top and bottom of this list is larger than the entire tow rating of a small crossover.

The Grand Cherokee and the 4Runner, meanwhile, sit 200 lb apart, which is roughly three percent. On paper they are the same answer. Anyone choosing between those two on tow rating alone is deciding on a difference that a full fuel tank and two passengers erase.

So the shape of this class is not a smooth ranking. It is one vehicle at the top, two tied in the middle, and one at the bottom that Ford has deliberately standardized so that no configuration tows more than any other. Individual worked examples for three of them are in Jeep Grand Cherokee towing capacity, Dodge Durango towing capacity and Toyota 4Runner towing capacity, each with the configuration caveats that a comparison table cannot carry.

Why the Comparison Charts Disagree With the Manufacturers

Search this comparison and you will find ranked charts from car-shopping sites, calculator tools and dealer blogs. Put four of them side by side and they do not agree with each other, and several do not agree with the manufacturers either. The same four vehicles appear on those charts with the 4Runner at 5,000 lb, the Explorer at 5,600 lb, the Grand Cherokee at 7,200 lb and the Durango's V-6 and V-8 figures split three ways.

Three things cause that, and all three matter to you:

• No model year is attached. A chart that says "Grand Cherokee: 7,200 lb" is describing some Grand Cherokee, from some year, in some configuration. Ratings change with generations and with engine lineups, and a figure without a year is not a fact about your vehicle.
• Discontinued engines stay in circulation. Several of the higher figures on those charts belong to V-8 configurations that are not what the brand is publishing for its current model year. Dodge's own 2026 material, by contrast, describes the HEMI V-8 as standard across the whole Durango lineup, which is why its published rating is a single lineup figure rather than an engine ladder.
• Nobody sources the number. These charts are frequently built from each other. One wrong figure propagates for years.

This page publishes four figures and names the document each one came from. Where a brand does not publish a figure, this page says so instead of filling the gap.

What Each Rating Actually Opens, in Real Trailers

Ratings mean nothing until you put a trailer against them. Jayco publishes these specifications on its own floorplan pages, retrieved 2026-09-06:

• 2026 Jay Flight SLX 197MB: overall length 23 ft 7 in, unloaded vehicle weight 3,940 lb, GVWR 4,995 lb, hitch weight 605 lb, cargo carrying capacity 1,055 lb.
• 2026 Jay Flight SLX 260BHW: overall length 29 ft 5 in, unloaded vehicle weight 4,640 lb, GVWR 6,800 lb, dry hitch weight 535 lb, cargo carrying capacity 2,160 lb.

Judge both by GVWR, which is what the trailer weighs when it is loaded the way it was designed to be loaded, not by the dry weight in the brochure.

The margin column applies the habit described in the 80 percent towing rule, which is a planning convention rather than a manufacturer instruction. Used that way, a single 23-foot trailer separates the Durango from the other three, and a single 29-foot trailer eliminates three of the four outright. That is a more honest picture of this class than any ranked chart.

The Number None of the Four Publishes, and It Is the One That Decides

Not one of the four sources above states a payload figure, a GVWR, a GCWR or a maximum tongue weight. That is not an oversight in this article. It is what the manufacturers put on their public pages, and it is the reason a tow-rating ranking is not a capability ranking.

Here is why it matters. Tongue weight lands on the vehicle, not on the trailer, and it comes out of the same payload allowance as your passengers, your fuel, your gear and the hitch hardware. Loaded to their own ratings at a normal 13 percent tongue weight, the two Jayco trailers above put roughly 649 lb and 884 lb on the ball. Add a weight-distributing hitch head and bars, two adults, two children and a cargo area of gear, and a family trip behind the smaller of those trailers is drawing well over 1,400 lb from payload before the trailer's own weight is compared to anything.

A three-row mid-size SUV full of people does not have unlimited payload. This is the failure mode that puts a vehicle over its rear axle rating while the tow rating still reads as comfortable, and it is worked through in payload vs towing capacity. The only place your payload figure exists is the yellow Tire and Loading Information placard in your own driver's door jamb.

What the Ranking Cannot Tell You

Four honest limits on everything above.

A rating is not a driving experience. Two vehicles rated the same can behave very differently at 65 mph with a tall trailer in a crosswind. Wheelbase, rear overhang, suspension and how far behind the rear axle the ball sits all shape sway behavior, and none of them appear in a tow rating.

The highest rating usually costs payload. The hardware that raises a tow rating adds weight to the vehicle, and vehicle weight is subtracted from payload. It is entirely possible to move up this list and end up with less capacity to carry people and gear.

Lineup maximums are not your configuration. Dodge's 8,700 lb and Toyota's 6,000 lbs are stated as maximums for a lineup. Jeep's 6,200 lb is attributed to one specific engine. Only Ford's figure is published as identical across every trim and engine, and even Ford qualifies the whole subject: max towing varies with cargo, configuration, accessories and the number of passengers.

The lowest-rated part of the chain wins. A receiver rated below the vehicle, a ball or drawbar rated below your tongue weight, or a trailer whose own tires are rated below its axle load will set your limit no matter which SUV you bought. Check the ratings stamped on the hardware you actually own.

How to Use This Comparison Without Getting Hurt

1. Start from the trailer, not the SUV. Write down the trailer's GVWR, its length and its loaded tongue weight. Those three numbers decide the shortlist.
2. Apply a margin. Plan against roughly 80 percent of the published rating rather than against the rating itself.
3. Get the payload figure for the specific vehicle, from its own door jamb placard, not from a trim brochure. Two examples of the same model on the same lot can differ by well over a hundred pounds.
4. Confirm the tow rating for your exact configuration with the manufacturer's towing guide for your model year, through a dealer's parts or service desk if the document is not available online.
5. Weigh it. A certified public scale, loaded the way you travel and then again with the trailer hitched, is the only place these ratings become measurements.

The general method behind all five steps, applied to any vehicle rather than these four, is set out in our towing capacity by vehicle worked examples.

FAQ

Which mid-size SUV tows the most?
Of these four, the Dodge Durango. Dodge states best-in-class towing of up to 8,700 pounds for the 2026 Durango across the entire lineup, against 6,200 lb for the 2026 Grand Cherokee with the Hurricane 4 Turbo, 6,000 lbs for the 2026 4Runner and 5,000 lbs for the 2027 Explorer.

Is the Grand Cherokee or the 4Runner better for towing?
On published ratings they are 200 lb apart, which is about three percent and not a real difference once you load either vehicle. Choose between them on payload, on the trailer you actually own and on how the vehicle behaves loaded, not on the rating.

Why do other sites list the Explorer at 5,600 lb and the 4Runner at 5,000 lb?
Because those charts are usually reporting older model years or configurations without saying so, and they frequently copy each other. Ford publishes 5,000 lbs for every 2027 Explorer trim and both engines, and Toyota published 6,000 lbs for the 2026 4Runner. Always check the model year attached to a rating.

Can any of these four tow a 30-foot travel trailer?
Judged by GVWR rather than dry weight, only the Durango of these four clears a trailer like Jayco's 6,800 lb, 29 ft 5 in 260BHW, and even then the answer depends on that specific vehicle's payload and on the loaded tongue weight. A trailer near 30 feet also brings frontal area and sway behavior that weight alone does not describe.

Does a bigger engine mean more towing capacity?
Not reliably. Ford publishes the same 5,000 lbs for the Explorer's four-cylinder and its twin-turbo V6. A larger engine changes how a vehicle pulls a grade, and it usually adds weight that comes straight out of payload.

The door jamb placard and the owner's manual for your exact VIN, trim and model year are the authority. Towing capacity, payload, GVWR and tongue weight limits vary by model year, trim, drivetrain and equipment, and a generation change resets all of them. The four vehicle figures above are the manufacturers' own, from the sources and dates named in the first table: Stellantis Media press releases for the 2026 Durango and the 2026 Grand Cherokee and Ford's 2027 Explorer pages on ford.com, all retrieved 2026-09-06, and Toyota USA Newsroom's 2026 4Runner release, retrieved by this site on 2026-08-26. No payload, GVWR, GCWR, curb weight or tongue weight limit is published for any of the four vehicles here, because none of the four manufacturers states them in those documents, and this site does not reconstruct capacity figures from dealer pages or spec aggregators. Trailer figures are Jayco's published specifications for two named 2026 Jay Flight SLX floorplans, retrieved from Jayco's own floorplan pages on 2026-09-06. The tongue weight figures are arithmetic on Jayco's published GVWRs at a stated 13 percent, labeled as such.