Hi James,
Just now saw your questions and comments about the tow rig. Yes you are absolutely right about the XC90 being a car, it is one great driving machine, capable of going just about anywhere you can go without a low range creeper gear, which means it's limited to highways most of the time and an occasional trip through a pasture to a BBQ or skeet shooting event. It hauled this boat but it was working way too hard on that brutal climb to our ridgetop home. The Bronco is basically a full size Ford truck dressed in SUV clothing, before the term "SUV" was even used.
It has a 3.55 rear axle ratio, and while I would actually like a lower gear for towing, it does very well on the interstate. I generally put the autopilot on 50-mph and it runs very smooth. On back roads when we encounter steep hills, I will always manually shift into second gear and take the hill slowly. No point in letting the torque converter do the inevitable. We never push it when towing and it seems to work well for us.
I think a big Suburban would be great, by the way, they have a limo ride with that long wheelbase, and they are quite a tough package. They are also full size pickup truck based, by the way, and a lot more "truck" than many of the so-called SUVs on the market these days.
Our problem with a Suburban is the turning radius and manuverability. I would rather put up with the choppy ride of the Bronco (actually not all that bad, by the way) than have to put up with a school bus size vehicle hooked to a 24' long trailer!
Years ago I used to tow with a 1977 Bronco, and those really earned the "bucking bronco" name well for the vehicle. It was all truck, but it had a very poor towing capability for something this heavy. It had plenty of go, but it lacked stopping integrity and it bucked all over the road with a 17' Chris woodie.
Regards,
Paul