Ascent's Towing Limits & Reality

I've noticed some posters occasionally expressing the position that the "Ascent's towing spec limit is 5000/500 and gosh darn it, that's what I'm going to tow".

I tend to believe that the 500# tongue limit needs to be respected and regarded as an absolute maximum (keeping in mind the passenger/cargo weight will potentially reduce the tongue weight maximum.

I believe the 5000# tow limit however should be explained further, whether by the dealers or the owner's manual. 5000#'s isn't always 5000#'s because of coefficient of drag of the trailer. There's a huge difference between a 5000# square-fronted travel trailer and a 5000# utility trailer loaded with bricks and a 5000# boat. I haven't towed my 4000#+ boat with the Ascent enough to check fuel mileage, but 2 previous SUV's only took a 1-3 mpg hit towing the boat. But, towing a lightly loaded (filled with bulky but light aluminium patio furniture) uhaul 16' box trailer cut the mpg by more than half. Clearly, the drive train "saw" the box trailer as a much greater load than the heavier boat because of wind resistance.

I haven't towed a travel trailer with the Ascent but would like to in the future. My goal is to try to find not only a safe underweight trailer but also the smallest frontal area that has the features we'll need. If we can't find one we'll go another direction like buying a pickup or going with a B or C class.

Safety and reliability first.