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Tow vehicle/Daily driver suggestions


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Current tow vehicle doesn't get driven much and it is having issue after issue.  Might need to consolidate vehicles, so my daily (not tow capable) might have to go too.

 

Requirements:

Tow a single car open trailer - may move to a small enclosed trailer

4 doors

4 wheel drive

Used

 

Might use this for a few several hundred mile road trips for my son's lacrosse tournaments, so comfort is kind of a big deal.

 

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If comfort is King, then I'd recommend a full size SUV. 2nd row captains chairs are nice. Get one with the towing package and it should have an integrated trailer brake controller along with a ~9000lb towing capacity.

 

We purchased a Tahoe for this reason. It's been all over the Northeast for gymnastics and cross country meets. It tows our boat and we can throw the dogs in the back.

 

I sometimes wish I still had a truck. But when it comes to road trips, big SUVs are hard to beat.

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Late model 1500 crew cab 4x4 truck from either of the big three.  If you are careful and verify the options you can get a nice smooth riding daily driver that can tow 10,000 pounds.  My daily is a 2018 gmc 1500 and I have towed my e30 in an 18' and a 24' enclosed trailer without any problems.  I also used a uhaul open trailer to pick up the car in Minnesota.  A coworker recently bought a nice low mileage dodge ram 1500 for $24k I believe 16 or 17.  4x4 crew cab and its rated for 10k.  

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3 hours ago, shutupracing said:

 

I had no idea you did gymnastics. Although Chris did say you were pretty flexible...

 

@SHUTUPracing

 

Oh, I'm full of surprises. And you can't believe a word Chris says.

 

 

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On 3/7/2020 at 11:30 PM, TimS said:

A coworker recently bought a nice low mileage dodge ram 1500 for $24k I believe 16 or 17.  4x4 crew cab and its rated for 10k.  

 

Usually the only way a 1500 4or crew is going to tow 10K is if it's a stripped down work truck with the "big" engine.  Half ton payload capacities just aren't very high.  Sure it'll tow it but for how long?  And if you get into an accident towing overweight....  not good.

 

Just because the towing guide says 10K doesn't mean that truck can tow 10K.  If it's a Laramie, all of those options eat away at what the GCVWR has left over.  The safe bet is to assume 15% of trailer capacity is on the tongue and deduct that from the actual payload weight.  Whatever you have remaining must account for passengers and gear.

 

So 10K trailer has 1500 tongue weight.  If the truck has a 1700 pound payload, then a full trailer means one 200 pound driver, and that's it.  That cooler of waters for the long haul puts you over weight (not by much, but proving a point).  

 

I'm not saying a half ton is out of the picture, quite the opposite.  But you really have to watch your weights with a half ton truck.  BTW, I tow with a 2013 F150 but on an open trailer because it only has a payload of about 1650.

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You have to be sure to check the options on these trucks to get the towing capacity you need. The coworker knew exactly what was required to get the 10k rating he was looking for. Rear end gear was a big factor. Not sure what all the options were though. My personal vehicle I bought new and I made sure it was equipped to haul what I have. 

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Very true about the final drive as well.  While I am a Ford guy, I love the move towards the all aluminum as it seems to add a couple hundred pounds to the overall payload capacity over a steel equivalent.  Well, not really add per say, but the reduced body weight is now available as cargo weight.

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I acquired a 2004 Chevy 3500 Duramax about 14 months ago with 280k and I pull a Firebird in a 26' enclosed bumper pull trailer.  I can get 10-13 mpg in the southeast towing around 70mph.  I have some 10 ply tires on this thing, so I do get a bit more stiffer ride, but I had the tires from when we used a Powerstroke ambulance and they were new.  Previous owner apparently removed the thermostat as @Team Infiniti and I learned on our recent travels to Snow Atlanta, truck would never build temperature, and apparently I have a short in one of the heated seat coils so, it was a cold sleeping experience.

 

Pulling with this truck is enjoyable.  I don't have any stabilizer bars or anything like that.  I kind of wish I did, because I know they help, but honestly it is not a big deal.  I can just pretty much hook up and go and that's what I want to do.  The 04 has a EGR delete and that's the year model that does not throw codes (or atleast the light doesn't come on, it throws the codes but the dash ignores it).  I hope this truck will run the rest of my life.  I moved a rolling chassis 3 hours Sunday back home to swap out with a complete car I'm going to be working on at my house/1 car garage.  In the past with either the a/c-less ambulance or with a 1500 pickup I would have hated it.  Now I don't bat an eye, because I can set the cruise, turn up my XM and ride and think about what crap I have to do when I get where I'm going.

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2001 HD2500 Duramax, does everything I want, tows like there's nothing behind it and has a decent ride empty. Took the family on a short holiday with it empty and no one complained. 

 

The thermostat thing reminds me of when one of the injector cups on my Duramax started leaking compression into the cooling system. It would get an airlock and heat up. I took out one of the thermostats and drilled 3 1/8" holes in the perimeter to bleed off the air so the coolant could actuate the thermostat as a temporary fix until I had time to pull the heads and get the cups replaced.

 

Apparently the cup had been loosened when they replaced the injectors under warranty right after I bought the truck in 2005. Fixed and no issues now. I doubt I'll be selling it any time soon, too handy to have around.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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