Tow vehicle opinions!

#1

Eventually i’ll be buying a truck/SUV. I’m curious to hear what tows well and what doesn’t.

What kind of vehicle do you have:
What do you Like about it:
What do you dislike about it:
What would you buy to replace it:

#2

There’s some good threads at bf.c on this.

SUV is easier to sleep in. A truck is easier to haul engines around in.

I like the combo of a truck with a canopy. A truck with a canopy gives you lots of somewhat secure storage room. This is an issue when parked at a hotel or restaurant, or when you don’t want stuff blowing out on the freeway.

A canopy puts a roof over your head if you are inclined to sleep in the back.

A canopy makes it more convenient to take your race tires out of your trailer’s tire rack and put the tires in the back of your truck. Depending on where your tire rack is, this could be a significant gas mileage booster.

A canopy provides nice smooth air flow back over the race car. Another gas mileage booster.

As for what kind of truck…everyone has their favorite based on their anecdotal experiences. Certainly truck build quality has improved a lot in the last decade. And if you are considering diesel, there’s a whole subculture there with strong likes and dislikes.

My datapoints.

2003 X5. A helova nice truck. Towed very well. Excellent gas mileage while towing. Not a good solution for moving engines around which was a really big issue in those days. The forums say that it’s tranny doesn’t hold up well when used as a tow vehicle, but I never experienced problems.

1999 Dodge Ram. Complete POS. God what junk Chrysler was putting out back then. Gas mileage, paint, ride, electrical everything and interior materials were all particularly awful. Tranny replaced by PO. Rear end replaced by me.

2006 Ford F150. A nice counterpoint to all the inadequacies of the earlier generation Dodge Ram. Sadly, I had to replace the rear end on this one too tho. Gas mileage in between the two above.

#3

My data points:

V8 Touareg: great DD truck, good power, great brakes. Bad–VW tow packages suck (wiring), short wheelbase, wouldn’t tow more than an open trailer (although I’ve seen lots of guys tow 20ft enclosed with heavier cars), not much interior room for junk.

Suburban: not a good DD, but fantastic for long hauls w/ or w/o trailers, decent power (get the bigger motor), tons of room tho throw shit–you don’t need an enclosed trailer, you can sleep in it. Just did a pull with a 6.1 2500 and it was much better than my 1500 5.3.

Ford E450 chassis RV: lots of storage, sleeps 6, back up camera makes hook up a cinch, doesn’t tow alot, but rides better with a trailer–you don’t drive it, you merely make suggestions as to where you want to go.

#4

I’ll probably catch some flack for towing with anything less than a full size truck, but I’ve got a '98 4Runner that does a great job. With a weight distributing hitch and brakes on both trailer axles it rides and stops great. It’s not quick off the line, but with a 5000# tow rating it handles a SpecE30 on an open trailer just fine.

We actually opted to tow the 1100 mile round-trip to Nationals in the Runner over my brother’s Tundra simply for the added interior space. The pickup truck is good when the weather is nice and you don’t have to leave it in hotel parking lots overnight, but with those factors included the SUV won out. We also get 14-15mpg in the 4Runner vs. 9-10mpg in the Tundra.

If I had the option of a fully dedicated tow vehicle that wasn’t used for anything else, the truck/canopy would probably be high on my list.

For now, I think if I find the need to step up to something larger, and still have seating for 5+, I’ll probably look at the late 1st gen Sequoias with the 5-speed auto.

Matt

#5

I’ve been towing with a 2001 ram 1500 5.2 quad cab 5 speed.
pros:
cheap: paid 3500 a few years ago
5 speed: I hate automatics for any purpose
rubber floors and plenty of room for parts
better visability than an suv
Handles great with trailer loaded

cons:
10-12 mpg
no lsd and front heavy = no traction even with the trailer
differential pukes all the fluid out the breather anytime it gets hot.
sleeping in the cab sucks
no power. Most of the west virginia turnpike was spend at full throttle in third gear

If I hadn’t bought the house I would be the owner of a 2010 fj cruiser trail teams edition with a 6 speed. They are only rated for towing 5000 but they are basically a 4x4 tacoma truck which is rated at 6500lbs i think. With the back seats folded down you could fit a shifter cart or a couple of motors and the material on the back of the seats is strong enough not to get torn up. Poor visability and only 17-19 mpg are its only downfalls. My friend reported that he hauled a 20’ enclosed trailer loaded from Utah to Texas with no problems in his 08 fj.

If I could afford a new truck at this point it would be a Ram 3500. I don’t need any reason other than that’s its the only diesel truck you can get with a manual transmission.

RV: In my dreams unless its older than an e30.

#6

I have a 2006 4runner with the 4.7 ltr V8 and the tow package. Its rated for 7000 lbs and it pulls my 20ft enclosed very nice with a weight distribution hitch. I pull back an fourth between Reno and Infineon/thunder hill all season long never had an issue even in snow over the pass. it gets about 12 or 13 mpg when towing and about 17 to 20 not.

#7

I have a twenty foot enclosed trailer and tow with a Dodge 2500 diesel. Before purchasing the 3/4 truck, I towed with a Jeep Commander w/hemi rated to tow 8200 lbs which is almost exactly what may my trailer weighs loaded. The Jeep had plenty of power to pull trailer, but trailer sway was a BIG problem even a sway control and weight distribution hitch. Towing over the mountains on may way from Kentucky to Road Atlanta was down right dangerous!!! The shorter wheel base likely added to my stability problems…

If you are using an open trailer, I believe a 1/2 ton pickup or heavier duty SUV will suffice. If you are planning to tow an enclosed trailer, I highly recommend a 3/4 ton and up truck. I’m very happy with my newer Dodge diesel; Ranger even commented that it’s much better than his older Dodge. The Dodge gets 14-17 mpg empty and 10 mpg towing at 80 mph.

#8

My current tow vehicle is a 1 ton Ford E350 Van with V-10 engine. Purchased on Ebay for $2700 and put about that in it for Shocks, sway bars, air bags, etc. I absolutely love the van. Don’t think I will ever be without one again. It will hold 12 people with room for gear. My family calls it the “beater van” so it is not in perfect condition as far as body and interior. Definitively presentable but a few scratches here and there and torn headliner. Basically I don’t care to use it and sometimes abuse it. Family loves taking trips in it and when the kids have friends over or family is in town we can all travel together. These things are cheap. Take a look. You can get the cargo type for even cheaper.

#9

The coolest towing solutions I’ve seen is, in order.

  1. The short-bus. Especially the ones with the handicap lift. Apparently these have to be maintained in a high standard of maintenance so altho some are high mileage, everyone I’ve talked to says that their rig had been maintained very well. The handicap lift gets pulled off and the result is a convenience side door. Folks then put as much or as little into setting up the inside as they choose.

  2. The decommissioned ambulance. These aren’t maintained as well apparently so you have to find a low mileage one. Then you have to pull a lot of weight out of it because the ambulance structure consumes much of the load rating.

  3. ILateApex’s van solution for a combo tow vehicle and family trip vehicle. If you have several children going on a week long trip requires serious cargo capacity. A combo vehicle like this has the potential to score points in the home front and doesn’t draw complaints when you park it in front of your house for a month.

#10

I love all of your comments, and solutions, keep them coming!

#11

I use a 2008 F250 Crewcab 4X4 with the Diesel. It pulls a 24’ enclosed trailer like nothing. I added a H&S tuner and a 4" turbo back exhaust. In the hot tune it adds 250Hp and 500 ft pounds of tq totaling to 600 Hp and 1100 tq. With out the trailer, this thing is a freaking beast. In the rain it hard to drive, well not really its so fun piching it sideways.

#12

gas mileage?

#13

[quote=“cosm3os” post=61031]My data points:

V8 Touareg: great DD truck, good power, great brakes. Bad–VW tow packages suck (wiring), short wheelbase, wouldn’t tow more than an open trailer (although I’ve seen lots of guys tow 20ft enclosed with heavier cars), not much interior room for junk.

Suburban: not a good DD, but fantastic for long hauls w/ or w/o trailers, decent power (get the bigger motor), tons of room tho throw shit–you don’t need an enclosed trailer, you can sleep in it. Just did a pull with a 6.1 2500 and it was much better than my 1500 5.3.

Ford E450 chassis RV: lots of storage, sleeps 6, back up camera makes hook up a cinch, doesn’t tow alot, but rides better with a trailer–you don’t drive it, you merely make suggestions as to where you want to go.[/quote]

Midwest campfire is going to be around your rv. If you don’t have a firepit/ring me and my brother will come up with something.

#14

What kind of vehicle do you have: 2010 Toyota Tundra 5.7L

What do you Like about it: I like its 1050lb towing rating, 18 mpg daily driving, and 13 mpg towing open trailer and SpecE30 at 71 mph.

What do you dislike about it: Nothing, but better gas mileage would never hurt.

What would you buy to replace it: 2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost. Better mpg around town and hopefully better mpg towing as well. Every mpg helps when you have to haul as many miles as I do to get to track weekends.

#15

I run a 2008 Ford F-350 Crew Cab long bed 6.4L Diesel. It tows my 24’ enclosed very well, I can accelerate up hills and cruise at 80 mph without thinking about it. I also use a sway dampening hitch, which I think should be mandatory for anyone towing. The truck is very long and the backup camera is almost necessary for hooking up.

My truck gets horrible gas mileage. I am in the single digits when towing, every time. I currently have it listed for sale and will be looking to get an f150 ecoboost in hopes of better fuel consumption.

I am defintely interested in hearing what guys are towing with that still get reasonable mpg.

#16

[quote=“JonnyAction” post=61066]
I am defintely interested in hearing what guys are towing with that still get reasonable mpg.[/quote]
I have an '06 Ford F150 w/ 5.4 liter. My open trailer is quite small. As I mentioned before, tires ride under the truck’s canopy. I get 12mpg@ 75mph and 13mpg@65mph. My tows are pretty flat.

The X5 did about 2mpg better, but I never really understood why. The '99 Dodge Ram got ~9mpg.

An issue that is often ignored in considering how well a tow vehicle handles a load, is the length of the hitch. Consider the rear wheels as a pivot point between hitchball and the front wheels. A long wheelbase truck makes it harder for a force, lateral or vertical, at the hitch ball to put a load on the front wheels. Conversely, a long distance between rear axle and hitch ball makes it easier for the hitchball to put loads on the front wheels. Therefore anything you can do to get the hitchball closer to the rear axle is going to improve towing manners.

One of the reasons that the short wheelbase X5 had decent towing manners is that the design of the truck made for a short distance between hitch and rear axle.

I was able to move my hitch ball ~10% closer to the rear axle, call it 2", without much work. All it takes is drilling a hole in the hitch tube, the thing that the ball fastens to, so that you can put the hitch pin in a different location.

IMO there’s limited gains to be found in using mpg to choose a tow vehicle. The amount of energy required to move your rig down the road isn’t going to change much no matter what you choose. Therefore largely the only way you’re going to get better gas mileage is if you alter your driving habits or get a tow vehicle with a fundamentally more efficient engine. Diesel is a little more efficient than gas. Turbo engines are a little more efficient than NA. But neither is going to be so much better that it makes a person jump up and down. Assuming you have a reasonably modern truck in good repair, if it takes X amount of energy to drive to Road Atlanta, you’re just not going to find something that does it 30% more efficiently. Engine technology is too efficient these days for another 30% to still be on the table. I’d argue that anything better than a 15% improvement is marketing.

#17

What kind of vehicle do you have:

2007 Dodge Ram Megacab 5.9L Cummins Diesel 2WD. Trailer is a 20’ enclosed trailer, tandem 7000# axles. Truck, trailer, car, tires/wheels, spares puts on the road at close to 15,800lbs. Mods to truck: AEM intake and intake horn, 4" exhaust cat-back, Edge Juice w/Attitude Tuner

What do you Like about it:

Fuel economy towing (sane towing speeds ~70MPH) 14.6 MPG. (less sane ~80MPH, it drops to closer to 11.5). Cummins reliability, huge cab, lots of room for people and gear. Solid in the wet or dry towing.

3/4 ton suspension can handle the heavy trailer weights without a weight distribution hitch.

What do you dislike about it:

Transmission. This is the weak link on Dodge trucks. I’m getting close to 80K miles on the clock and feel a new tranny in the near future. That said, once you replace the tranny (at least with a good one), these drivetrains are rock solid and easily 500K mile motors. Interior (somewhat), the new Ford cabs are amazing inside, the Dodge cab has less frills. Functional, but not as nice as the Fords.

What would you buy to replace it: Another Dodge Ram Diesel, just with 4WD. Maybe newer.

This all said, I am big fan of diesel power for towing. Aside from the race trailer, we also tow our 30’ travel trailer RV. While towing MPG of 14.6 vs 11 may not seem like much, it is almost a 33% increase in fuel economy. I also run the truck on bio-diesel when ever I can. I used to have a supplier here in S FL, but they closed.

Keep in mind there is a huge difference in open vs closed trailers. Weight has very little impact on fuel economy for me. It’s all wind drag. The faster I go, the lower the MPG’s drop. I can pull my trailer empty (1380lbs), full or my RV and get just about the same fuel economy. It’s only really effected by speed.

#18

I tow a few times a year with my 2005 X5 4.4, open aluminum trailer, full tire rack. I’m guessing I get 10 mpg towing. I am Safety Sally so I try to stay below 80% of rated capacity. The short rear axle to hitch length makes it tow as well as my old Tahoe. No wiggles. Manumatic shifting keeps the trans from searching all the time. For the 350 days each year that nothing is attached to the hitch, I love it.

The extended warranty (purchased at 45,000 miles, now at 91,000 miles) has paid for itself more than once over.

If you do care about your budget and don’t care what the neighbors think, the molester van is the way to go. If you have a small penis and/or large trailer, a diesel dually is the only way to go. If you aren’t towing monthly, a V8 SUV is nice to have. For almost everyone, a half ton pickup works just great.

#19

Towing about 13 mpg, with out trailer going around 68 on the freeway I get 22 - 23 mpg. This was after removing the particulate filter.

#20

I just got my first SpecE30 and open trailer, of course, now I need a tow vehicle. I plan on getting a 4.4 X5 as when I’m not using it to tow my wife will use it as a DD. Not too concerned with DD gas mileage as her round trip commute is only 10 miles.

Does anyone recommend the X5 for this purpose or should I look at something else? - as a side note, theres no friggin way my wife will drive a pickup to work.

Grassy ass… said the Mexican with no legs.