Tow Vehicles - who has the smallest / cheapest?

#1

Size Matters -

Ranger’s “Dodges suck” thread got me thinking.

I am thinking of an additional vehicle that can serve as a dual purpose vehicle. A daily driver for my 16 year old daughter and an occasional tow vehcile for me. That being said, and the fact that I live in FL, working A/C is high on the priority list. Second on the priority list is cheap (because I am) like <$5000. Third on the list is around town fuel economy.

We have a 2750 lb car on about a 1500lb steel dual axle trailer.

I have borrowed a friend’s pick up truck on previous tows. It is half ton GMC and works fine. While my daughter is part red neck and she probably would’t mind a truck, I don’t want no stinking truck sitting in my driveway.

I was thinking used Explorer. Anyone tow with an Explorer? A V6 Explorer?

How bout a mini pick up like a Ranger, S-10, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota 4 runner? Do they work or just too small?

Please comment with any experiences / ideas.

Thanks in advance,

Don

#2

You’ve been doing this a while so you know that having a light tow vehicle is spooky. Folks at events have towed with all of those and smaller. Florida, being nice and flat, you can get away with a lot. But still, you’re “work” is in the eye of the beholder.

#3

I tow with a 2001 v6 4Runner in Northern California. The truck was horsepower challenged when I used a steel Uhaul trailer.

Now I have a Featherlite aluminum trailer with duel axle brakes. This setup is tolerable with stable handling and confident braking.

However, it’s still short on HP when going up any significant grades. I’d say it’s at the limit of reasonable tow-ability here, but would probably be fine in FL.

#4

Here’s something to think about. A couple of yrs ago I read about a guy in California who had wreck when towing. He lost his wife, life savings and freedom.

He and a buddy had made some agreement where he would pull buddie’s enclosed trailer on the return trip from the CA desert. Although he didn’t normally tow that much weight, he figured that his 3/4 ton crew cab was up to the task.

On the way home over the mountains he started having brake problems coming down hill. IIRC correctly as he struggled to keep his speed down and was already in kind of an unstable situation, he got hit by a big crosswind. This turned the trailer over and it somehow ended up in the oncoming lanes. A car coming the other direction slammed into the trailer and someone was killed.

The prosecutor went after him for negligent homicide. If you’ve not been to a courtroom, you’ve never seen what kind of theater goes on. The facts often don’t matter at all. They got him not adhering to something or other.

He spent his life’s savings trying to defend himself. His marriage didn’t last the strain. He ended up in prison.

It’s a shitty story. Some innocent person was killed. IIRC the guy towing the trailer took the same reasonable precautions the average guy would take. But he ended up ruined.

#5

an explorer isn’t even rated to have a class III hitch is it? i don’t see how it can pull the over 4000lbs of car + trailer. I’d keep at least 1000 lb of capacity in reserve too.

#6

older tahoe or expedition or full size pickup with a v8

#7

He is right, older Tahoe or similar would be the smallest. Remember, you have to plan for the unexpected. Think about driving on the track, at the limit there is less room for error.

#8

I’ve heard that UHAUL won’t even let you tow with an Explorer, but that could’ve changed by now. I think a V8 or even 6 cyl Jeep would do ok, although I personally wouldn’t want to do it. Size definitely does matter when towing and while you don’t need an F350 to tow a 1500lb open trailer I think a full size SUV would be a minimum. The brakes are the biggest concern.

#9

andrew240z wrote:

+1

I still miss my 1998 Tahoe. Towed like a dream, much better than my X5. I’d guess your trailer might be heavier than 1,500 lbs - especially when you add tires, tools, etc.

I know Chuck T tows with a V6 Pathfinder, but I don’t know if that’s the path (hee hee) he would take if starting from scratch.

#10

Steve D wrote:[quote]Towed like a dream, much better than my X5.[/quote]
Can you be more specific? How much weight are you pulling? What flavor of X5?

#11

shaunatl wrote:

Can you be more specific? How much weight are you pulling? What flavor of X5?[/quote]
I figure total loaded weight of the trailer (Trailex) is about 4,300 lbs (car, tires, toolbox, 3 jugs of fuel). Well within the rated capacity of my '05 4.4. Except for flat tows (e.g. Macon-to-Savannah portion of Roebling) the trans hunts between 5-6. I usually put it in manumatic and leave it in 5th. My superstition says this saves the trans - but kills gas mileage.

Also, I didn’t really care what I did to the Tahoe’s interior. Based on my wife’s run to the landscape store yesterday, she feels the same about the X5.:huh:

Both vehicles felt stable and will tow comfortably at rural-Texas-legal speeds.

#12

Steve D wrote:

[quote]andrew240z wrote:

+1

I still miss my 1998 Tahoe. Towed like a dream, much better than my X5. I’d guess your trailer might be heavier than 1,500 lbs - especially when you add tires, tools, etc.

I know Chuck T tows with a V6 Pathfinder, but I don’t know if that’s the path (hee hee) he would take if starting from scratch.[/quote]

I’ll give that another +1

#13

My 2002 Pathfinder 2WD has 240hp and is rated for 5000 lbs towing. I figure my loaded trailer is about 4500 so I definitely do not leave a lot of margin. I would call it barely adequate (with addition of separate/external oil cooler and Red Line in the trans but after 5 years of doing this I don’t like it and plan to replace it with a better tow vehicle one of these days.

VIR is as far as I’ve gone (and would go) with this setup, from Atlanta.

#14

1980 BMW 528i with new Stehl tow dolly…has better brakes than most trucks, I tow at the speed limit, gets decent mileage, there is no radio in the car and I do not talk on the cell phone. The rig looks so rough people stay away. Biggest disadvantage is that I cannot back loaded dolly.

But to help with your ?, Whatever has the best brakes, do not consider any small pick up or SUV. You can get some 3/4 ton stuff cheap.

Al

#15

Take a look at a 2004 V8 4runner or higher. It has a 7,100/7,300lb (4WD/2WD) rating when using a load distribution hitch. Otherwise it is rated at 5k.

#16

Keep the stories coming.

Cept Ranger’s story…That is horrible…I thought about a tongue in cheek response like …“Well I have already blown my savings going racing, I could stand to loose the wife, but I sure would nt want to end up in court”…Seriously, I while I thought of liability I was rationalizing that “It can’t happen to me”.

Anyone with experience with Expedidtions? What year did they go to IRS? Does that help or hurt?

Don

#17

Steve D wrote:[quote]
I figure total loaded weight of the trailer (Trailex) is about 4,300 lbs (car, tires, toolbox, 3 jugs of fuel). Well within the rated capacity of my '05 4.4. Except for flat tows (e.g. Macon-to-Savannah portion of Roebling) the trans hunts between 5-6. I usually put it in manumatic and leave it in 5th. My superstition says this saves the trans - but kills gas mileage.

Also, I didn’t really care what I did to the Tahoe’s interior. Based on my wife’s run to the landscape store yesterday, she feels the same about the X5.:huh:

Both vehicles felt stable and will tow comfortably at rural-Texas-legal speeds.[/quote]
My trailer with the E30 is probably right at 4,400 loaded, but was around 5,200 with my M3 on it. I’ve towed the M3 to Barber, Roebling, VIR, CMP, and TGPR…and have been very happy with the X5. Mine is older and has the 5 speed, though. I lock it in 5th unless there’s a long, steep hill coming up - then I shift to 4th. I do not have a typical tire rack that catches a lot of air, though - maybe your trailer does and that’s the difference…or either they made the additional gear too tall for towing.

The only complaint I have with the X5 is in line with your last comment - I don’t like having to be so careful with the cargo area vs a truck or less expensive SUV.

#18

I used to tow with an X5 and it seemed to do fine. Because it’s rear wheels are relatively close to the rear bumper, the trailer ball ends up closer to the rear wheels then on other vehicles. This makes for good stability.

On the other hand the X5 is short and narrow compared to a real tow vehicle and that’s all bad. The engine and tranny inspired more confidence then my hapless Dodge Ram tho.

Mine was a 4.4, but I have an Atl based E36M3 buddy that tows with his wife’s 3.0.

I’ve since shortened the hitch on my RAM by removing about 2" of it. You just have to cut off the end and drill a big hole for the receiver pin. That moved the hitch ball about 10% closer to my rear wheels and seems to help stability.

#19

Ranger wrote:

[quote]He spent his life’s savings trying to defend himself. His marriage didn’t last the strain. He ended up in prison.

It’s a shitty story. Some innocent person was killed. IIRC the guy towing the trailer took the same reasonable precautions the average guy would take. But he ended up ruined.[/quote]The only thing I got from this (and the case) is that lawyers suck…

I am driving my car. Screw towing, I don’t want to tow, if it brakes on track, AAA will have to flat tow me home. Yes I will have more work to do to get home sometimes, but to be honest a little hard-graft is cheaper and better and safer and no lawyers… Yeah yeah cage on the street…

#20

Just adding my 2 cents to kgobey’s comment

I drove my almost spec car to Pocono Last year, About a 2hr drive, most of it on the smooth PA turnpike.

I can tell you at the end of the day I was dreading the Drive home.

Loud, bumpy(bone jarring), HOT. No Fun.

After that, I made room in the budget for a trailer, as only Pocono and NJMP are within 2 hours from me.

Ohh Yeah, when you pay 7-10 dollars a gallon for fuel at the track, you dont want to waste it on the drive home.