Tow Vehicles

[JWheaton]

I am going to leaving behind my trusty Dodge Ram 1500, short bed, standard cab, 5.9L, 4x4 to pursue my very first "family car" (never thought I would do that!)

I had originally planned on having the 1500 be with me to haul my car around. Then life happened along and plans have been altered.

My question is what would you consider the best tow vehicle for a single car enclosed trailer. Not over board tow vehicle, the best tow vehicle for the job.

Thanks
Jamie

[Wheels]

I use my Ford F-350 with V-10. You don't even know your pulling anything,untill you look in the rearview mirror.I bet with those small trucks you put on the list,you'd really know it on the hills.

[kountzecobra]

I'm using an '02 Ford F150 Supercrew to tow my 20' Haulmark. Works great, but needs a little more power for steep hills. Next is a change to 4.10 rear gears, that should fix it. Mine has the 4.6 engine, but if I had it to do over, I would have gotten the 5.4 engine. Recommend weight distribution hitch.

[terry lee]

Jamie,
I had the same problem. I needed a 4 door vehicle capable of towing an enclosed trailer that could double as a family car. I looked and looked, and went back and forth. We really didn't want another truck so I finally bought a demo Cadillac Escalade "SLUT "(sport lux utility truck). At zero % financing and all the discounts it ended up about the same as a Chevy Avalanche. Only 59 more months to go, and it's all mine.
BTW, it tows great. At 80 mph I sometimes forget the trailer is back there. We've done two trips, with one going thru the Smokey Mountains; zero problems. I love that 6.0 engine. Then there are the heated seats, great sound system with Led Zeplin blasting away, ice cold a/c, and plenty of room for luggage in the back.
Good luck,
TL

[Nuke427]

I have a 99' standard cab F-150 with the 4.6L. I pull my BDR and open trailer (1250lbs). Pulls with no problems, but you know it's back there. Never strains, but you will lose some speed on extended steep hills, unless you want it to downshift and run at 3500 rpms. For what I tow, it's plenty of vehicle, if I had an enclosed trailer, it would not be enough.

[decooney]

Chevy Tahoe / GMC Yukon. Best of all worlds. Tow cars, dirt bikes, horse trailers, haul kids, camping, out to dinner with friends, day-drives, whatever... still sporty, Sweet! Mid-size V8 325hp. Decent mileage for a sport-yute. Handles well for a larger vehicle. Only 1mpg worse than my last Toyota V6 4Runner and much nicer to drive. My .02 cents on it.

[Monster]

I have a Ford F350 crewcab 4WD PowerStroke turbo Diesel. Pulls just about anything, 16mpg towing 19mpg city/highway. seats 6, 8ft bed holds most anytrhing I want to haul....That about says it all for tow vehicles as far as I'm concerned.

Mike "monster"

[southernfriedcj]

Originally posted by Monster


I have a Ford F350 crewcab 4WD PowerStroke turbo Diesel. Pulls just about anything, 16mpg towing 19mpg city/highway. seats 6, 8ft bed holds most anytrhing I want to haul....That about says it all for tow vehicles as far as I'm concerned.

Mike "monster"

I've got the same combo as Mike. I do, however, have a Warn 9500 lb. winch on it to pull Chevys out of the mud(I'm not saying the Chevy 4x4 is inadeqaute, but it seems those Chevy drivers aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer ).

My F350 is my daily driver, and with .410 gears and the 6spd it is a pleasure to drive.

[Clois Harlan]

5.4 Litre EDDIE BAUER Expedition 4X4, towing a United 20' enclosed trailer with my 2500 pound Snake inside along with and extra set of tires, tools, oil, tent, chairs,etc.

Does a " good" job unless: there are long rolling hills or mountains. Gas mileage: forget it! Next time it will be an F-250 with either a V-10 or Diesel.

All in all the Expedition does an alright job I just hate to here it downshift while going up a 8 percent grade hill or mountain and watch the RPMs run up to 4000 for a minute or so trying to maintain 65 mph.

Clois

[DougD]

I have owned a '96 F-250 w/351w for 7 years, and it towed my open trailer and '87 Mustang without a problem, even over the Rocky Mountains. Last year I swapped my open trailer for an enclosed 20-footer. Talk about a world of difference! What was more than adequate before was suddenly inadequate. In fact, the '250 actually shut down and died along I-80 last summer on a 95 degree day on a particularly hilly section. I had to unhook the battery, let the computer power down, hook up the battery again to reboot the computer, and limp home. This was a low mileage, excellent condition truck with the Trailer Package and 4.10:1 gears.

An enclosed trailer is WAY different than an open one. The wind resistance makes a huge difference. I don't personally think ANY of the trucks on your list will be adequate. I wouldn't even consider anything less than a V-10 or Diesel. I bought an F-250 SD Diesel this spring, and it pulls the enclosed trailer like a champ. It yields 20mpg hwy. unloaded, 12-15 pulling the trailer vs 15/6-8 with the old one. On the overkill idea, be aware that you don't have to go with a crew cab dually to get the diesel. I bought a std. cab long bed that fits in my garage but has the diesel/6speed combo I wanted (smallest truck with largest engine). I ordered it so I could get just the options I wanted without paying for all the extras I didn't want, and ended up with the perfect puller (IMO) for a relatively inexpensive $29,000. If you're willing to go 2 wheel drive, you can whack another $2000-3000 off the price.

Don't underestimate what it will take to pull an enclosed trailer. I did, and had to swap vehicles, which cost me more in the long run. Torque is king when pulling. The new Ford modular 4.6/5.4 engines are just not up to the task if you're using the vehicle as a truck, not a car. My experience is with Fords, but Chevy and Dodge both have powerful Diesels that should also do the trick. Buy a Toyota/Nissan truck? NOT!

I thought my old F-250 was overkill when I bought it. An F-150 would have worked fine for hauling our dirt bikes, occasional loads of gravel/dirt, back and forth to work, etc. And if I had stayed with an open trailer, it would have been fine. But going to the enclosed trailer changed the requirements. The last thing you want is to have problems with your tow vehicle while on a trip to enjoy that Cobra!

[JWheaton]

Thanks for the comments so far.

It seems like the moving up in pay load level is the way to go so far.

Anyone have any thoughts about the Dodges V10 or their Hemi V8 for towing?

For some reason the diesel engine is not sitting in my mind as an option. I will have to go try one out.

[terry lee]

JW,
Check out the new GMC diesel. It's suppose to be really quiet and plenty of torque. My son just bought one and loves it. I haven't seen it cause we are on opposite coasts.
I aslo heard good things about Ford's new diesel.

Just another $.02 worth.

TL

[Cobra20646]

Jamie,

By all means try out a diesel before you settle on any gasoline setup. When I fell into a low milage used 96 F350 Ext. cab, DRW, turbo diesel w/5 speed, I thought it was way too much truck, but couldn't pass it up due to the price asked. Now, everytime I haul a trailer I thank my wife for supporting me in the purchase. Absolute dream as a tow vehicle, as others have stated. Anything else just won't make you a happy hauler

This truck is more than I need...... but I'll never need another truck!!!

- Jim -

[keithw]

JW,

I'd definately go with a diesel. I chose a Chevy Duramax but the Ford Power Stroke and Dodge Cummins are also excellent.

A friend of mine has a Ford Excursion with the Power Stroke and it pulls his 28' Pace very well.

My Chevy pulls a 48' two car trailer with ease and gets 12 MPG at 80MPH on cruise. I have the Quadzilla computer upgrade.

Ford has the most after market goodies for increasing power and milage.

Get a diesel, you'll be glad you did.

Keith

[Procrastinator]

JW,

I went from a Dodge Ram 1500 short wheel base with the 5.9 gas engine my advice for a pull vehicle.

GO DIESEL!

I bought my first diesel truck ('98 dodge 3500 with 5.9 24 valve Cummins) over a year ago. In less than a month of driving it, I swore that I would never buy a gas powered truck again.

Its the best of both worlds power/performance and fuel economy. I get 18 MPG on average when driving it without my huge "full timer" 5th wheel trailer. I get 14 MPG pulling my trailer. My truck and trailer combo was weighed last month at 17,790 pounds. Pulls like a dream.

If you go with a diesel, you can have it "modifed" for insane amonts of horsepower and torque. If your a true gearhead you can't leave well enough alone. My diesel has a Bully Dog chip, a complete 5" exhaust, and K&N air filter. It easily puts out 300 horsepower and 610 pounds of torque at the rear axles.

The only down side to some is the engine noise. Diesels have a clack,clack,clack,clack sound to them. To me its not noise, its music. The same kind of music I hear when listening to a well built gasoline powered engine running. Its the sound of true Power! Engine noise is listening to a stock four cylinder with an exhaust tip.

My wife was not that impressed with the sound of the diesel when she first heard it. Now since I tuned it up, and she has driven it several times, she wants to buy diesel for herself. I caught her a month ago streetlight racing a Ford SuperDuty and blowing his doors off! Ah, the look on his face, beaten by a chick driving a diesel!

Good luck with your decision,

James Hunter

[bittentoo]

JWheaton,

There is a common theme here and you are going to hear it again from me. You can have to little power, but can't have to much!

If you are pulling an open trailer just about any of the SUV's or half ton trucks will do fine. But when you pull an enclosed trailer, it is not the weight that hurts you, it is the wind resistance that kills you.

If you are planning on pulling an enclosed trailer very far at all, you need a diesel. They get better milage loaded and unloaded vs a gas powered vehicle. Set the cruise control on 70 and forget it!

I bought new a 99 Super Duty Crew Cab (family of 4) 4X4 Powerstroke Diesel. Best and most versatile vehicle that I have ever owned. I use it as a daily driver (135000 miles on it now), pull a 29' 5th wheel trailer, 19' fiberglass boat, (sometimes at the same time) and have pulled a 20' enclosed trailer several times.
Have pulled the 5th wheel to Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas with no problems. The new diesel trucks ride and drive great. They aren't like the old rough riding 3/4 ton trucks of the past. If you have the power to pull comfortly, you will use the trailer more often, if you struggle to pull your trailer, it will sit at home and you wasted your money on a a nice enclosed trailer and an expensive SUV.

One more note, Just bought the wife an Eddie Bauer Expedition with the 5.4. Runs great, but I would not want to pull an enclosed trailer very far with it, just doesn't have enough grunt to fight the wind resistance.

Sorry that I got so long winded, but have seen to many people make the mistake of trying to pull with under powered vehicles and then not use the items.

OK, I'll shut up now.........

[Boudy]

Yep. I'll second that. I use a 2003 Expedition on an enclosed 20'. I would like more go go and it hates the hill country. My biggest problem however is I need extended mirrors. Can't see ****...

Boudy