Tow Vehicle Feedback

[cdorsey]

I'm looking to purchase a new to me tow vehicle and requesting some feedback regarding reliability, fuel mileage, comfort, ease of towing, etc. My objective is to comfortably and affordably tow a 16’ enclosed trailer with a 1500# race car and 500# worth of equipment. The three vehicles I’m interested in are:


1995 Dodge Ram V10

1996 Suburban K2500 7.4L V8

1996 Ford F250 7.3L Diesel V8


If anybody cares to share some of their experiences or misfortunes with any of these, I’d love to hear them.



Thanks in advance.

-Chris

[Chris_Swearingen]

Chris,

I have an '02 F350 with the 7.3L. I use it to pull an 18000lb 38ft 5th wheel. It works great. As all the good cowboys say "I love my truck". Mileage is about 13 mpg when towing, but mine is 4wd and has 4:11 gears. YMMV

--Chris

[lundgren]

Think Deisel Turbo for an enclosed trailer.. seriously.

[00 SS]

If your towing mostly in the flat lands and not up over the passes you might also consider a late 90's Ford with the fuel injected 460 and overdrive. Not great milage, but they pull as well as all but the very best diesels. Plus they are nearly indestructable. If you need more power, a 460 can be made to produce ungodly power if you have the money to build it.

Of the three you listed I'd pick the Dodge with the V10.

[RogersWRX]

EVERYBODY i've ever talked about towing, people that have tried both, from double towing camper-boats-ATV's and big ole fifth wheels, says TURBO-DIESEL over Gas any day...
just my .02

...just get the extended warranty on whatever, because on a tow vehicle, it's the transmission that goes out first, and some of those big Allison type tranny's can cost upwards of $2500 !!

[BarryOtt]

A guy I work with just sold his '96 Ford Turbo Diesel at the recommendation of his mechanic. Apparently, a sure sign that you're living on borrowed time is if the oil pressure doesn't rise immediately on start up. If it takes a little while to make pressure, the motor is just about done. My only personal experience with any of these is a few test drives, what I remember most is that the Fords really ride super stiff when unloaded. Good luck!

Barry Ott

[Jake Latham]

Based on my experiences, I'd go with the 'burb. The dry, closed, safely lockable interior for your racing stuff is **invaluable**. Plus, having 4 real doors versus the "Supercab" you'll get in '96 Vintage trucks is much more user-friendly.

Don't forget the hidden cost of diesel these days - diesel fuel is still very expensive, and you play a large premium on diesel vehicles, so it takes a LONG time for that diesel engine to pay for itself, if it ever will.

Compare 11mpg at $2.50 a gallon for 87 gasoline vs 13mpg at $2.80 (or whatever) a gallon for diesel, and there's barely any savings there.

My personal choice was a Avalanche 2500, which is built on the Suburban chassis. 8.1L gas with 4.10 rear gears, gets about 10-11MPG towing a 20' enclosed trailer. Tigther turning radius than the pickups, and rides much more comfortably. Hauls ass too, and even the wife likes the way it sounds with a nice set of pipes :)

Finally, the 7.4L sounds great, and diesels still sound like ass.

Ford: Based on how I've been treated at Ford dealers, I will never own another.

Dodge: The Dodge V10 is a good-feeling engine, but I couldn't find a truck with one that didn't feel like it was falling apart - YMMV.

Subjectively, I always seem to have been most partial to Chevy/GM pickups/trucks, they just fit me the best. I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the three.

If Toyota made a real truck, I'd buy that. Maybe in 10 years after their price comes down? :D *shrug*

-Jake
my $0.02

[Built-By-Bones]

I love my truck.

Diesel.

Is this truck going to do duty as anything else, like a daily driver? or is it tow vehicle only?

Tow vehicle only, go diesel, longwheelbase, dually if possible.

your 2000 lbs of car and stuff is not really heavy, and if you tow east instead of west you could consider a SUV to tow with. But we all know that weight creeps up on you, and you don't want to head up to Eisenhower tunnel at 25mph.

Go diesel. forget the fuel savings (? as Jake pointed out), you will appreciate the diesel the first time you pull out to overtake an 18 wheeler going up an incline. you can hot up a gas motor a lot and they never approach the torque a decent diesel has.

As to the 96 F350.

I owned one and put 100K miles on it in 4 years and one of my employees bought it and tows his Jeep around. unloaded it was way too stiff to use as a DD. It rreally towed well, and rode best with a gooseneck and two Jeeps. 10mpg towing and maybe 15 if not not.

clutch at 150K miles. glowplug harness, and a new injector at 165K. new batteries and alternator when I sold it.

upgraded to a 4WD was the reason I sold it.

[Proxenus]

My personal choice was a Avalanche 2500, which is built on the Suburban chassis. 8.1L gas with 4.10 rear gears, gets about 10-11MPG towing a 20' enclosed trailer. Tigther turning radius than the pickups, and rides much more comfortably. Hauls ass too, and even the wife likes the way it sounds with a nice set of pipes :)

In a similar vein, Grassroots Motorsports had a very favorable review for towing with the Honda Ridgeline a couple months ago. I'm not sure it would tow favorably with an enclosed trailer though.

My tow vehicle = 2WD 1990 F350 Crew Cab 7.5L. Haven't gotten around to buying a trailer yet :)

[ianacole]

If Toyota made a real truck, I'd buy that. Maybe in 10 years after their price comes down? :D *shrug*

-Jake
my $0.02

We just bought an '06 Tacoma Doublecab 4x4 and absolutely love it. With 6500 Lbs of towing capacitiy it has no trouble handling the 16' trailer and my little car (which comes out to about 4000 Lbs.). We got it with the trailer package so it was prewired for braking assist...all I had to do was add the module from our old truck.

Probably not enough towing capacity for your needs, but I absolutely love my *real* Toyota truck :p

[Jake Latham]

It's a prejudice I inherited from my dad. :D It's not a real tow vehicle until it has "2500" or "3500" on the side, and at least 7 liters of engine.

Anything less than that feels underpowered and underweight.

The first car I bought was a Ford Ranger 4.0L V6. Dad's first question was "Sounds like a great truck son - what size is the other half of the engine?" :D

-Jake (Proxy for the grumpy old man)

[ianacole]

The first car I bought was a Ford Ranger 4.0L V6. Dad's first question was "Sounds like a great truck son - what size is the other half of the engine?" :D

-Jake (Proxy for the grumpy old man)

:D:D That's awesome!! I personally am partial to Toyotas and Chevys, or a some mixture of the two.

[A Miller Brother]

I recently aquired a 99 F250 Superduty Crew Cab with 136K on the clock and really do enjoy it, it has rancho adjustable shocks and with the tire pressures right and the shocks soft it rides pretty decent (as live axle vehicles go) the turbo is great, mine's not chipped yet but still is fun to keep up with the random punk in an eclipse, having the power reserve of the turbo on tap is handy. So far in mostly highway driving I'm averaging 16.3mpg. With a peak of 18.5 and a low of 12 (mostly plowing snow) I have to say diesels are kinda nice, I definitly understand their appeal now. Say it with me kids, Turbos rule...

[MrPickles]

Ian Cole's Toyota Tundra hauled my car on friday night.

Steel trailer with a 3000 lb corvette on the back, with a V6 tundra. Granted it was only a mile..but the truck seemed to do pretty well.

Thanks Ian
Michael

[cdorsey]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great feedback. I ended up with a big bad '96 Saburban with the 7.4l Vortech. Now to find a hitch for it.... can't wait to hook up and pull.
Thanks again!
-Chris