towing vehicles

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Woody
Posts: 597
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 8:11 am
Location: Mid TN

Re: towing vehicles

#16 Post by Woody » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:12 pm

chill'nthemost wrote:.....once you've towed with a diesel everything else is a disappointment. :(

That is the absolute truth. :thumbsup
2014 Benny (Until I find a replacement for my totaled JC Tritoon)


Usually somewhere on the TN River

Bmac
Posts: 135
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 7:40 pm

Re: towing vehicles

#17 Post by Bmac » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:23 pm

chill'nthemost wrote:Best tow vehicles I ever had were my '04 and '06 Dodge Cummings. Loved having to slow down for corners going up hill. Last one I bought was a Hemi since I wasn't towing anything except the toon. It does fine but once you've towed with a diesel everything else is a disappointment. :(
I hear ya,

I have a 9 yr old Duramax with a 6 speed manual that I can't part with. Use to pull a 5th wheel with a 22'er behind. 69' overall, just set the cruise and roll. I've always traded trucks every 3 yrs,but just can't trade this one off. The only thing that's gone wrong with it in 9 yrs. was the air conditioner compressor last yr. I done that one myself,so it's still never been in the shop (knock on wood). Still my daily driver.

BARRACUDA1968
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Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:51 pm

Re: towing vehicles

#18 Post by BARRACUDA1968 » Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:01 pm

Depending on how far you are towing on a regular basis I would worry more about wheel base on the tow vehicle more than horsepower.

Short wheelbase vehicles make terrible tow vehicles.

The second thing I would think about is the ability to stop what you're towing more than how fast you can get up to speed.

I tow with a Duramax ext cab 4x4 and love it. However I would not tow my 26" pontoon with a short wheelbase vehicle no matter how much power it had at highway speeds.

The other thing to consider is what tire you have on your tow vehicle. Most smaller SUV's have 4 ply or maybe 6 ply tires. The sidewalls of these tires aren't the greatest for towing if you get any side to side motion at 70 mph.

Just some things to think about.
2004 Misty Harbor 2585 GM
130 hp Honda 4 stroke
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Woody
Posts: 597
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 8:11 am
Location: Mid TN

Re: towing vehicles

#19 Post by Woody » Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:04 pm

BARRACUDA1968 wrote:Depending on how far you are towing on a regular basis I would worry more about wheel base on the tow vehicle more than horsepower.

Short wheelbase vehicles make terrible tow vehicles.

The second thing I would think about is the ability to stop what you're towing more than how fast you can get up to speed.

I tow with a Duramax ext cab 4x4 and love it. However I would not tow my 26" pontoon with a short wheelbase vehicle no matter how much power it had at highway speeds.

The other thing to consider is what tire you have on your tow vehicle. Most smaller SUV's have 4 ply or maybe 6 ply tires. The sidewalls of these tires aren't the greatest for towing if you get any side to side motion at 70 mph.

Just some things to think about.



All good points. Just because you have a vehicle that you think will pull it just fine, doesn't mean that it will do so safely
.
2014 Benny (Until I find a replacement for my totaled JC Tritoon)


Usually somewhere on the TN River

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nostrildomus
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Location: Bellingham, Washington

Re: towing vehicles

#20 Post by nostrildomus » Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:10 am

kryptonite wrote:
nostrildomus wrote:I pull with a 8.1L Yukon XL SLT 3/4 ton. Seems to pull OK:)
Bet you pass about everything except gas stations!
Having plenty of power to tow, control and stop safely (with my family on board) was more important to me than gas mileage. I conserve fuel with my other vehicles:)
2005 30' Tracker PartyHut
135hp Mercruiser I/O
Lake Samish - Bellingham, WA.

RonKMiller
Posts: 633
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:22 pm

Re: towing vehicles

#21 Post by RonKMiller » Sat Jul 02, 2011 10:11 am

1988 (actually a 1987 model) Chebby 1 ton dually Silverado with a a throttle body 454. 225,000 miles and runs like a Swiss watch. Owned it since new. It will tow Nebraska. Besides common stuff like alternator, brakes, power steering pump, etc. the only major items I've replaced are the ac compressor and tranny. It got a new, cheapo paint job a few years back.

I wish the danged thing would break so I could go out and spend $50K for a new one - NOT!

While it's an absolute pig on gas - averaging around 8mpg towing on a good day - I haven't had a payment since 1990. The other good thing about old trucks is that you can actually fix them yourself. I've been only using genuine GM parts lately since everything else seems to be garbage. The GM stuff is insanely expensive, but then so is my time!

My best advice is to find an older, HEAVY truck with a diesel or big block for towing unless you're going to be using it every day. Mine sometimes sits for months.

There is no replacement for displacement. :smoke
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blackberg
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Location: SoCal

Re: towing vehicles

#22 Post by blackberg » Sun Jul 03, 2011 3:38 pm

I cant justify such a big vehicle as a daily driver,
my commute is about 16 miles each way, and takes between 20 to 90 minutes each way depending on traffic. And then it wont fit in the parking structure.

For towing 3-4 times a season with it, and having access to the towing van doesnt make sense.

Cant tow above 55 if I dont want to pay $200+ to the state and have my insurance go up anyways.
-bb

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