What Kind of Vehicle?

[Guest ChaplainLar]

My wife 'might' let me buy a car or truck to tow my 'Essie' to car shows. Total weight of car and trailer (before packing and such) is 4000 pounds. I would like your advice on which car or truck you would recommend, that would be <span style="text-decoration: underline">under</span> the $10,000 range. That would tow & drive well.

[jrbartlett]

From my own experience, I can recommend a 1999 or so Ford F-250 Super-Duty diesel, extended cab with long bed. The long wheelbase really enhances your towing safety. Get a manual transmission if possible, or a truck that has already had the automatic transmission rebuilt (they do tend to go out at the 75,000-mile range). And the body is still in style. I think you need a 3/4 ton rather than a 1/2 ton pickup. The smaller trucks will pull fine -- but you need the bigger trucks for safety in terms of braking and overall stability with a loaded trailer.

[Pontiac59]

If you're on a budget I hear good things about Dodges with the 5.9 Cummins diesel. 25 MPG empty or with a load -

[old gto]

<span style="color: #3333FF">I don`t know about under $10,000, but we trailer our car to Daytona Turkey run each year with a Suburban. NOT because it`s a trailer queen, but because the truck is the ultimate utility vehicle. We can haul all the kids, and if we find an 8 foot tall "visible" gas pump, or a full size Westinghouse Coke cooler at the swap meet, it will fit in the back. So we can treasure hunt, and still haul the kids, cargo, sleeping bags, and plenty of UMPH for towing cars, it is the ultimate utility vehicle.</span>

[Friartuck]

An article that was written about trailering in general. Perhaps some of it will provide useful.

http://www.monmouth.com/user_pages/friartuck/lincoln/trailer/trailer.html

Chris

[Dandy Dave]

I bought a 1990 4WD Suburban off of ebay with 44,060 miles on it for $899 Dollars. Some rust, but still quite servicable. I have towed with my old 89 Suburban quite a bit and like the way it handled. That is why I bought another one. One thing to keep in mind though is to find one with rear cargo doors rather than a tail gate. Dave!

[CarlLaFong]

If you're on a budget I hear good things about Dodges with the 5.9 Cummins diesel. 25 MPG empty or with a load -

I've got over 250K on mine. Never got 25MPG. 22 running empty, all highway and 13-14 towing our 30 ft. 5th wheel.