Tow Vehicles? opinions/suggestions/etc. Options

[kfed]

So, I've been stirring up the idea of trading in my daily to get a truck for the purposes of both dailying and towing. I eventually want to get a dick bed within next year so I can start towing my vehicle to far places to do events (long distant places on my list include Norcal, Texas, and Chicago).

However, I am a complete noob at a lot of things which include trucks. What are some good suggestions on trucks that aren't too much but suitable for my needs?

Things I'm mainly looking for:
- Most fuel efficient as it gets (I know it may not be good but what's out there)
- Be able to tow 2100lbs + dick bed
- Manual? Automatic?
- Displacement? 4/6/8 cyl?

Super open discussion and I'm interested in what you all think.

[PotatoSparkles]

...tow bed... tow bed...

do you mean a fucking trailer?

[kfed]

Fucking flat bed or whatever, I don't know what you red necks call it.

[Louis]

I have a 1990 jeep comanche, 4.0L straight 6 bullet proof engine, 5 spd. Will pull that weight just fine, 15 ish MPG, and parts are CHEAP and readily available. But its a unibody design so a flat bed would look silly. My buddy dailys a late 90's s-10, 4.3 v6, tows his dual axle car trailer with his vw bus on it pretty good. Same pro's as the jeep, but it is body on frame so flat bed is easy. Just know that technically, if you convert your truck to a flat bed, you will HAVE to get a commercial insurance policy (if your insurance company finds out). Thats about all I would recommend in the "small" truck category. From what I see, most people prefer automatic for towing, I just don't like magic voodoo boxes of evil so I always buy stick. Full size would be good too, but may take a small hit in economy. Chevy 1500 and Ford F-150 both have a 6cyl option that would do alright (4.3 in chevy, 4.9 Inline in ford) both with auto or 5spd. Or toyota tundra would be cool, but parts would be more costly. Domestic trucks, much like domestic beer, are cheap, easy, and get the job done.

Do you mean something like this for the flat bed?


and then tow a trailer behind it?

[kfed]

K so I think I said all that wrong lol...

I meant just a regular truck to tow a flatbed trailer (if thats what its called)

One of these basically:

[Louis]

gotcha! Usually referred to as a car trailer lol. Also a large array of suv's to choose from too, unless you want the truck bed to pile shit up in.

[Zach]

Godman that was confusing lolz

[kfed]

gotcha! Usually referred to as a car trailer lol. Also a large array of suv's to choose from too, unless you want the truck bed to pile shit up in.

Exactly, using the bed to hold all the other shit. Car trailer simply for just the car.

[Tom.]

Depending on your budget you have a few options, here are a few that typically are used (and thus are best suited when replacement parts come about) in the midwest:

<$3000:
Light Duty (What I used, see pic at bottom): 95+ Blazer with 4.3L Vortec
Medium Duty: 1/4 Ton Pickup (Silverado 1500, Dodge Ram 1500, F-150): Get the v8, it will save you hassle and unless it's an old Ford slant 6, it's a lot less reliable.
Heavy Duty: Diesel anything. There is a lot of arguing about ford chevy or dodge, but usually the cummins or an old 7.3L powerstroke (93+) is a fair bet.

<$7000:
Just buy an old diesel. 25mpg out of a truck with enough torque to pull your house down in case you ever want to haul heavier shit, and they hold their resale value like crazy and won't die until 500k miles or more if maintained correctly.



The Jimmy I used to tow my 240sx back from Iowa, 12 hour trip overall, no problems except I wished I had better brakes.


Overall: I recommend a v8 truck or van. A couple Midwest guys (See: Mike Pollard, Derek King) use v8 vans because they offer the towing close to a truck, but keep all your shit dry with a party space and generally contractor's vans are dirt cheap used.

[mk3f.t.w.]

[kfed]

Fuck, Tom. You are the man. Exactly what I was looking for.

<3!

[kfed]

Oh another thing...

Manual or auto? I've heard it should be preferably manual, due to load on the tranny/etc. What's your take?

[deolio]

a merceded "crew" sprinter van would be at the top of my list.

e-class ford van would be a more realistic voice...

vans are the shit though. at the tracks i go to, and the way drifting is heading, it seems like the added security of a van will be invaluable. store all your parts and tools in there with the ease of the click of a button whereas with a truck or suv you'll have to either leave shit in your bed or in your trailer. and even if you get a camper top thing for the truck that shit is still a joke for security.

in your daily van you can rape on the daily, sleep in it every night, live out of it when you spend all your money on car shit, and keep pre-teens away from your shit for the fear of rape.

[kfed]

Come to think of it, you're kinda right Max. And I'm super glad you said that.

My old room-mate had a e-class van and we took it everywhere. On desert camping trips, drift events (carrying 3 peoples spares/tools/etc.), and party weekends caravaning literally 10 people. It's a super cheap alternative too, he had a v8 that did decent on gas mileage. And one can be had for a really good price. I'm just curious on what the tow-capacity for that would be.

[kfed]

Specifically he had a e150, I actually think I might have made my mind up.

[deolio]

pretty sure they're good for about 6000lbs. shit, my frontier is only approved for 3000lbs and towing with it feels like cake. used e150's are cheap as hell. there's one in the bay with like 150k on it for $2300. good deal imo. next time i have a lot of spare money and space......

[kfed]

Yeah I think I found my vehicle.

[PotatoSparkles]

now to get a drift car to tow behind it....................

[Louis]

awww yeeaaaa! E-150's also came with the 4.9L straight 6. So you really can't go wrong with either one!

[Louis]

cool dodge half way down first page
http://slamburglars.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1148