Does it Matter if You Like Your Tow Rig?

I needed a tow vehicle- so I picked up a very clean 1998 GMC Yukon. I've towed to one event with it and it did the job well, without issue, and of course I've gone through the whole "I can add this, and this, and this, etc. and it might be cool!" planned/imaginary modification cycle.

But I don't like it. I don't enjoy driving it, or working on it. Do I go in search of a truck that actually does something for me? Put on my big boy pants and admit that sometimes I will actually need a "grown up" vehicle that doesn't make me grin just from owning it? What say you, GRM?

Big boy pants required.

Most importantly, it needs to do the job you ask of it. But if there's a variety of vehicles that can do that job, it's definitely worth looking at a few of them to see if you like / enjoy one over the others. It may end up being that the type of vehicle you need just isn't something you like, but there also might be something you like better than the Yukon.

as much money as my disco has cost me, I bought it simply because driving it brought a smile to my face over the exploder, blazer, 9-7, and the Dakota I tried first. The only vehicle I drove that seemed as nice was the BMW x5.. but it was out of my budget at the time.

So no, I do not blame you for hating your towpig. I would sell while it is still worth something and get a heavy duty vehicle you can enjoy being behind the wheel of. Life is too short to drive boring cars and trucks

If you commute in it and drive it everyday, you should be happy in that vehicle. We spend a lot of our lives inside vehicles and it doesn't make sense to torture yourself for that many hours a day/week/year.

If it sits most of its life, and you only use it a few times a month, it probably doesn't matter.

If there is a vehicle that does the job AND puts a smile on your face AND you can afford it, why WOULDN'T you drive that one instead?

I understand the love on GRM for that body Burb/Yukon, and they're no doubt capable trucks, but I just don't like them. One of those would no doubt serve me better than what I bought, which is a long bed, extended cab F250. But it makes me smile just waking by it, it can certainly tow everything I need, and I can live with the other shortcomings because it makes me happy.

Having a reliable boring tow rig would make me happy.

To answer you guys in no particular order:
-I don't have to drive it much, it's not my commuter
-It is in imminent need of tires, which is making me do some mental gymnastics (New wheels and A/Ts like I want? Cheapest thing I can get? Just sell it before I put any cash into it?)
-There are other vehicles which I know I like, which will do the job equally well. But they cost more money, and money spent on the tow rig is money NOT spent on racing, which doesn't sit well with me. That's how I ended up with this truck in the first place.
-There are other vehicles which will do the job and cost the same or less, but are less competent/reliable.

I think the answer here is big boy pants, modifications to make me happier with it. Mostly things to make it better at its' job as a rally support/recce vehicle.

I would say, in your case, this is not a vehicle where "fun things" happen but rather this is a vehicle that makes it possible for "fun things" to happen.
If I were you, I would use it like the tool it is. Its reliability and readiness when called upon would be the first two things I would value about it.

put on tires, use it to do what you got it for, keep $ for racecar or fun things.

i resist the urge to modify my tow vehicles. recently(last friday) i bought a new one. i WANTED the higher trim with the fancy radio and heated seats and more bells and/or whistles. i BOUGHT the lowest trim level with hard plastic everywhere, non heated cloth, the middle radio and zero options that are not for towing/hauling. it'll do the job i bought it to do, the fancier truck would have been over $100 more per month for exactly the same towing capability, but with fancier crap.

I like my tow rig. Because I spend long, long days behind the wheel, this is important. 60 hours coming up for the Mitty trip, for example. If I'm towing m, I've got enough else going on that I don't want the tow to be a pain.

That said, bombproof reliability and comfort are highly important qualities.

If it were your commuter, yeah, you've got a problem. If it's towing only, it just has to be comfortable, dependable, and handle the load well. It's a towing appliance.

I sold a 92 Dodge 3/4 ton 12V cummins 5 speed and bought a 2000 F350 crew 7.3 auto. And I miss the Cummins. But the Ford can tow more, haul more, hold a kiddie seat in the back, and be driven by Mrs. VCH. I don't particularly love it but it's not a terrible place to spend an 8 hour drive. I've gone back and forth on selling it and getting something cheaper (a gasser GMT400 or a 460 Ford truck from the 90's) but after dumping 5k into repairs and upgrades it's not a terrible truck.

Agreed with everyone else: if it's reliable and does what you need it to do, focus on racing, not your tow pig.

What don't you like about it? Is it uncomfortable, loud, bad ergonomics, underpowered, etc? All of those would be reasons to drop it and get something else. But if it's just that it's boring, I'm afraid that comes with the territory.

Keith Tanner wrote: I like my tow rig. Because I spend long, long days behind the wheel, this is important. 60 hours coming up for the Mitty trip, for example. If I'm towing m, I've got enough else going on that I don't want the tow to be a pain. That said, bombproof reliability and comfort are highly important qualities.

This.

Sub 10 hour tows, the tow appliance that gets there and back wins.

10+ hour drives, a "nice" vehicle becomes mandatory.

I've sold a truck (mid-nineties GMC Sierra) because I didn't like it and bought another one (mid-nineties F150) because I liked (and like) it better. Now that our local track is apparently being sold as a housing development site, I'd have to tow my track car at least 4-5 hours to the "nearest" track, and I would want to be comfortable and in a tow vehicle I actually like, even though mine mostly serves as yard art.

In reply to PseudoSport:

You can buy my '04 2500HD Duramax and save me the hassle of putting it on ebay. Runs great. Well maintained. 145k. Driver window won't go down. Power door lock button on driver door won't work either. Seat heater sometimes comes on when going over bumps. It needs a new door switch assembly. Otherwise... nice. I'm sick of trucks and race cars, project cars, trailers... all of it. I'm liquidating the fleet.

I'm OK with a boring daily driver. I spend enough time in a tow rig in a single go that I want to like it. My truck is the most comfortable vehicle I own.

Tow vehicle is a tool to me. Like other tools if you use it for many hours and need dependability buy a nice one that's comfortable to use and maintain it well. If it's only getting minimal short trip usage buy the HF version. I pull a 24' enclosed with a 2000 F-350 CC dually 7.3 with only a couple accessories and no performance or expensive modifications. I've spent days on the road comfortably

Yes, since it's my DD. That's why I got a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. It's still an SUV, but it's the Porsche of SUV's...

Have you considered adding a kick-ass stereo?

I actually like my tow vehicle (a 2000 7.3 PSD Excursion), but I liked it more once I got rid of that crappy stock head unit and put in a Kenwood Excelon with access to 16gb of my favorite music. And I haven't gone overboard with amps & subs (yet), just a nice head unit powering better speakers.

I havnt enjoyed any of my tow vehicles since my 76 f150. I just keep trying diffrent cheap trucks until i can afford another late 70s ford thats clean enough to tow with.

Kick ass stereo is on the short list. My main gripes (besides boredom) are spongy brakes (despite being freshly bled, with all new calipers, soft lines, and wheel cylinders) and E36 M3ty lighting.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Kick ass stereo is on the short list. My main gripes (besides boredom) are spongy brakes (despite being freshly bled, with all new calipers, soft lines, and wheel cylinders) and E36 M3ty lighting.

Did you use a Tech II to perform the auto-bleed function? You can bleed these things for days and never get a good brake pedal if you don't use the Tech II to clear the air out of the EBCM/BPMV.

Personally, if it's just being used for short tows (Not 10+ hours) or everyday commuting, I wouldn't worry about liking it, as long as it's competent and reliable.

A kick ass stereo might help. Cannibalizing nicer parts out of an upscale model (like a Denali) might help.