Open trailer or closed?
Open trailer or closed?
You said 2k miles towing a year. How many trips is that? Could you buy a Prius and then rent the F350 a few times a year?
goingnowherefast said:Open trailer or closed?
4th post in the thread:
Jaynen said:
10k is commuting, probably 2k towing?
I want to tow a 20ft or so enclosed trailer with a miata in it that has A/C and also an approx 7k lb or so travel trailer with the family (could go down to close to 6k but I would like to keep some headroom over the trailer GVWR)
Locally if I was just to rent it 65 a day for an F350+ 50 bucks a day for a uhaul car trailer you get 300 miles then every mile is .29
This year's current pace with events is likely I will do 5-6 two day events but you can't return rentals on Sundays so you have to figure to some degree its 4 days to return on Monday. So that is 270 in rental fees without mileage per trip. Closest track is VIR at 80 miles but I also want to do CMP 150 miles, Charlotte Motor Speedway 144 miles, Road Atlanta 353 miles, Barber 530 miles. Not necessarily all this year but the reason I want to start towing is so I can go to farther away tracks. I currently drive the miata to VIR.
As mentioned in the spreadsheet the current $ per month difference on gas alone between Prius and say most of the vehicles in this thread getting approx 16mpg worked out to be about 125 bucks a month, as a colleague at work mentioned you do need to consider what you want to spend that much time in regularly and if you will be happy in a Prius. My bare bones mk4 jetta TDI was fine for a while but after a couple of years it just wasn't nice enough a place to spend that much time in (I had a longer commut when we lived in California) of course if gas goes up to 4 bucks a gallon again that 125 turns into 200 a month real quick.
I think I would go used Volt or CT200H over Prius, of the tow rigs mentioned here the ones I probably would most enjoy driving would be the 4runner/burban/denali/excursion.
If SWMBO wants to get a v8 4 runner and then I can get a Volt/CT200H that would be great but the sliding doors on the van and everything are just so nice.
What about enterprise rent a truck? Much nicer trucks and better rates, at least by me.
Enyar said:What about enterprise rent a truck? Much nicer trucks and better rates, at least by me.
Enterprise is what I quoted above as being 65 bucks a day with 300 miles and .29 cents a mile. This is via their commercial rentals as well, other places that rent you pickups won't legally allow you to tow has to be 3/4ton or higher. Wonder how high mileage you can be looking at before it really becomes an issue. Denali's and some of the other vehicles mentioned here seem common in the price range but all with 200k+
1998 dodge ram
https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/1998-dodge-ram-2500-cummins/6570431504.html
8500 obo. 2wd short bed. Looks like someone did 3rd gen mirrors on it. Mine has 266k on it and has never broken down. Heck, still on original water pump. I did a bigger turbo and injectors years ago. Have a usable all day 800 torque/325 horse at 2k rpm (not floored, at 1200 degrees egt and 35psi). It tows real, real nice ;).
Jcamper
It looks like the Yukon Denali come with the 6.0 in both the Yukon/Tahoe length and the Yukon XL/Suburban length. Do you think the wheelbase difference would be a big deal when it comes to being pushed around while towing? Its a 20inch difference in overall length but I am not sure the wheelbase changes that much (I doubt it)
A quick bit of Google says a 14" difference in wheelbase. 116" vs. 130". If it were an open trailer, I don't think it would be a big difference, but an enclosed trailer would lean me towards more safety factor.
Why would a denali with a 6.0 still end up getting better mileage than the suburban 2500s with the 6.0? weight I guess? Or different trans?
Current specs show the shorter version slightly lighter, but generally well within cargo tolerances and EPA ratings exactly the same. A 2500 is usually a bit taller and would thus lower the MPG a bit. The heavier truck might also be geared lower but that would come down to individual option packages. A Denali with a towing package might also have lower gearing than one without, which would negatively affect hwy MPG when not towing.
In reply to Jaynen :
Likely a combination of gearing and weight. 2500's usually have heavier duty (and, thus, heavier) brakes, suspension, etc. It may have different axles. The 2500 will have the 4L80E trans, while the Denali may still have the 4L60E- although with the 6.0, that may get you the trans upgrade, but I'm not sure. Anyway, you want the 4L80E if you're towing.
Looks like it might be a 4L65E, if its "mileage be damned" I would definitely go 3/4 ton burb I think but if I have to daily it I think the 10mpg or so would be killer
In reply to Jaynen :
Yeah, then I'd still lean towards the 2500 Burb. It just gets you heavier duty _everything_. A 5% savings in fuel economy gets erased pretty quickly the first time you have a major breakdown.
Dang. I posted that GMT400 diesel 'Burb and showed it to my wife. Now she likes it. 
EDIT: Just saw it sold, too. Not sure if relieved, or sad.
EDIT2: If you don't need 4WD and aren't in a hurry, something like this would be pretty cool.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
Wow I love that!
Thats pretty sweet!. I saw a burban with a cummins in it a while back
Are you in Oceanside California?
In reply to Jaynen :
I've towed an open trailer for 20 years with Chevy Astros (111" WB) and didn't get shoved around. Braking was less than stellar though. I would think a Tahoe , with the bigger engine and much better brakes would be quite capable.
yupididit said:Are you in Oceanside California?
Not anymore,I am in Raleigh North Carolina
You'll need to log in to post.
