What would you daily that tows 10k#s V2? - ~10k Budget

Good day chaps,

I've done some research in this thread (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/what-would-you-daily-that-tows-10k-lbs/132783/page2) but since my parameters are slightly different I'd like to get the hive's expert opinion.

I currently drive a 2005 Corolla that was purchased new 13 years ago. It's been awesome and I love it. Unfortunately for it I also just bought a boat that weighs in at around 8000 pounds, maybe even more. Since it doesn't make sense to be a 3 car household I'm looking to sell the Corolla and buy a daily that can handle towing.

As of now I drive around 7,200 miles a year but that should jump up another 2000 now that my vehicle will be pulling the boat for certain trips across the state. If I had to come up with numbers I would say 6500 miles would be daily driver status (7 mile trip to work each way) , 500 local towing (10-20 mile trips) and 2000 longer trips (3 hours +). The long trips would be fully loaded with gear and extra people so heavy heavy loads. 

Unfortunately, I think I exceed the capabilities of the Suburban. My goals are reliability, safety and 4 doors. I keep my cars a long long time so I don't mind spending a little bit more to get something that lasts. Could care less about appearance or interior quality. Right now I am honing in on 03-07 6.0 F250 or 350 and similar aged Duramax chevys. Ideally, I would get one of those stripped down versions with manual everything so nothing can break.

Anything else I should look into?

Suburbans and Avalanches could be had in a 2500 variant that are just a hair under 10,000 lbs for towing.  Should be OK with brake controller, weight distributing hitch, and air bags in back.  Can be had with an 8.1 or a 6.(x) depending on the year.  They are shorter than a crew cab/short box anything. 

Otherwise I would run far and fast from anything with a pre -06 Derpamax or anything in your pricerange but a Ford with a 7.3 in it.  Doubt you will find any decent late duramaxes or 7.3 F250s in your price range.

Dodge Ram with a Cummins is a choice, unfortunately everything but the motor will suck.  

Chevys have a lower step in height and a better ride, Fords have a nicer interior and better visibility.  Pick your favorite and buy the most grandpa fresh version you can find.  

What's your budget?  Anything that happily tows 10k lbs is going to suck as a daily driver unless it's pretty new and then it will cost more than your house.

I had a '96 2dr F250 7.3L that was hated for around 10klbs, and it was fun as a part time daily, but I was really glad I didn't have to drive it every.single.day.

Why not a 3 car house? Seems like the proper way to solve this. 

I'd say my budget is anywhere between 8k and 12k. Rather be on the lower end for obvious reasons but if it gets me a whole bunch more then I can stretch.

3 car house hold means the driveway is going to be a disaster and depreciation/maintenance and insurance adds up even more. I'm still running the numbers but I think truck as daily would be cheaper than an older truck+keeping the corolla. 

A rental. 

Trailer boats will make you miserable, especially one that size.  Keep it berthed at a marina, or at least someplace with in and out privileges.  

And rent, but only when you have to. 

In reply to Enyar :

You may have just picked the 2 worst trucks ever built from a maintenance cost perspective, and are justifying them with lower insurance costs.

You will pay 4-5 times as much as insurance would cost annually for maintenance on a 6.0L or a Duramax of that vintage.  

That price point, and that vintage is a terrible combination for a diesel.

I've gotta imagine that if a suburban won't cut it, the solution is definitely not a single vehicle. 

A motorcycle and a truck/van that can carry it.  Stick that in your "driveway too small" complaint 

I got an 07 expedition thats rated at 9k lbs, you could probably do it with a weight dist hitch.  

Needed a local only daily (10-15miles a weekday with baby hauling) that could tow a trailer on weekends and they are more affordable than the chevys in my area.  Get the plugs replaces, if it bucks look at the coils, watch out for cam phasers. 

Toyota Sequoia was another I looked at, though I am not sure of tow rating. 

yeah, berkeley that, rent a slip at a marina

SVreX said:

In reply to Enyar :

You may have just picked the 2 worst trucks ever built from a maintenance cost perspective, and are justifying them with lower insurance costs.

You will pay 4-5 times as much as insurance would cost annually for maintenance on a 6.0L or a Duramax of that vintage.  

That price point, and that vintage is a terrible combination for a diesel.

 

My point was insurance/registration/depreciation/ maintenance on 2 vehicles will quickly eat up the gas savings of still using the corolla.

High and dry is 400 a month and on top of that I would have to rent a truck for any trips.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Valid, and once I do end up in a larger vehicle I probably will end up biking or taking the scooter to work when it's cooler out.

In reply to Enyar :

Yeah, but you’ll be renting a vehicle either way. Those trucks are gonna leave you stranded, and you will have to rent something else to get to work in. 

Plus, you are driving very few miles (presumably with quite a bit of traffic). 

Bad conditions for a diesel. 

Rent (or contract) a tow vehicle when you need to move the boat. 

How big is the boat?   What kind of boat?   How much water does it draw?  What does your local ramp look like?  Is it paved long enough to get the boat down into the water?  

That 6.0 will eat you alive in small and large fixes on a pretty consistent basis. 10/10 do not recommend. 

John Welsh said:

How big is the boat?   What kind of boat?   How much water does it draw?  What does your local ramp look like?  Is it paved long enough to get the boat down into the water?  

 

It's 26' excluding the bracket. No issues with the local ramps.

I'm surprised about the comments about the 6.0. From what I read on the other threads here I got the impression that the 6.0 was more reliable than the 7.3 as long as you kept it stock. Further reading about Suburbans make me think it's back in the mix. Really depends what website I am researching on. Some say diesel F350 or bust, others seem to think I could get by with a Tundra. I have analysis paralysis. 

Just went through this exorcize and ended up that most of the diesels from about 2002 until very recent are crap, took everyone a while to figure out the emissions crap and run from anything with a Ford 6.0. I ended up with a 2001 F350 crew cab srw with the 7.3 and auto with only 67,000 miles, I paid $16K which was higher than I wanted but at that mileage couldn't pass it up. The problem with the 7.3 vintage trucks is they are the only good thing out there in the used diesel market in your price range so values seam to be high. Transmission is the weak point but given your percentage of towing swap in a 6.0 trans cooler and keep going. I daily drive mine and as long as you realize this is a big truck not a luxury truck, I think it is fine. I have friends with newish diesel trucks and they are much quieter and have more power than mine but they payed 5 times as much so pick your poison.

Um... Why diesel? An F250/F350 with the V10 can be had for dirt cheap. Gas mileage will be slightly (not that much) worse than the diesel, but it's way cheaper to buy and maintain, smoother, quieter, and will tow 10k lbs just fine. A 2500 Silverado with the 6.0 can be had for pretty cheap as well, but for DD duty I'd rather drive a Ford.

morello159 said:

Um... Why diesel? An F250/F350 with the V10 can be had for dirt cheap. Gas mileage will be slightly (not that much) worse than the diesel, but it's way cheaper to buy and maintain, smoother, quieter, and will tow 10k lbs just fine. A 2500 Silverado with the 6.0 can be had for pretty cheap as well, but for DD duty I'd rather drive a Ford.

Yeah, I'd be looking at V10 Ford options vs diesel maintenance. You might find a V10 cheap enough make the dual car thing work. OTOH, if you are considering a $400/mo stack rent plus a vehicle that starts to add up to a solid payment on a nicer truck.

That's a lot of boat to tow all the time. I'm a boat guy and I trailer my 15' all the time, it's 45min to the closest water. We run 180 miles to the coast several times a year with it. We have talked about going up to 20', but anything over that just doesn't make sense to me unless i'm keeping it on the water. But, as you pointed out, slips are expensive as is dry storage for something that size with a T-top. I've sort of come to the conclusion that if I have a budget of X for a boat, it's better for to split it 50/50 or even 60/40 on a truck/boat combo if my ZJ won't tow it. It's easy to buy so much boat that you can't ever get to the water because you can't buy a reliable/comfortable tow vehicle.

What about a Tundra/Sequoia? I'd love to stick with Toyota if possible.

I don't know your boat ownership history, so don't think that I'm trying to be obtuse. 

What is your boat ownership history?

What is your trailer boat history?

What is your big boat history?

Trailer boats almost always are in much better shape when buying used. Why?  Because they don't get used. The first year of ownership is pretty busy, with each successive year falling off to near zero like bell curve. Hooking up the trailer, dragging a boat, launching it, and pulling it back out to drag home and park are a time-sucking PITA when all you really want to do is be on the boat.  Storage at home is yet another issue, as well as trailer maintenance, which is compounded by the boat being on it all the time.