Another 4WD/tow rig question

I used to tow a 3000lb 24ft closed trailer with a 3000 lb Mustang in it with a 1995 Suburban 1500 LT. It had the 350 TBI and 4 speed auto. While it was not a ball of fire, it held up fine and was very steady towing due to the weight and wheelbase of the Suburban. Mileage was about 15-16 at 70mph (empty) and about 7-8 towing at 65 mph. Never had an issue with the engine or trans. Very nice truck, awesome on long highway trips and cheap to operate. The 42 gallon tank was nice for towing too.

I use a 95 Grand Cherokee to tow my racecar around. I love it, and it works great. It has the 5.2L (318) with 370,000 kms and the QuadraTrac (full time 4WD) Goes anywhere and tows anything.

Only I do wish is that it had the SelctTrac so I could switch to 2WD to save gas. Fuel economy, and towing, don't really go together.

Most of the people that live in that area and need to drive in the snow have subarus. I dont think it gets bad enough you cant get somewhere in a subaru without the roads being closed.

ignorant wrote: An early 90's diesel ford will be the 7.3 IDI, non turbo. Slow but trusty.

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I noticed a couple of F250s with the turbo diesel (Powerstroke?) that are creeping into my budget. Quite high mileage (200k+) though. Anything to look out for on those, especially regarding the engine?

The thought of stupid amounts of low-down torque from 7.3l worth of turbo diesel are somewhat appealing.

Travis_K wrote: Most of the people that live in that area and need to drive in the snow have subarus. I dont think it gets bad enough you cant get somewhere in a subaru without the roads being closed.

I assumed that, but if I buy anything AWD I'd really want it to double as a tow rig, hence the preference for something truck-ish.

BoxheadTim wrote:

ignorant wrote: An early 90's diesel ford will be the 7.3 IDI, non turbo. Slow but trusty.

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I noticed a couple of F250s with the turbo diesel (Powerstroke?) that are creeping into my budget. Quite high mileage (200k+) though. Anything to look out for on those, especially regarding the engine? The thought of stupid amounts of low-down torque from 7.3l worth of turbo diesel are somewhat appealing.

Travis_K wrote: Most of the people that live in that area and need to drive in the snow have subarus. I dont think it gets bad enough you cant get somewhere in a subaru without the roads being closed.

I assumed that, but if I buy anything AWD I'd really want it to double as a tow rig, hence the preference for something truck-ish.

I had a 99 F250 4wd with the 7.3 and at 160k it drove like a new truck. My neighbor has over 300k on his. The 7.3 is really a great diesel engine.

In a Suburban 1500, I'd definitely want the '96+ Vortech engine over the TBI. A lot more power and maybe a tad more mileage. I had a '98 and '99 and they were great tow vehicles up to about 8000lbs. (Brakes were the only real issue in heavy towing)

Dad has a '99 2500 with the Vortech 454... extremely thirsty but routinely tows over 10k with no issues. I'd spring for the extra for a 6.5TD.

The 2000+ has much better brakes and steering, but the 5.3 is inferior to the 5.7 in low end torque and fuel mileage and no diesel option was available. I don't know much about the 2500 8L and the 6L wasn't immediately available.

I have a 5.3 Avalanche which I really like... ugly as sin but a real Swiss army knife of a vehicle. Only real downside is the poor mileage.

Short wheelbase vehicles (Broncos, Blazers, Rovers, G-Wagen, etc) just don't handle heavy loads as well even if they have plenty of power and brakes and "real" trucks tend to cost a lot more than a Suburban/Avalanche type.

(I was shopping for a 4 door, short bed, Ford 7.3TD or the same in a diesel Chevy with the Allison trans and was seeing prices 60-100% more than a comparable gas Suburban/ Avalanche)

Currently 125k troublefree miles on the Avalanche... Bill