What utility/towing/hauling beater- a sanity check.

I am looking for a utility vehicle. It will not be daily driver, but it will probably see use at least 2-3 times a month in one either towing or hauling crap. While it won't be disposable, I expect it will be close to it. I just bought a Grand Cherokee at the insurance auction fairly cheap (about $1100 invested so far), but I am second guessing myself and thinking a truck might be better.

Vehicle requirements:

1. Cheap to buy and easy to maintain

2. Fairly modern. I want airbags as well as good selection of parts in the U-Pull lots. Probably around 1994 or later.

3. Automatic transmission (wife is going to have to be able to use it, too)

4. Towing Capacity of up to 5000 pounds or so. If it doesn't have a towing package, it will get at least a transmission cooler.

5. 4x4 This thing is also going to do part-time duty as a beach buggy to fuel my new-found surf fishing hobby.

6. Cost of no more than $4000

Option One:

Get a utility trailer. The Grand Cherokee will do almost everything I want it to do, it just doesn't have a bed. Getting a good utility/car trailer would solve this problem.

Cons- I'd have to drive it (at least at first) since towing anything larger than a jonboat scares the pants off my wife. This could be overcome with practice. I'd also have to store a trailer as well as the utility vehicle, but this is doable where I live.

Option Two:

Small truck. A mid-90s Ranger, Dakota or S-10 V-6 with a towing package would do most everything.

Cons: Absolute towing capacity depends on options, and in order to feel safe I'd really want trailer brakes. Prices and conditions are all over the map, too.

Option Three:

A 1/2 or 3/4 ton full size truck. A full size will do everything I want, it can hold more than a small pickup and there is the added bonus of being easily able to handle up to 5000 lbs. in towing without having the pucker factor a small pickup truck would have. Cons: Price. Full sized trucks are never cheap here in Raleigh, NC unless they are complete basket cases.

I'm thinking that in the short term, my best option is to just pick up a trailer and just haul it behind the Grand Cherokee. I can load my mulch and stuff on there if I fab up some sides and also haul a car if I get one big enough. If I get tired of mucking about with a trailer, I can bide my time and find a really good deal on a truck.

Am I on the right track here? Check my thinking, please.

You bought the Cherokee - run it into the ground.

Utility trailers are cheap and I have one of the HF ones but I hate storing it. Save and buy a truck down the road.

Option 3!

Specifically, a 4x4 1-ton duallie.

In reply to 1988RedT2:

What is with the rotary people and their unmitigated insanity?

Depending on the frequency of towing, sticking with the Jeep and renting a trailer may be a good option.

I've gradually come to the conclusion that pickups are popular for a good reason. I posted my 3/4 ton pickup for sale here but have come to realize I would miss it too much. When you need it, you need it. I hate how big it is and how bad the gas mileage is, but when towing 5,000 pounds it barely blinks and filling the bed completely full of top soil doesn't even register on the "this is dangerous" meter like it would with a lighter truck or SUV. The phrase "right tool for the job" comes to mind, and what you describe in your requirements is a big 4x4 truck.

But for now option 3a, the "use the Jeep and bide your time looking for a bargain" one, seems best since you already have the Jeep. Unless you think you could flip the jeep for a profit and use that to help fund a truck.

What are you hauling or towing? I tow a 17' aluminum boat, and have towed a car hauler and non-running jeep wranger, with no problem, in my 2004 grand cherokee. I wouldn't, however, tow a 28' travel trailer, even if it technically fit under the weight limit. That to me is your deciding factor - you can cover everything else but towing large loads with your jeep (although cargo capacity isn't the greatest either, if that's an issue for you).

I like the Jeep option. I doubt towing a car with a small pickup would be any less frightening than towing with a Jeep - the Jeep's probably a bit heavier than a Ranger.

Good question, klb67! I should've put that in there.

'm going to be towing a 15' Aluminum boat and the occasional project car/trailer or car/dolly combination, depending if I get a big trailer or not.

Suburban circa '94-'96. Cheap, will run forever, can tow anything you need, great hauling capability.

I had a '93 for several years. Only drove it a few times a month, but was happy to have it when I needed it.

dculberson wrote: I've gradually come to the conclusion that pickups are popular for a good reason. I posted my 3/4 ton pickup for sale here but have come to realize I would miss it too much. When you need it, you need it. I hate how big it is and how bad the gas mileage is, but when towing 5,000 pounds it barely blinks and filling the bed completely full of top soil doesn't even register on the "this is dangerous" meter like it would with a lighter truck or SUV. The phrase "right tool for the job" comes to mind, and what you describe in your requirements is a big 4x4 truck.

This pretty well sums up my thinking on the topic. I've had my C-30 Dooley for over 10 years. I might put a little over 1000 miles a year on it. It's now registered as an antique, so it costs very little to keep. But when I need a truck, it's there, ready to work.

From folks that have owned them, the Grand Cherokees seem likely to nickel-and-dime you to death. They also get pretty abysmal fuel economy for their size and aren't especially capacious.

I love my 3/4 ton truck, and when it finally gasps its last breath of air to combustion ignite with a squirt of diesel fuel, I'm going to buy another 3/4 ton truck, and probably another diesel.

That said, I don't have airbags, its a stick shift, and its about the most un-chick-friendly vehicle built in the last 20 years. My wife is a saint for even riding in it- and she physically can't drive it, as the clutch throw is too long for her legs and the shifter throw is too long for her arms. I tried to teach her to drive it one time and she almost plowed through a herd of cows. That belonged to the farmer we got our milk from. True story.

You'll look long and hard and likely in vain to find a 3/4 ton in your price range that's a diesel, but if you're using it infrequently, a gas-hog is probably your best option. Any of the big three's offerings are probably fine. My preferences are extended cab (regular cabs are maddeningly small) and a long bed (short beds are maddeningly useless). Depending on what you plan on towing or hauling, even a 1/2 ton truck may be enough. A compact truck (or, as a friend of mine used to call them, "half-assed pickup trucks") probably won't be.

This is a dream I am pursuing. I am trying to find and buy one....but will probably end up building exactly what I want.

Klayfish wrote: Suburban circa '94-'96. Cheap, will run forever, can tow anything you need, great hauling capability. I had a '93 for several years. Only drove it a few times a month, but was happy to have it when I needed it.

This or the smaller Tahoe. Plus depending on what you are towing/hauling, WHEELBASE is a factor and the GC doesn't have a lot of it. Lots of people are dumping the Burbs and Hoe's for "crappy" gas mileage. I don't find 16-19mpg bad for such a vehicle. Sure it sucks filling up a 25+ gal tank@$3.50+/gal..... but you can sure as E36 M3 fix them with a butter knife, duct tape, and baler twine in a pinch.

I had this lovely post typed up about my 4WD MPV. But it puts me pretty much in the same post as Brett Murphy....I have a utility trailer to pull around when necessary.

I think you would be better served by a trailer than shopping around for 1st gen 4WD MPV's since you already have the Jeep. Or just get a beater pickup.

And besides, there are probably better options than the MPV. I just got one because....because. I was curious. It seemed like a good idea at the time. When's the last time you even saw one? I do like it but wonder if a different vehicle would have served my needs better. 95% of the time its just taking trash to the collection center once a week, and weekend Lowes Depot trips, sometimes with the trailer. So it does its job. Its kind of underpowered, and gets only 17 mpg. Parts are harder to get than domestics. 183k and its still going strong so I cant complain.

** What is with the rotary people and their unmitigated insanity?

From what I understand, it seems to be a problem with their lobes.

When you get a full sized truck, you can now easily tow a race car. Easily. This will make a lot of projects viable that would otherwise be out of your reach with something that has a lower towing capacity. You can consider this a positive or a negative.

My F150 is cheap to maintain and a cheap buy. Tows without a problem and the mileage barely drops when you do. Downside, fuel mileage ranges from 10-14 mpg. It does hold about 33 gallons of gasoline, though...

Brett_Murphy wrote: Good question, klb67! I should've put that in there. 'm going to be towing a 15' Aluminum boat and the occasional project car/trailer or car/dolly combination, depending if I get a big trailer or not.

You can haul around a 15' aluminum boat with just about any car or truck. If the car trailer projects are few and far between, I'd rent something to haul them, put a hitch on the daily driver for hauling the boat, and put the rest of my money back in the bank.

Stuart-

I should've been more specific about the boat/trailer combo. It is going to wind up weighing at least 2500 pounds when I'm done. It isn't a small 15 foot jonboat (I haul that with my Forester), it is a steel trailer with an enclosed bow runabout that is getting a 50HP Merc engine.

Picture of the shell:

The trailer I'm going to be using is a bit more solid than that.

You have a Grand Cherokee. You want a pickup. What you need is a Sawsall.

EvanR wrote: You have a Grand Cherokee. You want a pickup. What you need is a Sawsall.

Say! That is most definitely an improvement!

EvanR wrote: You have a Grand Cherokee. You want a pickup. What you need is a Sawsall.

...and Photoshop...

I had the same debate some years ago... ended up with a '95 Cummins 4x4.

It's a PITA sometimes... ok - most of the time - especially when it breaks... which is often... my VW is more reliable... and cheaper to fix... and it's always in the way and costs a bit to register and keep insured... but the truck does the hauling thing without breaking a sweat and I keep dreaming that some day I'll buy a nice goose-neck 2-car enclosed trailer.

But what I'm really trying to say is consider how much you'll use it and whetehr or not that level of use is worth the added expense of another vehicle.

Ian F wrote:

EvanR wrote: You have a Grand Cherokee. You want a pickup. What you need is a Sawsall.

...and Photoshop...

Yeah, well... that's what I get from 30 seconds of Googling.

Land Rover