How much truck do I want?

[bekosh]

Re: How much truck do I want?

Just to throw out another idea. If you only tow a couple of times a year, do you really need to own the truck?

It might be worth looking at renting a truck for those times that you need to tow and just buying a car for the daily driver.

I'm looking a moving up from my 21ft cuddy to a 26-28ft cruiser and am considering handling the towing this way instead of having the big truck around all the time.

 

[JoLin]

Re: How much truck do I want?

Don't underestimate the weight of everything you'll be hauling. Almost everyone seems to.

24-26' small cruiser? My Chris Craft fits the definition and is at the 'short' end of your range.

Boat dry weight = 5250
1/2 tank gas and 20 gal. water = 450
Batteries, anchors and 'stuff' = 400 (?)

Add in the trailer (2009 Tidewater tandem = 1700 lbs.) and I'm hauling 8000 lbs. Pulling that weight is easy- a million vehicles can do it. Try turning or stopping it at highway speeds and you'll understand why you don't want to skimp on the vehicle.

My .02

 

[ezmobee]

Re: How much truck do I want?

Get a big 'ol tin Starcraft! You can tow 'em with just about anything

 

[Subliminal]

Re: How much truck do I want?

Interestingly enough, according to the manual on my wife's Equinox, the tow capacity also takes in account the load in the vehicle.

So, I have a 3500 lb. capacity, with 5, 200 lbers. in the car. Now I have a 2500 lb. tow capacity, because I'm already using a grand in the vehicle itself.

I like the buy American comment...wish everyone would.

 

[642mx]

Re: How much truck do I want?

I like the buy American comment...wish everyone would.

I like it too. My Tundra was made in the great State of Texas. Nissan Titans are made in Mississippi.

Now the classic (or so called) "domestics" could've been made in Mexico. All the "domestics" build trucks there.

Here's an interesting article about the most American made truck... and where the others fall. http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/2010/06/25/toyota-tundra-most-american/

 

[dbkerley]

Re: How much truck do I want?

I recently let my '94 F-350 7.3 go because I didn't need it any more. I have seen scale tickets @43k pounds on those trucks. Mine never pulled that heavy. I think I pulled around 25k a few times was about all. It was nearing 200k miles and felt like it was just breaking in. Great truck/drivetrain combo. I got a mixed average of around 17mpg with mods.

I currently tow with my '97 3/4 ton Dodge conversion van. Everything is heavy-duty and there is plenty of storage and seating. I told my wife that if it goes down, I'm going to pull the interior and all the cabinetry to reinstall in the boat. It will pull a 26'er comfortably with a weight distributing hitch. It also got about 17mpg on a recent trip to Destin (sans boat) and got 14mpg pulling the boat through the Ozarks.

I don't do notes on any of our vehicles and as a result I drive older stuff. Everything -parts, insurance,tags, taxes - is cheaper that way.

I couldn't recommend anything better than a good conversion van.

BTW - my '97 T-100 was the last year they were made in Japan. However, I did buy it from an American.

 

[Subliminal]

Re: How much truck do I want?

I like it too. My Tundra was made in the great State of Texas. Nissan Titans are made in Mississippi.

Now the classic (or so called) "domestics" could've been made in Mexico. All the "domestics" build trucks there.

Here's an interesting article about the most American made truck... and where the others fall. http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/2010/06/25/toyota-tundra-most-american/

That is a good article. I feel for the domestic car companies these days. They can't compete with the tax incentives foreign companies get to build cars in the US, so they have to move to places like Mexico (which just happens to be in America...just not the US).

Every truck I've ever owned has been 100% built in either US or Mexico...of course the newest was a 97, and it was newer by YEARS than the next newest.

My current truck has a German made transmission...I think that's about it though...no Chinese/Japanese parts on the whole thing.

Ah well...I'm just waiting for revolution. I just visited my family in WV. It's sad...we don't build anything anymore...I must have passed about 15 run down factories on the banks of the Ohio on the last 30 miles of that trip. Why? Can't afford to build in America anymore! Movin' to China...or Mexico.

But that's neither here nor there.

My answer to the OP:

Get a 89-93 D250 Extended Cab Cummins. 100k(ish) truck should run about $5k in great shape, get 20 MPG, last 500k miles and you'll still pass most everything on the road.

/rant

 

[18WCmerc]

Re: How much truck do I want?

sorry, didnt mean to start some shinanigans!

Just come from a long line of great americans, who are proud of their craftsmanship and military service,

Guess no one here has lived near a town where one of the big three factories have once exsisted. Its not pretty. Enjoy your Xterra parked next to your frontier. Don't worry though, we'll help pull your rig outta the ramp when it slips in. Xterra 4wd hubs crack me up BTW.

Work in the automotive field for longer than a day rather than taking your truck to the dealership and you'll know what the difference is between american and jap .... (Mexico/canada is in america) for those geographically challenged.


alrighty...gotta settle down....gotta watch Narrleaans smoke Farve....

Do you keep the Koran in the glove box of your titan?

lol, im done....im gettin banned now arnt I?

 

[642mx]

Re: How much truck do I want?

sorry, didnt mean to start some shinanigans!

Just come from a long line of great americans, who are proud of their craftsmanship and military service,

At one point, we where all foreigners... sometimes a lot of us forget that.

Guess no one here has lived near a town where one of the big three factories have once exsisted. Its not pretty.

Nope. But I do live down the road from a Whirlpool plant that my 90 year old Grandfather worked at... they recently packed it up and moved production to Mexico. Wanna guess why? Its the same reason the big 3 moved there plants.

Work in the automotive field for longer than a day rather than taking your truck to the dealership and you'll know what the difference is between american and jap ....

I did. I was a Ford tech for a long time. When I quit, I traded for Toyota's.

(Mexico/canada is in america) for those geographically challenged.

That may be true... but being such a proud American, you should know Canadians and Mexicans don't refer to themselves as Americans. Right?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: How much truck do I want?

Way off topic and heading south (literally). Closed.