Need recommendations

[hibbert6]

I've finally given away my 15'tri hull and am in the market for an 18'-19' bowrider. I need recommendations for a tow vehicle.

If I'm lucky enough to find a late model used bowrider with an Outboard, it will weigh 1900lbs, + trailer + gear. (3500#?) An i/o will be closer to 2600# + trailer + gear. (4000#?)

We currently tow with a 2005 Ford Freestar, one of the ballsiest minivans out there. But even with full tow gear, the limit is 3500 lbs. As it has 100k miles, we might be replacing it soon, anyway.

So, I'm thinking I'll get my wife a regular car, (she puts on 2x the miles that I do) and I'll buy a tow vehicle to commute in (about 8k miles/yr). No snow in our area, but moderate hill climbing to get to the lakes...

I know that I don't need a Suburban, but I will need seating for 5, plus interior cargo space for the dog, etc. I'd like to spend about $20k or less. Any recommendations on a vehicle that I won't have to work on?

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

[faspflores]

Re: Need recommendations

i have a 19 foot bayliner Capri I/o and I tow it with a 1994 suburban 3/4 ton. With boat loaded and 9 people in the burb you don't even know its back there..........if you plan on taking freinds and kids get a burben

 

[BeaufortTJustice]

Re: Need recommendations

I've been pretty pleased with my 2007 Tahoe. It pulls my boat easily and has adequate interior space. Just turned 40k miles without any mechanical issues. It did have an electrical issue at about 25k, but dealer quickly identified and fixed. 5 adults would be a bit cramped on a long trip, but would not be bad for < 1hr trips.

In this area, the 07's are in the low to mid $20k range (for LS 2wd), a bit over what you said. Maybe look for an '05 or '06. Those are older bodystyle, but same drivetrain, i believe. Buddy of mine has an Expedition and the interior room on that is comparable and should tow your boat ok. Haven't priced one, though.

I used to have a Nissan Pathfinder that was rated for 5000 lbs(IIRC), but the interior was not big enough to accomodate 5. It just wasn't wide enough. It was fast, though. I think the newer generation is larger, however, so that also may be an option for you.

I'm sure there are many other vehicles that would suit your purposes, but I am just not that familiar with them. Let us know what you end up deciding on.

 

[N3UP]

Re: Need recommendations

I don't think you're going to get anything brand new for 20K that meets your requirements, but in the used market you ought to be able to find something.

For 4-5K towing capability, you're going to need something on a 1/2 ton chassis minimum.

Seating for 5 plus the dog & gear I'd go with a Crewcab pickup with a cap, or a fullsize van.

F150 Supercrew would be my first choice, or an E150 Club wagon.

An alternative would be an Expedition.
I'm a Ford guy, but if you must go GM, I'm not sure what Chevy/GMC's offerings are as far as crewcabs go, but a Tahoe would be in the same class as an Expy.
If you're a Mopar guy I think you're pretty much stuck with a Ram Quadcab.

Engine wise, again since I'm a Ford guy, you will want a V8.
The 4.6 has been proven nearly bulletproof, and it can tow up to about 5K or so, but keep in mind that 4.6L is just 281 cubic inches....It's a pretty ballsy motor, but you're going to work it pretty hard towing 5K. The 5.4 is a better choice, but do your research as the 5.4 has had some years that are not so good.
The issues on the 5.4's are cam phasors, and blowing spark plugs out of the heads, and/or breaking them off in the heads when changing them.
Check out sites like Ford-Trucks.com, F150online.com and F150forum.com for info on the Fords.
As long as you can get the right year, I wouldn't be afraid of the 5.4L.

With any make, make sure you get the factory tow package.
That way you will get the bigger battery, alternator, trans cooler, and proper gear ratio for towing.

You want something in the neighborhood of 3.55 at least, going to 4.10 or something in that area will get you better towing capacity and performance, but your gas mileage will take a hit.

Even with factory tow packages there is usually some room for improvement with aftermarket and sometimes OEM addons.
The trans cooler is the area with the most potential for improvement, you really can't keep your tranny too cool when towing. There are scads of aftermarket coolers out there that can be mounted in places that are sometimes better than the factory locations.
Think airflow, airflow, airflow.....

For 20K in your budget, it's going to take some searching, especially with your requirement of 5 passengers, pooch & gear.....

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Need recommendations

There's a wide range of vehicles that will tow 4000# easily. I'm not of the camp that you need the biggest thing out there to tow with (even though my tow vehicle is a 3/4 ton Chevy with the 8.1 L motor). Figure out first if you want a truck, suv, van etc. Then look at the tow ratings of the ones you are considering. To be entirely safe, plan a 25 - 50% safety margin - so look for something with a 5 - 6K tow rating. Trailblazers and Exploders come to mind in a midsize SUV, any half ton pickup for truck. Good luck and happy shopping.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Need recommendations

Agreed any V8 half-ton pickup (or SUV) will do the job. Opting for the bigger V8 will do the job better.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Need recommendations

I tow a 20 ft bowrider with a Toyota Tacoma V6 and it works fine. A Nissan Frontier or Ford Explorer would also work well.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Need recommendations

Seating for five and a dog plus interior cargo space means a pickup, even a crew cab, is out. $20k and under price range means a burban, etc. is out unless you want to buy something with higher mileage, which isn't necessarily a no-no if it's been babied. However, for your needs it would be hard to beat an Expy with the 5.4 V8. You can easily get a well appointed 4x4 with decent mileage in your price range (at least you could in my neck of the woods). Until last fall I towed our barge with a full sized Z71 crew cab. With my family of three, a small dog, and one of my daughter's friends and our junk we were packed in like sardines with miscellaneous gear piled around us. The combination of that and the constant quality issues I was experiencing with the truck convinced me it was time to make a change. I started poking around and found that the Tahoes, Burbans, etc. were overpriced (IMHO), so I started looking at Expeditions and found them to be a much better value (again, IMHO). I'm now driving a 2005 Eddie Bauer Expedition 4x4 and I love it. It tows much better than the pickup did, and it's much better suited to family trips. I believe the issues N3UP mentions were pretty well ironed out by 2006 (maybe 2007). Like any vehicle they're not perfect, but given how little you'll be driving it I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better fit.

 

[cribber]

Re: Need recommendations

I have a Glastron GT-185 that's 18.5 feet with a 3.0L I/O that's towed by a 2004 Pacifica. It as a clss III hitch and rated for 3500#. Pulls fine and never really feel th boat back there. Stick to a single axled setup and you can tow with most V6 SUVs rated for 3500 pounds.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Need recommendations

I agree with Incoop, I buy and sell vehicles on the side and haven't owned a Tahoe in a long time, they're overpriced and rarely come with 3rd row seating. The front seats are a lot different vs the Expeditions too, you seem to sit lower in the Tahoe, more like a car which isn't comfortable to me.

Somebody above mentioned Explorers, I owned several of them and loved them. Then I had twins and 3 car seats wouldn't fit so I bought an Expedition.

After driving the Expeditions I would never buy another Explorer. There's not more than 1MPG difference, and the Expedition does better when towing. The extra room is nice and the difference between them is night and day. Only complaint is that my wife hates driving it becasue it's so much bigger vs the Explorer.

I've had a couple now with the 5.4, they were great. My current one has the 4.6 and gas mileage between them is nearly identical. I didn't think I'd like it but I haven't noticed a difference in engines towing around 3000lbs. The 4.6 didn't like pulling 6000lbs, but that may have been more due to my inexperience with that weight. People regularly pulled heavy things with those early 5.4's and they didn't have much more HP and torque than the newer 4.6. That being said, they upgraded the newer 5.4 and and my next one will have the bigger motor.

 

[HollaGeo]

Re: Need recommendations

i have a 19 foot bayliner Capri I/o and I tow it with a 1994 suburban 3/4 ton. With boat loaded and 9 people in the burb you don't even know its back there..........if you plan on taking freinds and kids get a burben

A 1994...I thought all those were rust buckets. Not trying to funny...