I'm looking at getting a second car for when I graduate and it needs to be able to tow a 16' boat and trailer. It would be nice if it could also tow a car on a flatbed trailer as well (although that's not nearly as important). I'm looking for recommendations on what to get. It needs to be 4wd and it needs to be reliable (would become my daily driver). that's all i care about. would like to keep price at 5k and under. so throw me some options of what i should be looking for. (anyone know how much those old 4runners can pull? pulling the boat is probably fine but i doubt they could do a car easily)
if you want affordable and able to tow a car trailer, you are gonna want some kind of domestic, i cant say enough good things about my 1500 chev! its dead reliable, and gets great gas mileage for what it is.
doesn't matter. i've owned an f150 but i'm not committed to a brand. what about jeeps? those any good for towing?
anything newish <2001-3 is not a great idea (straight from a 30 year ford mechanic) they've been having all sorts of problems. other than that, what they said.
me old cherokee with an inline 6 will probably forever be my favorite car..i know u could tow with it but im not sure how well it would do pulling a car over long distances.
I had a 98 gmc sierra waterpump went out at 110,000 miles but thats all the trouble i had with the vehicle. If i had to buy a truck it would either be gmc or chev. Definitly find one with the towing package.
hmm, i really dont know, mine just just a 2wd v6, but it has hauled cars, with two v8s in the bed and an engine hoist, it didnt bat an eylash
I know the Jeeps have a pretty bad service record. I have pulled quite a few boats with a grand cherokee... does a pretty good job.
how much? i wasn't planning on buying one for a few more months since i have no place to put it right now
A buddy of mine has a 1991 GMC sierra Z71 package. Super reliable, tows cars, so it should handle the boat fine. decent offroad too, just with better tires. and he beats the thing to death, but it doesn't miss a beat.
Don't buy a jeep. I just got an 06 grand cherokee with less than 30k and it has been nothing but trouble. I have had a couple ford trucks and SUV's that have been great as long as you keep up on maintenance,.
my bro in Australia has a diesel 1... he tows a tinny (aluminum) fishing boat... but it isnt too big.. thing rocks...
well the old ones are listed at 3500 towing capacity which is more than enough for towing the lund rebel w/40hp motor and a full load of gear
+1 for GM pickups They are generally quite reliable and that body on frame won't break. A number of my friends have been buying used Suburbans to tow boats.
We plan on selling/trading in our 2000 ranger anytime now. Not real big or powerful but should handle a small boat with ease. Pretty sharp for a ranger 3" body lift, 32" BFGs and an extra set of 33s tint stereo etc..
I forester would pull a 16' lund. or an outback for that matter. I highly recommend the full size chevy 1500. Great truck. Was just out towing cars today with my friend in his. Pulling a full car trailer with a GC on it and other stuff the truck had zero issues. The 350 V8 is a great motor, lots of grunt in it. Also very reliable. The truck actually gets decent mileage when cruising on the the highway (70-80ish), the only real complaint is that the turning radius isnt that good. A suburban has a better steering rack and gets slightly better mileage (gearing). I would look for the 93+ I think there was a dash redesign in the 97-98 time frame.
TOYOTA would be the way to go id say. my buddy who actually is on the forum but isnt really all that active works at a toyota dealership in the shop. NMDAYTIME i think is his name on here. he could answer some questions about them. but as far as i know my close cousin owned a toyota truck and it ran forever! he got it when he was 16 and drove it for like 4 years with no issues. he kept up on things
yea i really like those 90-95 4runners. found a couple around here with fairly high miles but good price and look to be in good condition
if you're serious about towing a car. Chevy 350 pickup. avoid the 305 motor.....substantially inferior. Toyota's are a common second car for subaru guys (or vice versa). the 3.sl0w V6 doesn't really have any more power than the 2.4l 4-cyl, but is substantially less reliable (my 22RE 4-cyl was run without oil for ~300 miles!!!! and is still very rebuildable. the V6s have head gasket issues like no other). the 3.0 is very common in 2nd gen 4Runners. if you can, shoot for the 3rd gen ('96-'02) with the 3.4l V6. awesome motor, very reliable. and would even have enough grunt to haul a car around in town a bit (less than ~50mph). Jeeps are awesome, especially Cherokees. the 4.0l i6 is indestructible. doesn't matter what trans. but make sure it's part-time 4WD (np231). the tcases with full-time are substantially weaker. and the Cherokees are unibody, so similar weight to your STi (I'm not sure if that says more about the jeep or the STi :roll. If you feel like getting into offroading at all.......a Cherokee is without a doubt the #1 option. I hate Fords, all of 'em. it's a personal thing, I admit. but I've spent more time trying to fix them than riding in a functional one. garbage IMHO. although, the only one I know of not to have trouble is my buddy's dad's 150. I don't remember what year, but it's got the Triton 5.7l V8. he hauls his Jeep Wrangler around behind it, and it does pretty darn well. and beats the hell out of it on in the fields. so they're not all bad, just most of them :biggrin: or a BE Legacy with the EZ30D.....wouldn't haul the car, but wouldn't bat an eye at the fishing boat.
First chev was a 91 k1500. 390k on it when i scraped it. I *thought* the motor was going at 275k, but it was the timing chain that was so loose under the cover i was getting some missing. Other than that, I put a new tranny in it at 250k and ran like a top. Now I am driving my 96 k1500 with about 140k on it and I am still getting 16-17 in town and 20+mpg on the highway. If you can get a 96 or newer, you would be getting into the vortec motors and they have TONS more torque than the old throttle body motors. Russ
I'd say chevy is your best bet. Either get a little older one with the 350, or if you can find a good 4x4 one with the 5.3Liter vortec you'll be very happy. It should tow what you need to with no problems, and for some reason, the 5.3 get amazing mileage (20+). Or for $5-6k you can probably get a little older 3/4 ton. It'll still have the 350, but better gearing, a stronger tranny, and of your lucky a LSD.
I had a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 and now have a 2006 Ram 1500. I have nothing but good things to say about them! I've never had any problems with them!! They tow a car like nothings behind you, good gas milage, Good power 345hp and 375 tq the 2006s have the MDS so it only runs on 4 cyl when just cruisin. That works really good! Helps save Gas. When the 2009s come out I will get one of those, More power and a lot of new goodies that tickle my fancy, lol. I suppose it all comes down to what you can afford and how much towing you plan on doing. The Toyota trucks especially the new ones seem to be pretty good, as do the Chev Pickups. If I didnt get a Dodge Again, Chev or Toyota would be my next choice.
Please get a mid 90's jeep.. you seriously wont regret it. i believe my jeep weighed in at 3186lbs with a near empty gas tank and no one inside.
I guess with the Jeeps, you either love them or you hate them. My buddies 95 Jeep Grand Cherokee ran like a top but everything else gave him problems.
thanks guys for the input. I dont have space for one until the beginning of summer but i've started looking into jeeps - I don't really need a fullsized truck, I think the jeep fits my needs a bit better.
My roomates jeep is a piece of junk, so is my buddy's, so is my gf's dads... I haven't been around one that hasn't had a lot of problems (however, none motor related). My '98 Ranger 4.0 4x4 mt is a trooper. I bought it with 125k miles and have put 10k miles of hell on it since. Pulling trailers/boats, hauling snowmobiles/bikes in the bed, plowing through mud and snow, yanking cars out of ditches and snowbanks, etc. It's done it all, without a single issue. And I hate fords...
what kind of jeeps are these? The North Shore Wheelers are almost exclusively jeeps. and most of them are 4.0l Cherokees. and they get they're fair share of abuse......and come back for more. the V8s are pretty problematic. the full-time transfer cases are pretty much junk. the axles aren't exactly overbuilt.....but on stock tires and diffs, plenty. found it......cherokee abuse: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qIS7VJz47kY
They are all mid to late 90's Grand Cherokee Laredo's with the 4.0l. Between the three jeeps I know of two transmissions replaced-the other is on it's way, two transfer cases, 875251 little electrical problems, two of them have the part time 4x4 and are permanently stuck in 4x4, and a lot of front suspension issues. Also none of them have working A/C compressors anymore, and I don't believe any of them have more than 130k on them. Sorry carl, I don't want to talk you out of a jeep, but these are my only experiences with them. I think the straight cherokees are a lot better...? ps: chux that video is amazing. The cherokees are way more bad ass than the grand cherokees imo.
I am bumping this because I am again in need of a truck. Things have changed, I now need one that is capable of pulling a car and trailer plus a full load in the bed. it must have 4wd, be an automatic, have an extended cab of some sort. also preferential to have a long bed and be a 3/4 ton or more. anyone know how reliable a diesel k2500 with 225,000 on it would be?
My bro has a 10yo Cherokee "Classic" with the 4.0L I6. A bit rattle-y but otherwise strong like bull. I will steal it from him one day.
Diesels are very durable, and last forever, the only thing i would worry about is the trans, but i know they are beefier then the gas counterparts.
yea i keep finding all these super high mileage work trucks that otherwise look great but I'm concerned about how reliable they are. if I'm dropping over a grand on entry fees alone at regional rallies, I damn well want to make sure I get there
I have a long story about chev diesels that i'll make short, my father and his buddies go on a snowmobile trip every year, they have a 8 or so spot enclosed snowmobile trailor, they burned up 3 rear ends in 3 brand new chevrolet pickups (gas) that had the "towing" package...they relied on one of the buddies that had an older suburban diesel with 200K miles on it already, it pulled it to MI and back without issue.
my old man has a Chevy truck with the full Allison tranny and diff set up (2500HD) and we have never had a single issue with it. it always has atleast 4,000 pounds on and in the back, and frequently is pulling some form of a trailer (snowmobile, car trailer+car, ect...)
What year? What transmission? In general, newer diesels are great, but one thing to check is how old the injectors are. I've been told by guys who run Fords that the injectors (very high pressure these days) eventually start to fail, and they're fairly spendy to replace. Might want to look at a Suburban, given your requirements for a crew cab, as the Suburban will let you be more flexible (and provide more security for gear than a topper). Get something with a fairly long wheelbase too, it'll make towing a lot more pleasant. I've towed with a borrowed Bronco, with a V8, and I'd really rather tow with my K1500 and it's V6. The power was nice, but the trailer really wanted to tell the Bronco where to go, and not vice versa, where with my truck it's been no problem (just slow to get to speed). Most tow rigs I've had experience with weren't 4WD (other than mine, but I've never used 4WD while towing and it's not really much of a tow rig). I'm not sure the lower fuel economy and higher (potential) maintenance expenses make it worthwhile. Though I suppose you could mount up a plow and try to make some extra cash when it snows Reminds me, the brakes are out on my truck and I need to fix them, but I keep putting it of because it's so %^#$% cold.
