Tow rig ideas, 5k towing

I used to always have an old Ford truck around. '72 F250 Camper Special (400M), '89 F250 (5.8L), '78 F350 (390), and '86 F250 (6.0 idi). They all worked great for truck stuff and would often sit for a month with no use. Sometimes things got sketchy on a 100+ mile drive, but they always made it there and back.

Why waste time with AC when you have a 'vent window' to channel air across the seats. Steering? ...just keep that steady back-and-forth rhythm with the wheel to keep it between the lines. A good wooden stake for a dipstick or a reserve tank to swap to and there was never any need to fix the gas gauge. Watch the coolant temp and the oil pressure and go all day just adding a little fluid here and there as needed.

Not much *had* to be done to them. Over about 20 years of Ford trucks, a rebuilt carb, fuel pump, U-joints, and a set of glow plugs for the idi. Sure, there was lots of stuff I could have done, but they weren't that kind of truck. Their only job was to do truck stuff and they did that fine. Not sure why I ever sold any of them, but they always sold for about what I got them for and another would always turn up in the driveway not long after one left.

Since you mentioned Caprice...IMHO it's hard to beat the utility per used $$ of a 2001-2006 Suburban. Parts are plentiful and cheap if/when you need them. If you are looking in a rust-prone state, check the brake lines, then the rockers. 

Our F350 only had the 390; the motor had some minor mods (carb & exhaust) that likely released some extra power (maybe all of 10-15).

Looks like you're a Ford man, but I'll just throw it out there since they are available CHEAP (relative to other things from the brand), your wife will be happy to drive it in the winter (though probably more like 17-18mpg unloaded/not towing on the highway), and it'll handle 5k lbs easily. Plus low maintenance, bulletproof, good tower, etc

05-07 Toyota Sequioa. The one Toyota truck that nobody wants for some reason (so they're like half the price of a 4Runner from the same year, even though they cost double new). Same drivetrain as the Tundra, and while it's "luxury" to some degree, it doesn't have the usual "lots of luxury stuff that breaks" or expensive parts....everything on it is pretty much parts-bin Toyota stuff.

I've been towing all over the place with mine for several years (usually about 4500-5000 lbs), and several people I know have gotten them in the last year or two on my advice and are all happy with them. You can find them with under 150k miles (which isn't much on this drivetrain) for pretty cheap....like $5k-$8k. Or less if you get an 02-04, but they're a little less powerful and not as good of a transmission.

So, that's my pitch. YMMV.

I'm weird in that my favorite tow vehicle I've owned was a 76 f150. 300i6 and stock everything it towed my 2800lb Capri on a 1900lb trailer easily. I never had brake issues but we had trailer brakes and I live in a fairly flat state 

If I could find a quad cab as clean as that single cab was for cheap enough I would buy it. It's the truck I look for every now and then when I'm truck shopping

We recently acquired this diamond in the rough from a friend of ours.  As we don't (didn't) have a truck, and the only thing we've got registered and insured with a trailer hitch is a 4 cylinder Jeep Wrangler.

SWMBO was disappointed it didn't come with the pup.  Expect "build" thread soon-ish.

I flat towed my Rampage from Texas to Florida and back behind a 94 Dodge B250 that was basically worthless before i resurrected it. It's had a few issues and almost anything old will. 

As far as the weight of the rampage, that's about as easy a thing to tow as it gets. Almost anything could pull it. You should be deciding more on comfort and reliability than sheer capability, imo. 

I definitely wouldn’t go with the Ranger. Half-ton truck is probably the sweet spot, but the F250 will tow it like it’s not even there. FWIW, my manual V10 4x4 F250 on aggressive mud tires gets 13 empty at 80 mph and 10-11 towing a 20’ enclosed trailer. And it absolutely doesn’t notice it’s back there. 

Sequoia or F-xxx v10 gets my vote.

I'll cast another vote for a well cared for old truck.

I've been using my free Chevy 88 Silverado for truck stuff for about 10 years. The odometer quit in the early 2000s with 243k miles. 

Their estimate for the mileage when I got the truck was about 350k. I've taken it on trips of up to about 1800 miles, and used it to bring home both of my miatas. I'm going to buy a trailer soon so I don't have to drive my ES car to events.

That said, I'm considering a Tahoe or Sequoia. It pulls fine, stops fine, barely uses any oil, but the single cab isn't functional for a family of four. 

The problem with replacing it, is that every time I drive it I think I must be nuts to think of buying another used vehicle instead. It just runs so well.

2016, 1000 mile round trip visit to the previous owner.

2018, bringing home Miata number one.

2019, Miata number two.

From what I've read here, the U-Haul trailers are heavy, but it doesn't seem to have any noticeable affect on the truck when towing a Miata.

dxman92 said:

Sequoia or F-xxx v10 gets my vote.

As a long time owner of 1970s Ford F-xxxs, I'd say go Sequoia if you plan to "Tow 4k miles to Gainesville for challenge" or at the oldest, a late 90s Fxxx. Unless you want the drive there to be 'the Challenge'.

Ready for another Fly and Drive yet?

John Welsh said:

In reply to Antihero :

You mentioned the possibility of towing a 3,200 lb Caprice. Could this Caprice possibly be the "truck" sometimes when not being "the cargo"? 

It was actually my first thought and hey.....2 challenge cars in one trip sounds good, right?

According to Chevy I can tow 1000 pounds though which seems stupid low

Since you’re a Ford guy, I’ll say F150 over the F250.

I had an 00 F250 4x4 7.3 and an 01 Excursion 7.3. Those were my first 2 tow vehicles after buying into the diesel, 3/4 ton, overkill is good hype that forum discussions inevitably go to. They towed well but the ride quality sucked when not towing, the steering boxes were E36 M3, they smell like diesel all the frickin time and were noisy af. I towed miatas in both open uhaul trailers and enclosed 20 footers. 

I switched to an 01 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3 and towing the Miata on an open trailer didn’t feel much different but ride quality was much improved when not towing. I paid around $5k. I actually enjoyed driving that truck after the Fords.  I suspect the F150 would offer the same experience. 

If I towed enclosed trailers or heavier loads, the 3/4 ton and/or diesel make sense but not for towing less than 6k lbs. 

fwiw I now have an 08 Tundra with the 5.7. The 6 speed auto transmission is awesome. So is the 400 torque but the extra 2 gears are what I notice the most when towing and makes the most of the engine’s torque. I wish my old Silverado had a 6 speed auto. That would have been  near perfect. 

irish44j said:

Looks like you're a Ford man, but I'll just throw it out there since they are available CHEAP (relative to other things from the brand), your wife will be happy to drive it in the winter (though probably more like 17-18mpg unloaded/not towing on the highway), and it'll handle 5k lbs easily. Plus low maintenance, bulletproof, good tower, etc

05-07 Toyota Sequioa. The one Toyota truck that nobody wants for some reason (so they're like half the price of a 4Runner from the same year, even though they cost double new). Same drivetrain as the Tundra, and while it's "luxury" to some degree, it doesn't have the usual "lots of luxury stuff that breaks" or expensive parts....everything on it is pretty much parts-bin Toyota stuff.

I've been towing all over the place with mine for several years (usually about 4500-5000 lbs), and several people I know have gotten them in the last year or two on my advice and are all happy with them. You can find them with under 150k miles (which isn't much on this drivetrain) for pretty cheap....like $5k-$8k. Or less if you get an 02-04, but they're a little less powerful and not as good of a transmission.

So, that's my pitch. YMMV.

I admit I'm more Ford than anything but I'm open to whatever tool works best. I gave owned more Ford's than anything so it is a comfort zone to me

Vigo said:

I flat towed my Rampage from Texas to Florida and back behind a 94 Dodge B250 that was basically worthless before i resurrected it. It's had a few issues and almost anything old will. 

As far as the weight of the rampage, that's about as easy a thing to tow as it gets. Almost anything could pull it. You should be deciding more on comfort and reliability than sheer capability, imo. 

That's my thought too with the rampage, it doesn't feel like I really need to go for a super duty in this case

Buy my 7.3 excursion. I'll add in my 20ft car hauler for a total price of 9k 

If you are only ever going to drive it with a load on the hitch, the F250 is the right answer. If you ever want to drive it unloaded, get the Sequoia. 

The 70s F150 and the Ranger will never be the right answer for what you are doing. Great trucks, but not for that.

Listening to Dwight's experience with an old truck- you may get good looks, but you'll not enjoy the ride much.

Not sure why the Ranger is getting dumped on so much- for most of our towing from '97-'12 it was with a Ranger, and they tow just fine.  We pulled things to Florida multiple times from Michigan- and the only version that really struggled was the 3.0l when we decided to take the steeper hills on the way back.   It will work, and will be far, far, far more comfortable and easier to live with than any of the older trucks.  And for most of the versions that come with a tow package (rated for 5500lb, which means it goes up a steep pass in the desert, during the summer, pulling about 1000lb more than that) also have an extended cab- with 4 doors.  Which gives you great access to the rear of the cab to put your stuff.

We never had a stability problem with the Ranger- the only issue that I ever had was the shocks died quickly, so I got some air helper shocks- which fixed everything immediately.  

Good luck.

AAZCD said:

dxman92 said:

Sequoia or F-xxx v10 gets my vote.

As a long time owner of 1970s Ford F-xxxs, I'd say go Sequoia if you plan to "Tow 4k miles to Gainesville for challenge" or at the oldest, a late 90s Fxxx. Unless you want the drive there to be 'the Challenge'.

Ready for another Fly and Drive yet?

Tempting I admit but probably not gonna do another fly and drive this year lol

dropstep said:

I'm weird in that my favorite tow vehicle I've owned was a 76 f150. 300i6 and stock everything it towed my 2800lb Capri on a 1900lb trailer easily. I never had brake issues but we had trailer brakes and I live in a fairly flat state 

 

If I could find a quad cab as clean as that single cab was for cheap enough I would buy it. It's the truck I look for every now and then when I'm truck shopping

I am a huge fan of the 300 i6. In the 80s the rating that the v8s were getting ......there was really no reason to get anything but the 300 or the diesel too. I towed with a 351 van from 88 and it was utterly gutless

alfadriver said:

Listening to Dwight's experience with an old truck- you may get good looks, but you'll not enjoy the ride much.

Not sure why the Ranger is getting dumped on so much- for most of our towing from '97-'12 it was with a Ranger, and they tow just fine.  We pulled things to Florida multiple times from Michigan- and the only version that really struggled was the 3.0l when we decided to take the steeper hills on the way back.   It will work, and will be far, far, far more comfortable and easier to live with than any of the older trucks.  And for most of the versions that come with a tow package (rated for 5500lb, which means it goes up a steep pass in the desert, during the summer, pulling about 1000lb more than that) also have an extended cab- with 4 doors.  Which gives you great access to the rear of the cab to put your stuff.

We never had a stability problem with the Ranger- the only issue that I ever had was the shocks died quickly, so I got some air helper shocks- which fixed everything immediately.  

Good luck.

Thats good info to hear. I do want to stay away from the SOHC 4.0 so imight have to go older or the 3.0 with the ranger but it would also fill another role for me and be able to be used as a winter truck for my wife

In reply to Antihero :

I'm not aware of any issues with the 4.0l OHC engine.  What have you heard about it?  I thought it was a great engine in the truck.  It's not at all related to the Modular family of engines....

Not gonna lie, I love my V-10 Excursion:  The Big Ugly Truck for Towing.  Gas mileage (or mile gassage in this case) is abysmal, but it is rock solid on the road with the trailer.  The gassers tend to be at a pretty steep discount to the PSDs and do just fine for moderate towing.  Personally, I like the idea of a truck bed but I much prefer the SUV body style since I don't often have dirty things that can get wet and won't get stolen.  It's a bit overkill for only towing 5k, but it lets you keep your options open!

I towed with a '99 regular cab, long-bed Ranger.  I can't recall if it was the 3.0 or the 4.0, but I think it was the 3.  I was pushing the limits pretty hard with a '85 RX-7 GSL-SE on a trailer that weighs close to 2000 lbs by my guess.  If I didn't have the car in the exact right spot on the trailer, it would start to wag the dog violently at 52mph and I could tell that I was asking that poor truck to give me everything it had.  It worked - heck, I bought the Neon from New Orleans to Northern KY back in '05, but it wasn't particularly easy driving.

alfadriver said:

In reply to Antihero :

I'm not aware of any issues with the 4.0l OHC engine.  What have you heard about it?  I thought it was a great engine in the truck.  It's not at all related to the Modular family of engines....

The SOHC 4.0 has a lot of documented timing chain problems, and you gave to pull the engine out to get to one of the 3 it has. I own 2 trucks with the OHV that I've put over half a million miles on over 19 years too

In reply to Antihero :

When you say "a lot"- how many is that?  Hundreds or 10s of thousands?

Then again, if you can find an OHV 4.0l, those are also great trucks.  You can get up to a 2000 of one of them, with a 4 door configuration.  I think our first one was a '99 with a 4.0l OHV, with the 4 door set up.  It was great.