Unique Tow Vehicle Situation... Input, Please!

I have a conundrum and I want input from y'all. My side gig of reviewing new cars and trucks has taken off in the last year and appears to only be growing. I have been in a new vehicle every week since last fall, which means my personal truck has seen 1,300 miles since last November. It's a 2016 Ram 1500 Sport with 53k miles.

Given the new and used car markets are a bit sideways right now, I keep plugging the truck's info into Carvana. I stand to get $2k more than I paid for the truck almost two years ago, and I have a TON of positive equity in it. Even though I have a payment on it, I'd get about $14.5k cash.

I also live in Washington DC, where parking is per-car and expensive. It's really tough to justify paying to park something that gets used almost never, doubly so if I have a loan on it, triply so if it's a stupid truck that I don't actually enjoy driving. If I have a loan on a driven-infrequently toy, I'd rather it be a Porsche or something.

Soooooo. If we assume I need to tow about 25 days a year and otherwise have public transit and a variety of press cars that show up to be worked with and driven extensively, what do I do?

Yes, I can tow with the loans provided they can handle my enclosed trailer (aluminum, 6500 lbs or so, 20') so big SUVs and trucks. Tough part is scheduling the tow-friendly vehicles over track weekends. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

My thought is to sell my current truck, take the cash, and find something with a hitch that could tow the trailer but would be paid for. I don't want to go so old and cheap that it's constantly broken. GM stuff is off the table because reasons. Expedition, Sequoia, F-150, Tundra, Armada, QX56, Titan could all work.

I also really like the second-gen Cayennes (958, from 2011+) and could be convinced to spend more than $15k if they are as good with a small enclosed as people say and fun to drive otherwise. 

Enterprise also has a location nearby that will rent trucks for towing, at $100/day with a big mileage limit. They'd be 3/4-ton or bigger. My only concern is having to schedule and hoping something is available... I suppose I'd be very proactive and hopefully it'd work out?

Thoughts?

Sell the Ram, buy nothing to replace, depend on Enterprise or maybe Turo if there's somebody local who has a truck to rent and is cool with towing?  My (GM, you may have a point there) tow rig has been pissing me off lately so I've had some of the same thoughts.

Rental truck. Enjoy interest. 

Who gets paid 2K to drive a Dodge Ram for two years.. Nobody, that's who..  Sell the truck, rent when you need it (U-Haul if you can't get one from Enterprise).

In reply to Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) :

3/4 & 1-ton cargo vans are usually quite a bit cheaper than pickups. You'd still have to pay to park it, but you can easily find something dependable for $5k or less. Maybe you can rent it out to people who need a van & make some $$ from it too?

Older trucks are not always junk.  I bought an 04 silverado half ton three years ago with 140K on it.  No rust and reasonable price.  Put shocks, tires and a shift kit on.  Have towed a 4K trailer all over with absolutely no issues.  But in your case looking into renting when you need it makes sense too.  Just reserve it a month ahead of time.

Until you said no GM I was gonna say a 3/4 ton Suburban.  Over on the enablers FB page there is  2004 QS for sale right now for $6500.  Perfect tow pig for what you describe, but no GM so....Eco-boost Expedition?

Caravan offers $2k more than you owe.  Sell it yourself and stand to make more like $7k than you owe.  Just try it for 2 weeks.  You still have the Caravan back up offer.  

Seek out a Sequoia.

Just as a data point...I have a friend that tows an enclosed with a cayenne diesel and says it does fine. That said he's towing a 2700lb car in a short aluminum enclosed trailer, so I'd guess it's less than 6500lbs total.

John Welsh said:

Caravan offers $2k more than you owe.  Sell it yourself and stand to make more like $7k than you owe.  Just try it for 2 weeks.  You still have the Caravan back up offer.  

Seek out a Sequoia.

Oh, selling it myself would definitely be the first thing I'd try.

I wish I thought the 2008-current Sequoia was attractive. The first-gen is vastly better-looking and isn't rated to pull enough weight for my needs. And... four speed, harumph.

porschenut said:

Older trucks are not always junk.  I bought an 04 silverado half ton three years ago with 140K on it.  No rust and reasonable price.  Put shocks, tires and a shift kit on.  Have towed a 4K trailer all over with absolutely no issues.  But in your case looking into renting when you need it makes sense too.  Just reserve it a month ahead of time.

Renting a tow vehicle once a year can make sense.  Renting one 25 times a year sounds like a total PITA, and assuming it's needed 2 days per instance at $100/day that's $5K a year in rental fees.

My friend towed an enclosed trailer with his cayenne diesel with no issues.  They're rated to 7700lbs but I really wouldn't want to tow more than 6000ish with it.  While it can do it, end of the day it's a fairly short wheel base, not so large SUV.  You don't want the tail wagging the dog. 

In a few years my plan is to take the cayenne diesel back from my wife and sell my Golf R.  I'll start looking around for a Futura aluminum open trailer to put the 996 Turbo on.  Weight of that combo with gas cans, wheel rack, winch, etc will probably be under 5500lbs, which I feel is the sweet spot for a cayenne.

Granted I live at altitude and have to deal with real elevation change, but it's more the stability that a large SUV like a Sequoia gives over the Cayenne vs power.

I'd sell your truck privately and pocket $5-7k more than you owe, then use that money to rent a truck on the weekends you can't get a press pool vehicle to take to the track.  Why deal with having to pay to park, insure and run a tow vehicle at all right now?

docwyte said:

My friend towed an enclosed trailer with his cayenne diesel with no issues.  They're rated to 7700lbs but I really wouldn't want to tow more than 6000ish with it.  While it can do it, end of the day it's a fairly short wheel base, not so large SUV.  You don't want the tail wagging the dog.

I'd look at it the same way I do with my Jeep.  One of those cases of "it can tow 7700 lbs, but only if it's the right trailer".  A big, high windage enclosed trailer or any trailer with a significant amount of length / weight behind the axles will demand more of the tow vehicle even at the same total weight. 

So a long tongue open car trailer with the axles fairly far back (longer tongue shifts more of the weight onto the trailer axles, allowing you to move them back further without making the tongue weight excessive) might be ok at 7700 lbs, but a big enclosed trailer with the axles 60% of the way back (like many are) would likely be pretty sketchy. 

rslifkin said:

docwyte said:

My friend towed an enclosed trailer with his cayenne diesel with no issues.  They're rated to 7700lbs but I really wouldn't want to tow more than 6000ish with it.  While it can do it, end of the day it's a fairly short wheel base, not so large SUV.  You don't want the tail wagging the dog.

I'd look at it the same way I do with my Jeep.  One of those cases of "it can tow 7700 lbs, but only if it's the right trailer".  A big, high windage enclosed trailer or any trailer with a significant amount of length / weight behind the axles will demand more of the tow vehicle even at the same total weight. 

So a long tongue open car trailer with the axles fairly far back (longer tongue shifts more of the weight onto the trailer axles, allowing you to move them back further without making the tongue weight excessive) might be ok at 7700 lbs, but a big enclosed trailer with the axles 60% of the way back (like many are) would likely be pretty sketchy. 

Right. So here's a pic of the trailer. It's a 20' box, 4' V-nose and overall 27' including the tongue. I've towed it behind a bunch of stuff and the only thing it was awful behind was my 2010 full-size (L322) Range Rover, which I think was too soft to handle the lateral loads from crosswinds. The RR was a 112" wheelbase, the 958 Cayenne is 114" and Sequoia/Expedition (non-Max) are both about 122". This Mercedes GL450 is also 122" and it did fine:

There are a TON of people on Rennlist and other Porsche forums that claim their Cayennes tow small encloseds like mine really well, better than Tahoes and Expeditions. I'm not sure how much of that is fanboi/girl-ing versus legitimate comparison.

In reply to Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) :

I'd personally consider that to be pushing it for something the size of a Cayenne, but I haven't towed with one, so I don't have a good point of reference.  I tend to be a little conservative, however. 

FYI if you sell your truck then you won't have any insurance for rentals as "substitute transportation".  Some companies do offer a product now for that sort of situation as it provides auto insurance for an individual who doesn't own a car but drives non owned cars often enough to need/want it as opposed to paying the high prices for the insurance through the rental company.  
 

A friend rents the HD pickups regularly for race weekends and has had good experiences overall.   The savings from city parking and maintenance will go a long way to paying for truck rentals when you need them.   If in 6 months or a year you find it just isn't working out then you can buy something then.  

How far will you be towing, and over what kind of terrain?  If it's short distances and relatively flat that's one thing, if it's thousands of miles and/or over mountainous terrain that's another.

Sonic said:

FYI if you sell your truck then you won't have any insurance for rentals as "substitute transportation".  Some companies do offer a product now for that sort of situation as it provides auto insurance for an individual who doesn't own a car but drives non owned cars often enough to need/want it as opposed to paying the high prices for the insurance through the rental company.  
 

A friend rents the HD pickups regularly for race weekends and has had good experiences overall.   The savings from city parking and maintenance will go a long way to paying for truck rentals when you need them.   If in 6 months or a year you find it just isn't working out then you can buy something then.  

I would end up with some sort of "daily driver" if the truck went away, it would just end up as either a paid-for toy or a toy-with-small-loan. I'd rather be making payments on a Boxster than a pickup.

Good to hear your friend has had success with the rentals! I need to call or visit that Enterprise location and talk to them about general availability and the process for pick-up/drop off. Maintenance is the other thing I've considered - any replacement truck/SUV I would buy would eventually need some maintenance, and the cost of a brake job would cover a rental for one weekend. 

Ultimately, I'm feeling weird about owning a trailer and no tow vehicle. But I guess it's kinda feasible.

stuart in mn said:

How far will you be towing, and over what kind of terrain?  If it's short distances and relatively flat that's one thing, if it's thousands of miles and/or over mountainous terrain that's another.

Our main two tracks are Summit Point and VIR, Summit is an hour away and VIR is about four hours. There are hills involved with both but nothing insane. I've done Pitt Race before which is a bit of a slog hill-wise but it's once a year at most. 

Biggest trip later this year is NASA Nationals at Daytona. DC to Florida will be a haul. I can usually get approval for the mileage to do a VIR weekend on a press loan (550 miles round trip) but asking anyone for a 2k-mile loan (at minimum) will be tough. So it'll either be completed with my personal Ram or some rental if I go that route.

Carvana is offering $2k more than he paid, not what he owes. They re also paying retail for vehicles at the moment, and it's an easy transaction (especially with a payoff). Selling it privately might not be worth the headache at the moment as the market is strange. 
 

Carvana is going to announce a buying freeze in a few weeks, so that offer might not be there when you need it, just a little insider tip. 

Depending on how far you're towing, Uhaul has been good to us. 19$ per day for a truck plus mileage isn't bad. We towed from SC to MD to SC over 4 days and couldn't have been happier.

But if you're buying the correct answer is screw the "reasons" and buy a GMT800 or 900.

buzzboy said:

Depending on how far you're towing, Uhaul has been good to us. 19$ per day for a truck plus mileage isn't bad. We towed from SC to MD to SC over 4 days and couldn't have been happier.

But if you're buying the correct answer is screw the "reasons" and buy a GMT800 or 900.

UHaul is another good option, my partner and I are looking at moving this fall (where parking is more scarce, prompting some of this) and there's a UHaul with trucks to rent within walking distance of the neighborhood.

My GMT800 was the worst tow vehicle and overall vehicle I've owned, on a list of 20+. Would be really hard to suck it up and deal with another.

Steve_Jones said:

Carvana is offering $2k more than he paid, not what he owes. They re also paying retail for vehicles at the moment, and it's an easy transaction (especially with a payoff). Selling it privately might not be worth the headache at the moment as the market is strange. 
 

Carvana is going to announce a buying freeze in a few weeks, so that offer might not be there when you need it, just a little insider tip. 

Well, Vroom offered me another $1,500 on top of the Carvana offer. I think whether I sell it to a company like either of theirs or do the whole thing privately, it's reassuring that the truck is desirable and I've got some positive equity.

Steve_Jones said:

Carvana is going to announce a buying freeze in a few weeks, so that offer might not be there when you need it, just a little insider tip. 

Just curious, how would Carvana stay in business if they stopped buying cars?

Or, does Carvana have too many cars and needs no more?

I have an almost identical trailer to yours. I tow it with an F-150 and I really wouldn't want anything less. Can't imagine using a Cayenne... long enclosed trailer + short wheelbase tow vehicle, physics are physics. I also can't imagine dealing with renting tow vehicles 25 times a year. The weight distribution setup is specific to vehicle height, so unless every tow vehicle has the hitch at exactly the same height the setup would always be wrong. Race weekends are stressful enough, do you really want to mess with that stuff every time? 

So I guess I'm in the minority when I say keep the truck. It's familiar, it meets your needs, and if it loses value at all it will happen slowly.