New section, post your tow rig?!

In reply to Keith Tanner :

That's a trailer full!

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Thanks Keith

Got rid of the BST (Big, Stupid Truck) last year and bought this:

2009 K3500, 6.0 gas engine, 6 speed auto.  ~165k miles.  Vinyl seats, crank windows, crew cab, 8' bed.  Everything I need in a truck.  Unfortunately a large tree fell on the driver's side 'B' pillar about a year after I bought it (you can just make out the damage in the picture).  The doors and windows and all still work, luckily.  

Gets 13-14 mpg not towing, and 9-12 towing depending on how hard I'm getting on it and how many mountains are in the way.  

Trailer is a wood deck dual axle 10,000 lb 20' car hauler.  I bought it back in ~2018 or so, it was about a year old then.  Just about to the point of needing new tires soon.  I love having the extra room on the trailer for hauling tires and spare parts and crates and engine hoists and whatnot, compared to the 18' trailer I used to have.  It's also nice not having to worry about bumping into the load limit of a trailer with 3500# axles.  

Trusty 2008 E350, 90,000 miles

I've had this 88 Silverado for about 14 years. The odometer died at 243k in about the year 2000, was estimated at 350k when I got it. Probably about 400k miles now. 
TBI 350, 700r4, semi-floating 14 bolt with an aftermarket limited slip. 
 

I've been planning to replace it, but truck prices being what they are, I don't see it happening. Looks like I'm gonna have to put some money into it.

I have my eye on one, but I don't know win the seller will be able to consider selling.

My 2021 Sierra AT4 w/6.2/10 speed. I've added bags to the rear to keep it level with the bed loaded and trailer attached. 

01 Yukon XL 2500 6.0/4l80 little tow cam, tune, K&N drop in, Diamond Eye 4" exhaust for a Duramax truck from the Y pipe back, 2 school bus mufflers along the way to shut it up and it's still way too loud. Definitely has a cracked head, leaks everything from everywhere and still ran 75-80 up and down 95 for 14hrs at a clip last weekend. 

16' Econotrailer that is just the best. 

Both need some love pointed out by the challenge trip but realistically couldn't be happier 

Not pictured 07 Sierra 2500 Classis 6.6/Alison. In the process of having the full compliment of LBZ modifications/repairs made to pull the rolling shop a 26' enclosed car hauler 

01 2500 Suburban 6.0/4x4.  Moderately rusty.  Bought for $3k about 2 months ago at 183k miles.  Have not gotten very far into determining its health and instead threw it right into moving all our stuff and dragging some cars around.  It mostly 'just works' though I had to put a water pump and battery in last week.  Has misfire CEL but doesn't seem to be misfiring.  Has occasional trans stutter that doesn't happen if you keep it in 3 and/or keep tow mode on.  Not sure either of those will get fixed to be honest, as long as it keeps working.  It has not yet broken into the double digits for gas mileage, but so far all driving has been on hilly back roads while loaded so that seems about right.

Trailer is a 2020 Appalachian 7k 18'.  Though not that old, it was used commercially for 2 years and could use some attention this winter but the price was right.  For the current stupid market, anyway.

You can see part of it in this recent pic. 

2010 f150 platinum 5.4. crew cab short bed. 220k miles.

It needs a little love currently but at any given point of time it is likely to be the most luxurious, or fastest, or most reliable, or best family hauler, etc of my entire fleet. Oh yeah it can also tow anything I care to with ease. 

There's a reason everyone wants a crew cab truck, and it's because they do almost everything well. 

Edit, I generally rent trailers. Very annoying to own where I live. 

Tows surprisingly well as long as the weight is reasonable. Not a cool race car (insert wah wah sound effect here) but maybe someday. 

An unknown dolly that my buddy saved from the scrap yard for me. I borrow the trailer from my FIL, the truck was a 2018 F150 - 5.0 10 speed. Just upgrade to a 2022 F150 - 5.0 10 speed but I've not pulled much with it so far. Truck is a company truck but mine to use as part of the job.

Slow but looks the part towing old stuff around. Purchased the 10k lb trailer new since I didn't want to deal with fixing both tow and towed vehicles. 

Just picked up my Future tow vehicle. '94 GMC 3500. It's gonna need a little work.

Byrneon27 said:

 

01 Yukon XL 2500 6.0/4l80 little tow cam, tune, K&N drop in, Diamond Eye 4" exhaust for a Duramax truck from the Y pipe back, 2 school bus mufflers along the way to shut it up and it's still way too loud. Definitely has a cracked head, leaks everything from everywhere and still ran 75-80 up and down 95 for 14hrs at a clip last weekend. 

16' Econotrailer that is just the best. 

 

Both need some love pointed out by the challenge trip but realistically couldn't be happier 

 

Not pictured 07 Sierra 2500 Classis 6.6/Alison. In the process of having the full compliment of LBZ modifications/repairs made to pull the rolling shop a 26' enclosed car hauler 

Dude, that 4" Diamond Eye that you didn't cut off makes it remind me of our neighbor's just adopted pet hound who very obviously hasn't been "fixed" yet.

It's a tow rig and camper. 2007 Express 3500 with a mild camping setup on the inside, much nicer than a tent.

APEowner said:

Ooo.  A tow rig thread!  I like tow rigs.

 

Here's my current truck with my old trailer.  It's a 2015 RAM 3500 with the diesel.  It's also my daily driver.

 

Here's some shots of my current trailer

When I bought it there was a hole in the side of it.  Rather than patch it I put in a window.

Here are some shots of the interior build out.

The electronics on the wall are the alarm system and the solar controller

 

Thanks for the interior shots. Very cool. And I like the window solution.

2021 F-250 platinum crew cab/short bed with the 6.7L powerstroke and the 10 speed transmission.  The seats in this truck are super comfy and the speed-sensitive cruise works well when towing and is super useful.  I bought it new in March of 2021 for basically the same reasons as Keith -- plus about 2 years ago you could still get them for $500 over invoice through Costco while the used market was going nuts.  Also I didn't want a sunroof and that's very hard to find on anything but the stripper work trucks.  The rear sagged a bunch with the trailer on it, but a set of AirLift springs fixed that.

13K miles on it now, of which 9K are towing this trailer.  Speaking of the trailer, it's a 2004 TPD Titan, 24 foot with three 3500 pound axles.  It's a little heavy, but the Super Duty doesn't care and it tows very nicely.

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

That picture looks familiar

We borrow my parents 2000 5.3L Silverado 1500, extended cab long bed, and also borrow a 22' aluminum tilt trailer, worth more than anything we'd put on it from a family friend. P.S. Currently looking for a 16' open car trailer if anyone has leads on something.

My first tow vehicle was Humphrey the Caprice. I thought it was the best tow vehicle ever, with good shocks and much stiffer suspension, but I've definitely learned better. The Olds 307 did better than you'd expect for an engine with 140hp.

The 1998 K1500 was a big step up, but soggy GMT400 brakes have definitely led to some interesting moments. 3.42 gears and big-ish tires mean all towing is a 3rd gear affair, and second in the mountains. It gets the job done, but if I was at altitude or in the  mountains it would definitely have needed upgrades for regular tow pig duty. Or I could have driven more slowly, I guess. Stock suspension except for Bilsteins.

The 2000 Tahoe Limited is much better than the K1500 at towing. Same gearing but smaller tires, stiffer suspension, and the Limiteds have "normal" brakes that aren't soggy like the rest of the GMT400s. It's also got massive factory coolers for everything, including the steering, which the K1500 doesn't have. Still a 4L60E, but I spent some time on the trans tune in EFILive and it made a huge difference in reducing hunting and making the shifts more positive. Big fuel economy improvement, too. Rarely tows cars, usually just the enclosed trailer for the bikes. The aero drag makes this harder to pull most of the time than open car trailers.

And the rig I have now. This thing is amazing and really raised the bar for my road trips. 2004 Suburban 2500 8.1. Rust free California truck. Real ground clearance, good suspension, totally solid going down the road, no matter what is behind it, it seems to not care. 13.5 mpg unloaded, usually 8-10 with a bigger trailer behind it. This one also benefited quite a bit from some tune massaging.

I say "the rig I have now"....but I still own all except the caprice lol. If anyone is looking for a GMT400 in the Indiana area, both the Tahoe and Silverado will be up for sale whenever I get to it.

Bought a parts Touareg for the trailer hitch and some other parts. Bought it one day, pulled the hitch at the yard the parts vehicle was at, installed the hitch, came back a month later to tow the part truck back. 
 

Tow: 2004 VW Touareg V8 - Coil suspension

Parts: 2004 VW Touareg V8 - Air Suspension (5000+ pounds)

Uhaul Auto Transport (2000+ pounds)

Drove from RI back to CT - 2+ hours. 
 

This is Bettie the White. 2018 Ram 3500 with the 6.4 gas motor. 

October 19, 2020 Challenge bound with Curtis73 's poncho headin to BW Gateway Grand. Dmaxx '03 wZF 6spd at 191k on the odo. Had clutch replaced, wasn't quite shifting right . Since this was taken I'm into head gaskets, turbo rebuild, motor mounts, water pump/new radiator, pilot bearing (TLDWrite).....oh and bottom end rebuild (stuck rings severe blowby )....as wounded as this was I'm a BIG fan of this LB7..... hope to get it back next week. Fire away.....

2015 Expedition EL. Will be selling soon and hoping to pickup an older rig to go with my Maverick