just kinda looking around , am thinking about getting a 24' enclosed trailer with about probably 4000 lbs of crap to throw in it (car, tools, hospitality crap) and just curious what would be the safest adn cheapest thing to tow with. probably bumper pull, like to get a suburban or something to haul possible pit crew around with at events, and also just for comfort on the road to and from events, probably gonna see around 20k+ miles traveling all over the country. any advice? as far as my experience all ive ever used is light duty v8 trucks, open car trailers loaded, and trucks filled with tools/tires etc. bascially ive driven a 00 chevy 1500 z71 with 4wd and tow package, pulling a racecar packed full of tools, adn the bed of the truck sometimes filled past the top of the bed with tools/stuff goign to local events and while it wasnt the most powerful setup it was sufficient. not looking to tow up hills at 90mph, just want to be able to travel across country at the speed limit for possibly days at a time, and be able to go up hills above 50mph.

if you have any similar setups please post as well, and anything you like/hate. how are your seats on long trips? does xxx vehicle need work to tow? bigger rear sway bar/tranny cooler to be safe?

trailer will have electric brakes, probably just 2 axle, enclosed with a racecar, spare drivetrain parts, tools, a crapload of tires in it.

any input welcome, but looking at pricerange of about free - maybe 15k, the cheaper the better, as long as it works. going for function safety and reliability here more than bling and power to tow 90mph uphill, if that makes sense.


summary.

looking to pull 10,000# of enclosed 24-30' trailer filled with racecar, parts, tools, stuff, but something i can unhook from the trailer at an event and pile my team and some freinds in to go eat/to the hotel. will only be used for these tasks, woudl like at least 10mpg highway while towing.

would like to be able to comfortably seat 5 maybe more people for 20+ hour trips all across the country, without having to worry about breaking down. im thinking an excursion/suburban would be my best bet, but i made this thread to ask your advice.

budget is about $25k for the whole setup, however the cheaper the better.

 

I say excusurion diesel! It should have all the room you need inside for people and stuff and the diesel will help a ton with the towing aspect. Better gas mileage while towing and around town. And yes I know right now your thinking it's gonna be more expensive to start out with but diesel holds it's value like crazy!!

 

is this your everyday vehicle?

if not...i would definitely get a dually. it makes towing out on the road SO MUCH nicer...and safer. i never got one before because my truck was my everyday driver and i didnt want to be driving some long and wide truck around all the time. i borrowed a friends 99 f350 diesel dually and was hooked. it towed so nice...you honestly dont even know the trailer is back there. i dont use my truck everyday anymore so i picked up a fairly cheap dually. 94 chev 3500 bb dually for under $5k. tows like a dream and has PLENTY of power. basically if you have the money id say go for a turbo diesel dually...which you can find some pretty nice ones out there for under 15k.

 

Let me say from experience that towing with an open car trailer is night and day different from an enclosed. You have more weight, more wind drag and more side load from wind, etc. I just bought a 24' enclosed this year and sold my 18' open. I pulled it a few times, short distances, with a '96 ext. cab Z71 chevy with the 250hp vortec V8. For pulls less than an hour it is fine, but it puts a lot of strain on the truck. I didn't feel comfortable enough to take a real road trip with it so I bought a 3/4 ton diesel. Towing up hills, especially if it's windy, would damn near stop the 1/2 ton truck. I can pass people going 80 up hills bucking a 40 mph head wind now with the diesel.

I'd recommend at a minimum a sway bar hitch and a 3/4 ton or larger truck with as large of motor as you can get (diesel if you can afford it). There's a bunch of late 90's early 00's, 3/4-1 ton trucks out there for $15k or less.

 

I have a 3/4 ton Suburban ('93) with a 350. It does great with my open trailer, but I couldn't imagine towing an enclosed with it. As for hills, well, going over some large bridges on I10 in Louisiana - I've got the pedal on the floor and she's sweating to do 55. Other than that, no problem.

For power and ease of towing, diesel. No doubt about it. No less than 3/4 ton truck also. Better tranny, better brakes, better suspension for towing. I didn't really want a diesel, as I prefer to be able to work on my small block, and I don't tow all that much in reality... but I sure am not towing with a 4L60E tranny.

 

what about the older body style deisel suburbans?

did they make the new ones with duramax?

arent excursions like still above 20k?

my price range is still in the free-15k area

the 94ish dually doenst sound like a bad idea, but arent those non-turbo deisels? how is that on gas milage?

mainly the vehicle will be used for tow purposes andmaybe just regular day to day things you do whenyou have the availability of a truck to throw things in. needs to be able to seat at least 4 comfortably for 20+ hour trips, and id still really like to get some type of suv so at events we can cart a bunch of people to/from hotels / restaraunts etc from the track.

thanks for the help though, keep it coming

 

wow just did a quick look at prices on excursion, you can get one with under 100k miles for very freindly prices.

what kind of issues have yall had with these things towing? whats the optimal motor to get or do they all have enough ***** to get the job done? like to keep it aroudn 10mpg (and more than that is obviously better, but i knwo reality and desire dont go hand in hand here), will excursion offer that while towing @ 65-75? also how are the seats?


also just talked to someone telling me buy a crewcab dually and put a cover adn seating in the bed and carpet and stuff, is that legal? anyone ever done that, id like not to look like white trash, so im really kinda questioning that, but if anyone has done it please post pics if you can make it look nice. mainly i just need to be able to seat at least 5 people comfortably for looooong trips, and id like to be able to tote around as many people as possible at events, but i want it to be where i can pick up the motorsports VP or VP of a sponsor company and have him think we might actually be professionals

 

not legal in the bed w/o seat belts......

 

so all you have to do is put seat belts and bolt it down securely and that stuff is completely legal?!?!?

because seriously, putting some carpet and making some interior paneling, adding another 2 rows of seats that could turn into beds would be insanely awesome.

but back to the original question, tryign to keep it under 15k as much as possible, what is teh best option while being safe reliable while on a budget.

 

I have a 2500HD crew cab with the 6.0 pulls my 7,000 pound boat great. I dont pull alot so I got the gas motor. You need any brand truck just 2500 or better.

 

wow im an idiot move to racers lounge please.

 

my 94 has a gas big block in it. it gets about 9/gal fully loaded. dont know what it gets not towing...ive never used it as a driver.

my friend bought his 99 f350 crew cab diesel dually for $14k with 150k miles on it. it is a stripper but it is very nice. we searched for months and thats the best we found. this was a year ago.

for what it sounds like you wanna do...i strongly recommend a turbo diesel. my truck tows great locally...but it cant compare to my friends f350 for a long haul....especially if you really load the trailer up.

honestly, i think its gonna be hard to find something nice for under 15k.

 

if you can, kill the bumper pull and get a gooseneck. it puts more weight to the center of the truck so the truck rides nicer and is MUCH safer. we have a 99 dodge 4wd with the cummins and pull 20k pounds on a regular basis on the gooseneck. do yourself a favor and go for a 96-98 dodge with the 12v cummins with a 5-6 speed. it has the P-pump and is less prone to going out (and very easy to turn up). 98 is the best year for those....... new truck with older reliable 12v motor.

 

look on racingjunk.com for a truck/trailer combo - you can find a good deal on there sometimes on a whole setup.

I agree on the gooseneck, night and day difference. If you are going to be hauling 5 people around I would be as safe/controllable as possible.

 

i cant carry around 5 people for 20+ hours comfortably in a dodge since all they had was extended cab :-/ also the problem i run into with gooseneck, kills space i need for people.

 

2500 hd with a gas or diesel would be great

 

look around for a 7.3 ford then. the only two downfalls for them is PITA to work on and non adjustable rocker arms (for tune-ups)

 

Your needs are kind of unreallistic for your budget. You aren't going to get more than 10 mpg with a gasser. and diesel will be $$.

I have a 26 ft enclosed. about 9000# loaded. I trailered with a 03 tahoe z71 with the 5.3 for a year and it was dangerous as hell even with the weight distributing hitch and slow. The 5.3, and for that matter the 6.0 just isn't enough going up hills.

This year I bought an 05 crew cab chevy dually with the 8.1 and the allison tranny and it is awesome. You really don't even know that you are trailering. But it only gets around 8-9 mpg traillering.

Another thing to think about is the bumper hitch with a long truck and a short trailer sucks to back up with. It is just about impossible to followup on a 24ft trailer with my dually. A fifth wheel makes it quite a bit easier and safer. Plus with a fifth wheel, you don't really lose the bed of your truck, the space is just in the trailer above the hitch.

Best of luck choosing, but there really isn't a cheap, reliable answer.

Ryan

 

I'm burnt out on diesels! Diesel fuel is way more expensive than gas now. My trucks gets 8-9 miles per gallon and smells like ****! If your getting a diesel get the 7.3 or a chevy. The new 6.0 L ford SUCKS!

 

that junk 6.0 has damn near bankrupted ford