ragnaroek

since search sucks, i'm starting another tow vehicle thread. i know there have been some before, but i can't find them.

anyway. i sold the miata. my 1991 child molester van still works, but daily driving that isn't exactly a relaxing experience and i'm starting to not trust it for longer drives. so, i've decided to look for a pickup truck. something i can haul 2 bikes in back and/or tow a trailer to track days.

what do you folks use and/or recommend? i really like how the silverado/sierras look, but they seem to have shitty interiors. a tundra might work, but i have doubts about whether it could hold 2 bikes in the bed. that leaves dodge and ford... both of which i have no real opinion of.

suggestions? experiences? words of wisdom?

twiztid00002

ford all the way.

i dont know about motorcycles in the bed but we had a quad on its wheelie bar against the cab then another quad behind it on its wheels then a dirtbike on each side.

drove approx 250 miles then back and it drove amazing still

nice interior too, well atleast the ext cab does

f-150 it was

Quiks66

'06 Tacoma X-Runner V6. Plenty of power, 1" lower bed height than regular Tacos, room for 2 midgets or a bunch of gear behind the front seats.

edit: two bikes no problem.

K20DC2R

find a truck thats easy to find/service affordable also. pretty much all trucks will hold 2 bikes. full size or mid size truck is the question. you can get chevy for pretty cheap nowadays prob like 10k off msrp with good apr. Nissan frontier has shitty turning radius. GL

marmaladedad

Two bikes in the bed doesn't leave a whole lot of room for gear. Sure, you can play Tetris and make stuff fit, but I think it's simpler to have a trailer (possibly a fold-up version) and a truck. Loading a bike on a trailer is super easy - I can do it on my own. I'm not very strong (fatty) nor coordinated (clumsy fatty), so you can definitely do this. The major downsides to towing with a trailer are speed limits and storage space. You get used to backing up with a trailer very quickly.

If you get a pickup truck that can handle the weight, you can get away with using a Moto Tote to haul the 250, and throw your gear in the bed.

Chronicsinners

Im currently shopping out for the "perfect" DD/Tow Truck, but for now i tow a small 2 bike trailer with this:


2008 SX4, 2000lbs towing capacity, 200lb tongue weight. Certainlly not the best solution but hey it works...

starbai

moar

professorman

Tow pics?

Jasper_db1

+1

I rented a frontier for a trackday and was shocked at how bad the turning radius is.

Chronicsinners

Not yet, i cant seem to get the camera, trailer and car all at the same place at the same time. I will post em when i get em (this saturday)

EKsite

I use an 07 Chevy 2500HD Diesel.

Pros:
1. Mad Torque
2. Fits 2 (maybe 3) bikes + a but ton of gear.
3. Lots of room
4. Mad Torque
5. Did I mention mad torque?

Cons:
1. Gas mileage
2. Tail gate height. There is no way I can unload the bike by myself. Getting up isnt too bad if you idle it, but the bed is so high that even when standing on top of my tool box it's SKETCHY.
3. This con is a specific to my truck, but it has 5th wheel trailer hitch brackets so I have to maneuver over those when getting the bike in and out.

All in all it's a bad *** rig, my major complaint is the bed height but I've never had a problem finding help unloading, even when doing trackdays solo.

-Aaron

Coke in a Can

iTrader: (1)

Tacoma v6 4x4. i love mine, and it gets the job done no problem.

Patman

01 f150

6x12 enclosed from my lawn service

withemptyeyes

sorry to side track, but how do you like that truck overall?

ragnaroek

i'm curious too.

i test drove a 1500 silverado yesterday. it was nowhere near as "rustic" as the van is, but definitely not as nice as a car. the reviews i'd read all talked about how car-like the ride was. i dunno what kinda cars they've been driving!

i'm gonna try to check out a tundra, maybe a dakota, and hopefully a tacoma. i could live with a silverado if i can find one for the right price.

Jasper_db1

They've been driving Ford Crown Vics and Chevy Caprices!

The most "car like" truck I've driven are the Tundras (both old and new). They really felt like and older Camry in ride and interior ergonomics.

The Ridgeline is very car-like too but it's practically a car anyway :p

E-AT_me

watch out on dakotas for the horrid front ball joints.

are you going 4x4 or 4x2? my bro has a 96 taco 2wd for scooters.. i have an 87 F150.. farm trucks are cool..

marmaladedad

The new Dodge Ram trades its rear leaf suspension for a car-like spring and shock. Supposedly it's leaps and bounds in terms of comfort from all other trucks. That definitely brings it over to my short-list of prospective new vehicles to purchase.

The_Head

This is my DD now, but it's a tank and rides like one too. It's meant to do work, not be comfortable.

Chronicsinners

As promised:

Quiks66

Look good Chronic.

Chronicsinners

thanks!

Zekers

I use a 1998 S10 with a V6 as my tow vehicle. Been great so far, you can put one bike in the bed, and tow a trailer with another bike no problem.

ragnaroek

well, i think i'm gonna keep running that stupid van for a while. last thursday i had to put new rear tires on it (couldn't find any used quick enough) and that cost $300... which is significant when the van itself was $500. this will definitely be it's last year of duty though - there is some frame rust that will not last another winter around here. just turned 200k miles yesterday.

The Hooligan

just got my new bike hauler today. ive been driving crxs for 7 years and it feels great to step up into something, lol.