i finally broke down and got a trailor. got a deal i couldnt pass up. 24ft enclosed. now i need something to tow it with. i bought a wrecked accord with a h22 prelude motor and a prelude with a blown up h23. put the h22 in the prelude...that paid for the trailor...and pocketed enough money to buy a chevy 2500 with i think it has a 5.7 motor in it or something.....but that motor spun a bearing. blue book on the truck is 8 grand or so....so i should be able to fix it pretty cheap.....i could obviously use it for towing...but its gasoline and awd.

curious to see what you guys are using....what to stay away from....etc. ive considered possibly for the first time ever taking on a car payment and getting something so i could put whatever money i sold the truck for into the racecar......but my monthly expenses are so astrinomical right now i dont know if thats what i want to do. i always told myself i'd never use any kind of credit to modify a car...but this stuff is getting expensive F A S T

 

I tow with a 2005 chevy silverado SE 1500. 4.8 liter For right now i tow a u-haul trailor w/ a 1800 lb 89 civic hatchback.

 

my infiniti qx4 (believe it or not it can tow or my buddie's tundras

 

my brother and i use his 2000 gmc 1500 truck to tow with but it only has the 4.8L and we only tow an open trailor, but you got a 2500 series and it does have the 5.7L in it, then keep it and fix it because it will tow that trailor just fine just make sure you have the trailor brakes work on the truck. and good luck with it.

 

yea trailor brakes i found are important haha.......i had to tow to jersey with no trailor brakes it it was scarrrry. i think i went like 50 the whole way there and stayed 20 cars behind everybody.

there are people selling the truck i have on autotrader for like 14 grand. weird.

 

i tow my 3k lbs prelude on a uhaul tow dolly with my 93 isuzu trooper. i had to get an suv since it was going to be my daily driver and i like to be able to store a lot of stuff in my vehicle and the occasional trip to the snow (4wd), plus it only cost me $3k.

 

My tow rig...




Gets anywhere between 11-14 mpg with my 20 foot open car hauler with the box loaded up. Nice to be able to take a few people with you as well. Not to mention, it is nice to have a hooked up daily driver

IMO, with a loaded up 24ft enclosed, you are gonna want more than that 5.7 liter. I had a new 2500 with the 6 liter, and it pulled nice, but it averaged 12 mpg all the time, let alone with a trailer. Best I got pulling was 10, but it pulled real nice. I would look for a 01-02 cummins if I were in your position. Diesel is expensive right now, but it will probably come down eventually.

 

you sure it doesn't have the big block? I thought all 2500 came with the 454? The 5.7 is the 350. Don't bother investing in the 96-99 chevys with the vortec 350. Worst motor Chevy ever put in their trucks. Trust me, I went through hell and back with a 97 tahoe. If it's the older 88-95 trucks with the TBI 350 then keep it, those are tanks.

 

I started towing with my wifes denali when we only had one car. Then we got a 44ft gooseneck so i bought a 2001 f350 powerstroke dually, it pulled great. Then Itraded it for a new 04 f350 dually and it pulled much better(tq). I recently purchased a new rig and sold my dually, I loved that truck. It was also my dailey driver so now I use one of my service trucks (94 ranger) that gets almost 30mpg. woohoo. Looking for a tacoma or frontier doublecab 4x4.

 

man, you guys dont wanna know what i use to tow...

i used to use my LS1 powered 94 toyota pickup truck.

 

i'd def. like to go diesel if possible.....i never drove...but rode in a gas chevy with an enclosed trailor and it felt like the thing was going to fall apart. my freinds ford turbo diesel you cant even tell the trailor is back there...he paid and arm and a leg for it. it was like a 2004 though.

 

I tow with Toyota Tundra[IMG]

 

buy my excursion diesel and call it a day, just got it detailed for you too

this year used the excursion pulling the 30 foot trailer with pretty much everything you would imagine inside - pulled great - about 10 mpg was the average we saw, the weight distrubution hitch and sway control help immensely with a single rear wheel truck

last year we had the priviledge of a ford 7.3l crew cab dually and 48 foot trailer - that was nice - no sway, etc, etc plenty of power, we grenaded a transmission in Reading, PA though and were stranded for a week there, too much weight in the trailer we would think with 2 cars and full gear, not to mention the programmer for added hp and torque probably didn't help things

i have always like the ford 7.3l diesels, workhorses, only small thing to worry about are the trannies as they are not quite bulletproof at all - the new 6.0l ford diesels have a much better tranny behind them

never messed with any GM diesels - although i once pulled a 18" enclosed trailer with the coupe in it with my wife's '03 trailblazer inline 6 at the time and boy was that scary

the cummins diesels are supposedly really nice as well - ballard and chris green both have one - they might be able to put some comments out there on them - i love the interiors on them

but basically you just need to buy my excursion


Modified by ihaterice at 10:52 PM 11/9/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ihaterice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">although i once pulled a 18" enclosed trailer with the coupe in it with my wife's '03 trailblazer inline 6 at the time and boy was that scary</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow, I know it's only a v6, but you'd think it would be able to pull an 18 inch trailer ok. I'll stay away from those!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Wow, I know it's only a v6, but you'd think it would be able to pull an 18 inch trailer ok. I'll stay away from those! </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol - you got me, - and it is an inline 6 their slappy - get it right - i always had this dream of swapping a 2jz into it but that never came to fruition

 

I pulled my old car to NJ from Dallas with a Trailblazer. Not a bad rig if you don't tow often or far. They have a tiny tank, though... I was filling up every 180-200 miles.

GM is putting an LS2 into the Trailblazer. That would make for a fun tow rig... In fact, if I could sell my Tahoe, I would get into one in a second.

 

Joe...with the 5.7 350 pulling a 24 ft. enclosed with car/spares/tools...you are looking at about 8mpg in town and through the mountains and about 10mpg on the highway. It will most likely be on the floor board about 90% of the time. If you can spend a little extra and get a 94 ford turbo diesel, 95+ powerstroke, or a cummins turbo then you will be much happier.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Qitstrn76 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I tow with Toyota Tundra</TD></TR></TABLE>

Funny story... the day after I got my 2003 2500 HD, I had an old man in a Tundra pull up next to me on the freeway and ask me what motor it had in it. I told him it was the 6.0, then he asked me if I had any money... I'm thinking WTF? Now mind you, I have a trailer hooked up, and am on the ******* freeway, 70 mph. Turns out, he wanted to race... for money, in his stock Tundra against my brand new truck. Says he beats them all the time. I told him he was crazy, and that racing trucks was retarded. Then he told me it was because I had a piece of **** Chevrolet, and he sped off. Only in Texas, I guess.

 

I have a 2004.5 dodge ram diesel and it is awesome. Car pulls my trailer like there is nothing behind it, gets around 13 MPG towing, 18 when not. It'll be for sale soon

 

Got a great deal on a 2005 Silverado 1500HD in May of this year, 6.0L 2WD


I rented a trailer for the summer


Then a few weeks ago, I finally scored a rippin' deal on a 20ft enclosed trailer

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a 2004.5 dodge ram diesel and it is awesome. Car pulls my trailer like there is nothing behind it, gets around 13 MPG towing, 18 when not. It'll be for sale soon </TD></TR></TABLE>

you gotta love the off season - everyone just has the best garage sales

ballard - you just sold your car
i saw hunt's crx just go up for sale
keller seems to be clearing house of a lot of parts
penman's list of parts takes up the first 2 pages of classifieds
i am trying to unload my excursion
ballard is trying to get rid of his dodge
...who knows what will come up for sale tomorrow

i think i am going to save my money all year long next year and wait till just after the last race and see what kind of deals i can get


Modified by ihaterice at 11:25 PM 11/9/2005

 

I have a 1997 Dodge ram 2500 5.9L cummins diesel (crew cab) and love it..pulls my car on a open trailor with the bed loaded with tools,air tank xtra tires and 2 BIG ice chest and 5 GROWN people in it with no problem at all and gets right around 17 MPG..wouldnt trade it for anything in the world..

 

The new 2006 Chevy Duramax--I believe its a 6.6 liter makes 660 lb-ft from the factory. Yikes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by paul vang &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it's the older 88-95 trucks with the TBI 350 then keep it, those are tanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>


i have an 89 1500 with the 350. not the best looker but she gits r done! lately though ive been thinking bout selling it and getting a ridgeline.
-Roger

 

I want to see what Toyota will offer when the Tundra gets redesigned, then maybe I'll think about picking one up. For the time being, my dad's Sequoia is scary to tow with. Needs a weight distribution bar