OT truck or SUV and towing a car

[jimcav]

I am debating job opportunities in Indiana and CT. I don't think either my 64 studebaker or 79 trans am are good for such commutes so would be looking to sell trans am and get a more suitable car. I initially was going to get a used mazda 3 or ford focus or c-max hybrid, but am now thinking about a truck ( maybe suv) with decent gas mileage ( over 25 hwy) that could haul bikes, get to trails, and tow my car. Anyone have experience with ram 1500 diesel to say it would be a good vehicle for hauling a car across country? I realize i can always just have the car transported, but I have often thought about having a truck or maybe the new grand cherokee diesel as i try to get my boys into more hiking and mtb, something that could get us into and out of areas more readily than our minivan and wondered if anyone here had done similar?
thx
jim

[p nut]

Today's diesels are nothing like the ones of old. With the upfront premium and added maintenance costs, I wouldn't bother with one, unless I was towing some heavy loads regularly.

Gas engines have really made great progress.
I'd look at 2 trucks:

For towing/heavy hauling capabilities, F150 2.7 Ecoboost

For lighter duty, the new Ridgeline that just unveiled this week.

[Louis]

Unless you foresee additional requirements in the future, I wouldn't let a one-time towing need play a significant role in setting the criteria for the purchase. It's way simpler to just have it shipped.

I had good luck using Intercity to get my GTV from LA to St Louis.

[ultraman6970]

Probably a minivan can do what you want w/o any problems, the problem is that many dont like them and swore not to get one ever.

To that I can advice you this... get what it works the best... not that looks the best, specially if you need room and comfort, and not something not as big as a diesel truck or small as a small car.

[cetuximab]

https://www.google.com/search?q=dakine+tailgate+bike&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS592US592&hl=en-US&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiUwIHRuKbKAhVQ5GMKHX22CHQQ_AUICSgC#imgr c=K_V5F278Cgc3GM%3A

I have a dakine tailgate bike hauler. I love it.

In a couple years we are upgrading our canyon to an ecoboost.

[jimcav]

Probably a minivan can do what you want w/o any problems, the problem is that many dont like them and swore not to get one ever.

To that I can advice you this... get what it works the best... not that looks the best, specially if you need room and comfort, and not something not as big as a diesel truck or small as a small car.

i just sold a diff car to help my mom (again) because of CA smog rules i had to take it back to indiana to sell it. I planned to drive it out with the minivan, as our minivan has a factory 2" tow package (with brake/light connector etc). Uhaul wouldn't rent me a trailer or anything--said it wasn't rated for it. we still drove out to see my mom and my wife's mom, but i had to ship the car which really cut into the amount i had to help her

plus i hiked some places in Moab and Sierras near China Lake that my minivan would not have been a good idea. I don't mind a long approach or getting stuck, but my kids aren't to that stage yet.

jim

[jimcav]

Unless you foresee additional requirements in the future, I wouldn't let a one-time towing need play a significant role in setting the criteria for the purchase. It's way simpler to just have it shipped.

I had good luck using Intercity to get my GTV from LA to St Louis.

have seen intercity on velocity tv car shows so good to know they are good'

[jimcav]

Gas engines have really made great progress.
I'd look at 2 trucks:

For towing/heavy hauling capabilities, F150 2.7 Ecoboost

For lighter duty, the new Ridgeline that just unveiled this week.

the car and driver review had the 2.7 getting 16mpg. i don't mind that for a car i have for purposes other than daily use but if we move this will be daily much of the year. i'll wait to read more on the new honda

[Birddog]

If you can find a low mileage Avalanche that's the way to go. I thought they were the stupidest truck idea ever when they were introduced, but I have 2 friends who have them and they are great for towing, light hauling and loading bikes. GM stopped production, but rumor has it that they will be reintroduced.

[AngryScientist]

forget about towing if you only need to basically do it once. either you will wind up with something underpowered and badly handling with a load, or good at towing and lousy fuel economy.

have the car shipped and buy something that makes sense for what you will use it for 99.9% of the rest of its life.

that ridgeline looks promising!

[paredown]

...Uhaul wouldn't rent me a trailer or anything--said it wasn't rated for it. ....

jim
U-Haul is very conservative as to what they will consider for a tow vehicle--probably worried about lawsuits/insurance issues.

I read about a lot of folks lying about what they are going to tow in order to get Uhaul to rent a trailer.

I too have shipped cars cross country--long ago so I don't remember who, but they were fairly cheap. There was a tiny bit of damage on one, and there was no problem getting that addressed.

More recently, I got my current pickup shipped on eBay--went to the aggregator site where you can post your request, and everyone responds with a quote. It was pretty cheap, and beat flying out to pick it up, and drive it home.

[p nut]

the car and driver review had the 2.7 getting 16mpg. i don't mind that for a car i have for purposes other than daily use but if we move this will be daily much of the year. i'll wait to read more on the new honda

I'm getting around 20mpg, mixed driving. They must be flogging that 2.7 at C&D.

Subaru's wouldn't be a bad choice, either. It won't tow your car, but it does have a 2,700lb tow rating (with the 2.5L H4) if you need extra cargo capacity. Ours is surprisingly good off-road. I think it has close to 9" ground clearance, which rivals most all trucks and suv's out there. We've been to plenty of places in Moab, San Rafael Swells, etc. in our Outback.

[lzuk]

My last company truck was a F150 Ecoboost. When I retired and turned it in it had 42000 miles and averaged 19 mpg. The truck I tow our travel trailer with is a Dodge 2500 diesel. We have averaged 15.1 mpg driving from Indiana to Texas on our way to Arizona. If and when I replace the Dodge it will be with one of the new small diesels. The F150 was a good truck and seemed OK for some towing but didn't feel like it had enough torque to tow full time.

[jimcav]

I'm getting around 20mpg, mixed driving. They must be flogging that 2.7 at C&D.

Subaru's wouldn't be a bad choice, either. It won't tow your car, but it does have a 2,700lb tow rating (with the 2.5L H4) if you need extra cargo capacity. Ours is surprisingly good off-road. I think it has close to 9" ground clearance, which rivals most all trucks and suv's out there. We've been to plenty of places in Moab, San Rafael Swells, etc. in our Outback.

i saw tons of them in both moab and evergreen CO area--my friend joked it was the state car of CO.

[goonster]

truck ( maybe suv) with decent gas mileage ( over 25 hwy) that could haul bikes, get to trails, and tow my car.
Chevy Colorado diesel. I'm hearing actual highway mpg's in the high 20's, and a tow rating of 7700 lbs.

[jimcav]

went to the aggregator site where you can post your request, and everyone responds with a quote. It was pretty cheap, and beat flying out to pick it up, and drive it home.

that was how i did the car i sold in indiana, i wasn't there for delivery, they tried to get my aged mother to meet them near the highway or charge her "extra" to deliver it to her neighborhood, I solved that with the dispatch company, but then they did it at 10pm so it was dark and my sister missed the damage to the front spoiler, so the $800 transport ended up being $1800 (she signed off, so i was screwed with the carrier and have high insurance deductible)
live and learn--next time i will just pay for intercity as recommended above

[carpediemracing]

Although I'm not 100% versed in tow rating, it is basically a measurement of of braking capacity on a certain grade downhill, like 7% or something (plus hitch strength and other stuff, but basically the limiter on a ladder chassis is the brakes). This according to a former editor of Road & Track that I worked with. Basically you put big brakes on an otherwise not-impressively rated ladder chassis you're good to go, at least in terms of the test.

With that in mind, and with the assumption that "towing" the car means on a dolly (so no brakes actuated on the car?) or even if you let the towed car sit on 4 wheels, you're asking a lot in terms of stopping power from a smaller, unibody type vehicle (aka Ridgeline).

Trailer, if it has electric brakes (and it should), will help immensely, but now you're talking actually towing a bunch of weight supported by the hitch, i.e. not a set up where you're just pulling your car around while it's in neutral.

I didn't save the dash cam footage but I saw two Suzuki Samurai or similar size "SUVs" towing (meaning towee was tied to tower with a tow strap) a car of about equal size. Not much chassis pressure, but I wouldn't want to be around them if they had to perform an emergency maneuver.

I bought a Ford Expedition (rated 8900 lbs tow) to pull a 3400 lbs empty trailer, maybe 5000-5500 lbs loaded tops (no car in it, although one will fit). Trailer rated to 7000 lbs, so 3600 lbs payload. The Expedition struggles with the trailer, that's for sure. Only when the trailer is empty is it okay in terms of performance, but the trailer is far more stable when it's loaded.

I'd trade the Expedition for a pick up in a heartbeat, although the 3 row vehicle would be nice to have.

[jimcav]

i wasn't going to buy a true flat bed trailer, more like the rental uhaul setup. didn't consider tow strap with someone else because won't have someone else to be in the tow car. from your expedition experience it makes me lean away from a truck unless i want it for other uses (which i was thinking about as i said for trail access and of course if we move and buy a house i always go for a fixer-upper)
I guess i need to consider cost vs convenience of an affordable small commuter and renting something trail worthy for trips vs buying something like a ram1500 or chevy colorado which supposedly get near 30 mpg
thx
jim

[carpediemracing]

i wasn't going to buy a true flat bed trailer, more like the rental uhaul setup. didn't consider tow strap with someone else because won't have someone else to be in the tow car. from your expedition experience it makes me lean away from a truck unless i want it for other uses (which i was thinking about as i said for trail access and of course if we move and buy a house i always go for a fixer-upper)
I guess i need to consider cost vs convenience of an affordable small commuter and renting something trail worthy for trips vs buying something like a ram1500 or chevy colorado which supposedly get near 30 mpg
thx
jim

One thing to keep in mind is that, if not garaging the vehicle is an option, you can get a pretty big interior with a full size pickup, but it won't meet your 25 mpg requirement. A crew cab interior is spacious. Many of those things won't fit in a normal garage though. Expedition is very tight in our storage bay, 1" clearance to the garage door when open.

Another "fun" vehicle to consider would be the Cayenne/Touareg sister vehicles. Rated to tow pretty heavy loads (8100 lbs?), I was considering a used one (I could have traded in our Jetta Sportswagen and the Expedition to get one as well), but I'm a bit sour on VW/Audi. A friend had a sweet Cayenne Turbo, he towed an enormous boat with it (got t-boned in an intersection, everyone oky but Cayenne was totaled). I got some tips from the same R&T guy, like avoid the gas V-10 due to maintenance expense, but the diesel should pull like a you know what. Of course you can't buy a certified or new one, so there's that.

Anyway, the Cayenne/Touareg are similar to the JSW in size, just wider/taller, and so realistically it would fit in our incredibly poorly designed garage. It would double as a reasonably competent 4 or 5 seat SUV when not towing.