Have been giving thought, especially after Eureka Springs, about a new tow vehicle and trailer combo. With track days becoming more rare for me, I'm tossing about the idea of downsizing my tow vehicle to something more driveable on a daily basis than my F-250. If I do this, I obviously will need to downsize my trailer. After seeing how well the Serpent Express trailers work, I'm looking at an aluminum 18' version, but open to suggestions. With that in mind, this opens up the possibilities for a tow vehicle. With the trailer weighing in under 2,000lbs and the car at 2,500 lbs, I figure a vehicle capable of 5,500 lbs or more should be sufficient. The TCC folks used everything from Jeep Grand Cherokee's, to an Audi Q5 to an F-150 and all said their tow vehicles did fine.
So, my options are:
Ford
- Explorer
- F-150
- Expedition
Chevrolet
- Tahoe
- Silverado
Dodge
- Ram 1500
- Durango
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
Nissan
- Armada
Audi
- Q5 (pushing the tow limits however)
A few others I'm sure. Just so we're all on the same page, these are the reasons for the downsizing:
- Need a daily driver type vehicle - F250 not very practical due to size and MPG in the city (I've gotten a best 15.2 in the city, but typically, 14.8). Linda refuses to drive this truck...too big she says. Difficult for Linda to get in and out of too.
- No longer need tow vehicle for track days necessarily. My track 'buddies' have sold their cars, so track time will be limited for me going forward. Which also means an enclosed trailer is no longer needed.
- Hwy MPG - Without the trailer, I'm getting a best of 21, and that's at 60 - 63mph....which I just can't do. With the trailer, I'm down to 8.5 in most headwinds, and 10 with a tailwind.
- Cost of Diesel - even though it should be .40 cents cheaper than gas, it isn't.
- Cost of repairs - any repair I have done, the shop wants to see and do an estimate for. Rich has sent me pics of the entire cab removed for a simple job on the engine
Oil changes are typically around $120 due to the amount of oil needed.
Must have's on new vehicle:
- Would like to stay at a maximum of $45,000 (new or used)
- Must have a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs or more.
- Must have average combined fuel economy of around 20mpg
- Must be small enough to drive daily or that Linda can drive and get in and out of. F-250 is about 246" long. Would like to be under 200" total length.
- Must have backup camera
- V8 preferred, but there are some powerful V6's out there now too
- Preferably something at least assembled in the USA...if not that, at least where the tax dollars come back here.
Sooo, opinions? I know everyone has one....and PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT turn this in to a political opinion thread...if you do, I will delete your post immediately. Are my reasons enough to have a new truck payment? Do they validate getting a new truck/trailer? What other considerations should I think about?
So, my options are:
Ford
- Explorer
- F-150
- Expedition
Chevrolet
- Tahoe
- Silverado
Dodge
- Ram 1500
- Durango
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
Nissan
- Armada
Audi
- Q5 (pushing the tow limits however)
A few others I'm sure. Just so we're all on the same page, these are the reasons for the downsizing:
- Need a daily driver type vehicle - F250 not very practical due to size and MPG in the city (I've gotten a best 15.2 in the city, but typically, 14.8). Linda refuses to drive this truck...too big she says. Difficult for Linda to get in and out of too.
- No longer need tow vehicle for track days necessarily. My track 'buddies' have sold their cars, so track time will be limited for me going forward. Which also means an enclosed trailer is no longer needed.
- Hwy MPG - Without the trailer, I'm getting a best of 21, and that's at 60 - 63mph....which I just can't do. With the trailer, I'm down to 8.5 in most headwinds, and 10 with a tailwind.
- Cost of Diesel - even though it should be .40 cents cheaper than gas, it isn't.
- Cost of repairs - any repair I have done, the shop wants to see and do an estimate for. Rich has sent me pics of the entire cab removed for a simple job on the engine
Oil changes are typically around $120 due to the amount of oil needed.Must have's on new vehicle:
- Would like to stay at a maximum of $45,000 (new or used)
- Must have a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs or more.
- Must have average combined fuel economy of around 20mpg
- Must be small enough to drive daily or that Linda can drive and get in and out of. F-250 is about 246" long. Would like to be under 200" total length.
- Must have backup camera
- V8 preferred, but there are some powerful V6's out there now too
- Preferably something at least assembled in the USA...if not that, at least where the tax dollars come back here.
Sooo, opinions? I know everyone has one....and PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT turn this in to a political opinion thread...if you do, I will delete your post immediately. Are my reasons enough to have a new truck payment? Do they validate getting a new truck/trailer? What other considerations should I think about?