Tow vehicle discussion
JoeStang
Member Posts: 1,116 ✭✭✭✭
In the (semi) near future I am going to have to replace my daily driver, and with the boat purchase I am entertaining the idea of getting a truck. I can bear the additional fuel cost, but only to around 15-20mpg combined, and I dont really want/need want a heavy duty.
I'd get an appropriate dual or triple axle trailer for my 276 (~6500lbs, wet) and the "right" equipment on the truck to tow safely.
My biggest concerns are:
1. Is a total weight of around 8k lbs pushing the envelope too far on a 1/2 ton? Most have a "rating" of around 9500-10,500 lbs, but I wonder how it actually tows with that much weight.
2. I can definitely see the pro's of having a trailer now, but I wonder if the expense of getting a 15mpg daily driver is worth it. I'll still keep it in a slip for the summer, and probably only pull it out for cleaning & maybe one or two trips a year to the other side of the state. I would assume my winter storage would be cheaper, as I could winterize and keep it pretty much anywhere.
3. I wonder how much of a PITA it would be to buy a trailer, and then rent a 3/4 ton (~$5-600/week) to tow it with.
I dunno, just thinking out loud right now. Thoughts? Anyone with a 26-28 footer towed it around?
I'd get an appropriate dual or triple axle trailer for my 276 (~6500lbs, wet) and the "right" equipment on the truck to tow safely.
My biggest concerns are:
1. Is a total weight of around 8k lbs pushing the envelope too far on a 1/2 ton? Most have a "rating" of around 9500-10,500 lbs, but I wonder how it actually tows with that much weight.
2. I can definitely see the pro's of having a trailer now, but I wonder if the expense of getting a 15mpg daily driver is worth it. I'll still keep it in a slip for the summer, and probably only pull it out for cleaning & maybe one or two trips a year to the other side of the state. I would assume my winter storage would be cheaper, as I could winterize and keep it pretty much anywhere.
3. I wonder how much of a PITA it would be to buy a trailer, and then rent a 3/4 ton (~$5-600/week) to tow it with.
I dunno, just thinking out loud right now. Thoughts? Anyone with a 26-28 footer towed it around?
2013 276 Cuddy ~ 350 MAG / B3
Comments
the difference between the 3/4~1.1/4 tons (especially diesel), is that they can do it day in and day out, where as the 1/2 tons will stress out under constant use..
don't undervalue 4wd.. it is a nice thing to have while towing, and especially launching a boat.
I like the Ecoboost, and they have the best towing capacities for the 1/2 tons, but they are still pretty new and they are still right around $30k. Thats more than I wanted to spend, which is ideally around $20k. I can get a 5.4 in the same "generation" for close to $10k less, so thats a lot of gas.
What kind of MPG should I expect while trailering? I know it'll be pretty brutal, but is double digit expecting too much? Again, it wont be very often, but it's still a small factor.
I have a '12 Ecoboost SCrew and love it. The tow rating on it is 11,300 (FX4 package) from the factory. I have seen highway mileage in the 20's but I would expect to be in the high teens 18/19 more often than not. Great truck and I absolutely love it.
I have never trailered anything with it yet, but I have heard guys get double digits when trailering. I think it all depends on load and driving style.
2001 310 Fiesta Vee
T-5.0 FWC Mercs w/ B2
PC BYC, Holland, MI
Believe it or not...Like I said...I don't tow (and have never tested it), but apparently the boys (&girls) at Ford think otherwise. I was off 100 lbs...only 11,200 for my model.
http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/
Towing 11k pounds regularly would def beat up a 1/2.
2001 310 Fiesta Vee
T-5.0 FWC Mercs w/ B2
PC BYC, Holland, MI
As for capacity I'm with BD. 75-80% of the claim is where I'd be banking on reliable hwy time. Short hauls sure, but anything more than 30mi or hilly conditions and I'd want some serious grace in that towing claim. Before I got close to their claims I'd swap out the stock trans cooler for a mondo trans cooler just to save a potential overheating issue. The stock cooler on my 3/4ton suburban with a towing package was an embarrassment and had temps with a load near 200*. My new one is 3x larger and my temps run right at 160* max. Easy upgrade and I love the idea of less heat.
Mike
Al - I wouldnt want to try to defend an accident in court when I was driving an overloaded truck/trailer/whatever.
The local roads around me are very flat, but northern MI is decently "hilly", but absolutely nothing like the east or west mountain areas.
Hey JTKZ, When we got our new 276 in 08 I had a 2007 Yukon XL Denali with the 6.2L motor. It would definitely pull the load - but stopping was a whole different issue. It became uncomfortable while towing. When fully loaded the 276 would push that truck around quite easily. A 1/2 ton will do the job for pulling the boat out for a cleaning. Driving the 276 across the state with a half ton - expect about 8 mpg. Maybe 9 if you're lucky. You'll be white knuckling at times. I've got a '12' 2500 Duramax Crew now. Any towing issues are now gone.
The 276 & trailer is a bigger unit than people think.
Did you have a weight distributing hitch & brake controller? Was it a tandem or triple axle trailer?
Thanks for the feedback, thats exactly what I'm looking for.
air bags under the rear axle are nice, too.. but again, not required.. the brake controller is required in my humble opinion..
modern 1/2 tons are mighty capable trucks.... the caveat is duration- I wouldn't want to do it every day or even more than twice a week on a half ton because the suspension is geared more towards comfort than work.. the parts and pieces will stress to the point they aren't comfortable anymore, and still not capable of long term tugging without issues.. your brakes will wear fast.. your tires will scrub tread.. your springs will lose firmness.. your ball joints and swing arms will deform.. your front suspension, if you use a distribution hitch and don't have it set up correctly, will get the crap kicked out of it..
I used to mt bike competitively, and towed a camper to the races.. a couple buddies did the same.. we loaded up and pulled about 10hours one day, all of us using a distribution hitch.. mine was correct.. another was correct.. the other was obstinate and determined that his was good, when it was clearly biting too much link.. his front tires were toast when we arrived- eaten to dang near belts.. he's lucky he made it with the temperatures they must have been generating.. which brings me to this:
a nice little tool to have is one of those infrared heat sensing guns.. you can get one from harbor freight for >$10... check the temperatures of your tires at every stop if you are pulling near the weight limit of your rig.. check the outside tread, inside tread, and middle tread.. you'll want them uniform across the tire.. you can play with tire pressures w/o a load to make certain your alignment and pressure is right, and then compare it to the readings under load.. check your brake temps too... you can grasp whats happening using that little gun dang near as much as you can driving a load..
Like Al I chose a long wheel base tow vehicle and decided that a tri-axle trailer with SS discs would be the best trade off of tracking vs load capacity down here in the flatlands of FL. All up my tri-axle trailer and boat loaded with gear and fluids for a weekend hit the scales 10,100lbs. With about 800lbs on the tongue the Suburban barely flinches so no wt dist hitch hassles and no elec actuator. Saltwater messes with everything so I keep it simple use a drop pin for reversing and a typical hyd acutaor.
The boat mule is a 2000 3/4ton Suburban With 6.0ltr 335hp Vortec and weighs 6160lbs. I found the truck used with 200k mi in great shape for $3700. Added the trans cooler and put synthetic oil in the engine and it's a dedicated boat mule and visitor/guest truck.
Stopping is crucial and the trailer discs work like a champ. Once up to speed I could pull it all day at 63-65mph and it tracks like it's on a rail. My day-to-day SUV is far easier to justify around town with the low overhead of my older but pedigree boat beast which mostly just waits to go play.
Here's a pic. Hope that helps and good luck. Mike
Here's a pic. Hefty unit when loaded. Factory "Trailmaster" trailer. Tandem with surge brakes, no dist hitch.
Mattie
Yup, Denali HD. Pulls like a bandit. Exhaust brake too.
What a nice rig!
185* seems a bit on the high side to me and a hot summer day may add to that. I know my 3/4 ton Sunburban ran upwards of 190ish when pulling the boat only once on a broiling Fla day before I started to investigate and found that the OEM "tow package" trans cooler was only about 4x8". I replaced it with a TruCool 40K found on a Chevy truck forum (LINK HERE) . Check for a fit on your specific truck but my Sub was a breeze.
The bypass ver is for colder climes below 40*
TruCool Max LPD47391 (without bypass)
TruCool max LPD4739 (with bypass)
It was an incredibly easy upgrade and only took a few minutes. Absolutely the easiest bolt in project I've ever done with the best results. Trans temps dropped 40* and she's far happier on the long (or through town) pull.
PC BYC, Holland, MI
Now if my curmudgeon of a new CEO pulls the plug on my career then maybe it'd be time to do the loop to see what all the fuss is about. I'd have t learn some Candian so I can communicate with the locals too.
PC BYC, Holland, MI