I keep looking at toyhaulers.
Our 3 quads and gear weigh about 1500 lbs.
My pop-up slide-in weighs 1200 lbs.
My utility trailer weighs 840 lbs.
That's about 4,000 lbs total.
I had a lite travel trailer and fried my POS GMC Yukon with it, sold them both. Couldn't get quads in the trailer so even though it was nice, it was not the right rig.
Pulling a Toyhauler with an SUV is a really BAD idea. Weekend Warrior is coming out with a "lite" model.
....I did learn that just because a rig is rated for say 6,000 lbs, like the Yukon was, doesn't mean it can haul 6,000 lbs. It can't for very long. SO now I'm getting a new Ford V-10 F-250 crew cab. It can haul a bunch. BUT I still don't want to haul 11,000 lbs down the road.
It's going to be overkill with the new truck, pop-up slide-in and utility trailer, but it should drive really great, and gas mileage should be only marginally affected
.....I saw a really cool Toyhauler in Tucson last week. A Hornet 29' front sleeper with a garage. They're great once they are parked. But this behemoth weighed 8,000+ lbs empty.
....Grand Travel in Phoenix rents Toyhaulers, Sands and Weekend Warriors. I might have to try that sometime.
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Smitty:

That Aerostar is quite a story. I believe it though.

Forlix:

What caused the Yukon failure? What rear-end did it have? I know that makes a huge difference. What engine?

It will be interesting to see what the Weekend Warrior LITE version is all about.

I think you guys are being a little hard on SUV's. People have been pulling trailers with F150 P/U trucks for years. Many with smaller engines and higher ratio rear ends. Sure, they don't go 80 mph on the highway but come on. . . they can pull a trailer fine. Sure, I would like to be able to go up a pass going 65 at half throttle but I don't NEED to. As long as stabilizer hitches are used, heavy duty trans collers and a driver that doesn't push the engine too hard the rig will do fine. Obvously the rig will break down quicker than a diesel with a higher weight towing limit but, it will work fine.

 

Hey faster, I heard awhile back that ford was going to be offering a diesel in there f150's and maybe in the expedition. I am not sure if that was for 03 or 04. But it might be just what you are looking for.

Just a thought.

Bat

 

Bat:

I thought I had heard that too but nothing I am hearing official yet. I will be the first in line when they do.

I also hear VW is going to put a W10 diesel in a SUV. No info on that yet either.

Think they will laugh at me showing up with a Durango towing my Warrior now just wait until I show up with a VW towing it. You guys must think I am nuts.

You know, I don't understand the manufacturers'. Dodge came out with three rows of seating in a mid size SUV and the market went crazy to follow. What do you think would happen if one of the Detroit boys came out with a diesel that could tow 10,000 lbs. in a SUV the size of the Durango / Yukon / Expedition? I am sure I am not the only one that doesn't want or need a P/U but, likes to be able to tow one of these rigs with plenty of power to spare.

 

<< No problem, just a FYI from expierance.

I sold a 26' Mid Cabin boat to a guy with an Aerostar V-6. When he showed up to pick up the boat, I asked where his tow vechial was, He said this is it. The Aerostar was rated at maybe 4,000Lbs. The trailer wieghed 1,200 and the boat DRY was 4,800. It carried 25 Gallons of water and 75 Gallons of fuel so that's another 800-900 Lbs, plus all the Boat stuff, food, general needs of a boat. He had a load leveler hitch, and was all set to tow the thing home. He also lived about 50 Freeway miles from water. I offered to use my truck to get it home and he said no he'd take it. Well, we typed up a waiver, he hooked it up and off he went. I followed several cars back so he couldn't see me, due to the size of the boat. He made it home but you could tell it wasn't easy, his wife was very worried about the whole thing as well. I know he was well beyond the limits of that tow and I just can't in good faith allow him to continue towing with that.

I found in the auto trader a good condition '70 Ford F-350 with a 390CI motor for about $1,500 called him and he went and bought it. Save the Durango and buy a cheap heavy duty tow rig.

Just my thoughts, better safe than sorry.

Smitty >>



I have a story like that too. Last year I sold our Sea-Doo jetboat (3000lbs full of fuel with trailer)to a gentleman who showed up to take the boat home with a really beat up mid eighties 4cyl mini truck. He said he had just bought it so he could tow the boat to the Colorado river that night (250 miles away). Now this truck had 100k+ miles, with only a bumper hitch, and NO trailer wiring. I told him that I didn't think it was wise to tow the boat with this truck, and then he said his wife would be there soon with the minivan - possibly a better tow vehicle. Well she showed up, and the minivan turned out to be an old smoking Caravan (turns out the boat was worth more $$$ than both of their vehicles combined). After trying to explain to him that I didn't feel EITHER vehicle was up to the task, he still insisted on taking it home that night, and get this, his plan was to drive to the river and have the wife and kids follow in the minivan to provide &quot;brakelights&quot;. We completed the transaction, but I never could get him to understand the concept of safe towing.

 

I see alot of vehicles &amp; trailers that don't look road legal.
I was told that my employer (EATON) is going to make parts for a small IH deisel that will go in the Ford &quot;Exploder&quot; and/or Expidition....
Also, anyone have see the newstyle Dodge Ramchargers only found in Mexico? They look like a full size Ram.

 

The GM half-ton automatic transmission is incapable of towing much of anything without blowing sky high. I blowed up 3 so far, despite coolers. I think the Ford half-tons do much better. But half-tons really aren't made for towing. They don't have the brakes, axles, etc. for those kind of loads. It's more than just engines and springs.
......The Toyhaulers are really heavy, and should absolutely NOT be towed by any half-ton or SUV, except for a 3/4 ton Suburban or Excursion. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

my previous tow vehicle was a fullsize bronco with a 351, while pulling the trailer, fully unloaded. i blew out the transfer case. and no i wasn't in 4wd. the trailer as it stood at the time was only 7000 lbs. that's why i now have an ugly f250 diesel, but its a great tow vehicle.

 

<< ......The Toyhaulers are really heavy, and should absolutely NOT be towed by any half-ton or SUV, except for a 3/4 ton Suburban or Excursion. >>




My 99 f150 w/5.4 towed my 21' toy hauler for over a year. The biggest problem was the brakes. I went through a set (front &amp; rear disc) in 20,000 miles. They were fine until I started towing then 3000 miles of towing the toy hauler they were fried. My trailer brakes were set to the point that they were stopping the truck and under normal stopping this scenario works pretty well. Its the hard or panic stops that do all the damage. The tranny was starting to show signs of overheating as well so that was enough for me. I loved the truck but not enough to keep spending a fortune on upkeep. Last year I traded it for a Super Duty, diesel. well, wouldn't you know it, now the wife wants a bigger trailer... It never stops!

 

Fourlix,
Don't forget.... the 3/4 ton IH Travel-All[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

What more could you want, 3/4 ton, 4Wd &amp; the same motor &amp; trannys they put in dump trucks &amp; school buses!