Tow vehicles

[KPAero]

I won't start seriously shopping for a tow vehicle until sometime next winter. (Hopefully) But I do occasionally browse CL to see whats out there so when I do get serious, maybe I'll actually know what I want. Anyway, I have a few ideas on what Id like to get when the time comes, and would like to hear some feed back.

I will mostly use this for towing to events and as a service vehicle. Whatever I get should be good for that, and any other uses I might find would be secondary. Here is a list of options I have found sort of in order of what Id like most, without accounting for price.

1. Sprinter Van. They seem pretty sweet. Comfortable, drive nice, ample room for spares/tools. Can sleep in the back.
2. Ford Van, diesel would be nice(I think). I hear the 7.3s will go for ever. Again, plenty of room in the back. Maybe not as comfortable/drive as nice as a sprinter.
3. Box truck/cube van. More room in the back for spares/tools/sleeping. Larger vehicle would take up more room, but would mean some extra storage space if needed.
3. For trucks, I really like the newer Tundras, but they are still going to be too expensive. An F150/250 like what Jason has would be fine with me.

And finally, I've recently found myself looking at Disco's. Probably would not be the best service vehicle option, with a big roof rack I'd think it could work. But would be fine for going to hillclimbs. I'm assuming these should tow fairly well? Would there be any years that would be better than others? I have always liked Land Rovers, and the idea of owning one is cool.

[SwedeSport]

I got a pickup because I'm gonna use it for trips to the Home Depot, Roller Mills, or scrap yard trips and pushing snow more often than I'll go racing. I have been using mine as DD for about a year and a half.

If you decide to get a pickup based rig, I would go with a Ford 250 / GM2500 platform. I wish I held out for a few things. Like the heavier chassis, a diesel engine, and an extended cab for starters. I'd want stick shift (5spd), and manual shifting transfer case. I went for the lighter truck thinking I was gonna save gas. In all actuality its only marginally better and is half as tough.

I looked at a ramp-over transporter, it was a 79 Chevy pickup body on a stretched Dually frame. Had a gas 454 in it . The back is a wedge shape in the back, had a tire rack, and storage under the floor of the wedge and boxes in the sides like a contracter unit. If it only needs to tow your race car, you might as well get something cool.


This is something like this.

[airsweden]

I really liked the '02 Disco II that I bought last winter on a LeMons trip to Miami. It was perfect for towing the racecars and the sailboat... plus it was something you could daily drive from time to time as well if you had the cash for the gas (best I ever got was around 17 mpg). The 4wd really made sense for me due to sketchy lake acces at most iceraces. One downside was that it was not much fun to sleep in. The back seats fold down but the flat part of the floor is not big enough... even if you take the rear seats right out. If I was in the Northeast looking for another, I would try to find the best '03 with a locking center diff that I could afford. I've also heard that its not too hard to jam their diesel engine in if you can manage to get one from a junkyard in the UK or wherever. That would be nice... you could run it on Kip's veggie oil fuel... traded for seat time in your racecar.

[Jordan]

What it really comes down to is your budget and use. Sprinters are great, but $$. Value wise your best bet is a domestic box Van. Trucks seem to hold their value a bit better. If your planning on doing stage rally, nothing beats the built-in cargo space either for spares. You could create a partition for parts and also have room to haul people around. To do the same with a truck, you'd have to get a crew cab and a cap.

I also use mine as a multi-purpose vehicle and liked the fact that you can buy any part cheap. Its easy to work on and it is simple. I didn't go diesel because I just didn't want the hassle of one. Gas mileage isn't any better than the 4.9L 6-cylinder I have, but the extra 100lb/ft of torque would probably be nice (on the 7.3L) as would the beefed up transmission . If it's sole purpose was towing and I had a slightly bigger vehicle (or trailer) to tow , I definitely would have went that way.

Again I think it really depends on your budget. Lots of solutions but they can range from 2-10k+. I also was thinking about the Ford Transit vans too, but I'm not sure if they have been in this country long enough to be good value.

[Geoff]

I looked for Sprinters for a while, got a POS Chevy 1500, sold it and bought a pretty nice '03 Ford E350 Diesel (last year of the 7.3) with 185K on it for $2300. I replaced brakes, suspension bushings, shocks (only because I had it apart), put on better tires (sold the set that came on the van and almost broke even), and a high-pressure oil pump and it's been pretty nice. You can find 7.3 vans a lot cheaper than 7.3 trucks. One thing to know is that they don't come with an intercooler so I think the boost pressure is set a little lower than on the trucks. I wish it had 4WD because of where I live and the amount of snow we get, but I got some beefy chains for the rear wheels for cheap money.

Justin bought a cheap Sprinter and has had a number of dumb things to fix on it and breakdowns while towing. Something to keep in mind when looking for cheap Sprinters....

[turbo stephan]

Before I got my engineering degree in Germany I was enrolled in a three year apprentice ship program for carpenters/cabinet makers. We had two old 207D Mercedes vans which we eventually retired and then changed out for Fiat Ducatos (front wheel drive). We had one 2.8L Diesel n/a and a 2.8L Turbo Diesel, both with manual transmissions. The latter one rocked because it hauled a lot of stuff (3500kg GVW) in a quick way (162 km/h on the Autobahn). Additionally the van could haul our 2500 kg trailer with two axles behind it. This would actually be the perfect vehicle for you guys but unfortunately you can't get them here.

Now to the Sprinters. Most of the companies who had them were complaining about them. The rear wheel drive sucks big time in snow and mud, especially when you do not have any weight in the back. Sometimes even a bit of sand on a tarmac road with a slight incline was enough to stop the empty star. Thus, from this point of view I would maybe consider to look at something else as well.In terms of space, road holding and fuel economy though it is kind of hard to beat.

Speaking of European cars, ever considered one of the newer(ish) VW Vans like the T4s? In Germany they came with turbo diesel engines but I'm not sure if that was the case in the US as well.

Stephan

[KPAero]

For my purposes I think a van or small box truck/cube van would be best. I think I would prefer a diesel for towing a car and heavy trailer with a bunch of stuff in the back. 4wd would also be nice for towing boats. Do the 2wd vans ever have a limited slip or locking rear end? Limited slip and some good tires would probably make up for a lack of 4wd most of the time.

If I find a good deal on a nice truck I could go that route as well, but would prefer a van. I know most sprinter vans would be too much $$, but wasn't sure if there might be some older ones around that could be had for less money. Sounds like I won't be going that route though. My budget will of course be small, but I also don't want to just go for the cheapest thing possible and then decide its a piece of shit.

Anything newer like those T4's is probably going to cost more than I will be able to spend. By going with a domestic van I think I could probably get something nice for 2-3k or less, and be able to tow plenty. That would also be good because then I can get a nice heavy(cheaper) trailer.

I'm still intrigued by the idea of a Land Rover, any other thoughts on those? Are the ones I'm looking at in the 2-3k range going to have a chance at being any good? A little disappointing to hear that there isn't enough room to sleep. Does it work ok in a pinch, say if I went out for a night of drinking in the Land Rover and then couldn't drive home?

[Crazyswede]

I have lots of friends with sprinters who use them for work during the week and haul their motorcycles around on the weekend. They handle well, get great gas mileage, have a ton of space and can tow reasonably well and still turn in good mileage numbers. There are 3 versions of the earlier 5 cylinder engined vans and then they went to the newer V6 vans. You can find decent sprinters in the $8000 to $20,000 range. There are known problems but most are well documented and not that complex to repair. Many of the vans I have seen have a problem already have 250,000 to 350,000 miles on them so if they made it that far you have to figure they couldn't have been that bad. Also keep in mind that a lot of them are used as fleet vehicles that may get regular maintenance to go along with the regular thrashing.

When we went to Sandblast last year we left in a blizzard. The van we were in had 4 good snows on it and I was amazed at how sure footed it felt and we were towing a small enclosed trailer....which would have put a small amount of weight on the rear wheels. most of them have limited slip diffs in the rear. The newer ones are bigger and heavier and have heavier components so while they may be a little more durable they also are not as efficient and do not handle nearly as well.

[99Super]

Just to throw another idea out there, I love my Astro for exactly what you are talking about.
4.3 V6, AWD w/locking rear diff, tow package, plenty of room for spares and sleeping, OK for daily use, cheap to fix.
I have mine lifted w/ a heavier radiator because we use it for camping in the desert.
I got 16-17mpg while towing. You can get up to 22mpg at 55/60, but mileage drops of above 60.
I also have oversized tires, so that doesn't help the mileage.
I made two major tows this summer, one of 420 miles, the other of 300 w/ no problems.
If I were to get another, and I would, it would be a 2003-06. The "16er". They have better brakes w/ 16" 6-lug wheels.

Barring that, I'd go w/ a van like Geoff's.

john

[airsweden]

I am just about 6' and managed to catch some z's diagonally across the back of the Disco II but it wasn't exactly comfy. With one of the 60/40 rear seats removed I was able to stretch right out but then I also had to bring the rear passenger footwell up to level with the cargo area floor... still not ideal.

I think the 2003 is widely regarded as a really good year for the model. I would look for some serious low milage examples as far south as you can go. I personally couldn't find anything worth messing with for under $5k but I was in a hurry. I ended up getting a dealer serviced trade-in at Rover of North Dade. Evertyhing was serviced by them up to that point. My feeling is that like a lot of specialty vehicles, they can get pretty bad pretty quick once they are out of the dealers care for a while... depending on what kind of 2nd or 3rd owner they end up with.

[DeLorean]

Many DOT's in just about every state surplus their old work trucks, check out your local auctions. You can frequently find some sweet deals there, under $3000 for fleet maintained trucks in fairly good shape.

Recently, we got an 01 F350 Dully C&C with a fiberbody with the 7.3 & 6 speed MT for under $3000. Did need some work, but it has been an excellent truck!

[Crazyswede]

I know where there is a Russian Ural truck for sale complete with a Detroit 6v92 diesel and a 13 speed eaton gearbox for $23,000

eaton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6TDcPuWpmc

6v92
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVjXwS8H ... re=related

Ural 4320
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcPvHobX3D0

[airsweden]

Oh Crap!

I saw a video where they chained together bumper but still lost a truck.

Too bad GM didnt do an awd astro with the 4 cyl izuzu turbo diesel they use in the gmc cabover dealios.

[KPAero]

The Ural's do appear to be fairly capable tow vehicles. Maybe I could find a shorter route to VT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqI8QsAZ ... re=related

[99Super]

No diesel is the a big drawback for the Astro.

Several have installed the 6.1l (?) V8 without much difficulty but those were 2WD versions w/ coil spring fronts.
The AWD used torsion bars and there aren't really aren't options for beefier bars. I looked at putting the Isuzu motor in mine, but a nearly 2x the weight of the v6, I was worried about how well my bars would hold up.

I yanked the factory seats out of mine, installed the bench/bed from a conversion van. The seat has a quick release system w/ rails that bolt to the floor. I can have my van gutted for hauling 4x8 sheets in about 5 minutes and I've hauled up to 20 sheets of 5/8" drywall at a time...