ian

I have been thinking about my trips to the track and the fact that my speeds are coming up to a point where I am worried about doing a little damage to the car. It is not that I don't have confidence in my driving more that I was told that you have to cross the threshold of control to learn where those limits are. So I'm thinking that there will come the day that I won't be able to drive my car back from the track.

And my question is: What cars/trucks/sport utes makes good tow vehicles? I would prefer it to be something I could drive around town when the porsche is out of commision.

Tabor

IMHO, the 1980 Chevy Pickuptruck that you pick up for $500. It has a very simple and inexpensive engine to maintain.

KWB_S2

How about a Cayanne?

rangelica

Ian,

I've been thinking about the same thing for next year. It has to have rear wheel drive, and decent room inside with a big enough engine. I'm leaning toward a Chevy Astro van.

Rick

'86 951

Tabor

On second thought, how about a 928?

ian

Tabor I thought about a 928 because I thought it would be great to show up to PCA events with a porsche towing a porsche (that and the factory had a towing option and it should be able to pull it off). But after thinking about it a while longer I relized that I def can't afford two porsches.

But my thought are leaning towards a Toyota 4-runner, I have heard good things about these regarding reliability, but maybe someone was blowing smoke.... But anyway my list of possibles are
Toyota 4-Runner
Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon
Pathfinder
Land Rover Discovery (odds are these are more expensive to maintain than a 928)
Suburban / Yukon /

I think my max price would have to be around 15,000, but I would like to keep it lower than that.

Eric

Ian,

I will share my personal experiences regarding some of the vehicles on your list.
1. 4Runner--Three of my friends have these(one guy had a 95 and now has a 98). ALL have been reliable and have seen over 100,000 miles with no major problems and not all have been treated that nicely. The only dislikes are the rather"tinny" feel of the overall body and some minor pieces working loose(int. pieces). Get a V6 if you are towing.
2. Yukon/Tahoe--My mother and sister both drive these(my mothers' second one). Good power and reliability. Comfy seats. Dislikes--typical GM-cheap dash, heavy on gas usage. Great towing oomph. I am really fond of these.
3. Land Rover Discovery--my other sister has one of these--you are right on the money, they are rather $$$ to maintain. She has had a variety of small electrical problems and a MAJOR oil leak--eventually required a new factory-replacement engine(at 48K miles!!). I would NOT reccomend a Disco.

Jeep Cherokees make pretty good tow vehicles(make sure you get the 4.0 liter six)lots of int. room and 4-wheel drive. Very reliable(I put over 100K on every one I owned) fairly cheap--I would stick with an 88 and up. Or get what I use 95 Ford F250 Ext. cab 4x4--210,000 and still going

Eric

Schneider

Chevy or Ford 2WD pickup. No need for 4WD unless you're going to haul your car to the snow races. All that 4WD gives you is more weight to drag around which reduces your towing capacity. And it's just more stuff to break!

I have a 94 Chevy extended cab with 120,000 miles and it's in perfect condition. No leaks, doesn't use oil and can run 75-85 (unloaded) all day long up here at around 5000 ft elev. I paid $10K for it 2 years ago and haven't spent a dime on it other than tires. We've pulled a 944 back from Salt Lake last year in the snow and still didn't have a problem. I've drug around friend's 2 horses through the mountains and still no problems. And it's only a 1/2 ton truck with a 350. Look around. You can find a great used truck these days. So many people are buying them to go to the grocery store that they aren't thrashed like most trucks were 10-15 years ago.

If you're going to tow, don't go small or mid-size trucks. They just aren't designed for it. Don't believe the advertising. I've towed with smaller trucks and it's just down right scary! When the truck wieghs as much as what you're towing, it can get dangerous. For $15K, you can find a great 96-97 2WD ext-cab Chevy that will be in good enough shape for a daily driver. Heck, your wife will probably want to drive it (that is if you have one).

Jason_86_951

Nissan!!!
Their pick-up trucks are great, I'm on my second one, a 98' Frontier 4x4 which I love. I had a 92' which I put over 100k without anything but maintaince. My 98' has been trouble free for 60k so far.
Good luck,
Jason

jim968

Back a few decades ago when my Dad occasionally hauled a travel trailer around, the rule of thumb was that ideally the tow vehicle should be at least as heavy as the trailer. Also, the longer the wheel-base of the tow vehicle, the beter for stability (PITA for manuvering, tho').

Toyota makes the most reliable trucks on the road, IMHO (I've owned two; one for 17 years), but until you get up to the $$$ Tundra, they're a little too small & light for towing a car trailer.

I'll vote _for_ 4WD; usually includes better suspension, cooling, brakes, etc., and gives you a lot of advantages for parking in nasty spots. With manual hubs, you can with due care use low range 2wd on pavement for parking / backing; saves a lot of wear on clutch or auto box, and the slower speeds give you more time to decide which way to try cutting the wheel next ....

Jim, who would honestly have to sell the 968 before the Toy truck...

VectorGuy

I tow with my 99 Durango, the 360 has more than enough oomph to do the job. It's perfect size for everyday use, not too big, not too small. The first year (98) can be had for under your 15K figure. Downsides, low MPG, (16) and some folks, (not me) have had reliability issues. Personally, I like the looks of it more than any of the other utes.

Steve Lavigne

I used a '95 Astro cargo van to haul my 125cc gearbox kart, toolbox, pit equipment, etc. It worked fairly well for this and could cruise on the highway at 85 mph without much difficulty, which eased travelling to far off races. I would not use this type of vehicle to trailer more than 2000 lbs. This is especially true if you plan on travelling more than 100 miles with it. If you are talking about towing a 2500+ lb car as well as a 1000+ lb trailer, you definitely need a full size truck (Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F150/250/350, Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra) or a large SUV (Suburban, Tahoe, Expedition, Excursion, etc). The Astro will work, assuming you have the tow package with a shorter differential ratio, but it will be a scary package driving for long distances.

On another note, I bought the '95 Astro in '99 for $8000 with 108k on it, put 60k on it, and sold it last month for $5500. In all this time I did nothing besides change the oil, change the brake pads ($17/axle), and change the tires. It was bulletproof, and I beat the crap out of it every day.

The best low buck race car tow vehicle I know of is an early to mid 80's Suburban.

OTOH, even though the Astro gave me good service, I recommend a Suburban as a tow vehicle, and I would love to have a new Corvette Z06, I still can't stand GM products!

-Steve

'86 944 turbo

Manning

My sister and her brother-in-law both have Suburbans and will never buy another. She had to replace the trans in hers after 30K miles and he has replace his twice in under 45K miles. She tows nothing and never has and he tows a 1200 lb Bob Hewes bonefish boat and has a towing package.

Also, the front brakes are literally the same as those on a Cavalier, in other words about as big as your hand.

Stay away from Suburbans or Yukon XLs at all costs.

GeoffD

I'd like to counter the previous post by a fellow 88 924S owner. Three years ago, when my car had become track dedicated, I bought a 99 Yukon SLT and an open trailer. I still have the Yukon but I now tow a 20 ft Pace enclosed trailer. With the trailer (3500 lbs) the car (2734 lbs) and about 1000 lbs worth of tires, spares and gas the Yukon ends up towing 7000 lbs and does just fine thanks. I have put 75,000 K (about 50,000 miles) on the thing and had zero problems and only normal maintenance. The 4WD gets used in the winter as the family goes skiing every weekend from Dec to April. We appreciate the space when loading up for the weekend and the smelly dog goes in the back! In normal driving the thing gets around 20 miles per imperial gallon (a little bigger than a US gallon).

This is my first GM truck and I am very happy with it although I have to admit, the brakes are really very poor. You just have to make sure you plan ahead, don't follow too closely and have your trailer brakes well adjusted.

I understand the new generation Yukon (2000 and later) has much better brakes.

One thing is for sure, you should buy a vehicle with lots of towing capacity, the towing package (which is usually great value for what you get) and the right rear end ratio. With a 944 and even an open trailer, you are going to be towing a minimum of 4000 lbs. V6's and small pick ups just don't cut it with this kind of load.

My $0.02.

ian

Thanks all,

I'm not sure what I'm going to end up doing but as always the info was appreciated.