IcemanG17

I am considering buying a truck and trailer to tow my race 928 (2800lbs).....Since I figure a decent open trailer is around 2000lbs I will only be towing about 5000lbs which isn't much.....

I am considering a Toyota Tundra 5.7l double cab, since I can get a good deal on one right now brand new for under $30k.... I'm also considering a chevy or GMC crew cab with the max trailer pack (6.2L V8).... Both are rated for 10K+ towing...so easily enough... I might pull a 24ft TPD enclosed on occasion too..but even then its 4k or about 7K total.....still well within the trucks abilities

Another option is a used diesel 2500....but since I will be using this as a daily driver and towing at most a couple weekends a month I think I will be better served by the gas 1500 vs the diesel 2500..... I do like the Duramax diesels...but think I'll be better off with a new truck...

Thoughts...opinons? Also I will be pulling over mostly flat terrain....only Laguna has hills in the way and they aren't that bad....

John H

been waiting to use this.

John H

Seriously though, I towed with a Tundra and was not impressed. Get something with a long wheelbase and torque.

RickBetterley

Like John said (except for the snarky but cool animation).
Its more about stability and stopping than it is about towing capacity. I tow an enclosed and changed from a long bed duallie crew cab (F350) to a shorter bed crew cab F250. The non-duallie was stable, but not as stable, so I hooked up some sway bars I already had, and now its nice and stable.
Too many people focus on tow capacity (weight), not enough focus on tow vehicle stability.
Do you have cross winds and oncoming big rigs? Get a big truck.

M758

If you will only tow with an open trailer then a 1/2 ton truck will work fine. Any 1/2 ton will get the job done. Some may work better than others, but they will all work.

You can also get by with full size SUV. Like a Tahoe/Yukon or Expedition. Anything less and you are gettiing marginal. Now if you will be carrying spares and gear the 1/2 truck is better than the SUV.


Once you start pulling an enclosed it is best you use a 3/4 ton truck. If you are really carefull you might get by with a 1/2 ton, but you need to be really careful.

I moved up from an open trailer to a 24 ft enclosed. I tow with a 2500 V10 dodge. The truck is rock solid even with 1200lbs of tires, gas, and canopy weights in the bed of the truck. This is for a trailer at an estimated 7000-8000lbs with at least 1000lbs on tongue. I carry alot of spares.

The use load bars and the truck tows flat and level and even in 40 mph gusting cross winds at 65 mph the truck is rock solid with no sway.

The Tundra has more hp than my 8.0 V10 and similar torque, but the chassis is just not designed for the loads. Considering how much weight I pit in the bed I just can't see using an 1/2 ton truck even if it will tow 10k by rating. The load carrying ability of the 3/4 ton is just too great. Once I put 3500lbs of pavers in the bed. The suspension moved, but despite being 200lbs over the cargo limit it still did fine. Not I need to carry 3500lbs in the bed very often, but considing how much I did put in just make the 1/2 tons seem wimpy. Plus just look at the rear end and you can see how much more beef is in the 3/4 ton trucks vs ligther 1/2 tons.

Gary R.

Duramax, better mileage, more towing power and torque, just better all around.

Jim Morton

Brian:

As a couple of FYI's...

1.) My basic double axle car hauler (steel) weighs 1650#'s, unloaded.

2.) If you are not going to use the truck except to tow / ocasional other use, 454 based 2500's are incredible buys right now and they tow great with very little maintenance... basically oil changes if they've been cared for. I've owned five different tow rigs and the 454 2500 does the best job with little to no maintenance. If I towed a LOT more, I spend the $$$ on a newer similar truck with the Duramax / Allison combo, but the extra $12K is just not sitting in the pocket right now.

Enjoy the quest !

MUSSBERGER

If I stay on this merry go round I'm going with whoever has a Cummins coupled to an Allison. After all it will be a work truck

Coochas

OMG, that is great.

As to the OP, I've been towing an open Featherlite with a Cayenne S. It does the job but going to Monticello this week with all the hills and the added weight of towing my behemoth 997TT instead of a Boxster left me really questioning it. It was constantly necessary to drop 2 gears to get up the hills. It drove me nuts!

Is there any chance you'll eventually go to an enclosed trailer? I am now strongly considering this. There is an F250 or Ram 2500 in my future.

Tom W

I use a Chevy 2500 HD (Duramax crew cab) to pull a 24' TPD and my 2100 lb car (with all the spares and crap that accumulates to fill the trailer). It does great, even up and over the Sierra's the one time I went to Fernley. It would get you to any of our tracks without issue.

I used to use an ML430 to tow an open steel trailer and the car when it was 2600 lbs. Night and day difference. The ML worked but the Silverado is waaay better. If you can afford it, the Chevy and the TPD are a great way to go when compared to 'lesser' tow vehicles and trailers.

IcemanG17

A friend has a 1 ton 1981 GMC that he towed my race car to a show with last weekend.....it has an automatic and 454.....while it made the hills no problem, some of the steeper sections were rough...granted the choice of roads that Google maps gave us was LESS than ideal...think Marin road in Berkeley...13% average for a mile with ramps as steep as 25%.....so we ended up taking the longer less steep route.... I would guess his open trailer was 2500lbs (its pretty beefy with storage)...so at most 5300lbs....

Everyone keeps mentioning stability....is this were the longer wheelbase trucks have a distinct advantage of being less susceptible to trailer sway? Which explains why so many people tow with long bed trucks....

Krokodil

I tow a 7000# loaded 20ft enclosed with a 2010 5.7 Sequoia (shorter, enclosed Tundra). Works great. No issues (yet) even in very heavy cross winds of the CA desert. Air suspension and stability management (with a load distributing hitch) make for an easy drive.

I suspect that the monster trucks mentioned here are certainly better, but ...

For those knocking the Tundra - are you confusing the 2008+ model with the 5.7 or the older, mcuh smaller truck?

Cheers,

RickBetterley

Exactly - and don't forget its not just cross winds that cause the need, its also the idiot driver that pulls out in front of you and then slows up. I have a story about that, and lived to tell it. If I was hauling with my Expedition, I suspect it would have ended badly.
Now, if you have an open aluminum trailer, a smaller truck or larger SUV works, but for an enclosed trailer and all of its stuff, I like my truck.

P.J.S.

imho
open alum/steel trailer -- any 1/2 ton truck or suv will be fine with a tow controller and a WD hitch

enclosed 20 foot or less -- could also be done with a 1/2 ton but you are entering 3/4 ton territory...

>20 feet enclosed -- 3/4 to 1 ton and preferably diesel but not mandatory

>than 24 feet enclosed -- out of my thought process entirely... I could live in a 24 ft trailer

Veloce Raptor

Daily driver too? Get a 2004-2006 Suburban or Yukon XL 3/4 ton (2500) with the 8.1 liter gas engine.









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