Topic: Cheap Tow Rigs
I know the vehicle market is crazy right now, but what is a decent tow rig for $5K right now?
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The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Other Random Car Stuff → Cheap Tow Rigs
I know the vehicle market is crazy right now, but what is a decent tow rig for $5K right now?
I'm a fan of these as a tow pig, particularly with the V10. The E350's have gigantic brakes. You can sleep in them at the track. All your friends will make fun of you right up until they want to borrow it. IIRC, 16ft boards will fit inside the extended one and I've transported 20ft deck boards in mine. They also come in dizzle if that's your fancy. And you don't have the pay the truck penalty.
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto … 62768.html
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto … 98061.html
I'd recommend looking into a full size SUV. Trucks are insane right now, and midsize SUV's/compacts are pretty popular right now.
Particularly, a GMT800 tahoe/suburban. They're extremely reliable, sub-$5k, replacement parts are EXTREMELY cheap/available, and they're absurdly easy to work on with a huge community. We've had an 01 1500 burb (5.3/4L60E), and currently have an 01 2500 burb (6.0/4L80E). The 1500 towed any open trailer <7k like it wasn't even there, but once we upgraded to an enclosed trailer we upgraded to a 2500 burb. Our 1500 was purchased for $2500 but it was a beater, and we paid $5500 for our 2500 but it had a huge stack of service records and was completely turn-key and needed nothing. I wish we went with the nicer 2500 the first time around, but if you never plan on towing an enclosed trailer or more than 7k lbs a 1500 burb will get it done.
Also, there are more times that I've been happy that my cargo space is enclosed or I can seat 8 people, than I've needed an open bed. Full size SUV's are cheaper than trucks but I feel like my burb can do more things for me for less $ than a truck.
Used mini-school busses. I've removed most of the rear seats in mine. I just leave one row, the rest for cargo/ RV conversion.
Can get one ton, and: srw or dually. Throw on a trailer hitch, brake controller (or U-Haul transports with surge brakes) and wiring, and you're done. E350, Savanna/Express, diesel or not. I have to have a commercial insurance policy on mine here in PA, ~$700/yr.
You're near ATL: HMMWVs, though I expect the final sale price to be a little higher.
Late GMT400 3/4 ton Suburban. V10 Excursion. If you are going with lighter car and trailer, first gen Durango hemi with their max tow package. Go with just a car dolly, Toyota Sienna after 2006. If you hate yourself, any Ramvan.
At the end of the day, Hertz commercial pickup truck rental unless they have removed the unlimitted miles they used to have is cheap than all these options.
The E350 weights 1000lbs less than the Excursion. Jus sayin.
The E350 weights 1000lbs less than the Excursion. Jus sayin.
Totally agreed. Excursions were owned mostly by a different group of people than non-conversion van E350's. In our region, E350's do drop in price fast but they are also abused by tradesmen or neglected by churches. There are tons of exceptions of course. Most of the Excursions were bought for one of two reasons and the V10's usually only the latter: Soccer mom or dad wanted the biggest thing running or tow the horse to events. Both tended to maintain them better than the E350's.
Now, 7.3 Excursions were only purchased to tow and I almost bought a 350K mile example because the records the guy kept showed a level of car one does not see every day. He moved campers for a living (common in my area as Elkhart, In is an hour away) as a retired truck driver taking his wife and three dogs everywhere. The stuff he had to replace was insane but as he stated "It was the cost of doing business,and business was good."
If the only thing you are using it for is to tow the car, consider renting a vehicle. Between insurance and registration, you can pay for a couple weekend rentals a year.
If you go with a Triton V10 (the Ford) there are a couple things to look out for. 2005+ makes more power because they moved to a 3V head. There were spark plug issues 99-02, consider shooting for a later year. Before you buy it, tell them you want to inspect the spark plugs. Ask that they (or with them watching you) inspect each spark plug. If the spark plugs all come out ok, you're probably good with any year V10. When reinstalling make sure you use the updated torque specs. If they are torqued appropriately, the older heads are just fine. They are very easy to over-torque.
Agree that for two or three weekends a year, renting a truck is cheaper. But when you’ve been doing this for enough years, you end up wanting to avoid the Uhaul silliness. I lucked out and found a ‘90 F250 supercab 460 for $1500 back in 2019. Yes, at current prices of diesel, it goes notably further per dollar of fuel than my teammate’s 6MT Cummins Dodge. The Ford pulled our Vette back from KC to Phoenix on an open trailer like it wasn’t there…
I know the vehicle market is crazy right now, but what is a decent tow rig for $5K right now?
We have a variety of things, including E250 vans. A team mate runs a Stanley Steemer franchise so we use a van that aged out of his fleet. We have my 2017 Yukon that I got before COVID lunacy and an old 02 GMC Sierra 2500HD. Things become available all the time. People see random stuff on Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist all the time. It is helpful to know where you live so fill out your profile.
It is helpful to know where you live so fill out your profile.
This is true. For us in the LA basin, there is 20-30 miles of 5-8% grade between us and every racetrack we run. Having a lot of engine is important to me so as not to spend 60 minutes at 30mph and 5000 RPM..
Location: agreed - true. But again: West Georgia, according to other post; the many 'Lemons worthy' Jaguars, etc., in various states of "inop" that need to be moved/sold.
Location: agreed - true. But again: West Georgia, according to other post; the many 'Lemons worthy' Jaguars, etc., in various states of "inop" that need to be moved/sold.
Ah...This just popped up on Facebook near me. It's an 05 Chevk 2500HD 4x4. Its listed at $7k but will work very well as a tow rig.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3743479 … 6405719484
Depending on how heavy your trailer and racecar is, consider a 2000-2006 Tahoe. We used one to tow a 6000 lb vintage trailer and put 12,000 miles towing on it. We got 12 MPG while towing, and while it wasn’t fast up hills it did fine. Nothing is fast up hills.
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