track haulers

[j4d3_h4v0k]

Hey I'm lookin into gettin a p/u truck and I will eventually using it to haul my s13 to track days and what not so I just wanted input on what some people are using for this purpose

[ripracer]

I use a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 5.9l and pull a homemade tandem axle dove tail trailer. I works pretty well and I have went quite a few distances with it. Need to hook up the trailer brakes, but stops it alright and my truck usually gets about 11-12 mpg. Looking to upgrade b/c I have a gooseneck 2 car trailer I might start pulling and I want a duallie.

[JRas]

how frequently do you go to the track?

If you don't go much consider a U-Haul Auto Transport

[Secretsquirrel]

i use a 01' GMC Sierra 1500 with a 5.3L in it and a 17ft tandem axle trailor. Pulls good, gets 10-12mpg while towing.


i currently dont have trailor brakes on it, so hard stops can sometimes be a bit of a handful if im not paying attention.




SS

[ThatGuy]

Just waiting on gas prices to go down so I can pick this up...


Well, a drop in gas prices, and a $10 Billion check from Oprah, Trump, and Gates.

[fliprayzin240sx]

^^^ You can probably stick your S13 in the back of that thing Barry...

Anyways, back to the OP, the best question is whats your budget? That will pretty much dictate what to get. Light towing with an open trailer, few sets of wheels and tools should be do-able with an F150. If you wanna be a baller, Full sized Dodge Ram Cummings edition with a turbo diesel.

[McRussellPants]

2006 Nissan Frontier 4.0 Auto: it pulls fine, but won't stop for shit, kinda a hassle. 12 or so MPG

2007 Chevy 2500HD 6.2 Gas Auto: Pulls great can barely feel a one car the new 2007 Chevys rule my face, so fucking nice. 13.7 average milage over 7k miles, some with a 10k load on a goose neck.

2006 Chevy 3500 Dually 6.6 Allison: Can't even feel a one car. Pulls a three car with no trailer brakes (15k loaded) with no issues. Averages 15 or so with a one car trailer.

2007 Chevy 2500HD 6.6 Allison: gets around 16mpg on the highway with a trailer, can't feel a one car behind it.

1997 Chevy 2500 5.7 Gas Auto: Bleh, it pulls arright, kinda weak but the trailer doens't boss the truck around too hard.

2000 Ford F350 7.3 Deisel Manual: Cant feel a trailer but its loud as fuck stock and a pain to drive long distances, it was kinda cool though.

1996 Ford F250 7.3 Auto: I'd break my knuckles before buying this truck, Driving Kuahs around was so fucking gay. and it gets like 9mpg loaded.

2000 Ford F350 V10 Triton Auto Dually: sucks anus. the trailer weight isnt a problem but it gets like 9mpg without a trailer.

F150s are kinda dicks too imo, but I've never actually driven one loaded, only ridden.

Thats everything I've used. If I had to get a truck for a single car I'd get a 1500 Chevy with the biggest motor they had. If you're gonna pull an enclosed you'd want a bigger truck though.

Can't hype deisel enough if you can afford it.

I've never delt with dodge really, the deisels are retarded loud but could move a house if you wanted.

this is the most helpful post I've made on zilvia like ever.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Only reason I brought up the Diesel Ram is cuz a buddy of mine got one. Intake, 5 inch full exhaust, rechipped ecu with the turbo boost cranked from 36 to 42 and that thing hauls ass!!! Good enough to run 13s at the track.

[Dousan_PG]

i use a dodge ram 94 pickup
5.2L v8
works ok
but looking to get anewer truck
russelpants was helpig me out
might end up w/ a dodge 2500 like 05/06 model


realy wan ta turbo deisel but just cant afford it
and i only tow my car, kinda overkill. but it would be awesome perfect

[jobestudios]

Turbo Diesel

[MomentumGT]

I use a 05' Nissan Frontier 4.0L. It does fine, especially when we're running late going to button willow I'm doing 80+mph through the grape vine with race car and the tiny ass truck bed filled with rims, tires, tents, tools, 5 full fuel cell tanks, etc...Waiting on my lotto ticket to punch in so I can get a rig. LOL.

-Jon

[ripracer]

I have been going to atleast 2 events a month for the past 5 months, though december was kind of slow. Usually try to make 2-3 a month and the shortest is like an hour and the longest is close to 4hr.

[loserfrancis]

would a 05/06/07 tacoma do the job? driving to WSIR with the s13 from san diego is a journey

[ryan hagen]

2000 silverado ext cab 2500 6.0L 4l80e, pulled great, took it to proam, i m adding bigger trans cooler and a p/s brake booster cooler and it should be a champ for next season, 187,??? current miles, still great

2005 gmc ext cab 6.5L duramax with alison trans, pulls better than my silverado, power to spare, its my dads, even fairly quiet for a diesel.

i pull a dual axle steel 17 foot trailer with trailer brakes when they work(shit ass cheap wireing)

[MomentumGT]

Originally Posted by loserfrancis

would a 05/06/07 tacoma do the job? driving to WSIR with the s13 from san diego is a journey

I think you'll do pretty well if its the 6 cyl. If using a 4 banger tacoma you'll probably hold up traffic going up hills. I've seen some of the fellow NASA racers from SD use 4 banger trucks to tow their race cars to Button Willow, not the most ideal scenario but you make due and everythings all good.

-Jon

[Ninjabread]

Used a xterra with the vg30 v6, car on a 2 wheel dolly, It was barely noticeable on flats, but uphills required a bit of gasing it.

Ford f150 (2007) uhaul rental with whatever v8, Got really good gas mileage compared to the xterra, no effort required, and you can power shift the auto tranny for fun, or downshift comming to a stop. Uhaul = no care.

Put it in first, floor it up the onramp, wait to hit the revlimiter, shift to second, repeat. Fun stuff.

[genericforumname]

honestly there is no reason to get a massive truck to pull one car, only get a diesel if you have a massive (insert random 10k+ object here)

my dad had a 1991 ford explorer with the towing package and that thing ruled, old trucks are built like tanks and easy to work on.

an old friend had a 2001 tacoma with the trd package and it was waaay more capable than it looked, he pulled off the mud flaps and went mudding every weekend

if you really want a new truck then look at a frontier or Tacoma (i think the new ones are hideous personally) they get better mileage and wont kill you on maintenance or size (try parking a a titan or dually, hope you're a wizard)

p.s. I would stay away from dodge, the whole manufacturer has horrible quality control, and some models had problems with the dashboard collapsing, and yes I do have personal experience with the company

[McRussellPants]

Originally Posted by genericforumname

honestly there is no reason to get a massive truck to pull one car, only get a diesel if you have a massive (insert random 10k+ object here)

my dad had a 1991 ford explorer with the towing package and that thing ruled, old trucks are built like tanks and easy to work on.

an old friend had a 2001 tacoma with the trd package and it was waaay more capable than it looked, he pulled off the mud flaps and went mudding every weekend

if you really want a new truck then look at a frontier or Tacoma (i think the new ones are hideous personally) they get better mileage and wont kill you on maintenance or size (try parking a a titan or dually, hope you're a wizard)

Yeah, once you get spoiled with a duramax all that shit you listed is total dicks to drive.

Its not just the power, its the whole truck is designed to pull. Im not saying you need 3500 to pull a one car. But doing it in light trucks is gay as fuck if your going more than an hour away. Bare minimum 1500 imo. Chevy Sells the 1500HD which is the 2500 axles on the 1500 Frame/Engine, which would probably work pretty well.

Frontiers/Tacomas are wack in traffic, or any situation where you aren't just cruising down the highway. The brakes aren't up to it, and the thing is so light it gets bossed around on bad pavement really easily.

lol at park a Titan, if you can't get a Titan into a parking spot someone needs to take your keys away. Duallys are pretty easy too if you've driven it more than once, not that it matters because you can just take two spots and be lazy.

Oh yeah, just so everyone knows, The Titan/Tundra are equivelent to splitting a 2500/1500 gas domestic. The first year Titans/New Tundras have lots of issues.

Don't waste your time with the orignal Tundra, it doesn't even have enough power to get out of its own way.

[KA-T_240]

If you got the money and all that get a diesel. My dad has customers with the cummins of various years that get 19-21 MPG on the highway w/ trailers. Speed is a factor. Most of them say they are under 65 for that kind of mileage. Stay away from ford diesels unless they have a warranty and you have all maintance done at ford(ford dealers around here have been using every exuse to not warranty the trucks).

With proper mods diesel trucks can get good gasmileage and be pretty fun for a 7-8000+ pound truck.


For my towing experience:

97 Grand Cherokee 5.2L tows good, stopping could be improved, but gas blows

98 S10 4.3L with K&N FIPK towed pretty good. If hills, needs more power

05 Colorado w/ 5 cylinder I/E: Tows pretty good. brakes good. and most hills around here its pretty decently powered. Except a couple really steep ones. Have only towed with it twice so far.


03 F250 Powerstroke with superchip: Power is good. Tows plenty of weight, loud as hell. Would take a Duramax or Cummins over it anyday though.

[SHIFT_Slide]

I've only dealt with Fords, and they all had the 7.3 Powerstroke and I love all of them.

2002 Excursion 7.3 - My moms truck. shits intense, full exhaust, chipped, intake and soon to be propane injected. They tow 4 bikes every year to Daytona and Lake George and a few other places and they love the truck to death.

2001 F250 7.3 6 speed- Loved driving it, soo easy to tow one car.

and a few 7.3 vans my father brought home from work.
One thing I really like about the 7.3's is that it takes ALOT to kill it. Some vans had over 200k miles all in NYC and I know for a fact not one single mile out of all of those were easy on the truck. The only real problem is some of the trucks have minor electrical problems, stupid little shits that are easy fixes but everyone blows them out of proportion.

[azndoc]

I use a 2002 F350 turbo diesel, love it when I was towing, didn't feel like I was trailering just normal driving. MPG was okay.

I also used my uncle's 2007 Tundra SR5 full cab, but I didn't like it for towing, it sucked. It was kinda of scary actually. So I was pretty disappointed, the commercials looked so cool. lolz

[g6civcx]

If you're hauling just one car and an open trailer, I would try to get something that's rated for at least 5,000 pounds. For this, any full size 1/2 ton truck should be able to pull this.

I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 with tow package. It's rated for about 9,200 pounds. It's more than adequate for just one car and an open trailer.

If you have an enclosed trailer, I'd recommend stepping up to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck for more towing power. You don't need dualies but make sure you don't push the tow rating because that's the max limit. Just because you're slightly under the limit doesn't mean you should tow it for long distances because you will wear out the transmission.

Also make sure you learn how to drive with a trailer. You need to gear it slightly differently and take wider turns. Backing up is also fun.

[ImpatientS14]

I use a 2002 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Edition, and rent a flat bed from a local shop for $40 a day.

[sideview_180sx]

I was thinking would it be easier if you have like the tundra, or in my case looking at the older T100 since prices on them is quite low. Using a towbar for the car? I could load up the car and bed of the truck with necessary essentials. Wouldn't that make it easier to lug around???

If rental is an option Enterprise by my house offers pick-ups for $36.99/day. Then the u-haul 5mins away rents trailers for $30-40. Aside from gas, is it really worth the added expense to buy one if insurance, car payment(if financed), plus routine maintenace tacked on, if not used regularly.

[nissanguy13]

I have towed my hatch with my wifes old ford escape with no problem. Now I have a 05 2wd F-150

[Slammed Assassin]

the newer tundras are prety good on gas while pulling a 240sx..i pulled my car 350 thousand miles on the freeway and i only spent $120 on gas...

[deadpirate]

i have towed quite a few of my friends cars to the track with a 1998 dodge dakota 5.2L v8 auto. does just fine..gas mileage suffers a bit..but no huge issues

[morbid]

The only non-turbo-diesel truck I would get is the new Tundra. Those fuckers are tough. I saw one in person about a week ago, shit is A LOT bigger then I imagined it would be. A lot bigger then the old ones, and they got 381hp 401tq.

But... if I had enough money to buy a truck, it would be the new duramax. There's something about 660 ft lbs that makes my dick hard.

[j4d3_h4v0k]

thank you for all the input so far i was lookin at the newer tacomas because it'll end up being the daily once the 240 reaches a certain point so gas mileage will be a big consideration in my decision

[slw240sx]

Earlier this year on short notice we had to rent a truck, a 2007 Ford F250 superduty diesel. the thing was 80$ a day. and only got 10-11mpg, it was brand new with under 300miles on it. we used it to tow over 1k in a day and it was dirty,stained,and trashed when we returned it. the thing was uncomfortable for even a 4hour drive. It was nice, but i would rather have been using our 06 Silverado 2500HD diesel its much more comfortable and gets way better mileage.