New Tow Vehicle

What are you towing with now? I tow with 5.3 Silverado 1/2 ton Crew cab w/ 3.73 rear. I think it does great and gets reasonable mileage. I can tell the Cougar is back there when going across mountains. If you are towing that much, I would think the duramax would be the most cost effective.

I got a 09 Chevy 2500 HD w/ Duramax Diesel. This is my third and can say by far the most powerful. It is very quiet as well for a diesel. Mine is a crew cab and pulls my Kubota 50HP tractor and big Grady White offshore boat with ease. The Allison transmission is absolutely awesome.

Im paritial to Dodge as Im a Service Tech at a dealership. I have an 07 1500 quad cab with the 5.7 hemi and 545 auto trans. The engine is equiped with the MDS system which adds some gas mileage. Gas mileage is somewhere between 13.5 -14.7 towing depending on speed and where Im travling. The 09 /10 1500 5.7 hemis have more horsepower and torque. Warranty on Dodge vech is now 5/100. Depending on how far you drive and tow you may want to consider a desiel. Two things to keep in mind if you are thinking about a diesel – (1) Maintenace is at least twice as much (oil change 75.00-100.00), (2) All of the new diesels are now equiped with emissions which has created its own problems with all manufactures with o2 sensors, turbos, Cat systems… If you decide on a diesel just research to ensure that they arent any issues depending on manufacture. If you decide on a Dodge and have any questions Ill be glad to try and answer them for you. My current driving habits dont justify the added expenses of a diesel or I would move up to a 2500 for the suspension. BigAl

Ive had a plethora of tow vehicles over they years. I tow 12k-15k per year so having one that gets the job done easily, reliably, and comfortably is of utmost important to me. My list over the last decade: 1999 F250 Super Duty crew cab diesel – owned for 14 months, 48k on it, Ford bought it back after 17 trips to the dealer w/o solid resolution. Was a dedicated tow vehicle for us…towed extremely well, comfortable, lots of reliability issues. 2000 F250 Super Duty crew cabdiesel – owned for 26 months, 41k on it when I sold it. Was a good truck but our needs changed and was converted from a tow vehicle / 3rd car to a daily driver / tow vehicle. Great towing the boat, got real tiring driving around town, parking lots, etc. 2002 GMC Yukon Denali – 6L with 3.73 rear end – Grear around town ride, awful mileage, good tow vehicle with the overdrive turned off but then the mileage was worse than awful. Had a water leak that the dealer couldnt locate, stated to smelly musty and mildewy…down the road she went. 2003 Range Rover – 4.4L BMW v8 – fantastic tow vehicle (very torque-y), fantastic around town, good mileage, small inside, expensive. Had a few issues with it and every dealer trip had me w/o my SUV for at least a week. Japanese finally came out with a full size SUV that had some nuts, plus the MTV Cribs folks had built some demand for the Range Rover. Got out while the getting was good. 2004 Nissan Armada – bought it within the first 3 weeks of them being on the market. Great room, flexible seating, fantastic power for towing, comfy around town, so-so mileage. Was the wifes daily driver and she loved it. I was the most reliable tow vehicle I had ever owned, kept it for almost 4 yrs and 69k miles. We happened into a third car so it was time to get back into a dedicated tow vehicle. 2007 Tundra Crew Max – end of model year deal. Power galore, tons of interior room, typical Japanese quality. Ive had this thing for almost 2.5 yrs, 35k miles with nearly all of them towing a boat. It hasnt been to the shop once for a problem…just standard maintenance. Its civilized, great sound system, excellent factory navigation. The wife doesnt like driving it as it feels bigger than the Armada did. I get 11.7-12mpg pulling my ski boat (4750lb total package), 13.0-14.5 pulling the Cougar, and 17.5-19mpg w/o trailer on the highway. One caveat – its very sensitive to head / cross winds…or a heavy foot. The ski boat mileage doesnt drop much if its windy, but take at least 0.5-1mpg off the other noted figures if theres a wind. I believe you could get better mileage with the currect GM trucks, esp on the highway. Having taken a few stints behind the wheel of a newer GM truck on a road trip while pulling the boat, Ill gladly take a bit less mileage and keep my Tundra. Its a very solid tow vehicle. Id replace it with another one if something happened to mine.Advantages are taken, not handed out…

We have long liked Chevrolet for a Gentlemans truck, though many of our owners are showing up with Ford F150s and seem to like them. This would be our first look on a light pickup. Apparently they are getting good fuel mileage and longevity. Look for fuel mileage when you are in town also and without a boat. That is where some light duty pickups fall short. Toyota Tundras are nice, though they are basically a 3/4 ton vehicle with the brakes and other items that are heavier than most half tons. Which could be hurting the fuel mileage empty. We do see plenty of them showing up and the owners seem to like them also. That 8 bed is a tough one, and we found they often only make 4 x 4s in 8 beds, and dually one ton only in some brands. And we do understand the 8 bed desire. Put a sheet of plywood, ladder, or four wheeler and a short tool box in also. 8 beds are functional. Good used trucks are not too bad if you cant find what you are after otherwise. BCBLast edited by Bass Cat Boats on December 14th, 2009, 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.