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Posted and read Haakins post and it looks like he basically stated the same!
The only thing you wrote that I disagreed with was Suburbans being limited to the 90's, they still made 2500 - 3/4 ton Suburbans until 2014. Not for the 5-10k budget of the OP, but newer ones are around. Supposedly fleet and government buyers can still get new ones today, but not us regular folk.
I tow a 30 foot travel trailer with ease with my '02 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter. That package was available '00-06 and can be had under $6k if you look (and are willing to go up in miles, but they last a long time so 100-150k miles is really nothing).
The only thing you wrote that I disagreed with was Suburbans being limited to the 90's, they still made 2500 - 3/4 ton Suburbans until 2014. Not for the 5-10k budget of the OP, but newer ones are around. Supposedly fleet and government buyers can still get new ones today, but not us regular folk.
yes, but only with the 6.0. The big blocks that tow easily are only pre-'06.
The only thing you wrote that I disagreed with was Suburbans being limited to the 90's, they still made 2500 - 3/4 ton Suburbans until 2014. Not for the 5-10k budget of the OP, but newer ones are around. Supposedly fleet and government buyers can still get new ones today, but not us regular folk.
Cool, I didn't realize they carried them so far into the 2000's. Just one of the reasons that has been such a popular towing vehicle for decades! Full family plus a large, accessable and lockable storage area and the capability to safely tow practically anything a family would want to buy. Ford came in late and Dodge totally missed the ball on that one as Chevy/GMC had already established that market for years!
Someone up thread mentioned the gross vehicle weight, GVW. That is insufficient. You need the gross combined vehicle weight rating.
Quote:
The gross combination weight rating (also Gross Combination Mass and maximum authorised mass), which can be abbreviated to GCM, MAM, GCWR is the maximum allowable combined mass of a towing road vehicle, passengers and cargo in the tow vehicle, plus the mass of the trailer and cargo in the trailer.[1] This rating is set by the vehicle manufacturer.
I'm looking into getting a travel trailer. I hear they can be towed with just about anything because they are so much lighter. My Civic probably won't do, so I'm looking at SUV's and trucks.
I would think the SUV would provide more usefulness as you could car camp with it alone if you needed to make a more fuel efficient but short term trip without the comforts of home. So which should it be, a truck or SUV? And what model? Reliability is of concern, but would prefer to keep costs less than 10K for vehicle, with 5K ideal.
Trailers range from 13' to 30+'. You need to start with how many people will occupy it? What will it weigh? What are you willing to tow? Towing a large trailer is not the same as driving a Honda. Trailer weight, hitch weight, and towing capacity of tow vehicle are all critical.
That they can be "towed by just about anything" sounds like sales talk from a quick buck salesman, do the research very carefully.
Look for a 2500 GM or Dodge. Or better yet, a Ford F-250. A 6.2 Ford gas will have the engine to pull. With 4.30 rear end ratio, you'll do really well. Diesel is nice, but the modern gas is a reliable powerful motor.
The reason for something more than a half ton. More payload and safety factor. A half ton can tow. But anything else you may want to carry will exceed the capabilities.
There's a reason I like a 3/4 ton or even a 1 ton pickup.
Remember, the tow capacity includes not only the trailer, but also everything you have put in it, including water in the fresh water tank, and any in the black water holding tank. Tools you may have aboard, food, clothes etc. It is the actual weight of the trailer including anything you have added including things like kitchen cooking and serving item, bedding and anything else you add to the trailer, when it is ready to roll on the highway.
Of course there is something else you have to consider, and that is the pull vehicle. Tow capacity is the truck with the driver. When you add passengers, and other things including anything in the pickup bed, the more weight the lower the tow capacity for the trailer. There is an old movie called the "The Long, Long trailer by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. She keeps collecting rocks as they travel until it all breaks down due to being overloaded.
And you need a special weight distribution hitch when pulling a 30 foot trailer including anti sway bars. And that weight has to be added to the weight of the trailer.
You also need to take into consideration where you are going to be using the trailer. If you go to mountain areas with high mountains, it causes a lot of problems, unless you have an adequate pull vehicle. Every 1,000 feet in elevation sacrifices about 5% of the vehicles power. At 10,000 feet, you lose about 50% of it's tow ability and causes overheating in the motor and transmission, and that is why you want to look at the next paragraph.
Make sure your have a heavy duty radiator, not a low duty one. Put on an oil cooler for the transmission, or under hard travel with a trailer with some hills and mountains, etc., as it is a lot cheaper to have one than to buy a new transmission due to getting it overheated pulling the trailer. I used to own along with 3 other investors a 250 space R.V. park, in a mountain resort town. You would be amazed at the number of vehicles I saw that did not follow these last two points, and it cost them thousands of dollars in damage.
Make sure you have heavy duty and good brakes.
Just some things to consider. If it was me, I would want a 3/4 ton pickup (F-350 Class) and preferably a diesel motor for a 30 ft trailer. Your little car certainly will not do it.
I agree with the last few posters -- 3/4-ton or 1-ton. If you were buying a new truck, you might get by with some of the heavy-duty 1/2-tons, but your budget isn't going to get you into one of those. You'll also want a stout engine. Fords V-10 is an excellent choice for gas engines, and the turbo diesel 7.3 is excellent in the Ford too, but I'm not sure if that was available until '99. Also, I wouldn't buy a GM diesel earlier than the 2001.
My old 2000 F250 Ford 7.3 PSD (diesel) was an excellent hauler with the 6-speed manual, but the automatic transmissions in 2000 were weak. I think they fixed that in 2001. Your $10K budget might get you into an F250/350 with the 6.0 PSD. Avoid it. (I think they came out in late 2003.) P.O.S. The older 7.3 turbo diesel is a much better engine.
I'll also add that I traded my F250 a couple years ago, as maintenance (repairs) were eating me alive. It had 151K on it when I traded, but I started having mechanical problems with it just past 100K. If you'll only be using it for camping, no problem, but I was driving mine 30K/year the last three years I owned it, and I had $26K in repair costs the last three years! (I "avoided" the last $10K by trading it, although it still cost me close to that in depreciated trade-in value.)
One other thought I'll mention, and that is that a 5th wheel camper in that size is much easier to tow and usually has more storage. A 5th wheel puts more weight on the hitch, probably too much for 3/4-ton trucks of the era your budget will put you in. For that reason, consider a 1-ton as the best option, as it'll give you a little more flexibility. The majority of 1-tons are almost identical to 3/4-tons (heavier springs, wheels and tires), but they're also available with dual rear wheels. You shouldn't need a dually unless/until you get beyond 32-34 feet in a 5er, but they will give you a more stable ride and a little better braking.
The problem is the 7.3 is an old wore out engine by this time. Don't be scared by the 6.0. Personally, I'd avoid the 03 and 04 6.0s. A 6.0 that's been worked over. Head studs, EGR overhauled and new oil cooler. You'll be fine. Get a ScanGuage II or torque app to keep track of coolant temp, oil temp and FICM voltage (fuel injection control module) and you had stay on top of anything the engine might have go wrong.
Like I previously stated an 05/06 F250/F350 with a V10 will be a dependable cheap to buy and maintain engine. The 5R110 automatic in the 05-10 super duty pickup is an outstanding transmission.
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Not for the 5-10k budget of the OP, but newer ones are around. Supposedly fleet and government buyers can still get new ones today, but not us regular folk.
