Looking for a new tow vehicle.... questions.

[Waterfoul]

My Tahoe seems to be kaput.  No idea what's wrong with the motor, it simply will not start.  With that said, I've been looking for something to replace it.  Aside from the obvious Tahoes, Suburbans, and Expeditions (yes, I prefere a SUV) has anyone towed with either of these (My boat is an 18' Triton so not very heavy... about 2800 full load).

2002 Explorer (or similar years...).  This is the larger model with the 4.0 engine.  4x4, etc... my old roomate had one for years and I thought it drove nice and had decent power.

2000 ish Jeep Grand Cherokee.  5.2 V8.  Lots of power in a pretty small vehicle.

[PineLk 49]

I had an Explorer 2000 and pulled my 17fter good. Now I have a 2006 Explorer with 4 liter and pulls just fine. You are not going to run 80 down the highway. I don't have surge brakes so I stop a little sooner coming to a stop sign. I get 14.6 mpg city and 19 highway. Has 4wd so pulling out is not an issue

Gave my son the 2000 to go to UM and bought the 2006 last year. Have never had an issue with either one. Very reliable.

Dave

[Waterfoul]

Well the 2002 Explorer I was going to go look at sold... about an hour after it hit Craigslist.

Looks like I'm going to Muskegon to pick up a 1999 Ford Expedition that Mike Szot tells me is in pristine condition (was owned by a 75 year old couple until last year).  Pretty low miles for the year, no rust.  I know these are pretty hard on gas, but so was my 98 Tahoe.

[huston]

5.4 litre, 17 miles to the gallon, 10 while pulling a bassboat. at 100,00 miles you must change spark plugs.

[Slipkey]

Looks like I'm going to Muskegon to pick up a 1999 Ford Expedition that Mike Szot tells me is in pristine condition (was owned by a 75 year old couple until last year).  Pretty low miles for the year, no rust.

Nice!  Congrats.  IMHO, you'll be much happier towing with that one than the Grand Cherokee.  I towed an 18.5' Skeeter I owned back in the 90's with one and had transmission problems after a few seasons.

[Mike S.]

There will be no disappointments with the Expedition. I'm glad the guy decided to call me after it was figured out. The only thing I don't like about it is that there's no leather interior. You will see tomorrow.

[red68prostreet]

Waterfoul,
              I am assuming your Tahoe has the 5.7L engine in it? If it is good shape and you still like it why not replace the engine rather than buy something else? GM vehicles are the cheapest of all brands to maintain. There are tons of replacement parts out there. My son makes his living working as an independent mechanic at home. He does this type of work all the time.
               If you are set on something else I would stick with GM only because of the cost factor to maintain. The newer 5.3L LS engines are great. Couple that with 3:43 gears rather than 3:73 and your good to go. I run a 2009 GMC 6.0L crewcab 4x4 1/2 ton with 3:43 gears. I wanted the bigger engine as I have a 521 Ranger which is heavier. The 6.0 pulls it like a dream and I average 12 mpg pulling the boat and 17 to 18 mpg without.
               Please excuse my rambling on and good luck on your next purchase.

[Mike S.]

He has thrown quite a bit of money at the Tahoe recently, and even had it at a shop, and still it doesn't run. He still doesn't even know why. Nobody can figure it out. It was a fuel pump, then a new distributor, and plugs and wires. The distributor gear was chewed, so one would assume the gear on the cam would match. The mechanic couldn't tell him if it was bad or not. So, he wonders if the computer may be bad, or if the motor is bad. He doesn't feel it's worth throwing more money at, when he doesn't know the problem. He's thinking to just buy something to hopefully get him through a couple of years. Did I nail that Mike?

[Waterfoul]

He has thrown quite a bit of money at the Tahoe recently, and even had it at a shop, and still it doesn't run. He still doesn't even know why. Nobody can figure it out. It was a fuel pump, then a new distributor, and plugs and wires. The distributor gear was chewed, so one would assume the gear on the cam would match. The mechanic couldn't tell him if it was bad or not. So, he wonders if the computer may be bad, or if the motor is bad. He doesn't feel it's worth throwing more money at, when he doesn't know the problem. He's thinking to just buy something to hopefully get him through a couple of years. Did I nail that Mike?

Pretty dang close Mike.i

I went and drove the Expedition today.  I don't think I will be happy with the 4.6 L V-8 after owning the Tahoe for so long.  It seemed very sluggish. 

As Mike said, I don't want to throw a motor in this thing since I really don't know what's wrong with it.  I'm about $900 into it with ZERO satisfaction and a boat load of frustration.

[Mike S.]

He said boat!

[red68prostreet]

I completely understand your frustration. It's really something that with today's diagnostic tools that the reason why the truck will not start can't be solved. It's too bad you already spent a lot of money and have nothing to show for it. You should be able to get that money back and more by parting it out on Craigslist. Autotrader has a bunch of 98 Tahoe's listed if you want to stay with the same SUV.

[thedude]

the 4.6 (in 98-2003ish era at least) was more than enough to pull your boat. the expedition may or may not have had the towing gears with a 4.6 and that might have affected the performance. My best friend in college drove a 4.6 extended cab f-150 4x4 with 35s and that thing would get to it pretty good. Throw a 50$ air intake on it and let it rip.

I did extensive towing with a GMC envoy (straight 6) with my boat and it was more than enough. There are a ton of trailblazers with the same engine floating around out there.

[Mike S.]

My buddy used to tow his enclosed car trailer with an F150 with the 4.6.  That trailer alone was way heavier than your boat, and then you add the weight of his car and tools. I would ha e bought that Expedition in a heartbeat. That's by far the nicest SUV on Craigslist for that price.

[Waterfoul]

People seem to think their used Trailblazers / Envoys are made of gold though....

[Waterfoul]

My buddy used to tow his enclosed car trailer with an F150 with the 4.6.  That trailer alone was way heavier than your boat, and then you add the weight of his car and tools. I would ha e bought that Expedition in a heartbeat. That's by far the nicest SUV on Craigslist for that price.

Mike... I really think that truck would have been o.k. except it really needed tires and I just don't have any money left for tires after I buy something.  So I need at least decent tires to make this work.  They were 17's or I would have just swapped my BFG's to the Ford rims.  But mine are 16's.

[Skulley]

If you would like to get a new vehicle, I can offer you a "Friends and Family" discount for a Chrysler product.  Basically it will give you a price that is 1% below or it might be above dealer invoice, nevertheless it's better than paying full price.  Mojo can offer you the same deal as well.  We are both employed by Chrysler.  Let either one of us know.  Also we have a "Marshaling Center" which are Engineering cars with low mileage and they are refurbished vehicles.  I don't know what's at the Marshaling Center right now.  Haven't been there in a while.  But you can get anything from a Ram Truck to a Jeep Grand Cherokee, etc.  The choice of course is yours.  Oh and by the way, they all come with a pretty good warranty.  Currently, I'm driving a 2012 RAM 2500.  Upgraded from a 1500 to 2500 in 2012 to pull my camper and eventually going to upgrade the camper to a 5th wheel so that I can pull the boat behind that.  The State of Michigan calls it the "Pleasure double".

Actually, I will offer this up to any GLB member if they are in the market for a new vehicle to tow their boat with or for any vehicle.  Anyone who may be interested, you can PM me for my cell number.


BD                                  

[Waterfoul]

Thanks for the offer Bigdog.  Can't afford new at this time.  We did make some progress on the Tahoe tonight.  It now starts!  Needs to be timed by a pro though to make it run better.

[gothooked]

Mike I had that same trouble with a suburban, after spending a lot of time and money I found there was a ground wire broken in the rear of the engine that shuts down the fuel pump. If u haven't checked that out give it a try.

[Waterfoul]

Got it running... not well but it's running.  Just drove it to my sponsor mechanic to have the timing set and the coil changed.

[justinhahn88]

I am also looking for a towing vehicle.  I sold my truck to get something more fuel efficient for work (I work out side sales so I drive a ton) I have a triton 186. What do you think about a Dodge Dakota with the v-8 for towing/overall vehicle quality?

Thanks!