Driving myself insane deciding on a new tow vehicle

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dickmsp

New member
Hi everyone, I'm looking at replacing my 2008 Yukon XL (same as Suburban ) and I want to consolidate vehicles-- I use the Yukon for towing my top cap fiberglass trailer with 2 sleds and I have a Nissan Altima for my daily driver. The Yukon has only 84,000 miles and the Altima has 110,000 miles. I want to have a daily driver that can pull an 1800 pound snowmobile trailer. The Yukon was probably overkill. Even with the 5.3 V-8 it didn't feel like I was pulling anything. It's been a great tow vehicle. I'm looking at a Nissan Pathfinder, 3.5 litre V-6 with a towing packege. Its $20,000 cheaper than the beautiful F-150 King Ranch I test drove last week. The F-150 was marked down from $65,000 to $59,000. And I'm flabbergasted at the $70,000 prices of the new suburbans and Ford Expeditions!! The F-150 had a nicer ride than I thought it would have. But geez, I think the base price of the new mid engine Corvette is $59,995 if you can find one lol!! The Chevy Silverado is very nice too. I also test drove a Nissan Titan, $51,000 after discounts and it too had a better ride than I thought. All the pick ups have luxury car interiors. Beautiful machines...
Pathfinder and Highlander very nice also. The pick ups would be nice daily drivers, but the smaller SUV's are cheaper, and have a tic better gas mileage. My main concern is how will the smaller SUV's handle a fairly light snowmobile trailer when wheeling through a heavy U P snowstorm. I don't want to struggle with the trailer driving the smaller suv and possibly making the smaller suv unstable. They both have a tow capacity of 6000 pounds so theoretically they should be able to tow the trailer ok even though they both have a shorter and narrower wheelbase.
So if you see some crazy guy towing a snowmobile with a 2020 Corvette with snow tires that basically has a snow plow for a front end, you'll know its me.. only thing is how do I drive in a straight jacket????!!!!
Thank you everyone in advance for any insight or experience with the smaller SUV's!!!
 
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jedoyle

Active member
I just bought my second new F150 truck with the 3.5 ecoboost engine. I can't say enough positive things about these trucks. If you really like them after test driving one but don't like the sticker price then I would suggest waiting till the full blown rebates come out. At some point between now & the end of the year they will discount 2020's up to $14,000 to make room for the next year's models. It sounds like you could probably even do the 2.7 engine for what you use it for which is cheaper yet. I wouldn't doubt that you could pick up a nicely equipped 2020 F150 2.7 for $38K ish.
 
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garageguy

Well-known member
I went from a Tahoe to a 2013 Honda pilot ok for snow ok for towing average 22mpg. Lots of room didn't break bank.
 
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buddah2

Member
Back in the late 90's right after we bought the house up here I made several trips from central OH to the central UP towing with the original Honda Passport(actually a rebadged Isuzu Trooper or whatever) pulling a Triton XT-10 101 w/Bearcat lid... loaded with 2 sleds...the V6 didn't have a whole lot of guts but never had any real issues...made several trips with that setup and it was 600 mi. each way...
 
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G

Guest
jedoyle said:
I just bought my second new F150 truck with the 3.5 ecoboost engine. I can't say enough positive things about these trucks. If you really like them after test driving one but don't like the sticker price then I would suggest waiting till the full blown rebates come out. At some point between now & the end of the year they will discount 2020's up to $14,000 to make room for the next year's models. It sounds like you could probably even do the 2.7 engine for what you use it for which is cheaper yet. I wouldn't doubt that you could pick up a nicely equipped 2020 F150 2.7 for $38K ish.
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You won't get a Lariet or an FX4 or a Platinum or a King Ranch for 38 K. You might get a XLT for cheap in a normal year but this year the new car lots are pretty sparse. Plus the new redesign Ford is coming with will surely come with a new higher price tag. I don't see any big discounts to sell remaining 2020s.
 
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jedoyle

Active member
grub said:
You won't get a Lariet or an FX4 or a Platinum or a King Ranch for 38 K. You might get a XLT for cheap in a normal year but this year the new car lots are pretty sparse. Plus the new redesign Ford is coming with will surely come with a new higher price tag. I don't see any big discounts to sell remaining 2020s.
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Lariat or King Ranch no but I was able to get a 2019 F150 XLT w/ the upgraded Sport package, 3.5 engine, remote start, heated seats, max tow package, backup camera, etc... for $39K after all rebates.

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Carbide

Carbide

Member
I bought a new 2018 Titan XD Platinum Reserve in October of 2018. I got $14,000 off msrp.
The XD is like a heavy half ton. 400 hp gas 5.6.
I love this truck. And I've had over a dozen Chevys and fords.
 
SledTL

SledTL

Active member
I plan on getting a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk in a year or so and have that be my tow vehicle. Has real 4x4, locking diff, V6 and doesnt look like crap compared to most of the soft SUVs on the road these days and gets upper 20s mpg. Towing capacity is 4,500 and you can get them for around $30k new. I plan to use it to tow a two place enclosed down the road one day. **** I tow my single place Triton with a 4 cyl CRV right now. Would it be nicer to have a bigger vehicle sure, but you can accomplish alot if you have half a brain and patience. Walk away from the overpriced truck and buy a cool sled after you have a small monthly payment. If you need a bigger vehicle get the Grand Cherokee. Now all the truck guys with their F350s can tear into me......
 
snomoman

snomoman

Active member
I bought a 2020 SR5 four-wheel-drive Toyota tundra, it’s my first new vehicle I’ve ever owned, it can tow up to 10,000 pounds, mainly bought it to haul a decent size boat with, haven’t had it out in a winter yet obviously, we’ll see how it handles in the UP, base price was $34,950 plus taxes, supposedly one of the most dependable trucks out there. has a 381 hp 5.7 V8, word is out that Toyota plans on eliminating V8’s in the future, wish it got better mpg though
 
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tjmaxx

Member
My vote would be for the f150. You can usually find a decent price on a lariat or older xlt. Platinum and king ranch are harder to find for a good price.
 
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mrbb

Well-known member
personally I think about any 1/2 ton truck today will tow well and most all get some pretty impressive MPG"s pending motors(any where from 20-30 mpg's)
they came a LONG way in 1/2 ton trucks the last decade, with up graded trans that don't have such major DOWN shifts to make RPMS and power, so they have refined things to where they can stay at lower RPM"S and make usable power.
I am not bashing a mid sized SUV's
there ncie and all, some nicer than others and yes many have decent tow ratings

BUt IMO< a full sized truck is a better tow vehicle and honestly now that so many get such GOOD MPG"S, there a better deal when wanting a vehicle for a wider range of uses
the fact they have a larger foot print makes them more stable towing, and the fact there WIDER< means they allow for better viewing of trailers and what's behind them when towing!

add in most major brands run sales all the time(well maybe not as much this past yr due to all the corona crap)
but there are lots of vehicles on lots in my area, pending WHAT dealer's lot I drive by
I know one dodge dealer near me must have a good 500+ trucks son there lot right now, and NOT kidding, has about a 1/2 mile of road frontage 4 rows deep of Dodge/ram trucks and a LOT of jeeps and other vehicles to boot!

and IMO< THERE all about the same in quality(ram/dodge, ford/chevy/GMC, Toyota)
like it or not there are loyal brand basis owners of all that think THERE brand is best
buy what you like, but I wouldn;t Not consider any if I was shopping these days, there a LOT closer than ever in what one can do or not!
and lemons of ALL brands happen just as often IMO
 
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dickmsp

New member
Thank you everyone for the input. I was going to wait till a few days before thanksgiving or christmas for more discounts, but with the vehicle manufacturers shut down for corona I'm not sure there will be surplus inventory to cause bigger discounts. I'll post what I end up with but it might be a while!!
Thanks again!!
 
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brad460

Member
As a former F150 and Tundra owner, the new style Dodge Ram 1500 is hands down the best 1/2 ton truck on the market...

Before the Ram purchase I test drove everything and the Ram blew them all away in comfort, ride quality, towing ability, options...etc..

I had to be convinced to drive the Ram as I would have never considered buying a Dodge..thankfully I gave in and test drove it.
 
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wirev

New member
I had my p/u rockers painted with the bed liner stuff and tinted the same as the truck. You have to really look to see the difference. Also installed fender flairs. Truck is a 2008 Silverado and still looks new. When I'm asked what year it is, no one believes it. Anyway, it is a good way to ward off the WI salt. Sorry, but don't know how to send pics.
 
goofy600

goofy600

Well-known member
wfd123 said:
Until it starts to rust in 5 years
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Older ones yes probably pre 2010-2012 had problems but ram has for the most part fixed it when they installed rear fender liners. I have 2014 w/ 110k on it and no signs of rust and most miles are winter miles. To the original post I went form suburban to pickup just couldn’t pay the price of new suburban and didn’t want to go with the smaller size of the midsize suv, still want to hall stuff when needed. But I will admit it until 100k was never a daily driver, most miles were state line to state line.
 
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