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My 2019 Ford Transit High Roof, non-extended body, 3.7L. Took me about 14 months to convert this thing from an empty panel van to something very cozy for bike trips and race weekends.
Non-turbo motor means it’s pretty slow towing but the speed it lacks is made up for in convenience. It’s got a second-story bed, 350 watts of solar, an air compressor, heated outdoor shower, fridge, coffee maker, microwave, roof vent, and some other little goodies. All I do on a track weekend is put some food in the fridge, throw in a change of clothes and it’s ready to hit the road.
Yo! Yeah, I've been renting it. Don't have space where I live to stow a trailer. The rental via Uhaul is $118 for two days, not great but not awful. I'd pay that monthly for trailer storage alone down here.
Honestly the trailer works great for my needs. Mainly from a convenience standpoint. I don't have a trailer brake module in the van and am running a 4-pin connector instead of a 7-pin. The U-Haul trailers are equipped with jam brakes and don't require a 7-pin connector and brake signal. Just hit the brakes and the trailer itself pushes on its own master cylinder haha. It's crude but it works and I haven't had issues stopping or slowing down on steep grades.
Aside from that, the trailer's worked pretty well. I have to use a couple 2x4s to load the car due to the splitter clearance. Probably wouldn't be an issue on a car without aero even if it was super low. Weight's 2100lb. I don't know if that's super heavy for a trailer of this size or not haha.
Location: Detroit (the part with no rules or laws)
Posts: 5,683
Total Cats: 805
Originally Posted by Derek1387
2020 Rst Silverado lifted on 35s and Kings, with a Decked bed system and Century hard top.
feel like I might need helper bags once loaded with tires and tools and fuel.
but tows the 22ft tilt with MiniMiata just fine.
Air Lift system is nice and i recommend.
This is a 2016 half ton chev. We heavy, it's hard to tell tongue weight but it's up there. It gets all into the bump stops without the airlift system.
Thankfully 90% of the traveling is done with the freightshaker RV.
Since this thread seems to be poppin' again, I thought I'd share what I'm planning on towing the car with this year.
It's a 1998 ford econoline e150 with the 5.4l. I've done a bit of research and think it will do the trick, but I've yet to tow anything with it as I'm still trailer shopping. The Van is my dads, it's got 120k on it and has kinda just been siitting around and he said he'd sell it to me for next to nothing, which makes it possible to tow the track car this year.
5.4l w/ 3.55 rear, factory conversion van so it has a trans cooler, hitch, OD lockout, etc. already. 6900lb tow rating, GCVW of 12,000lbs, GVWR of 7,000lbs.
I'm new to all this towing stuff, but I did some basic math and think I'm in the ballpark. Unsure of actual weight right now, but googling shows me similar conversion vans in the ~5500 lb range. Keep in mind there's not much in this one, I'm gonna pull out the rear seats and strip it out a bit. There's no kitchenette or bed or anything so it shouldn't weight too much more than a regular e150 (4,650 curb weight), so I'm hoping to have the empty van down to closer to 5klbs.
And I want to pull something like this with it, 16' dovetail, the trailer should be in the ~2,000 lbs range.
The 5.4L is pretty stout for towing I've read, some of the limitations will probably be the smallish brakes on the 150 platform. I've read it's key to keep these up to snuff. And good trailer brakes/controller. I do live IN the mountains, so that complicates things a bit. A rig that can easily tow at sea level on the flats will be a lot more stressed at 7k+ ft where I live. So I am keeping that in mind. If I can tow the car at 55mph average I'll be happy, Maybe 70ish on the flat/straights, and 45-50 uphill.
I think I can safely pull this off as long as I don't overpack. Any suggestions from the crew here? And keep in mind the idea is to get a nice trailer this year, and if van isn't cutting it next year I can budget a new tow rig. But hopefully I can make the van work because it's pretty sweet, and will be nice to camp in at the track.
I had an E150 with the 5.4 for a while, and though I never used it for towing, I did occasionally haul a 500lb bike in the back, and did a couple of road trips with 6 people + luggage. It's a pretty good all 'round vehicle, though the stock suspension is a little soft. I added a Hellwig sway bar in the back, which helped a lot.
The climb in/out of Santa fe/ rio gorge will suck, might be a struggle to hold 55 there, but other than that I bet you'll be just fine. Having towed without trailer brakes.... I'd get something with brakes on at least one axle.
I have yet to pull a miata, but I've loaded this setup to it's 10k limit and it did pretty well. These 3rd gen 2500 rams are finally getting cheap enough for my thrift limit. Well the gas ones are hah. Not sure if the diesel struggle is worth dealing with for 20 towing events a year.
These ed trailers are a pretty good deal at ab trailers in burque.
I had a 2008 5.4L E150 for a while as well. Great damn vehicle. I drove it from 30k miles till 180k and it never leaked a drop of anything. Sold it to a buddy and him and his girlfriend have over 200k on it now last I checked. I’d kill to have that 5.4 2v in my current van on the weekends. Thing had so much low end torque on tap haha.
Starting in 2008, the E150 suspension and brakes got beefed up. Stiffer springs all around and 2 piston brakes on all corners. Wonder if any of that stuff can be found for cheap and swapped easily…
I put 464k miles on my 01 Tundra 4.7 before selling it to a neighbor. It's still running. My newer one is a 2012 Tundra with the 4.6 V8. Lots more torque and hp and no more timing belt changes. 304,000 miles this week but it did require a transmission replacement this month. I towed too much weight sometimes for work and never changed the fluid and filter, FML.
I put 464k miles on my 01 Tundra 4.7 before selling it to a neighbor. It's still running. My newer one is a 2012 Tundra with the 4.6 V8. Lots more torque and hp and no more timing belt changes. 304,000 miles this week ...
I'd be interested in your opinion on which was a better tow vehicle. I know the numbers favor the 4.6, but I've read posts where guys who purchased a 4.6 whatever said they missed "the low-end grunt of the 4.7". I'm using my son's '04 4.7 Tundra as a tow vehicle and every once in a while we have a need for the truck at the same time. I have to find something for myself. His Tundra only has about 107,000 on it, and I did a timing belt/water pump/ radiator, etc. this past summer. That thing's a beast, and has another decade of life in it. I'd like to trade my '07 Audi S4 for a GX 470 or 460, but I believe a 4.6 Sequoia would serve me well.
The 4.6 has more torque everywhere, more horsepower, and with the 6 speed instead of the 4 speed it is always in the meat of the powerband. It automatically downshifts for engine braking in tow mode if you tap the brake. It is pre-wired for an electronic brake controller. It also has much stronger brakes.
Location: Detroit (the part with no rules or laws)
Posts: 5,683
Total Cats: 805
Originally Posted by sixshooter
I put 464k miles on my 01 Tundra 4.7 before selling it to a neighbor. It's still running. My newer one is a 2012 Tundra with the 4.6 V8. Lots more torque and hp and no more timing belt changes. 304,000 miles this week but it did require a transmission replacement this month. I towed too much weight sometimes for work and never changed the fluid and filter, FML.
Uhhh. A friend of mine, Jeremy just bought a Tundra with 464k miles on it.
Last month, my son had a tree run out in front of him whilst driving our '04 Tundra AC 2WD out in bumfuck Virginia. I was hopeful it could be repaired, but was told the frame is accordianed, and it can't be fixed for a reasonable price. I've been looking for another tow vehicle for a few weeks now.
I have contemplated all manner of solutions--pay a **** ton for a low mileage 1st Gen Tundra or Sequoia, buy something newer and take on a car payment, or even pay a little for a 1st Gen with really high mileage. I went down to VBeach to The Car Exchange to look at one of the latter yesterday.
Bob knew Friday afternoon I was coming. He even texted me to make sure Saturday morn. I told him I was on the way. Their '06 Sequoia with 265k was there in the front when I arrived. He asked for my license and I looked the Sequoia over while he was making a copy. The under hood latch didn't work, so I couldn't get the hood up. He apparently knew that, and said his boss knew how to open the hood, but he didn't. His boss wasn't there. Then he told me someone had stolen the catalytic converter last night, and it was going to be really loud. I'm thinking, I can't drive a vehicle with a missing cat/open exhaust system/Check Engine Light On, but I wanted to see it move and stop moving. We went to the end of the block and turned around.'
He seemed unconcerned and probably would have let me take it onto the highway. WTFuck?
The 4.6 has more torque everywhere, more horsepower, and with the 6 speed instead of the 4 speed it is always in the meat of the powerband. It automatically downshifts for engine braking in tow mode if you tap the brake. It is pre-wired for an electronic brake controller. It also has much stronger brakes.
Sir,
We picked up a really nice 2012 Tundra four door, short bed, 4WD 4.6 with the towing package. It has the transmission cooler built into the top of the condenser.
I have a track event coming up. It's about 110 miles each way.. Any words of wit/recommendations before my first tow?
Get the trans fluid and filter changed every 60k miles as the manual says. The solenoids will get slow or sticky if you don't.
My previous Tundra was equipped with 4spd and "lifetime" WS fluid lasted fine. The 6-speed auto is more fond of clean fluid. I didn't ever change it because it was "lifetime" fluid and it became a problem at just over 300k miles. Turns out there are different definitions of lifetime and I didn't read the book.
My 2019 Ford Transit High Roof, non-extended body, 3.7L. Took me about 14 months to convert this thing from an empty panel van to something very cozy for bike trips and race weekends.
Non-turbo motor means it’s pretty slow towing but the speed it lacks is made up for in convenience. It’s got a second-story bed, 350 watts of solar, an air compressor, heated outdoor shower, fridge, coffee maker, microwave, roof vent, and some other little goodies. All I do on a track weekend is put some food in the fridge, throw in a change of clothes and it’s ready to hit the road.
This is rad, love it!
I'm much more dirtbag version. 2006 Sprinter 2.7 (it's slooooow) with 2000w inverter/solar and pretty basic build out that gets the job done.
12-26-2023, 12:36 PM
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