hey,

i'm looking to get a tow rig and was thinking about just getting something that got kinda decent mileage and drive it back/forth to work (about 25 miles one way) instead of my commuter honda. would save me from having to pay insurance on 2 vehicles ...

any chance i could get a tow rig big enough to pull my toyota pickup on a trailer that would get 20 mpg or so ?

- jack

cummins flowersmoke or duramax would be close if not better

I got an 86 454 that gets about 2mpg :D

I used to get about 20 with my Dodge Cummins 4x4...

My buddy's cockstroke gets about 18 but he's all about the skinny pedal

Brett

2 mpg that's pretty sweet Silly ... those 454's will pass anything but a gas station :D

- jack

Originally posted by morpheus
2 mpg that's pretty sweet Silly ... those 454's will pass anything but a gas station :D

- jack

I beat a dodge neon yesterday with my jeep on the trailer...his american riced out @$$ was so pissed he turned :D

if i keep my foot out of it, i can get about 20 on the highway under load. 95 dodge ram 3500 w\ the 12 vavle Cummins....

My Pop's Duramax gets 22+ around town, and while towing, At around GVW 14. My Dad is really anal about milage, so the numbers are really accurate!

I sold a diesel duramax xcab 2wd to a guy who claims 30 mpg on the hwy and 20 towing his 5th wheel.
so stop and go traffic in town, the 22 mpg figures should be about correct....:beer:

sweet ... so what years can i get a duramax in ?

- jack

If you are worried about mileage, Duramax is good, but the initial cost of that $4500 engine will kick your ass.

They are in HD models 2001 and up...

My 6 speed Cummins get's 18-20 unloaded and 12 mpg loaded and hauling ass.

I have a Dumpamax with a topper, my buddy has a 12 valve Cummins, no topper. I followed him to Moab last Thanksgiving pulling our jeeps. When it came time to fill up he got about 9.75, I got 9.25. Not much difference. I say BS to anything over 16 mpgs towing at interstate speeds.

On a recent trip to California, I got between 15-16 mpg empty. I had the cruise set at 80 most of the time. I do have a slightly taller tire than stock, 235/85/r16 vs. 245/75/r16, so the odometer might be a little off.

If you want gas instead of diesel, my 5.7L w/ 4.10s Tahoe does well. It'll Tow my Jeep all day long and gets about 16-18 unloaded when I drive to work. Oh yeah, it was a lot cheaper than a diesel, which is a part of why I got it.

Jack - do a spreadsheet and compare ALL the costs before you do anything...

I am throwing one together right now, let me know if you want me to send it your way and see if it helps.


My guess is that 2 vehicles will still be cheaper than one...

Shoot - insurance on my daily driver 87 4Runner is under $250 a year.... cheap enough for me ;)

yeah, thinking of keeping my commuter car and getting a not so new tow rig ... just concerned about heading cross country with a vehicle i don't drive that much ...

- jack

Originally posted by DRM
My guess is that 2 vehicles will still be cheaper than one...

Shoot - insurance on my daily driver 87 4Runner is under $250 a year.... cheap enough for me ;)

Side note: PL & PD (public liability & public damage) cost me about $200/year in Oregon. Moved to Texas and got hit with $600/year! Ouch. I was in the 30+ married with kids bracket, low insurance rates.

I'm in the same boat. Sold my Maxima (which got 22 mpg... heavy footed driver) and picked up an '02 Chev Crew Cab w/ 6.0 gas. Around town I get about 13. (towing: 11, empty freeway 15).

Funny part: Little did I realize my family size would go from Three to Six!!! Dang, how much is that 3/4 ton Suburban? Actually like the truck for the wheeling trips... looking for a used conversion van for the road trips (resell drops like a rock on the conversion vans.... $27K new, goes for $10K after two years... resell being the same as a plain cargo van... buddy went that route for hauling. Must admit not a bad deal).

Tom :usa:

I've got a "93" stock 12 valve cummins/4 spd. auto that gets 16 around town, 16 towing at no more than 75mph, and about 20-22mpg on the highway. Bought the truck in emaculate condition with 130k for 10k. Would'nt mind a new dodge w/ the 24 valve (noticeable power increase) just didn't have the extra 25k.
ericfilar@fatcity

Jack - there is a Crew cab, 2wd, dually Chevy I saw in Columbia the other day - red, 90+ model, looked sweet - had $9k or so on the window...

Before we got the F250 crew cab, we were looking at a much cheaper option of going with a 350 powered Suburban. You can find nice ones with around 100k on the ticker for right around $10k if you look around.


Or, if you don;t mind the "headache" - find you a used truck with tons of miles for under $3k. You can get a NEW 350 from GM for around $1500, have the tranny rebuilt, all new brakes, fluids, etc. and have a "fresh" vehicles for towing with less than $6k in the whole thing...

If youre thinking tow mileage, get a diesel. I dont know what rockedtj was doin but I towed a toyota not long ago doing 75-85 and was getting around 15 in my duramax. the trailer is light but it cant make THAT much of a difference. youre still probably going to want to keep your honda though. my mileage doesnt go up much when I take the trailer off. best is around 18 but I beat it.
to get a rig like you're talking about youre probably gonna have to buy a fairly new rig so plan on forking over some cash and signing your life away for a few years. Its worth it though