Best tow vehicle for 3 grand? Van, Suburban, or truck.

[DMax82]

Hey, if you can afford a Lexus, you can afford a decent truck.

Lexus was $10.5k last year. Common misconception though.

 

[DMax82]

I bought a 1997 K2500 4x4 Suburban ten years ago on E-Bay for $8300.
So....it was 10 years old then, and had 100,000 miles.
Flew to Albuquerque, NM., picked it up, and drove it home.
Today it is 20 years old, and has 130,000 miles
It is an absolute brute!
I LOVE IT!
Big brakes, and 454 V-8.
For towing, I use it maybe 2 or 3 times each year. Towing use is similar to your situation, once 250 miles each way, and usually a short trip or two of 20 miles or less.
I tow a (14,000 lb. GVWR) 20' equipment trailer (electric brakes), with my medium size Ford TLB aboard. Total trailer & tractor weight is exactly 12,000 lbs.
Some here may say that is too much weight, and perhaps it is.
I did add "Airlift" air bags, and I also use an "Equalizer" brand 14,000 lb. weight distribution hitch.
Bottom line: It tows GREAT, and I keep substantial distance between me, and the vehicle ahead.

I do think your budget should be increased to $5000, to get a reasonably reliable vehicle for your described use.

Thanks Fried! I appreciate the feedback. I really love that generation of Suburban. My mechanic is a big time Chevy guy and I would feel really good about him working on one of them.

 

[Oldpath05]

At a 3k budget, I'm surprised you didn't laugh off the thread by now, from what I read here on this forum, most wouldn't mind paying 30k, but if you're part grease monkey then it might be doable. Up here what to look out for is rusted out frames, in the last 30 years motors are not the problem they use to be, in some case 200k is nothing.

Five years ago my son bought 97 1/2 ton Ram pickup for $1,500, frame was good, the back body rusted beyond repair, he took it off put on cedar flat bed, with almost 300k on the gauge it's still reliable, he wouldn't hesitate going 200 mi, but I don't think his 1/2 ton is big enough for towing a 35 hp tractor.

I'd would look for a 3/4 ton something 20+years old, something with big v8, trans cooler or standard, down your way should be easy to find something that not all rusted out and I wouldn't worry tomuch about 200k on the odometer.

 

[rankrank1]

Well my opinion is how many people beside yourself do you need to haul while towing. If more than 4 people then a van or suburban starts looking more attractive but in my opinion should be a 3500 instead of 2500 chasis when the cab will be full of several people. (reason: all passengers besides the 150 lb driver and all cargo put in the cab must be subtracted from both your legal payload capacity as well as subtracted from the legal towing capacity). To stay legal you almost always run out of payload first.

4 people - a van, suburban, or extended cab or crew cab truck fits the bill preferably in a 2500 or bigger chasis. If 2 people then even a regular cab 2500 fits the bill and can be bought cheap as most want the bigger cabs.

Last question 4WD? Going to the mountains screams 4WD desired to me so a van is now out leaving the truck or suburban as only choices with 4WD.

Finding a deal on a truck is way easier than a susburban IMOP. I would be looking at a 2001 to 2007 Silverado or Sierra 2500hd or 3500hd with a 6.0 gasser myself in 4WD with a cab size and bed size suitable to your needs. The 6.0 is a bulletproof engine that will do all you want to do. Will not sip fuel but cheap to buy and cheap to maintain and they are better on gas than they get credit for. High miles is not even too scary IMOP. Defintely get the 4.10 ratio in this series with the 4 speed auto tranny - most will have it standard. I recently just purchased a 2005 Silverado 2500HD extended cab long bed with 4WD for $2900. It needs a few things but is pretty much rust free. Its longterm plan is to eventually become my dedicated tow pig taking some of the burden of my lighter duty 2003 GMC 1500 Sierra which I am keeping as I have owned it 13 years now. I have worked the 1500 to its fullest capacity many times. Was looking at new trucks but the insane prices scared me away. I will have less money in this project truck than the sales taxes would have been on me buying a new truck let alone the purchase price of the truck

 

[rankrank1]

What's the point of this unless the OP is on some gravel back roads?

Maybe none if he never goes off pavement. But when I go to the hills (no mountains around me) I take my truck more offroad than even gravel roads to dirt paths (not off-roding though the woods per say). 4 WD is much appreciated as a nice security blanket then especially when towing my small camper. And low range portion of the 4 wd transfer case would still even be a nice security blanket for mountain level hills under heavy load even on pavement. I have heard of people resorting to low range when towing real heavy to make maountain size hills even on pavement (this atypically happens in thin air at high elevations but there are always exceptions and it is simply one more tool available to use if needed).

Also when hauling my heavy trailers (i.e flat bed 14K trailer with farm equipment or hay or alternatively my dump trailer) I have needed 4WD to get moving even when in a simple flatland grass field. OP also said he has a farm. Farm usually means driving in fields at some point. Pull into a field a little too soon after the spring thaw and you not moving without 4WD.

I still have and use my old 1992 chevy C1500 full size reg cab 2WD with 4.3 V6. I love its primitive simplicity and ultimately its fuel miserly ways. I will likely keep this truck forever as I bought it new. That all said it will get stuck on a cat turd. I have been in snow cleared store parking lots where it would not even move itself empty (no locking diff on this truck so it is really 1 WD - if one wheel is on ice or a slick spot- it is simply not moving).

Lastly, I never said the OP needs 4WD, but implied if he desires it then a van is pretty much out.

 

[Argonne]

I recently just purchased a 2005 Silverado 2500HD extended cab long bed with 4WD for $2900. It needs a few things but is pretty much rust free.

When I moved from Illinois to Texas, I moved myself with a 2005 Silverado 2500HD extended cab long bed with 4WD towing a 26ft, gooseneck, enclosed, cargo trailer, at times at ~5 tons in the trailer. I made 8 round trips of 1644 miles each to get the job done. The truck was superb and entirely up to the task. The slowest I was down to climbing hills in Missouri was 62mph. It did eat a transfer case on trip 6, but I attribute this to layover sickness rather than damage from use. The truck only had 17k miles on it when I bought it in 2014. I paid a LOT of money for that truck with that mileage on the clock, but it was worth every penny.

PS, if it hasn't already, your instrument cluster is going to die.

 

[Farmer495]

Cheap trucks for towing 10k around here would be anything reg cab dually 2wd flat bed.

Next winner would be buying a 1 ton cut away CUBE van. I've seen those get bought, sell the box and seal in the back of the cab. Some are diesels too....one ton pickup powertrain in a cab/chassis no one would normally be caught dead driving of their own volition.

 

[terryknight]

i have a couple thoughts. people have already mentioned them.

#1 sell your Lexus add a couple bucks to the budget, get to ~15K and buy a f150 Ecoboost that is a couple years old. should be able to find a nice one, especially if you want 2wd for 15K, get a 4 door one and buy a cap/shell/topper if you need enclosed storage. and you can sleep in a pick up if need be. pros with one vehicle you only need to insure, tag, inspect one vehicle. cons you only have one vehicle and sometimes it's nice to have 2, also if it's your only vehicle you will probably want to take better care of it.

#2 buy a second dedicated tow vehicle, SUVs suburbans/excursions tend to be more expensive than truck which are more expensive than vans. i would get the biggest engine with the deepest gears i could find. I would add a trans temp gauge. the ford/GM products (don't know much about the rams) are good in the 3/4 ton range. and you can find them in your price range, especially if you only want 2wd. make sure you go though it so that you feel comfortable driving it 200 miles while towing. you now have two vehicles to maintain, inspect insure, etc, but you also have a spare vehicle if you need one.

 

[blackrams]

Five trailers here, three goosenecks and two bumper pulls. Two Dodges, both with Cummins diesels. I transport/trailer all over CONUS.

The only reason I told you what I have is to give you some idea that I may know what I'm talking about in reference to towing.

Won't tell you what to get but will advise you on what's important. Personally, I'd go with a pickup but, that's your choice. You can also sleep in the bed of a truck comfortably with addition of a topper on the bed.

The tow vehicle must be in A1 working order, it must be wired for lights and brakes for what you're pulling. Since I doubt you're going to be pulling a gooseneck, I'll only advise you to ensure the hitch you have is rated for the load you're intending to pull. With the kind of loads you're talking about pulling, I recommend a tandem axle trailer with brakes on both axles.

Back to the vehicle, whether it has heat or AC isn't of concern to me but, is it reliable and safe. Is it geared (differential) for towing the load you want to call. Does it have adequate braking or, what condition are the brakes in? The price range you're talking about falls into the category of "Going to Need Lots of Money Spent on it".

Let's face it, anything that cheap is priced there for a reason. Ask yourself just how much you like sleeping on the side of the road. Regardless of what you get, before you get it, inspect for corrosion, look at the steering, suspension, brakes and look long and hard at the exhaust. Depending on the miles, you might even want to have a compression test done on the engine. But for God's Sake, make sure it's got good brakes. Lastly, I hate towing with automatic transmissions. Yeah, I know they say the cases are stronger and they are tougher. Let me tell ya, I've had numerous trucks over the years and I tow/transport a bunch. For a while I bought into what the sales guys told me about automatic transmissions being better for towing. I strongly disagree.

Over the last seven trucks I've owned and used, 4 of them were automatics. All four of those transmissions had to be rebuilt or replaced while I had them. The other trucks were all manual or standard transmissions, two 6 speeds and one 5 speed. Not one of those transmissions or clutches failed while I put huge miles on them. Your choice, do what you think is best.

Lastly, although I have had 4WD trucks, IMHO 4WD is simply a waste of money for trailering. Won't even consider buying a 4WD, less fuel economy and more things to go wrong. Unless you use 4WD, why have it. As I tell the folks I transport for, if the roads are so bad I need 4WD to get there, I'm not going. BTW, my trucks never go off road.

Rams

 

[4570Man]

I'd get a 90s model ton with a straight shift. I'd prefer a 2000 body style, but it's doubtful you'll find that for the budget. You might not go fast but a 350 will be fine. Springs and brakes are way more important.