Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

[bassman409]

It is impossible to just buy American made goods anymore. I think every vehicle has some part made from somewhere else. My big thing is even though some vehicles are made here, Toyota, you are still supporting corporate Japan with a purchase, I would rather support corporate America...It was good to get competition, I think it made our Big 3 a whole lot better. I personally never even think of looking at a toyota, nissan or any other foreign named vehicle when I look for new cars and trucks.. And my job of 22 years went to Mexico in 1998, RCA, now known as Thomson... I'm done...........

[Celten]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-23-06 AT 09:19AM (EST)[/font][p]I do agree with your point about it being better to support corporate America instead of corporate Japan (in spite of my Sufrequently despising corporate America...though that probably applies to corporate Anywhere). And my condolences about your job. It's rough.

[Chris_Carlyle]

Ford F150, nuff said.

[bassman409]

A buddy of mine bought a Ford F150, with a tow package, for a little over $10,000.00......Brand new...... An unbelievable great deal on a good truck...

[Topwater2004]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-15-06 AT 02:44PM (EST)[/font][p]Toyota's are made in Princeton, Indiana.

Making Tundra, Sequoia and Sienna vehicles.

All are nice vehicles to me, except for gas mileage they are top of the line.

I bought the Jeep because;

A. I was impressed with the technology behind the new V-8.
B. I was impressed with the state of the are auto-4WD system.
C. A very good friend is the sales manager, and I was able to afford it over the Sequoia and 4Runner Toyota's.

If I hadn't liked the Jeep, I probably would have gotten the 4Runner, but it only offered a V-6 at the time.

topwater.

[DSPCHAMY]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-13-06 AT 04:02PM (EST)[/font][p]If you want to save money and gas money buy a early 90's 4wdrive pickup. They don't weigh as much and don't push as much air as an suv. I have an explorer that I would get rid of in a heart beat to buy an older pickup to tow the boat. I say 4wdrive because I have been on a few wet ramps and watched people ding up their boats throwing rocks at the boat while spinning the wheels. So the ability to throw it in 4low and walk right out of the water is always nice to have.

Step side trucks are nice for launching by yourself. You can stay dry and walk from the bed of the truck step into the boat without getting wet.

just my two cents

[Topwater2004]

I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, and pull a 17ft Lowe Stinger 170W.

It has a top of the line technology V-8 and an awesome automatic 4 Wheel Drive system. It also comes with a factory towing package with a transmission cooling system, which is critical.

I get 15mpg pulling the boat, 55-60mph. 18mpg city/20mpg highway when not towing.

You should be able to find a nice used one for that price range you listed. 2001-2002 for that price.

The only problems with this vehicle is that every 12 to 15k miles you will have warped a front brake rotor. My mechanic says it is a problem with all mid size vehicles towing, not a whole lot you can do about it. To get around the problem you would need a bigger truck with a larger braking system and then you would be paying out the nose for gas. I had the best rotors put on last time and they still did it.

topwater

[Stonewall2002]

I own a small run-a-bout in that same weight range and i bley the transmission on a small truck I used to own. I lookede arround and found a good used Trailblazer for under 15K. It has preformed great. Never had the slightest trouble. SUVs and heavy trucks can be found relatively cheep right now due to the price of fuel. The only drawback to the Trailblazer is the fuel consumption. Since I live about 50 miles from work I spend quite a bit just to get there.

Keep on chuckin'

[Moose1am]

Was your transmission a manual or an automatic?

How many miles did you haul your boat with that truck before the transmission went out on the vehile?

I am curious to know the answers to these questions. I may be in the market for a new vehicle someday in the future and want to know more about your experience with your vehicle.



Regards,

Moose1am

[Stonewall2002]

It was an 1999 Automatic Ford Ranger. I loved the truck but it just didnt have the giddy-ap and go I needed. Pulled my boat twice. Once from the guy I bought it from in New Albany to my home in Valley Station, and once to Taylorsville lake and back. One morning I went out to go to work and the truck wouldnt go into second, just stayed in first. Traded it in as-is to the dralership for the Trailblazer, they even came to my house to tow it away. Other than tires and brakes the Trailblazer has been great.

Keep on chuckin'

[Moose1am]

OK thanks. I was thinking it was probably an automatic transmission. I have a manual transmission which I think has less to go wrong with, except when my wife and daughter tried to learn to drive a standard shift. LOL You could hear the gears grinding for miles away. :(.

We had a 1990 Dodge Grand Caravan that had an automatic transmission. It had the Dodge Towing Package which included an larger transmission and transmission cooler and oil cooler etc. The literature said all the stuff was beefed up to help haul stuff.

One our first long trip pulling a Williamsburg Coleman Popup Camper though the Smokey Mountain Area the engine would only allow us to go about 40 mph up the steep grades. I could floor the accelerator and the engine would not allow us to go any faster. We got back home and took the Caravan to the dealer and he said that this was a feature that protected the Transmission in case something went wrong with the transmission. It took us forever to get though the mountains of Eastern TN and to Pigeon Forge, TN. The dealer made some changes to the transmission after we took it in and that fixed the problem. The next trip to the mountains the Caravan shot right up the mountain grades pulling our camper. Not sure exactly what they did but it happened to a lot of those Caravan transmission. That vehicle is suspect is still running.

Regards,

Moose1am

[Danny]

Tony,

The only real advice I have is to make sure you get a truck that has a towing package. This will ensure you have a transmission cooler. I learned the hard way to make sure to protect the transmission.

Danny