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Reccomend a Tow rig ~15k


asp13

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I am looking for suggestions on a tow rig for a 2004 response lxi. I would like something with minimum 6000 lb towing capacity. I am open to both trucks and suvs. I would be doing a ~600 km trip twice a year over the rockies, and weekend warrior tow duty of around 50-100km  every week or so. This will also be my daily driver so I dont need anything crazy, but don't want anything underpowered either.

I have looked at Cayennes (7700 lb) Touaregs (7700lb) as well as trucks. Just curious what people like in the used $15,00 range

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My first thought is a diesel something. Cayennes, Touaregs, BMW whatever will kill you gas wise and are AWD that really won't hold up over time towing.(got friends that have been there). There was a time on this site when the Ford F-150 Eco-Boost was the buzz. I might still get some likes just for saying it :biggrin:. I would steer you towards a used F150 or 1500 crew cab  in that price range. Toyotas are great but hold their value more so might be older on the used market. I started saying Diesel but that would be a larger truck and where you drive daily might not be suitable. I run a Duramax but I live surrounded by potato field and tall mountains. Best of luck in your search.

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Are you a mechanic? Do you want to be? If not, not sure I would look at a cayenne or Touareg. They’re not known for their reliability and I’m guessing at 15k they’re gonna be higher mileage. 

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Any used half ton.  F150, Tundra, Ram 1500, Silverado.  Have a mechanic look over it first. 

Would go V8 for simplicity and crew cab for the space on the longer trips.  

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I have to also say diesel.  I drive a Ram 2500 and my wife has a 18 duramax for her business. what does she do? she sells insurance and bonds to contractors.  she needs the 2500...ltz...  the Ram tows anything I have hooked it to effortlessly.

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Your options are pretty much limitless. 

Any 150/1500 would work (I’m partial to RAM)

about any V8 suv would work (I’d look at a Durango)

I looked into a Cayenne a few years back. They are great vehicles that are overall very reliable. Personally, I wouldn’t shy away from one if you can find the right one. 

Biggest problems they had was a poor cooling pipe design and a questionable bearing in the drive shaft. If you are looking at earlier years, of those two items check clear you are golden. 

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11 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

I have to also say diesel.  I drive a Ram 2500 and my wife has a 18 duramax for her business. what does she do? she sells insurance and bonds to contractors.  she needs the 2500...ltz...  the Ram tows anything I have hooked it to effortlessly.

I don't think he will be able to find either of those for under $15k without a ton on miles/abuse.  

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Which generation Touareg were you looking at? I had a 2014 model with the 3.0 diesel and it was a great tow rig / daily commuter. It was a better commuter because the the short wheelbase but the motor was more than capable of towing my VLX. Same vehicle as the Cayenne, just different trim. 

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No one can give you a good answer without knowing the following:

- Minimum year
- Max mileage
- Do you turn your own wrenches?  If not, do you have a lot of money budgeted for paying someone to do the work for you?

The answers for what to get vary GREATLY based on the answers to the above.  I personally wouldn't buy a German vehicle unless you turn your own wrenches as maintenance can get EXPENSIVE.  They are very rewarding to own/drive if you do your own work.  If I can get past having a truck bed (will have to replace my open car hauler with an enclosed one to do it), I will eventually replace my Escalade EXT with either a X5M or a Cayenne Turbo.  My Escalade is comfortable to drive and has over 400HP, but it's just not the same.    

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I read this as you're getting a rig that you might tow your boat 600km over the Rockies with.  That's why I started recommending half tons, thinking they were the minimum.  

If you're pulling your boat to the lake every other weekend in the summer, get whatever is the best maintained vehicle that you can with a tow rating of 6-7k.  If it was me, I'd be looking for something solid axle in the rear and I'd change the fluid myself every 3-4 oil changes.  

The shorter wheelbase of a Tahoe or Touareg would be nice for a daily and really not that big of a deal with a lighter boat.  I like the seats in the Tahoe/Suburban more for longer drives like your road trips.  

You can get a pretty nice used Tahoe for $15k and parts/labor are generally cheaper on the domestics. 

Edited by Pra4sno
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14 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

No one can give you a good answer without knowing the following:

- Minimum year
- Max mileage
- Do you turn your own wrenches?  If not, do you have a lot of money budgeted for paying someone to do the work for you?

The answers for what to get vary GREATLY based on the answers to the above.  I personally wouldn't buy a German vehicle unless you turn your own wrenches as maintenance can get EXPENSIVE.  They are very rewarding to own/drive if you do your own work.  If I can get past having a truck bed (will have to replace my open car hauler with an enclosed one to do it), I will eventually replace my Escalade EXT with either a X5M or a Cayenne Turbo.  My Escalade is comfortable to drive and has over 400HP, but it's just not the same.    


I have owned German cars my whole life, mostly VW's and Audis and know quite a bit about them. I do some of my own work and also have a great mechanic 2 blocks over from my business. His prices are very reasonable as well so most maintenance or work needed doesn't scare me. I would prefer an suv as it will fit in my garage whereas most trucks will not.
 

12 hours ago, Pra4sno said:

I read this as you're getting a rig that you might tow your boat 600km over the Rockies with.  That's why I started recommending half tons, thinking they were the minimum.  

If you're pulling your boat to the lake every other weekend in the summer, get whatever is the best maintained vehicle that you can with a tow rating of 6-7k.  If it was me, I'd be looking for something solid axle in the rear and I'd change the fluid myself every 3-4 oil changes.  

The shorter wheelbase of a Tahoe or Touareg would be nice for a daily and really not that big of a deal with a lighter boat.  I like the seats in the Tahoe/Suburban more for longer drives like your road trips.  

You can get a pretty nice used Tahoe for $15k and parts/labor are generally cheaper on the domestics. 

It will likely be 1-2 trips over the rockies every summer, but the boat is a response so not too heavy. It will be local lakes which aren't that far away the rest of the time with little elevation change.

I'm looking at a yukon denali this week, will see how it compares to the others I have looked at.

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1 hour ago, asp13 said:


I have owned German cars my whole life, mostly VW's and Audis and know quite a bit about them. I do some of my own work and also have a great mechanic 2 blocks over from my business. His prices are very reasonable as well so most maintenance or work needed doesn't scare me. I would prefer an suv as it will fit in my garage whereas most trucks will not.
 

It will likely be 1-2 trips over the rockies every summer, but the boat is a response so not too heavy. It will be local lakes which aren't that far away the rest of the time with little elevation change.

I'm looking at a yukon denali this week, will see how it compares to the others I have looked at.

 

Got it!   I read it as you weren't towing over the mountains.  Since you are, I'd be back to at least a half ton pickup or SUV variant of one.   The Yukon Denali would be a decent fit.

It's the grades going downhill where a long wheelbase is going to keep you safe.  At least here in Colorado, I see short wheelbase vehicles getting into trouble on the long grades over 4%.  People do it all the time, but they are putting an enormous amount of trust in their trailer brakes keeping them straight if their vehicles brakes overheat. 

Here's one extra option:

Chevy Suburban 2500 (HD).  The extra leaf in the HD model will give you a more stable platform out of an older set of springs.  It will ride better as a daily than a truck will, and your trips over the Rockies will have more interior storage space, a nice long towing platform, all the creature comforts, and good power from reliable V8 plants.  The HD has a more robust engine/trans cooling system, and I believe a lower gear ratio.  I haven't looked it up but likely a 3.73-4.10.  Some of the HD's depending on the year have bigger brakes and a heavier rear axle.  

It will tow like a beast, be reliable, easy to work on/find parts for, and still drive around town fine.  

Edited by Pra4sno
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Since you have experience with German vehicles, you may want to consider a 2010-2013 BMW X5d.  The M57 diesel engine in these vehicles is the same one in my 2011 BMW 335d.  It came from the factory with 425 lb/ft of torque, but if you don't need to pass emissions in your locality, it is a pretty simple process to delete the EGR/DPF/SCR exhaust systems.  Then re-tune the software with one of the major suppliers that have these tunes down solid and my car puts out 590 lb/ft at the rear wheels and about 380hp at the rear wheels.  The only other real common issue with these engines is the harmonic balancer, that tend to go out in the 60-90k mile range.  I just replaced mine with a new Fluidampr unit so I don't have to worry about it in the future.  The emissions delete/tune can be done for under $2000 if you do your own labor.  The harmonic balancer was another $500.  I get 40 mpg at 75 mph on my commute.  One of the guys on the BMW forum just posted that he got 37 mpg in his x5d on a cross country run averaging 77 mph.  On the return trip he was towing a 3000 lb load and averaged 21 mpg.  The transmissions (only option is a ZF 6-speed automatic) have a very solid reputation and a lot fewer of the common gasoline BMW engine accessories issues.     But they will be just a little above your $15k range, and then you have to plan on spending at least $2500 on the emissions delete and harmonic balancer to make them reliable.

If you want something really reliable, you could look into the 2006-2007 Toyota Sequoia.  That was the last 2 years of the prior body style, and they had the 4.7L V8.  I had a 2004 and it was the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned.  I traded it in on a 2010 and it had about 210k miles on it when I traded it in.  I did almost nothing except change the oil, and the timing belt.  The oil would still look brand new at 7500 mile intervals.  I towed my 2004 Wakesetter 23 LSV regularly with no problems.  It wasn't super powerful, but it did just fine.  I towed the boat home from Kansas City, over the Rockies, to Las Vegas with no difficulty.  There aren't many of them left out there without a lot of miles, but something to consider.  I think that engine is one of the most bulletproof engines Toyota has ever made.  You can definitely find them well under the 15k mark with 100-125k miles.

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10 hours ago, asp13 said:


I have owned German cars my whole life, mostly VW's and Audis and know quite a bit about them. I do some of my own work and also have a great mechanic 2 blocks over from my business. His prices are very reasonable as well so most maintenance or work needed doesn't scare me. I would prefer an suv as it will fit in my garage whereas most trucks will not.

If you can find an E70 X5 35i in your price range, that should tow well.  If the N55 struggles at all a simply tune will resolve all of that.  Unfortunately, it was released until the LCI in 2011 so finding one on-budget could be a task.  35d was pre-LCI, but you really was a '10+ as the iDrive went from the crappy CCC unit to the CIC.  Other issue with the E70 is they didn't come with a hitch, very few owners add them and it isn't a cheap add-on for these SUV's. :(  Also need to make sure it has the rear air suspension.

You can easily score a 955 Cayenne Turbo for your budget and probably a 957 Cayenne Turbo.  958 is way too pricey still - even a beat up, high mileage V6.  I'd avoid the S/GTS in the 955/957 due to cylinder wall scoring issues.  They all had coolant pipe issues so any you buy needs to have already had the metal pipes installed (it's matter of when, not if, they will fail...though many have been cared for already).  I sometimes regret not getting a 957 Turbo when I bought my truck.

Typ 4L Q7 would be nice, as long as it is a '10+ with the supercharged 3.0 motor or maybe the V8.  At least with the 3.0 a pulley swap and tune will resolve any power needs.  The diesels seem to be holding too good of a value.

I don't care for most Benz vehicles, so I haven't paid much attention to them. 

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2 hours ago, Cole2001 said:

Who needs a big tow vehicle  now a days anyways? :cry:   This is a little much... but your response would be precfectly fine behind a Volkswagen...

 

Ayy karumba.

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