LocostUSA.com

I love that road! The one to St. Jovite/Mount Tremblant I mean. I drove it several times in the late 70's in a 1974 Fiat X1-9 that had been worked on some (cam, headers and exhaust, valves and head grind, carbs, springs and shocks, wheel spacers, mags, tires and all of the extra junk taken off of the car including the bumpers). Flat out mid week on the way to Jim Russell racing school and on the way to the Grand Prix in '78. I learned how hard it is to recover a mid-engined car that is understeering towards the ditch. What a blast!

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Bill H
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Don't the newer ones get significantly more than that? Any chance of going with one of those?

I went through the same painful process recently and decided on a 2008 2500HD to replace the Cherokee. The miles were low, the price wasn't bad, the interest rate was good, and it fit the bill. The gas mileage isn't good but at least its a second vehicle.

At least in this area, it seems like almost all used 1/2 ton trucks in decent shape either have every luxury option imaginable and no tow package or a tow package and they cost more than 3/4 or 1 ton in similar condition.

If your current truck works for you, would keeping it and getting a smallish car with good gas mileage be an option?

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-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

You're a smart guy, so I'll presume that you've ran the numbers on what your ROI will be.
I see so often people sell their $8000 vehicle, to buy a more fuel efficient $20000 vehicle, and the $12k in difference(plus depreciation, taxes, insurance, and interest) only works in their favor if they keep it for 15 years or more... Which they won't.

I like old cars as they don't depreciate as much. But that's me.

It's apparently human nature to ignore that. Plus, we seem to have a genetic thing to being attracted to shiny things. I wasn't kidding myself when I bought my truck. I needed one, kept the last one for 12 years, and figured that, within reason - looking for a decent-mileage was therefore "free."

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Well my old Silverado is failing fast. All the brake lines need replacing and it is big bucks to do it. I test drove a new 2014 Silverado today and oooooooooh that is nice. A lot better gas mileage than my old rig. And about the same price as the Tacoma and it will tow better. Now to look at finances. Russ

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

i think that new trucks suck!

before you buy it ask how much it will cost to change the engine.

if its a diesel, ask how much it will cost to change a fuel pump.

if its gas, ask about changing spark plugs.

i would warn you that the value of new vehicles dropps dramatically when the factory warrenty runs out, anything made after 2000 will kick your ass on repare bills

i hope you can trust everyone at the dealership, they have had access to the permanent security code and with that can take your truck away, i will garrentee that they have a key.

the only way past that is to install a new pcm, you must do this, if the dealer does it you will need a new pcm and keys. to do this you need a pass through device or a pass through cable and a downloaded program for your lap top which you have to buy from the manufacture on line, after a week, this download will self destruct.

never buy a vehicle with a remote starter, 99% of the time there is a piece of a programmed key hidden in the vehicle somewhere and if your truck is stolen your insurers will not pay.

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this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

I'm with Kurt. My 2011 F150, w/the 3 valve V8, is great for towing and is actually not all that bad at parking except in the smaller parking lots.

I just towed a 32' camper from Fort Worth down to Austin for the F1 races and I got 14mpg mileage (based upon the gauge in the truck). I normally get 19-22 mpg in a mixture of around town driving and freeway driving. In other words that's my normal MPG.

I had a Ford Explorer Sports Trac and I didn't get that good of mileage nor could I tow nearly as much. Hills, even gentle hills, were a real issue.

I wouldn't trade for my full sized pick up. It also has an awesome back seat!! The seats fold up and as my wife said "You could sleep back there if you wanted to". The floor is totally flat.

I shopped back seats when I shopped trucks and only 2 had good back seats, the Explorer Sport Trac and the F150.

The Avalance/Escalade was the next closest and it was light years away from the F150.

I am able to use the F150 for towing, work and for going out on the town. When there's a crowd, or larger people, they always want to to take my truck. It looks nice and has a very untrucklike interior festooned with carbon fiber (fake) and a great NON-LEATHER interior, which is a tough thing to get. I hate leather interiors. Mine is the FX2 Sport model and was downright cheap to buy.

I'm intrigued with the Ecoboost V6, but after driving it back to back with mine, I'll take the V8. The V8 is just a little bit more versatile and gets slightly better real world mileage, but stick that same engine in a small car & I'll be all over it.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

And here I am, looking at 12-15 year old Ford Rangers with ~125,000 miles for use as a tow vehicle.......A 3L, automatic supercab is my target. not a great towing vehicle, but good enough to tow a few thousand pounds. Still can't find the right one. Even considering some southern states for a rust-free one. I'll get back to that task after the holidays. All this talk about "new" just gives me the willys. I buy NEW for most of my cars, but those are DD's and this will pro'ly see<5k miles /year. If I get 5 years and 25K miles out of an old Ranger, I'll be happy. "New" just isn't in that calculation for me.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Geez where have I been? My favorite tow was a 1200 civic 700 lbs of race bike and equip It would only drop below 40 mpg at speeds greater than 80.
The only SAFE tow has dual axles and brakes and even that isn't as good as a straight truck. Although I can see how that might be a problem Warren.

Here I am, back again with another Dakota towing story. Just got back from an iceboating regatta in Wisconsin. A friend's wife wouldn't let the two of us go together, expressing desire for more than two drivers for the 35 hr trip each way from Nova Scotia. So Bob drove his diesel Golf and trailer to Rhode island where he teamed up with some New Englanders and I drove to Kingston (16 hours) where I joined up with some Canucks. But the Kingston trailer owner had sold his SUV and asked that I tow with my Dakota. It was a crowded cab with me and two others from Kingston.

The photo is of the three trailers the two groups towed. Bob's nice aero trailer is in the middle (he can go 900km between refueling stops in the Golf when towing that rig) and I towed the aero disaster from Kingston on the left (if you stand on your head). Whereas my Soling (see picture on previous page) has little effect on the Dakota's fuel consumption (about a 2 to 3 MPG loss) the trailer I towed to Wisconsin (actually a windsurfer trailer), with all its superstructure and iceboats in the breeze, reduced my range to 3/4 tank from 425 to 300 km! I know it was aero because we had one evening of snow and slow traffic, for which the fuel consumption returned to normal. It's a good thing that gas is cheaper in the US ..... Incidently, the V-6 Dakota had sufficient grunt with the light, draggy trailer, but only if you rowed the gearbox.

The moral is, what you tow is as important as with what you tow. Also, don't expect your wife to submit to logic when organizing a trip away with the boys.

PS - and my apologies for the upside down photo. Grrrr

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

Hey Warren that's West Consin

My new tow vehicle is my daily driver 2013 Jeep MOAB. Just bought a new 2015 Aluma 12' aluminum tilt trailer. If it will haul my Kubota tractor it will haul a Lotus replica.

SamM

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1964 Lotus Seven Replica

Nice equipment there Sam, but, you better get those hydralics tied down and the bucket on wood before you go ou t of the neighborhood. Looks light on tongue weight also.

I did a lot of reading prior to my current towing adventure and a number of things pop out as things to avoid:
1. short tongues or ball to axle dimensions
2. short wheelbase (tow vehicle)
3. high center of gravity (Warren?)
4. ball load out side of the 12-15% of total load
Being of the euro attitude toward towing I have to ask. Why are so many people hauling a 1200 to 1500 lb car using a 1500 lb trailer? Didn't ol' Colin teach us anything?
Travelin' Light
Vroom

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=8564

Yes, having the hydraulics down would have been better. I have no intentions of moving the tractor again using this trailer. It was a one time deal on the day that I bought it. My only point was that if it will haul the tractor, that weighs more than twice as much as my car. I'll be fine with the car. We were very illegal that day in many respects. We hauled the tractor about 12 miles home and passed several Police Officers. They never gave us a second look. My buddy Brian said, "it's a lawn tractor, they could care less!" And we laughed about it. It's pretty rural where I live.

It was actually quite stable and the tongue weight wasn't a problem. The chains were dragging a little which tells me there was plenty of weight on the Jeep. I will admit that it does look bad though. The trailer has a 3500# TorFlex axle and it handled the weight just fine. I also towed my Miata donor home using this same trailer. Again, no problems!

My Aluma aluminum trailer is rated for 2990#. I bought it specifically to haul the car. It tilts, which cost me a great deal more but loading is a breeze. No ramps to mess with. The Jeep is only rated to haul 2000# from the factory. I think that is too light of a rating. The 4-door Wrangler is rated for 3500# but both hitches are the same and again rated for 3500#. Both Jeeps have the same 285hp rating also. My Jeep makes over 300hp now and the Mercedes transmission is rated for over 600hp. It 's all overkill for what I have planned. The aluminum trailer only weighs 600#.

SamM

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1964 Lotus Seven Replica