Tow Vehicle List

[Catigale]

Brian, you are right on this one in the case of Ford

I did a little research on this and in the Ford line, they use a wimpy manual tranny and clutch in the F150 line and derate the tow cap by about 1/2...

In the F250 line, the auto and manual tranny have the same cap (according to the posts on the ford truck forums, not verified)

[Divecoz]

Seahouse.... Very interesting post and though I always assumed each manufacturer tilts the board in his favor I enjoyed your post..
I am amazed at some of the tow capacities of some of the FWD Mini Vans.. I cannot imagine a front wheel drive ( for the life of me ) being a good tow vehicle. I have seen Front Wheel Drive, cars and vans , having issues on ramps that my garden tractor, wouldn't.. have issues with..
Cat.... Half !?!? OMGoodness! Back In the day and I am not that much older than you guys (60) I can still remember when IF ...you wanted the Fastest Car is was a stick and the Most Powerful Truck ? It too was a stick! I guess No More! As a young man when we were building Fermi Labs, the contractor I worked for had , 4 Military Deuce and a Half's.. and 2 Dodge 426 4x4 POWERWAGONS....most the time when those big Deuces got stuck we could Yank em Out with the Power Wagons... I did manage to stick a Deuce one time, that we needed a D9 Cat to get it out Stupid Apprentice!
I myself, have only owned 1 Stick Shift Truck. The very first one I ever owned and I selected stick shift, because it was $350 cheaper...

[seahouse]

Yikes Divecoz ! – don’t get me going on the technical inferiority of FWD, let alone FWD as a tow vehicle! It’s a huge compromise that’s been a peeve of mine since it was introduced, and I can’t believe Ralph Nader didn’t jump on THAT one! The lack of RWD in the Acura line has kept it a pariah among luxury nameplates. Thankfully that cost saving trend/safety tradeoff has been reversing in the market lately.

The traction problems at the ramp aren’t half of the towing issues with FWD.

Hmmm. Let’s see…connect the trailer, you put weight on the hitch ball, which then takes weight off the front wheels where that precious weight is needed for traction to both steer and accelerate the car. So you’ve now reduced steering (handling) and acceleration ability. But you can’t accelerate too hard, most notably on a wet or snowy surface, or the reduced weight (and hence traction) on the front wheels will allow the steering wheel to more easily spin sideways (along with the front of the vehicle) from torque steer. Or maybe just ignore the torque steer and deny it exists until you’re in an emergency situation –THEN figure out how to manage it. Yeah… that’s what I want! (read sarcastically)

Auto transmissions sure have come along way, they can shift for faster acceleration than a human with a manual (that was so in the late 70’s, maybe before?), and now with the new dual-clutch packs (eg Porche et al.) there is NO delay during the shift at all, the next gear is already engaged when the previous one releases. I think the manuals still have the edge in ease of maintenance and longevity (all else equal), if handled properly, which Dave is obviously doing very well with. And (all else equal) the manual will get you better gas mileage.

Hey Catigale! – So it looks like the capacity of a transmission to tow is related more to the rating of the particular transmissions the manufacturer chose to use, rather than a manual vs. auto issue.

Regards – Brian.

[Catigale]

For Ford F150 and 250, definitely true.

For others, it ranges from technical differences to pure marketing decision.

You can search posts by In trailers and towing for this previously discussed thread referencing the RV community.

[Highlander]

I think theirs no way the manual trans can compete with the newer 6 speed auto trans , my 96 ford ranger has a 5 speed auto

J

[seahouse]

Hey Highlander!

Agreed. And sometimes the top two gears (4th and 5th) are both overdrive, for fuel efficiency.

And there are 8-speed autos on the market now (Lexus, Bmw, Merc et al.). Not to mention the pseudo- manual “auto manual” trannies that have been around for a while now. Computers can run some things better than humans. As it used to be in the consumer market more gears in a transmission meant there were smaller, weaker, less durable gears in the case. Not any more.

And they used to (and still do) put one transmission on the back of a range of different engines, which results in many less than ideal mismatches. Sometimes the optional auto will actually give you better EPA mpg ratings than the offered manual.

Now they will purpose-build a transmission optimized for one particular engine. So if you are buying a vehicle and have a choice of transmissions for the same engine, the game might be to find out which of those available transmissions was built to match that engine. Did that once, with a sweet result. (ps.that one was a manual ).

-Brian.

[Gater Dunn]

Well i finally found what i'm lookin for
1989 GMC Sierra Z71 4X4 Ext cab
5.7L auto
Factory tow pkg
very clean
same vintage as my they will look good together
thanks to all who responded
keep on posting for the new newbies. .

[esc]

OK, just for laughs I'll show everyone what I've been towing with.


It is a '98 Isuzu Amigo, but it isn't your average Amigo. Generally the 2 wheel drive version only comes with a 4 cylinder...

This one has a 200HP 240 Torque 3.2L V6, with a granny low 5 speed manual, posi and a 4.70:1 rear end gear.

It doesn't have any trouble pulling it down the road or out of the water. With almost 200 Ft/Lbs right off idle, and a CRAZY low first gear, it will idle right up the ramp.
But it does feel a little weird driving with a 20 gusting to 40 mph cross wind.

I have to go about 40 miles to each way, mostly 70 MPH freeway driving, to get to the closest place to put it in. It get's about 20 MPG towing the .

[FLembo18]

OK, just for laughs I'll show everyone what I've been towing with.


It is a '98 Isuzu Amigo, but it isn't your average Amigo. Generally the 2 wheel drive version only comes with a 4 cylinder...

This one has a 200HP 240 Torque 3.2L V6, with a granny low 5 speed manual, posi and a 4.70:1 rear end gear.

It doesn't have any trouble pulling it down the road or out of the water. With almost 200 Ft/Lbs right off idle, and a CRAZY low first gear, it will idle right up the ramp.
But it does feel a little weird driving with a 20 gusting to 40 mph cross wind.

I have to go about 40 miles to each way, mostly 70 MPH freeway driving, to get to the closest place to put it in. It get's about 20 MPG towing the .

I notice that your Captain's seat is UP, I do hope that you're not towing over 25 mph with the seat UP in that position. I can't even begin to tell you the probably consequences.

Frank L.

[raycarlson]

Not wishing to offend anyone, but don't you feel like your risking life & limb towing on the freeway in a mini-suv, I'm sure their great around the marina at 40-45mph but i'd be stressed towing something that weighed as much as my tow vehicle did at 65mph.

[esc]

First I generally don't have the captains seat up when towing, just as I generally don't have the mast up when towing.

Second, yes the boat and trailer do weigh as much as the truck and no, I don't feel like I am risking life & limb.

It is easy to control, accelerate and stop. As I mentioned a strong gusty cross wind does make for some interesting driving, but other than that I really pulls it very nicely. The short wheel base is very handy when backing into my back yard where I only have 3 or 4 inches clearance on each side.

As far as the relative weights being an issue...most trucks with a towing package are rated to tow MUCH more than their own weight, this one is no exception. I'm well within it's rated towing capacity.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to tell anyone that this is an ideal match, just that it works surprisingly well. I suspect it works a LOT better than the small car MacGregor shows in the sales video.

[bobmonroe]

Found a 2000 Chevvy Tahoe, a coupla months ago.
53 thousand miles, like new, all the bells and whistles.
Ran a Carfax, sure enough, one owner, regular maint.
Didn't really want to get rid of my Cherohee 4X4, but
it did have a little trouble on grades. And was starting
to "dollar' me to death ! Had 140,000 K,
Bob

[Freedom77]

1993 Dodge 350 Ram Van with a v-6. 227,000 miles. Hey RWMiller 56. You don't need to put gas in a MacGregor. Fair Winds and Full Sails...Old Salt.

[dennisneal]

I know I'm joining this party a little late, but this is what I have:

2007 Ford F-150 Supercab, Long Bed, 2WD. I've added a camper shell onto the bed.
4.6L V-8, 248 H.P.
Heavy Duty Tow Package, 7,200 lbs tow capacity.

I feel very safe in a full-sized pickup truck since I have a good view of the traffic ahead of me and I'm surrounded by a lot of steel. The camper shell provides some security, in case I want to lock something up and leave the truck. The long bed is good for hauling full-sized sheets of plywood.

The truck doesn't labor when I have to go up a hill while I'm towing our boat. I generally don't use overdrive when I tow, unless I'm on flat land and can keep a constant speed of about 60 mph.

[bjmeunier]

2003 Ram Quad 1500 4x4 Off Road and towing Pkg...HEMI Never had any issues pulling the boat