TheEC

Whats going to be towed?

A light car on an open trailer, 3000lbs probably.

Plus spares and such that would be loaded into the tow vehicle, say 600lbs.


My budget?

I would like to spend $4000, but can go up to $6000 if necessary.


Did Toyota make a product that can do this? If not, any recommendations?

zberch

I dont think so for 4K. Maybe a T100 for that price

Elton

welcome to yotatech how bout buying a used 2nd gen with a bad motor cheap and then swap in a 3.4L ??

TheEC

I should add that I have done a ton of work on Toyotas, and that it is a period of my life that I don't want to repeat.

toy_tek

Haha... thats kinda how I feel. Except I was working on "big 3" vehicles. Thats why I have a Toyota now.

I tow about 2000lbs regularly for long distances with a 3.4. Personally if I had to tow any more I would get something bigger... like a new Tundra. But a $4k budget kinda shoots that down.

Elton

as much as i hate to say this may have to look at a full sized truck with a V8

CJM

You need a T100 at least to be stable towing that kinda load. A fullsize Chevy or Ford with their 6 cylinder might do it, but not a Yota.

TheEC

Whatever I get needs to be like an airplane, absolutely reliable if its maintained.

I've been looking at diesel Fords, but im not sure they can meet my reliability requirement. But, 400ft-lbs of torque ought to be able to pull a lot.

This thing would also be my daily driver, again im not sure about a giant Ford pickup.

socsmm6

if you decide on the ford try to get the 7.3 engine not the 6.0. we havve had 3 trucks with the 7.3 and all of them got well over 200,000 on them when we sold them. had one with the 6.0 and it got new heads pup on at 25,000 miles and several other problems, we finally took a loss and got rid of it. we now pull with a dodge, doing pretty good so far.

olsy1984

go dodge, i know, painfull to say

colsoncj

If you're goina go diesel, go cummins...

TheEC

Im good friends with some Ford people that will stab me if I go with something else. Tough decision...

Thanks for the help guys!

first4runner

sheesh diesel is great but man I dont know about where you live but down here (texas) it costs more than gas. If you are going to have it for awhile personally I would try to find a gas equivelant. Of course that is because I am a college student and not made of money I am a big fan of foreign vehicles. But for tow I could go with a decent chevy. Thats just me. Although I have seen some 1-ton fords tow some pretty knarly stuff.

Pest

But if he goes Diesel, if he did some investing he could craft his own biodiesel for ~36 cents per gallon.

I want a diesel.

gilby4runner

couldn't he try and find one of the one ton duallies. The same ones that were on the camper and Uhaul format?

first4runner

yeah .36 would be awesome, but I didnt know anything about that. Hmmm maybe a daily driver with a diesel would be a good idea. Hmm nice.

82yota

I know this is going to sound very costly but it is the route I am going. I'm taking a frame from an early 90's xtra cab 4x4 and putting a Toyota 4 cyl turbo diesel in it. And as for the thing about diesel costing more it doesn't matter because diesel will out perform a comparable gas job and will far outdo the fuel mileage. Its all about torque and thats what diesels have. The motor I'm getting will put out around 130 hp and 230 lb ft torque. And as far as reliability goes Toyota gas motors are great and Toyota diesels are known to be even better. And it will get great mileage. Simple to get more power out of as well. You just plug in a computer chip and your up between 160 and 180 hp and around 300lb ft torque. And peak torque is at 2000. Its just another idea but it would involve lots of fab work. But I'm going to do it.

4Runner1988

I had a 03 Tundra 2wd with the 3.4, 5spd. Great truck. Your right at the limits of towing capacity though...and still have some engine left to pass...pull a hill...etc.

T-100 or Tundra...nothing else. You CAN do it in a Truck or Tacoma....but not stable and very maxed out on capabilites.

I dont think a V8 Tundra is down to your price range just yet. You'd need to be around 10k for that.

Also...T-100's are going for quite alot...IF you can find them. They really have resale value.

p5150

I have towed my MKIII Supra on a u-haul dolly over some 7k foot mountain passes with my 1989 3.0 V6. I towed it for about 550 miles. It actually did quite well.

I also towed a 1979 Mercedes Diesel (very heavy) on a dolly with my 3.slow up the Sunset hill in Spokane, WA. If anybody lives here they know that it is about as steep as you could plan on seeing on an interstate. The truck did fine.

Its all about torque and leverage. Downshift baby. If you cant get a roll off the stop then use 4 low.

camo31_10.50

our 02 24v cummins will do anything you want it to...besides off roadin....they are HEAVY...and sink fast...but just as a tow rig....i have gotten 20mpg's and better out of the new ones...but hmm...for $4000 to $6000....it might be hard to find one....but for towing...always go with cummins....i know A LOT of farmers...with well over 500,000 miles on there dodges