Buy a trailer (instead of a pickup truck)

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Trailers can be more cost-effective than repairing a damaged pickup bed

Nobody seems to care if a trailer gets ugly...

Yesss.

[slowmover]

Good thread idea. Folks need to know that their car/trucklet can do actual work (and they may be in circumstances that force it).

One can also see what U-Haul allows (interactive site). They have liabiity concerns weighted against profit. And their trailer designs ought to be studied for closer-to-innate understanding of what works best over the decades.

FWIW, "tow ratings" are usually too low for the majority of vehicles. If they are well set-up they can easily do the job. They also have little to do with reality (as auto manufacturers rig the game towards super high profit pickups).

A Crown Vic, for example, is easily capable of a 5k trailer. Same for minivans "rated" at 3500-lbs; they can tow a large aerodynamic trailer easily twice that weight (given hitch rigging that keeps the front axle planted).

FWIW, in this kind of discussion, I'd rather have an open trailer narrow/long over wide/short (for a given square foot trailer floor comparison). It is much easier to tow a trailer close to, or inside of, the tow vehicle width dimension.

Tandem axle, too, once the length is to a certain point. Trailer brakes, always, once trailer capacity is over 1k.

.

[oil pan 4]

The 4.6L found in the crown vic will give plenty of pulling power.
Only thing I would be worried about when towing a good bit of weight with a crown vic is stopping.

I call a car towing a huge trailer a european F-150. I saw that a lot in germany.

My buddy with the tacoma found that his 4cyl can only tow 3,500lb he has the same brakes, radiator, transmission, clutch as the V6 tacoma that can tow 6k the only real difference besides engine size is he doesn't have the e-locker in the rear diff.
His problem is he doesnt have the power.

When you add trailer brakes in Virginia at least you have to get your trailer inspected and it makes the ownership process cost more (go from $20-$30 every 2 years to $60) or $70), but over all still only a tiny fraction the price of a huge pickup.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I don't know why people are so quick to buy a huge expensive vehicle they really wont need when a trailer will work.

Depends on what you need. If you need to haul loads of stuff on paved roads, a car-towed trailer works fine. If you need to go on rough dirt, it's not so fine.

Then there's the fact that if I tow a trailer behind the pickup, I can haul twice as much per trip :-)

PS: And at $2700 (minus the $1100 I got for the older pickup), my '88 Toyota hardly qualifies as expensive, and is huge only in comparison with my Insight. Though oddly enough, I can haul more with it (both weight & volume) than my friends can with their newish F-250 yuppie pickup.

[War_Wagon]

Originally Posted by Miller88

A lot of cars today don't have towing capacities at all because the manufacturers don't want the liability of someone trying to overload their Hyundai Elantra, for example, or they want to sell you a F350 instead of a Ford Fusion to pull your lawn mower around once a month.

Anyone else remember the Dodge Dakota R/T buyback in the early 2000s? Dodge sold them with an inaccurate tow rating, and after a few people got into accidents while towing trailers that should have been fine to tow with the truck, Chrysler decided it would be easier to offer to buy them all back than to deal with lawsuits. So I have no doubt that today it's just a lot less hassle for manufacturers not to publish any towing specs at all, that way they have an easy way out if someone gets hurt while using their Fusion to tow a boat trailer etc.

[flying kurmaster]

when I first moved to NZ 15 yeasrs ago, I was surprised at how many people owned trailers, and how inexpensive and handy they were. One day while sitting along the side of the road on the way into town I started counting vehicles with and without trailer hitches, it was about even( not scientific and don't hold me to it but I lasted at least 1/2 an hour) and on every conceivable type of car, most people use them for light work like going to the dump or green waste. I find it particularly handy to pick up garden stuff like bags of horse **** an easy hose down if you scratch the bottom no one cares. By the way I like my trailer to look pretty, nothing looks better then a trailer with mag wheels!!!!espescially if they match the tow vehicle...

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Then there's the fact that if I tow a trailer behind the pickup, I can haul twice as much per trip :-)
I can haul more with it (both weight & volume) than my friends can with their newish F-250 yuppie pickup.

Thats what my friend does with his tacoma and my trailer. The smallish toyota bed plus a 4'x8' trailer with 2 foot tall wood sides with a tarp and cargo straps can hold a lot more than any big pickup by its self.

[oil pan 4]

I picked up a classIII hitch off the ground at the junk yard for $25 since they didn't have to pull it.
Will add this to the back of my trailer.

[chumly]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I picked up a classIII hitch off the ground at the junk yard for $25 since they didn't have to pull it.
Will add this to the back of my trailer.

Are you trying to build a train?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by flying kurmaster

I like my trailer to look pretty, nothing looks better then a trailer with mag wheels!!!!espescially if they match the tow vehicle...

If the trailer is only used for lighter jobs, such as hauling motorcycles, it's OK. But when it sees some harder jobs that would impose a higher risk to get scratches and other minor damages to the trailer, sticking with the pressed-sheetmetal wheels is still a good option. BTW some good wheels to be used in trailers are the 13" ones out of an Opel Ascona C/Vauxhall Cavalier/early Chevrolet Cavalier/Holden Camira, they're extremely strong for their size...