Economic truck for towing

[chuckm]

Check out a 4 cylinder Chevy S10. I randomly selected a 1994 model and saw 118hp and 130ft-lbs of torque. But it can get 23 city and 28 highway (old EPA figures, manual tranny). Check on the towing capacity; I think it will handle the job. If it is marginal, make sure your trailer has brakes!

[bluetwo]

Originally Posted by chuckm

Check out a 4 cylinder Chevy S10. I randomly selected a 1994 model and saw 118hp and 130ft-lbs of torque. But it can get 23 city and 28 highway (old EPA figures, manual tranny). Check on the towing capacity; I think it will handle the job. If it is marginal, make sure your trailer has brakes!

Yep, S10's and Rangers of the 4 cyl. variety both get pretty respectable miles per gallon and in fact Ranger was called the most economical vehicle to rent by Enterprise at one time. Not that it was the most fuel wise but it was cheapest to rent and got respectable mileage.

And it's true, that trailer brakes are great and not that hard to install on a pickup plus they're absolutely brilliant compared to using only the car or trucks brakes. I think most Colorado's and likely many S10 and Ranger trucks should be able to tow 3,000 lbs. pretty well, but that's an extremely broad statement because there are a few other factors like the transmission that you need to consider too.

[Clev]

For the 2004 Ranger, at least, towing capacity > 3,000 lbs. requires either the 3.0L with the auto, or the 4.0L with the manual. You could probably tow with the 4 cylinder, but I would be nervous trying to pull the boat out of the water with that.

[bluetwo]

Originally Posted by Clev

For the 2004 Ranger, at least, towing capacity > 3,000 lbs. requires either the 3.0L with the auto, or the 4.0L with the manual. You could probably tow with the 4 cylinder, but I would be nervous trying to pull the boat out of the water with that.

Eh, you're probably right. I'm no expert on this stuff but still I think I could get a 4 cyl. Ranger to move 3,000 lbs. on mostly flat ground pretty well and of course I wouldn't try to do that on the bumper. It would have to be on a frame mounted Class 3 and 4 tow hitch.

[Clev]

Originally Posted by bluetwo

Eh, you're probably right. I'm no expert on this stuff but still I think I could get a 4 cyl. Ranger to move 3,000 lbs. on mostly flat ground pretty well and of course I wouldn't try to do that on the bumper. It would have to be on a frame mounted Class 3 and 4 tow hitch.

Yup, I've towed nearly that much with my now-retired '86 2.3L 5-speed Ranger and it worked just fine.

[WA1DH]

Originally Posted by Clev

Yup, I've towed nearly that much with my now-retired '86 2.3L 5-speed Ranger and it worked just fine.

Like everyone else said, the towing isn't the big deal. I'm sure I could get 3k lbs moving behind my 2L escort, albeit slowly. Stopping it is another story. The big issue is pulling a boat out of the water. I don't know if a 2.3 Ranger could do that. Not to mention the fact that I'm leaning toward a 5 spd which would mean burned up clutch in no time if I couldn't get the load up the ramp. I have a friend with a 5 spd 2.3L Ranger and I believe he said the rated capacity was only 1500 lbs.

For the car vs truck thing: I'm looking for a truck because I'd also like to be able to haul stuff like appliances, lumber, and motorcycles from time to time. General household stuff that you could really use a truck for.

[2000mc]

i guess i'd disagree with most here on how i'll tow, 3000lbs? it better have trailer brakes unless you have a full size something in front of it for the whoa power. even with dead cold brakes i'd bet most vehicles 3500lbs and less would have massive brake fade trying to do a panic 60-0 stop pulling 3000lbs

Originally Posted by WA1DH

Everyone tells me you buy a truck to haul, not to save gas.

i got my truck for its utility, not its mileage. dirt cheap, rusty, '91 K1500 5.7 auto longbox. throw whatever in it and dont worry about it, fullsize truck witha longbox seems like a waste, untill something wont fit in your smaller vehicle, or it means that more trips have to be made. the 4wd and ground clearance are a nice luxury, i've had days i walked past the saturn with a drift of snow over the hood, clear the snow off the trucks windshield and drive out no problem. maybe you dont need quite so much vehicle to haul 3000lbs... but what if you wanted to haul something that was 3500? 4500? if its not your daily driver, why not buy the most useful 2nd vehicle. the most cost efficient might not be the most fuel efficient. but that depends on how much you actually drive it. as much of a gas hog as it might be, mine sits alot, so most months i spend more on insurance for it than i do fuel.

[MadisonMPG]

Quick question, would a van suit you? You could get a van for a less than a truck, just the nature of things. You shouldn't have much of a problem with decent tires pulling the boat out of the water. Gear ratios are your friend.

[RobertSmalls]

It would be a shame to buy a 1000lb heavier truck with twice the engine just for the task of pulling a boat up a ramp, which it will probably do 12 times a year.

Jeez, if you need torque, couldn't you just mount a winch to the Escort, or get an old-school Subaru with low range? Oooh, ooh! Make the Escort a series hybrid, and harness the torque of an electric motor to pull the boat out of the water.

Before you buy too much truck, I would run the numbers through a simulator and see what is the wimpiest, thriftiest car that can climb a boat ramp in 1st gear with 3000lbs of extra weight.

[Coyote X]

3000lbs is really not much of a load. I would say get a mid size car with a small utility trailer for the random loads and be done with it. The mentality of everyone around here and probably the same everywhere, is that even a 3x5 trailer with a push mower on it needs a v8 with 4wd and they think I am nuts hauling stuff with anything smaller.

If you really want a truck then get it and don't bother with trying to justify the purchase. Not everything has to be a compromise and you can get what you really want. As long as you get it knowing that the mileage it gets is going to be bad but you are ok with it then knock yourself out. I would say get a s10/ranger 4 cyl automatic. They really don't get much different mileage when driven normal than the 5spd. When you have a load you will not be hypermiling it anyway.

Or you could do what I did and get a early 90s Astro 2wd VIN 'Z' and set it up to tow anything you would ever need for normal situations. I have had 10,000lbs of dirt on a trailer with brakes on all axles and it didn't have a bit of trouble with anything other than going up steep hills. I get 20-25mpg driving around in it now and even get 15mpg while towing a car on my car trailer with it.