I've been looking for something to tow the trooper with and take the place of my economically sensible and comfortable dd. I have a fairly limited budget (financing $5k) so my options aren't awesome. I'm looking at bronco's, f250's, diesels, durango's, etc. all of them will cost me much more to maintain and fuel up (currently i have a 97 camry 4cyl getting in the mid-upper 20's mpg around town and mid 30's on the hwy). not to mention the extra monthly payment. plus side is i wouldn't have to worry about fixing my rig before leaving the trails for home, just strap it up and go.

Some of the best haulers I've found are high milage newer (mid to late 90's) diesel fleet vehicles from utilities companies and stuff, but most are base models, no creature features, usually regular cab. call me a wuss, but I have grown used to comfy seats, interior storage space, nice ride and all that.

i really like the 97+ dakota crew cabs w/ the v8. might not be the best for hauling, but it would do the job a few times a year when need it to. but they are hard to find in my price range w/o a lot of miles. durango's I can find, but i don't find them as attractive (kind of minivan-ish).

anyway, to get to the point, what kind of advice can you guys give me? should i bite the bullet and get something horrible on fuel to drive everyday just so I can tow maybe 6 times a year? heck it might be more than that, it might be less. OR should I just spend more money and time on the trooper to make it safe to drive the hundreds of miles to the trails and back? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

man I wish I didn't live so far away from the good wheelin.

I've always considered it an unwritten rule of 4-wheeling to drive your rig to the trail.

If I was just going to trailer something I'd get quads or bikes which are WAY more capable off-highway than a trooper or jeep, and take up less garage space.

My current plans are to use my Tundra to pull my Trooper to anything that I may go to that's a good distance away. May not be as good as a diesel, but with a v8 and good wheel base and a nice smooth quiet ride, I think it'll do just fine. It's my DD now and I average 15-18 mpg depending on how hard I drive it. And that's a mix between city and highway. I end up doing a lot of stop and go traffic on the way home from work, so I'm thinking straight highway I can probably get low 20s out of it as long as I drive it sanely.

Richard <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

I never plan on making the rodeo undrivable on the street. but if I go to moab or some where far I'd rather tow it for one my Chevy Silverado with the duramax will tow the rodeo quicker than it will move itself. Plus if I break something I don't have to fix it to get back home.

I'd recomend an older 7.3IDI or a 5.9 cummins.

With any gas V8 towing mileage will be sub 10mpg.

Must be a personal rule because I have never heard of this. And as far as a quad or a bike being more capable, clearly you don't play in the rocks, unless your one of those incredible bike balancing, hop up and down climb like a goat kind of bike rider. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

If you are happy with your vehicle the way it is. It works good both on and off road, I'm really not sure why you are even making this decision, unless you have plans to take your rig a whole lot further. In which case 5k isn't going to get you a lot of tow rig and have any money left to build up to where you'd need the tow rig.

I agree that is it nice to drive to and on the trails and then back home. But it is also nice to beat the snot out of it then limp it to the trailer for the ride home. I have both kinds of off road vehicles and a tow rig. I guess the preference would be for the mood I'm in when I wake up. Note" having the drive to the trails rig is inspiring me to work some more on the more capable one. I guess I'm getting the itch again. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I agree with the towing aspect. Its great. I can have fun and not worry about getting the trail truck home. Plus the tow vehicle is clean when I leave (not dusty/muddy/wet or musty smelling). I also found it to be more comfortable towing than driving long sitances with lots of stuff packed in the Amigo. Oh and for short trips I get about 1 or 2 MPG less towing the Amigo than I do driving the Amigo. On longer trips when I would be towing the utility trailer behind the Amigo I get 1-2 mpg better towing the Amigo.

Downside is buying/parking/maintaining another vehicle and trailer.

Diesels are certainly nice. Big blocks work good to and typically cost less and small blocks will actually get the job done and cost even less. Whatever you I would definately get a 3/4 ton. Its a much more enjoyable experience towing with a vehicle that is easily up to the task than a vehicle that will "work".

For cheap tow rigs I like the old solid axle Chevy's, but any of the big three would work. Unfortunately $5k isn't alot to work with, deisels will be a tough find.

good luck
-Mike

For years in my past life I have done both. However I seem to enjoy the satisfaction in driving my rig to and from the trail far more than trailering. I only trailered to places more than a days drive away. My tow rig isn't my daily driver and it's only role in life is to tow and haul. A '77 F-150 with a 400ci V-8 is only good for that and like another poster said, 7-8mpg.

Good Luck,

Mike

well I've decided I'm certainly going to get a new ride. For some irrational reason I have started to think of getting a newer trooper (w/ the 3.5). I know it would be a good looking comfy daily, but I'm also sure that it would be a task to tow with one. I'd do the usual power mods, d or e-rated tires, and I'd be sure install the best trans cooler i could find, put some airbag helpers in the back and upgrade the rest of the suspension and brakes just to be somewhat safe. it would be a slow ride, and I couldn't expect to get into the double digit mpgs pulling a load. it would allow me to be all Isuzu, which doesn't make any rational sense, of course, just gets me cool points.

I wouldn't be pulling the truck across the country w/ it, but I could probably deal with the stress of an occasional 4 to 8 hour pull.

someone talk me out of it please <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Just find a bare bones older 7.3 Ford and, keep the cooshy Toyota.

You should be able to grab one within your budget. Just not anything new.

Joe

I think of it the same way as the guys who trailer their motorcycles to Sturgis. It just seems less authentic, and cheaper.