New section, post your tow rig?!

It has been a long time coming but the prophecy has finally been fulfilled. I sold my X5 a few weeks ago and brought home a new DD. I now own nothing but V8 powered vehicles. 

2005 Suburban 2500, 6.0/80E, 4.10s, LT package with heated leather, 3rd row, rear seat entertainment, everything I need and nothing I don't. This popped up on CL in Phoenix and although I considered doing a fly and drive, the schedules didn't work so I just had it shipped. Having driven it for a few days now I wouldn't hesitate to go across country though. 

I already pulled off the crazy dark tint and need to clean the interior a bit. For the mileage it's in nice shape and most importantly there is no rust on the body, and minor surface rust on the frame as it lived in Idaho most of its life. 

Fits in the garage with a little room to spare.

Stupid amounts of space inside. I love it

The short term plan is to change every fluid and do a general tune up, plugs/wires etc. I plan to replace the headlights since they're all cloudy and install a Z71 lower valence with the round fog lights. I have a 41930 upgraded hitch on the way and right before winter I'll paint the exposed areas of the frame and then have it undercoated (recommendations on products?). 

The long term plan is a small turbo and drive the wheels off it.

I spent a few days after it arrived changing the oil in the engine, trans, and differentials. Still need to do the transfer case. 

Slapped on a 41930 hitch and put it to the test towing my M3 300 miles round trip down to Watkins Glen for an HPDE weekend. I slept in the truck for 3 nights at the track with plenty of room for all my overnight and cooking stuff. The rig was comfortable and towed great, no doubt due to the long wheelbase and heavy weight. 

The 3/4 ton suburban hits a perfect balance for towing a single car trailer. Enough power, enough wheelbase, enough weight, room for tools and sleep, all without being too big or cumbersome.

In reply to nsogiba :

Nice truck.  I currently own nothing with a V8. That makes me sad.

A few older ones.

2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the V8. 

To this day, I don't recall how I loaded this.

I did eventually buy a new trailer :)

About the max load for this rig, a 2000 lb Miata.

Here's the 2000 Toyota Tundra that took over, although I don't have a picture of it with a trailer. Worked fine although it wasn't exactly restful going over the big passes with a 16' enclosed trailer with a Miata inside. That's what ran the 2008 Targa Newfoundland support, 8000 miles of towing and 1000 miles of race support. Pic is of a roadside adjustment on a transit stage. I must have more pictures of it somewhere but I don't know where.

It was replaced with the 2010 Cummins on the first page of this thread when the trailer was replaced with a 28' two-car.

I bought a 2013 GX460 last year to be a comfy multi tool in my fleet and tow here and there.

I pulled a Fit across texas on a dolly earlier this fall with no issues at all at 65mph and got 17+ MPG doing it.

Earlier this year my buddy had issues in Austin with his tow vehicle and we opted to use my GX to tow his car home from COTA on his trailer.

truck did great with this one too, but it was a short trip.

In reply to nsogiba :

Fluid film did an amazing job of making my old GMT800 2500 the last rust free one left in PA.  Take your time to get it up into all the little crevices on the rockers and whatnot.  It also kept my wife's daily driven Mazda3 essentially rust free after 250k daily driven PA miles.  

@nsogiba looks just like mine! 8.1 3.73s here, otherwise basically the same truck. 

I used Woolwax on mine. It's a bit thicker than fluid film and in my (limited) experience it seems to last a bit longer before needing to re coat. But anything is better than nothing. 

Sweet! I was quoted anywhere between $250-$350 to have Woolwax professionally applied. There is a kit for $265 on Amazon that includes 2 gallons of Woolwax, the applicator gun, etc. Thinking I might just attempt it myself (heated garage with a lift). 

Maybe I'll just start a new thread...

No pics with a trailer attached yet, but I'm super-stoked to have ended my no-truck status. After the '97 F-250 was stolen we considered living without the complexities and costs of that extra vehicle. I think I thought I made it the better part of a week, but my wife later assured me I'd cracked within a couple of days. Not having a truck seems to immediately cause the need to move bulky or heavy things.

Anyhow, after a few weeks of looking and a couple of false starts, we now have an ex-Washington-DOT 2011 F-350. 6.7L diesel, RWD, virtually frill-free. Crank windows, manual door locks, AM/FM radio. 241k miles, but drives really, really nicely, and a PPI at a local diesel specialist gives me hope it's not hiding anything. It was a fleet vehicle, fingers crossed that meant regular maintenance, and the condition suggests it wasn't spending its days with folks who hated their jobs and took it out on the truck. It was $10k cheaper than the 140k-mile '08 Lariat 4x4 some GRMers were kind enough to help talk me down from.

I need to get an actual stereo in with a rear camera, try a tonneau cover perhaps, and figure out how I want to approach the moto-loading part. I'm busy with the new driveway, which also makes the shop inaccessible, and will happily take this excuse to farm out a full fluid-and-filter reset so I know where everything is. I'm stoked.

So, if you want to see a novel setup...  Good friends of mine (I'm part of the YouTube channel as well) have an exocet set up to flat tow, behind a Tesla model Y. 

Jesse Ransom said:

No pics with a trailer attached yet, but I'm super-stoked to have ended my no-truck status. After the '97 F-250 was stolen we considered living without the complexities and costs of that extra vehicle. I think I thought I made it the better part of a week, but my wife later assured me I'd cracked within a couple of days. Not having a truck seems to immediately cause the need to move bulky or heavy things.

Anyhow, after a few weeks of looking and a couple of false starts, we now have an ex-Washington-DOT 2011 F-350. 6.7L diesel, RWD, virtually frill-free. Crank windows, manual door locks, AM/FM radio. 241k miles, but drives really, really nicely, and a PPI at a local diesel specialist gives me hope it's not hiding anything. It was a fleet vehicle, fingers crossed that meant regular maintenance, and the condition suggests it wasn't spending its days with folks who hated their jobs and took it out on the truck. It was $10k cheaper than the 140k-mile '08 Lariat 4x4 some GRMers were kind enough to help talk me down from.

I need to get an actual stereo in with a rear camera, try a tonneau cover perhaps, and figure out how I want to approach the moto-loading part. I'm busy with the new driveway, which also makes the shop inaccessible, and will happily take this excuse to farm out a full fluid-and-filter reset so I know where everything is. I'm stoked.

That should be a ripper in 4x2 with that Tarantula engine.  400 hp / 800 torques if I remember correctly.

In reply to A 401 CJ :

It does seem to move right along! Looking forward to doing actual truck things with it.

Thanks again for the diesel advice.

My truck was giving me a lot of trouble lately, so I bought a new(er) tow vehicle:

I haven't actually towed with it yet, but it's a 2006 Jeep Commander with a 5.7 Hemi, which is more powerful than the 5.3 in my truck. I've fixed a few problems it had when I bought it and now it seems to be working very well. While the wheelbase and suspension aren't as well suited as my long wheelbase Silverado for towing, the reality is I don't tow nearly as much as I just drive around and this is SO MUCH NICER as a daily. It has a 7,400 pound towing capacity so it should be plenty for the Miata.

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

Were you my neighbor by any chance at Watkins Glen State Park for IMSA 2024 weekend? We have a white GMC crew cab with Corvette Racing flag on our travel trailer and we had our  yellow Lab and chocolate Lab pup. 

2014 Ford E350 15 passenger converted to a family camper setup. It has taken us to all 48 of the contiguous United States and has made many a memory. It tows well and provides for a comfortable pit vehicle as well. Trailer is a 7'x16' equipment trailer w/aluminum ramps. 

My new(ish) to me 1997 GMC Suburban C2500 (really need to get some better pics): 

The stats:

454 block of bigs with the 4L80 and the full float GM 14 bolt rear end. 4.10 rear gear, 8600lb GVW package, 2wd. Spec'd to the nines for tow pig duty.

Cool backstory is that I got it from the original owner who ordered it new in '97 as his management lease vehicle when he worked for GM. Used it to tow his enclosed race car trailer, and then his dad used it for many years to tow his camper. 250k miles

In reply to Motojunky :

whats the little bubble window on the rear? And do you ever regret not getting a transit style van for the additional headroom/space compared to the 'american' style E van?

In reply to Apexcarver :

Fun! Reminds me of my Exocet tow rig, I don't think I ever posted this in here...

In reply to Jesse Ransom :

I am a fan of extended cab + 8' bed trucks (particularly with diesel power)!  I sold my RAM 2500 quad + 8 foot bed diesel pickup to buy my new Lightning and some days I really miss that bed length.  Your truck looks very clean!  For a vehicle to do "truck stuff", you can't argue with a base trim!

Did I ever post this here?  2023 Lightning towing my 89 Corvette home.  Absolutely towed like a dream though my range took a 30% or so hit by doing so.

It's hard to argue with 550 lbs ft of torque at 1 rpm...

nlzmo400r said:

In reply to Motojunky :

whats the little bubble window on the rear? And do you ever regret not getting a transit style van for the additional headroom/space compared to the 'american' style E van?

It's a vent fan. I didn't want to cut a hole in the roof so I replaced a rear window with lexan and installed the fan there. It works well. No regrets re: the style of van. I prefer the old style - it just appeals to my eye more. We bought it in 2018 when it was 4 years old and the design didn't look quite as dated. Whenever it's time to replace it I'm sure we'll end up in a newer style van. 

This was several years ago before I got my own trailer and started using a Trailer Toad, but it looks about the same now. 1987 Holiday Rambler Imperial, which is MH salesman code for overloaded and overworked 1-ton Chevy. Everything in, on and under it has been gone thru and the motor now has heads & cam. Inside is in good condition and everything works...no small feat. That Trailer Toad completely transformed the way the rig tows, highly recommend. It's a kick ass rig for the flat lands, trustworthy & built for the long haul with surprisingly good mileage out of a very tuned Q-jet, and spunky enough to surprise traffic at 19k GCWR, but not cut out for mountain life. I'd let it go to a good home so I can buy an oil burner with a turbo. And then a 2-car enclosed trailer...

Not a tow rig yet, but hopefully within the next year it will be. 
 

2006 Ford E450 Chassis, Collins Bus. 6.0l Powerstroke. Owned previously by First Transit and found a registration from California. Bought in Minnesota almost 8 years ago. 
 

Got it cheap on eBay and flew into Minnesota and drove it back to Connecticut.

I just got this unit to tow my 2k challenge car, and you probably won't believe it but I got it for well under 2k as well. This endeavor started life as a basically "free" ford ranger. It was offered to my significant other by family and she said no... I couldn't say no to a free truck, but not being family I paid roughly 1k for it and got it fixed and cleaned up enough to realize I didn't want a ranger. Traded it for a isuzu trooper that was actually an absolute unit. Took it on a multi-state snowboard trip, and daily drove it for a good few weeks when a buddy of mine reached out about swapping for the current rig. I managed after paying taxes and adding up all I spent on getting everything sorted only about 1500 in for an 03 Toyota 4runner sr5 v8! It has the pretty common frame crust issues, 222k miles, needs some new wheels but that's down the road, ac that needs attention for summer, probably due for a timing belt and some other more involved work. Insurance wasn't too bad and the gas mileage is about the same as the trooper all things considered, but I can tow 7klbs, still have all the off-road ability, and some more modern comforts. I am obviously pretty thrilled, enough that its probably time I spring for a trailer,  and wanting to swap another cheap project for a nice rooftop tent and have one hell of a do it all vehicle. 

Bought this 2013 Silverado 1500 Texas Edition with Max Tow Package about 3 years ago to tow race car.

Only had 36,000 miles on it, from a single owner in Texas.

I've done my top to bottom due diligence on it to get it up to snuff for tow duty: DoD disable (so far no lifter issues being disabled from the day I bought it), brakes, load range E tires, inner and outer tie rod ends, transmission service, rear end service, Amsoil fluids all around, round aluminum rear diff cover with carrier bearing supports, rear air assist springs for leveling, etc.

At the time I got the truck, also bought a used homebuilt steel tank lowboy trailer with no suspension from a co-worker. Installed a 10,000lb winch on it with dedicated battery. Replaced all lights on it, wheel bearings, tires, and built a spare tire mount. Probably weighed over 2500lbs by itself.

It also lugs the generator, straight gas for generator, and all E85 the civic uses over a typical 2 day HPDE weekend:

Sold the homebuilt open trailer when a deal on a new enclosed trailer came about that I really couldn't pass up.

2025 Interstate Victory 20' V-Nose

It's been a dream of mine to have an enclosed trailer with semi dedicated track day tools and equipment residing inside the trailer at all times, kind of like when I used to have a full RC car tool and equipment setup to repair or replace anything on my RC cars/trucks with me when I would visit places to run them, but now just bigger.

Only recently has this become a reality. Still can't believe I have this capability now for the track car. I'm just humbled and grateful, and don't take a single day of it for granted!