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NJ6PACK's avatar
NJ6PACK
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018

I need a new tow vehicle

All good things must come to an end :(

After 19 states, 6 NASCAR Tracks, 11yrs and 90,000 miles 90% of which were towing the TT my Van is dead.

Tow Vehicle is listed in my signature.... It was the best vehicle I ever had

The past year and and a half it has become increasingly unreliable and I've dumped more money into it than I should of to keep it running, On top of that I have been fighting rust all over the vehicle with Bondo ..... Time to look for a new (used) tow vehicle.

I need suggestions on a Tow Vehicle search but I am a little out of date as to what's a good Tow Vehicle for 2 adults 2 11yr olds and a 17 1/2 yr old.

The GVWR of my TT is 8,000 lbs but I want a vehicle with a higher tow rating in case I upgrade the TT to something heaver and bigger.

I would love to find another Ford Econoline E350 V10 but they seem hard to find.

Are Suburbans any good?...I don't see any 2500 models anymore.

I would also would consider a pickup truck but it must be a 4 door model..... Ford, Chevy Dodge, it doesn't matter as long as it has the towing power and then some.

Any suggestions would be appreciated....Thanks
  • Another update.

    Thanks for the suggestions....Keep them coming.

    I found a 2016 RAM 2500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4 / 6ft bed / 6.4L / 4.10 gear ratio

    It has less than 15,000 miles on it, looks really clean.

    One thing got my attention is that it has a 3inch leveling kit on it..... should I be concerned about this?

    Some quick internet searches had mixed thoughts about a leveling kit.... some say air bags will fix the sag problems

    Any thoughts? ....... Don't but this thruc?
  • most of the time leveling kits are pretty harmless. That being said I looked up a 3" leveling kit for that truck and it is more than just spacers. It looks like it relocates your track bar and pitman arm. I would find one without any of that if it were me but just my opinion. But if you like the look of it i'm sure its safe. The solid axles are pretty basic.
  • Thanks for the insight, I have my mechanic going over it Saturday.... I also sopke to a local spring shop that I have delt with and they said would look it over, worst case they said they could remove the spacers and bring it back to factory specs for about $500.00
  • We have 4 kids and have been towing with a Ram 2500 crew cab (with the bench seat up front) for years. We had a suburban, but towing with it was not that great, and having the bed to toss in bikes, firewood, coolers, nasty smelling wet clothes, sandy beach gear, etc, is a huge plus for us.

    We recently switched from a 2011 2500 crew cab hemi w/4.10 rear to a slightly used 2017 ram 2500 crew cab diesel, but both have the bench seat up front.

    If you are sold on 2500’s, my only advice is to find one with the highest payload capacity. Don’t worry about gas vs diesel. Both will get the job done, but with a large family and all the associated stuff , you can blow out your payload numbers pretty quickly.
  • NJ6PACK - What kind of suburban did you have and what did you tow with it?

    After most or all of my kids are out of car seats I could see a truck working for us, but not till then.