Picking a Tow Vehicle for Large Family
We are looking at taking our four children on the road for a 6-12 month trip while we road school/travel nurse. We also have a dog, plus all our gear, so your typical 3/4 ton pickup just doesn't fit o...
Forum Discussion
45Ricochet wrote:
10-12k max isn't going to get you a very dependable vehicle. Ford v10 van would be my best guess. Not sure their that cheap though.
May look at the possibility of driving an older cargo Van with a 1st gen V10 in it. Circa 1997-2000 ish... Spend about 4-6k on it...get it as nice as you can... remember... this is a CARGO van. Your chances of finding a V10 or a PSD are GREATER with a Cargo van.
Spend the other 4-8k on building it and making it into a tow vehicle like what you want.
You could get a lower miles van,(150k ish) service/rebuild the transmission. Add a class IV transmission cooler if needed, replace the cooling system if needed, tune the motor up...install 4.56 gears and you would have a dandy tow vehicle.
Depending on budget and how nice a van you score you can get the AC serviced, install rear air, add some RV windows to the area where the passengers are going to sit, install nice captains chairs and seat belts where the first two rows would go. In your cargo area, you could frame out a divider wall to keep cargo and passenger area's separate. and customize the interior to your hearts desire. Install some nice LT tires for your new van... don't forget to upgrade the receiver... if you have enough $$ left over (depending on sweat equity) you can install timbrens for load handling and possibly install a dually kit. :B
Now you would be outside the scope of the OEM ratings but you would have a CUSTOM TV that could pull nearly anything SAFELY
Thanks!
Jeremiah
