Truck to pull TT that's readily available & not too $?

DanNJanice wrote:
As others have said, without knowing the size of trailer, nobody can really recommend much.
If they are looking at smallish trailers, say <=25ft or so, you are in 1/2 ton territory and will have lots of choices, especially if you are willing to forgo 4wd. I had a 2002 F150 that I pulled a 24ft trailer with, sold it for $5000 a couple of years ago, with 130000 miles. I know the people who bought it, and it is still running perfectly.

Wonderful anecdotes there, DanNJanice. That's great advice I will be sure and heed. Thanks alot. This kind of stuff by everyone is priceless.

As others have said, without knowing the size of trailer, nobody can really recommend much.
If they are looking at smallish trailers, say <=25ft or so, you are in 1/2 ton territory and will have lots of choices, especially if you are willing to forgo 4wd. I had a 2002 F150 that I pulled a 24ft trailer with, sold it for $5000 a couple of years ago, with 130000 miles. I know the people who bought it, and it is still running perfectly.

camp-n-family wrote:
Price and age won't dictate what is a good tv for towing a tt. You need to know that the size and weight of the tt to be able to match a good tv.

Find a trailer they are happy with first, then a properly matched tv can be recommended

Really great advice camp-n-family. Thanks so much for that.

camp-n-family wrote:
Price and age won't dictate what is a good tv for towing a tt. You need to know that the size and weight of the tt to be able to match a good tv.

Find a trailer they are happy with first, then a properly matched tv can be recommended

Yeah, right. Thanks camp-n-family. I'll beware of that phenomenon.

Price and age won't dictate what is a good tv for towing a tt. You need to know that the size and weight of the tt to be able to match a good tv.

Find a trailer they are happy with first, then a properly matched tv can be recommended

NMDriver wrote:
You should be able to get a V10 Ford in that price range and they generally have good reputations. Some Ford guy will know the good years vs problem years.

A old diesel may have a good engine but old is old. My 96 Powerstroke had clutch, starter, water pump, and other problems. All fixable but after a while it was one thing after another. The engine was solid, the rest of the truck was showing its age. It did have 250,000 plus miles on it so not shabby by any means. You could probably pick one up for $5000 and it will pull a TT just fine, but keep a couple of $1000 ready to fix things. It was easy to work on and did not require the latest electronic device to figure out what was wrong.

That said I love my Chevy but it is still a $20,000 truck after 8 yrs.

Thanks, NMDriver, for the tips. I guess I'm looking for something that probably doesn't exist. This year that year, etc.

You should be able to get a V10 Ford in that price range and they generally have good reputations. Some Ford guy will know the good years vs problem years.

A old diesel may have a good engine but old is old. My 96 Powerstroke had clutch, starter, water pump, and other problems. All fixable but after a while it was one thing after another. The engine was solid, the rest of the truck was showing its age. It did have 250,000 plus miles on it so not shabby by any means. You could probably pick one up for $5000 and it will pull a TT just fine, but keep a couple of $1000 ready to fix things. It was easy to work on and did not require the latest electronic device to figure out what was wrong.

That said I love my Chevy but it is still a $20,000 truck after 8 yrs.

sgip2000 wrote:

BillW44 wrote:

sgip2000 wrote:
How old is too old?

For the pickup not sure it matters too much, just concerned about the TT age in order to get into most parks without an age issue. I'm not sure how much the pickup age might matter regarding that. I don't know if there's some popular pickup even slightly older (around 1995-2000) that tends to last quite well (and common issues are well known and relatively easy to deal with).

A 9th generation Ford can be found in that price range. Pretty good workhorses.

As far as TT, I wouldn't get one more than 3-4 years old unless it has been meticulously maintained and stored under permanent cover.

Ok thanks for the Ford suggestion. Looks like they ran up until around 1997. Don't you have to start worrying about wheel bearings and that kind of thing by then, or do they hold up pretty well? Like to avoid that type of maintenance if possible although the price may balance it out.

I wonder if it would be considered too old even though the TT was newer, regarding certain parks age restrictions. Actually I was just looking at the 97 and it's looks pretty nice, so I see where you're coming from. I guess checking the weight pull ability would be due diligence.

Good advice on the TT. The elements beat this stuff to death when left unattended. Any particular couple of things you would watch for post 3-4 years old (besides the obvious water damage caused from not re-sealing windows/roof, etc.)? Like appliances? Or something else?

And I've repaired pretty much everything on my rigs (new ACs, water heaters, put in special propane lines, fridge, you name it) so should be good to go helping them at least fixing the basic kind of stuff. Just need to watch out for the major gotchas.

BillW44 wrote:

sgip2000 wrote:
How old is too old?

For the pickup not sure it matters too much, just concerned about the TT age in order to get into most parks without an age issue. I'm not sure how much the pickup age might matter regarding that. I don't know if there's some popular pickup even slightly older (around 1995-2000) that tends to last quite well (and common issues are well known and relatively easy to deal with).

A 9th generation Ford can be found in that price range. Pretty good workhorses.

As far as TT, I wouldn't get one more than 3-4 years old unless it has been meticulously maintained and stored under permanent cover.

sgip2000 wrote:
How old is too old?

For the pickup not sure it matters too much, just concerned about the TT age in order to get into most parks without an age issue. I'm not sure how much the pickup age might matter regarding that. I don't know if there's some popular pickup even slightly older (around 1995-2000) that tends to last quite well (and common issues are well known and relatively easy to deal with).