Yet another piece of input:
I give a thumbs up for the Ford Turbo Diesel option. I use a 94 F-250 4x4
Turbo Diesel w/ 5 spd air and all the other comforts to ease a drive. It
tows a 24' enclosed trailer used to tow a 20' and also an 18' open trailer
without brakes. In all applications it has been great and has brakes that
are up to the task. (This is the major problem with a lighter smaller
vehicle!)
Last year I bit the bullit and now use a 33' motorhome w/ a 128" wheelbase
on a V-10 Ford chassis when towing to race weekends. This has a much wider
track than the earlier "breadtruck chassis" motorhomes, hense is much more
stable than a past motorhome. Also has an 18,000 GVW rated chassis and disk
brakes on both axles. A decidedly more expensive option, but it's nice to
take the house with you, also takes the stress out of the return trip to
distant tracks. Just pull into a rest area and you have "all the comforts
of home" literally. Definately not for the first year or two of racing........
Best of luck.
Russ Moore
At 02:21 PM 8/10/99 -0400, Eric J Russell wrote:
>If you want more opinions about tow vehicles, here's mine.
>
>I currently have an '83 F250 6.9L diesel w 4sp manual trans bought
>used with 170,000 miles. Now have 230,000 miles. It has dual 18 gal
>tanks and I get 18-20 MPG. I either tow an open car trailer or carry a
>camper in the bed (camper weighs 2,500 lbs.). The PO installed a Banks
>Turbo-charger. The turbo makes a big difference in diesel performance
>and economy. (I'm glad the PO bought it tho 'cause they're $$$). This
>is an XLT model (Extra Luxurious Truck?). Bucket seats, A/C, stereo,
>supercab. I wasn't seeking a diesel but it was local and looked good.
>It's been a fine truck. Beware that repair costs for diesels are much
>more than for gas engines. But the long life and better mileage
>*should* win out in the long run...
>
>Previous truck (same duties) was a '75 Chevy C-20 w 292 in-line six &
>4 sp manual trans. I liked that truck for it's simplicity but the 4sp
>trans had a 'stump-puller' first gear so the ratios for 2-4 were too
>wide spread. If I needed to down shift for a hill, my max speed was
>about 45MPH.
>
>Even more previous truck was a '54 Chevy 1/2 ton. Talk about simple!
>Lots of fun to drive. All I ever towed was a small pop-up camper. Sold
>the '54 to buy a '41 Chevy 1 1/2 ton, ex-fire engine. Will stop now...
>
>Eric
>
>>Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 13:14:02 -0500 (CDT)
>>From: tomph@ix.netcom.com
>>Subject: Tow Vehicle
>>
>>I'm starting to look for a used pickup truck and would like to ask
>for some
>>advice, based on your experiences, on what to look for in make,
>model,
>>engine size, manual vs automatic, desiel vs gas, options, etc. Any
>help
>>would be appreciated. Car is about 2K lbs and trailer is a tilt bed
>single
>>axle that is under 1k lbs.
>>
>>Thanx
>>Tom
>
>
>
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