Are there any used AND dependable tow vehicles?

[bikendan]

Theo, my search was similar to yours, only I went to dealerships because I wanted to see the door stickers for myself.
I too was very picky and I found the same thing that you did, with the higher trim levels.
I found the F150 to be the best choice for me because of their higher payload capacities.
I needed up with a 2014 F150 SCREW XTR(Canadian XLT) 3.5 Ecoboost SB with the Max Tow package and 1828lbs of payload capacity. It had 33k on the odometer.
VERY happy with it and it has my favorite color, Sunset Metallic, which is not a common color.

[abehil]

Originally Posted by Theo

In our case, we spent about 2-years shopping...Almost 2-years to the month (Feb 2019), AutoTrader turned up with a 2015 F-150 that ... had less than 18,000 miles....

You found a 4 year old vehicle with less than 18,000 miles?

[Theo]

Originally Posted by abehil

You found a 4 year old vehicle with less than 18,000 miles?

Yes, Sir! IIRC, 17,878 miles to be exact. Now the odo reads 18,420 and, after 3-months of very light use, its been a terrific purchase. However, I’m still working on easing on the throttle so our pup doesn’t fly out the rear window into the truck’s bed!

[moose074]

I must be in the minority, I believe great used tow vehicles are everywhere. Now if you’re looking for a “ Holy Grail” used vehicle then. I guess when you see it you will know it until then keep kicking those tires

[coachjeff1]

I just ended up getting my aunt and uncles 2012 3/4 ton suburban with 50,000 miles on it. They just gave up camping and called me and said come get the suburban! I had told them if they ever sold it I wanted first dibs! And I got it!

[Big Sky KLX]

Originally Posted by moose074

I must be in the minority, I believe great used tow vehicles are everywhere. Now if you’re looking for a “ Holy Grail” used vehicle then. I guess when you see it you will know it until then keep kicking those tires

I agree with you, not quite sure what the big deal is about finding a perfect tow rig. Basically any truck built in the last 20 years can work. I think people start suffering from the analysis paralysis syndrome and start over thinking everything. "It has to be a 2014 or newer.......it can't have more than 50,000 miles.........it has to have the super max mega haul option........etc"

Why? If it runs well, isn't rusted to pieces, and is rated to tow the weight go for it.

My 13 year old truck tows great, has 150k miles on it, has plenty of power, gets 12 mpg towing (if the wind isn't blowing 30 mph). And if the transmission falls out tomorrow, I can get a new one for $2000 and still be ahead by about $30k with the amount of money some of these newer trucks cost.

I think we would all love a new 2017+ truck with super low miles but is really hard justify for towing a camper 10 times a year. I mean living full time or going across the country for 9 months might be a little different.

[Tacky]

Used and reliable? Of course, there are are a ton of them. You just don't know if its reliable or unreliable until you have owned it for a year or so!
That said, are you sure you want to replace your truck at this time? If you stuck with a trailer under 5000 lb and traveled light, you could get by with your 6200 lb tow capacity and seen if you were satisfied. If you want to go bigger, a well equipped half ton from Chevy, Ford or Dodge (Ram) will tow over 10,000 lb. You can expect about 8-12 mpg while towing from anything. That is just how much gas is needed to move down the highway with a lot of frontal area. My 2018 Silverado with 5.3 V8 gets 10 while towing if I am lucky. I'v gotten as much as 25 when not towing. typically about 17. I'd expect about the same from Ford or Ram. Probably Toyota or Nissan too, but I'm less familiar with them.

[CaptnJohn]

A good one goes up for sale next month. Only reason is I ordered a dually for the pay load. 2016 F350 srw 4x4 6.7 Lariat Ultimate with 86k miles. All maintenance done at the dealership and all records available. Not only mechanically great but fantastic looking.

[stumpy78]

I have a 2000 Ford F-250 XLT Extended Cab with 7.3 L turbo diesel for sale. 232,000 miles. If interested.

[Idcruiserman]

5.7L Tundra. Add E-rated tires (and air bags if you want).

[scottydl]

Originally Posted by coachjeff1

I just ended up getting my aunt and uncles 2012 3/4 ton suburban with 50,000 miles on it. They just gave up camping and called me and said come get the suburban! I had told them if they ever sold it I wanted first dibs! And I got it!

^ This! IMO the 3/4 Suburbans are the perfect tow vehicle for most TT's, when you don't need/want a truck otherwise.



That was my situation, I have the family and dogs and wanted an SUV over a truck. I was so impressed with my cousin's 1999 Suburban 2500 (that he used to pull his TT) that I shopped online for a few months and found the same era. Mine's a 1995 and had 98k miles when I bought it.


I didn't plan on going that old, but this one was babied by its 1st owner (I'm the 2nd) and had the paperwork to prove it. Annual rustproofing and undercoating so it barely had a lick of rust anywhere. Biggest engine/gearing combo available (454 with 4:10 gears) for that era, which is known to run well over 250k miles if properly maintained.


Best part is I paid $4700 for it. Gas mileage is deplorable but not much can be done do about that, with a big heavy vehicle and giant engine & gears. I've owned it almost 4 years now and put a couple thousand $ in standard maintenance, otherwise it's been a great towing machine. I commute to work with it a few days/week and it has around 118k miles on it now. No complaints!

[coachjeff1]

Originally Posted by scottydl

^ This! IMO the 3/4 Suburbans are the perfect tow vehicle for most TT's, when you don't need/want a truck otherwise.



That was my situation, I have the family and dogs and wanted an SUV over a truck. I was so impressed with my cousin's 1999 Suburban 2500 (that he used to pull his TT) that I shopped online for a few months and found the same era. Mine's a 1995 and had 98k miles when I bought it.


I didn't plan on going that old, but this one was babied by its 1st owner (I'm the 2nd) and had the paperwork to prove it. Annual rustproofing and undercoating so it barely had a lick of rust anywhere. Biggest engine/gearing combo available (454 with 4:10 gears) for that era, which is known to run well over 250k miles if properly maintained.


Best part is I paid $4700 for it. Gas mileage is deplorable but not much can be done do about that, with a big heavy vehicle and giant engine & gears. I've owned it almost 4 years now and put a couple thousand $ in standard maintenance, otherwise it's been a great towing machine. I commute to work with it a few days/week and it has around 118k miles on it now. No complaints!

I sure do like it so far! And it pulls the trailer great!

[NC Bill]

The idea that there are no good USED tow vehicles means there must be no good NEW ones either. Why? Well the moment you drive off the lot your new TV is now used.

Secondly, there are many reasons people sell their vehicles. Maybe they have had a job change, or a life change, or sold their trailer, or whatever. It’s not always because their vehicle is a lemon.

I bought my used F150 from an 85 year old guy that wasn’t driving anymore. Hence the truck had only 12,000 miles on it despite being five years old. I guess I could have paid 2.5X and gotten a brand new truck with zero miles. Since I drive about 30,000 miles a year, in a few months it would have had 12,000 miles on it. Sure it would have been five years newer.

So now I would have had a four year old truck with 105,000 miles on it instead of a nine year old truck with 117,000 miles on it.

Now it helps me when others refuse to consider used. So I am fine with that thinking.

That Suburban sounds sweet! I can see where a Surburban would be a dandy TV.

[skipatroller]

I have had a chevy or GMC 2500HD from 2002, the truck mechanical specs were the same, 6LTR gas engine with 4:10 gears, this combination give you a tow capacity of 13,000 lbs. I also used to do construction so I put a lot of mileage on them before I turned them in for a new one. When I say high mileage I'm talking about 175 to 200 K, because I maintain my vehicles they towed just as good at the high mileage as they did when new.

So this is the time you need to make the decision about gas mileage or having the wright TV for what you need to tow "SAFELY". I towed a 32' Forest River with a loaded weight of about 10K, if I was driving at 55 or 72 I would get about 8MPG, truck empty I would get 13MPG, regardless the bottom line for me was I just figured in the fuel cost as part of the price of taking a vacation and budgeted accordingly.