Re: [A/S] tow vehicle advice

["Jim Dunmyer" <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Llysa,
 I'll second the thoughts of the others with their advice to look for either
a Chevy Suburban or a full-sized van. Make SURE you consider only the
3/4-ton series; they're often designated "2500" right on the door. Don't get
a "1500" series.

Probably THE most important specification of a tow vehicle isn't the "tow
rating", but the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. This is the maximum
weight of everything, tow vehicle, trailer, trailer contents AND tow vehicle
contents. When you cram 5 adults and a bunch of gear into the tow vehicle,
you've used up a good part of the GCWR before you ever hitch up the trailer.
The "tow rating" is predicated on a vehicle with the driver only and a
half-tank of fuel. You'll add a half-ton to that vehicle with just the
passengers and some "stuff".

More is always better when it comes to tow vehicles. Forget gas mileage, it
really doesn't make that much difference, not when compared to the
difference in stability and reliability.

Just for the heckuvit, I ran the numbers: A van or 'Burb will probably get
about 15 MPG when running solo. At 20,000 miles per year, it'll use 1333
gallons. *IF* you could find a vehicle that would come close to doing the
job that got 22 MPG (solo), it'd use 909 gallons in that mileage. The
difference is 424 gallons. At 2 bucks/gallon, that's  $850.00/year
difference. Now, more realistically, you might find something that gets 18
MPG and would do the job less-than-optimumally, but would get by. That's 222
gallons difference or $450.00/year.

You're much more likely to have major repairs on the 1/2-ton rig than the
larger "horse"; there's a world of difference beneath the sheetmetal. A
transmission overhaul will cost you maybe $2000.00, so there goes 4 years of
fuel savings.

That's my take on it.

                                                          <<Jim>>