Toe (tow) vehicles

[JohnC]

FWIW decent 1st Gen Lightnings can be had all day for under $5k.

[Evan]

the honda V6 auto trans is known to fail just pulling itself around, I wouldnt trust it for that reason alone, not to mention all the other reasons mentioned.

[BLINGMW]

MPV! That's gonna be my toe vehicle for sure. Truck frame, rwd, load leveling suspension, trans cooler, 5000lb toe rating. A lot of people dismiss minivans as good toe vehicles, but there are a few that work well. As another example, the Grand Caravan my boss at Essex had. 4WD, good power, again load leveling and trans cooler and all that, I dragged 10-12k lbs of brake rotors behind that thing in a motorcycle trailer, and it did ok! :lol: (certianly NOT recommended though)

[G.Irish]

3500lbs is "enough," but the journey won't be an easy one.

The Odyssey has more horsepower than the F150 we drove to Sebring that year. So I'd say its probably not much scarrier than that (which isn't saying much but I digress).

horsepower means just about 0 for towing.

Wrong. If you have 100 hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque towing 7000 lbs you could get your load moving easily but then it would take you 10 minutes to get to 60. Torque is more important of course but horsepower counts too. FYI the Odyssey only gives up 20 ft-lbs of torque to said F150 but has 70 more horsepower.

Either way towing with an Odyssey wouldn't be recommended or preferable (unibody, fwd and would need a tranny cooler) but its doable in a pinch. Don't see why one would try it though since for the price of an Odyssey there are a lot of good trucks to be had.

[PDenbigh]

Wrong. If you have 100 hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque towing 7000 lbs you could get your load moving easily but then it would take you 10 minutes to get to 60. Torque is more important of course but horsepower counts too. FYI the Odyssey only gives up 20 ft-lbs of torque to said F150 but has 70 more horsepower.

Think again - Diesel trucks, sought after for their towing capabilities, usually have twice the torque than they do HP. If that equation is flipped, you'll never get moving anyhow so what's the good in shooting for top speed? I can out accellerate my unloaded F-150 in my family's F-350 Power Stroke (about the same HP, over twice the torque) to 70mph, and the F-350 had 1.5 tons of hay in the back.

IMO, torque+mass=happy towing. HP is good for top speed, but you don't need to be going over 75 while towing anyhow.

[G.Irish]

Well Mikey said 0 which is incorrect. I know a lot diesels (for mass production trucks) have somewhere over 100 to 300 ft-lbs more torque than horsepower, but they all have a decent amount of hp to start with.

[white_2kgt]

Hey does anyone know where I can get one of those small trailers thatll tow tires. I see a lot of people with miatas have them? what kind of price range am I looking at.

I'm selling mine. Already put together. I will put a low amt on the title so when you register it you don't pay as much tax if you want. You will also have to get it inspected in VA, what is it now $12?

Let me know if interested.

[.RJ]

but they all have a decent amount of hp to start with.

Even the dodge cummins turbo diesels have between 215 and 325 hp depending on what year you're looking at, and 12v vs. 24v, among other things. Really not a whole lot for something that would pull a 24' enclosed trailer without flinching. What you do get is a shit ton of torque, a sturdy frame, transmission, brakes, etc, lots of wheelbase, etc... all the things that matter in towing. For towing the HP figure just doesnt matter.

[G.Irish]

215-325 is still decent hp tho, that's what I'm talking about.

[.RJ]

215-325 is still decent hp tho, that's what I'm talking about.

I'll take a 215hp pushrod V8 over a 4-cam 260hp honda v6 any day for towing.....

[G.Irish]

Duh I didn't say I wouldn't, whats your point?

[Mike]

Well Mikey said 0 which is incorrect.

i really dislike when people take things 100% literally.

[BLINGMW]

i really dislike when people take things 100% literally.

I think he only took it 99.999% literally, actually.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Hey does anyone know where I can get one of those small trailers thatll tow tires. I see a lot of people with miatas have them? what kind of price range am I looking at.

I'm selling mine. Already put together. I will put a low amt on the title so when you register it you don't pay as much tax if you want. You will also have to get it inspected in VA, what is it now $12?

Let me know if interested.

Yeah I am interested, well depending on how much? I really only need something so that I can carry an extra set of wheels for my car (no way its gonna fit in my car. I am also having to figure out how to tow that thing with my gsx. It says not to tow, but ive got tons of torque and its a light weight thing. If its a real problem ill get a tranny cooler or anything else I need. I fugre it cant be that heavy with the wheels, not anymore heavier than 4 people in my car plus luggage...

[HAULN-SS]

Everyone should have a tranny cooler anyway..it's a super easy install

[PDenbigh]

Maybe for an automatic...

[Andy]

Wait, so can someone address why GRM would recommend using a minivan? I think a truck would be ideal for towing obviously, but it would be limited to just that in my life outside of the occasional moving/buying large shit.

[PDenbigh]

Again, I think it goes down to what you are towing. If it's a lightweight car on a lightweight trailer you could get by with it. The trailer adds a LOT though. The one I just bought will tip the scales at around 2000 pounds. That plus my car = over 4500lbs of stuff.

A small lightweight al trailer would be better, but they will cost you at least $4,000.00. Most of GRM's cars are small, so that's really the only justification I can think of? Either that or they are just wrong ;-).

If you want towing plus family, the new super cab (four full doors) trucks are great. I have an extended cab and can sit 6 with seatbealts. And besides, don't the kids belong in the bed anyhow?

Having a big vehicle doing the towing is generally safer. In more than one occassion while towing have I had to cut across 1.5 lanes as hard as I could turn the wheel. The trailer then snaps in behind me and yanks the truck around. If it were a lighter, shorter vehicle I could very easily see the situaion get out of hand and snap the tow vehicle so hard that you end up jack-knifed or flipped.

[Mike]

i don't think grm really recommends it, but due to the facts they have not had any problems thus far, they kind of brag about it.

[.RJ]

We brag about lots of stupid things we do that dont end up killing us