Towing

[Matthew94]

I have a 25 ft sovereign and I was wondering what's the best thing to tow it though the Georgia hills like stone mountain park. I have a 1993 ford e150 with the tow package and it has the 5.8 liter V8 and it did great for the first 150000 miles and now it has 195000 miles and it doesn't like to pull it anymore in the hills. If you could help or give suggestions it would hell.

[AIR-Quarius]

Hell Mathew.....Hell? ....

[Matthew94]

Originally Posted by Airbuckled

Hell Mathew.....Hell? ....

Hi?

[DanB]

Lot's of great choices! Maybe you could narrow down your desire? Pickup, van, or SUV? New or used? price range?

What is exactly is wrong with the E150? Do big miles = less capability?

[au_ee]

I have a 2001 Ford F250 crewcab with 7.3l Diesel and automatic. I previously had a GMC 1500 HD which died after 15k miles. I got the engine replaced under warranty and traded it for the Ford. I've found that even though a 150 will tow a trailer just fine, the 250 tows it much better. We've towed two trailers with our F250, a 27' fiver and 31' Classic. We do a lot of traveling in the Blue Ridge Mountains and in the Rockies. The F250 handles great, gets better fuel mileage than the GMC or my FILs F150, and has all the power we need to maintain normal speeds when going up grades. Although the suspension is stiffer than a F150 the F250 is more comfortable when towing either a TT or fiver.

[n2916s]

The new Ford Ecoboost looks pretty slick.

I have a 2004 Nissan Titan with just over 117000 miles on it. Has towed my 31' about 45000 of those miles with nary a hiccup. Now, granted I was in the "granny" lane at times in the Rockies doing 40 in 3rd gear but that was very few miles out of thousands and thousands.

So, basically, I am of the school that a half ton works just fine. Will a big diesel 3/4 to do better? Well, yes. But they are pricey and the new ones from GMC and Ford require urea fill-ups on a regular basis which definitely adds to the per-mile cost.

If it was me and the '93 was in any kind of decent shape, I'd repower it, maybe some paint, redo the seats... Lots cheaper tha all-new iron. I plan on repowering my Titan when the time comes and then driving it until the doors fall off.

mike

[ck21084]

Maybe you should just purchase a new F250 or as said above rebuild the 5.8l.

[Splitrock]

1993? Heck yeah! If the body's good, drop a new mill in it and it'll go another 200k for a fraction of the cost of a whole new truck.

[Matthew94]

The body is great and the in side is just fine but thanks.

[oomph]

I'm with Au EE on this one, the 2001 Ford F250 crewcab with 7.3l Diesel has proven to be a great vehicle for me as well.

The 7.3 Powerstrokes are hard to find in good condition, but its worth looking around for one. I know a guy that's got 650k miles on his and it runs perfect. Stay away from the 6.0, they had lots of issues, especially in the first few years it came out.

[Aage]

It's not clear to me what YOU want to do. As has been already stated, your E150 should be well able to pull your '85 Sov; heck, it's only 4,900 lbs dry.

If you have done nothing to investigate why it doesn't go as well up and down the mountains, I bet it will be worth your while to spend the money to tune, rebuild, or replace that motor (and even the transmission if need be).

But if you want something new, there's lots out there. Look at the new Ford EcoBoost models for example, they seem to be getting a lot of attention...

[Matthew94]

Thanks we are thinking about the new eco boost.

[Aviator]

I tow our 34' all around GA and up to the WBCCI campground "Top of Georgia" just north of Helen, GA with a 2009 F150 without any problems. I have a buddy using a 2011 F150 Ecoboost to tow his 5'er around Nebraska and points north. He is very happy with his setup.

[brents]

Big question is what do you need to do with your tow vehicle when not towing?