Picking up '75 Overlander in Texas

[D. Lovelace]

Hello--We are traveling from Florida to Austin, TX to pick up our recently purchased Airstream. We need to buy a truck to pull it and would appreciate some advice. My thought is a used Diesel, Ford? Chevy? We have other vehicles and this truck will be used just for the Airstream. We are retired and plan to travel extensively. Would it be better to buy the truck in Texas or Florida?
For now we will just bring it back to Florida to get it ready for the great escape.
Advice?
D. Lovelace

[overlander63]

Welcome to the forums.
I'd get one from Florida, if for no other reason than you only need one new thing to really concentrate on getting back home. You don't want to try to find a tow vehicle while you are trying to get your trailer home.

[ZoominC6]

With all due respect to Terry, you may wish to consider a truck purchase in Texas if you're looking for a new one. Texas is TRUCK COUNTRY and I feel you'll get the best deal on a new one in Texas. Used ones as well. My brother-in-law came up to Texas when I lived there to make his best deal with my dealer in Dallas. You may wish to give Texas serious consideration. Best of luck with your new Airstream. Have fun camping.
HAPPY TRAILS

[w5wi]

I pull my Airstreams with my '04 Chev. Crewcab with a 6.6 Duramax and Allison Transmission. The truck pulls the Airstreams beautifully. My mileage is not as good as I'd like it to be tho... I get 14 mpg at 65 mph and 15mpg at 60 mph. I also pull my Airstreams with my '06 Buick Rainier with a L4200 I-6. The Buick gets better fuel mileage in the small hills in MO and OK, but I haven't pulled the Airstreams out west with the Buick, so I can't comment on performance there.

All in all, I'm bias to the Chevy with the duramax. I looked at the Dodges and Fords, but the Chevy duramax is much quieter and gets comperable mileage.

As far as where to purchase a truck I'd do some online searches or fax selected dealers for their best price in both states. I know TX has much better license tag prices. Also you might check with Consumer Reports to get a good idea of what you can buy a truck for. Then take that to any dealer to get your best deal.

Good luck. Enjoy your new Airstream!

dale

[davidz71]

What happened about letting a new truck break in for 500 miles before towing? Unless you plan on driving around TX for many miles, you might consider buying in Florida and breaking it in on the way to TX. Of course, you can also buy used or rent a truck to get the trailer back.

[w5wi]

My Duramax has over 60,000 miles on it and it didn't even start to be broken in until much beyond 50,000 miles. Diesels don't break in at 500 miles...

Most new vehicles are good to go straight from the dealership.

cheers,

dale

[davidz71]

Originally Posted by w5wi

My Duramax has over 60,000 miles on it and it didn't even start to be broken in until much beyond 50,000 miles. Diesels don't break in at 500 miles...

Most new vehicles are good to go straight from the dealership.

cheers,

dale

I'm talking about what is mentioned in the vehicle manual and if the dealer might try to use this against you should something go terribly wrong within the 500 miles. This may not be an issue for some people but I wouldn't tow until the gears have had time to work in. Some people only keep a vehicle for one or two years but I keep mine for a minumum of 10 years.