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Old 12-06-2014, 10:37 PM   #81
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Was in Alabama at a Home Depot loading a bunch of 2x4s for a home project onto the totally inadequate roof rack of my beater Volvo sedan, cussing under my breath in the heat.

A good'ol boy passing by noticed my irritation, stepped over and drawled, "A real man's just gotta own a pickup truck, y' know..."

When we finally moved back to California, my wife, who witnessed that exchange, bought us a nice shiny new Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab long bed pickup--with HER money. I guess she was as embarassed as I was...

Yeah, if you do anything with home improvement as intensely as I do, a pickup is vital...
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Old 12-06-2014, 11:45 PM   #82
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Originally Posted by timhortons View Post
>But I wonder why in BC, Montana, Idaho, and other parts West, we hardly ever see a >sedan towing a trailer.

Because Americans love trucks. Love em' Starting point for TV Selection is usually whats in the driveway.According to my television all Real Americans already own a truck. Trucks look GMC tough. Some trucks have huge engines which is important when you want to accelerate up the rocky mountians while doing 85MPH both ways. You can use engine breaking to stop in less than 300ft and blow smoke like a coal engine in you mess with the injectors in your RAM.
.........
Fair enough for the Yanquis, timhortons, but notice that I also said BC. We live in Canada, too, eh?

Come on down to the east Kootenays, where trucks are much more common than sedans in the typical parking lot. People do use them for hauling stuff. Maybe they're not remodeling the basement, collecting firewood, or hauling hay bales everyday, but enough to make a truck look more functional than a Yaris.

Maybe it's a macho kind of thing for the guys at the saw mill or coal mine, and possibly many of these trucks pull monster 5th wheels (way more popular than "bumper" trailers, let alone Airstreams out here.) Truck bed campers are popular, as well, because you can tow a boat or toy-hauler behind it.

Maybe it's a cultural thing. Our Tacoma was nearly too big to drive in Vancouver. We realized that we probably couldn't comfortably handle Vancouver's high-traffic narrow streets in the new Tundra.

And we do not need the Tundra to drive to the local Timmie's for a box of Timbits.

Oh well. Different strokes.....
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Old 12-07-2014, 06:24 AM   #83
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Originally Posted by rmkrum View Post
Was in Alabama at a Home Depot loading a bunch of 2x4s for a home project onto the totally inadequate roof rack of my beater Volvo sedan, cussing under my breath in the heat.

A good'ol boy passing by noticed my irritation, stepped over and drawled, "A real man's just gotta own a pickup truck, y' know..."

When we finally moved back to California, my wife, who witnessed that exchange, bought us a nice shiny new Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab long bed pickup--with HER money. I guess she was as embarassed as I was...

Yeah, if you do anything with home improvement as intensely as I do, a pickup is vital...
Not as vital as one thinks. We find mini vans much more versatile compared to a pick up. Better gas mileage, better ride, better at towing our Airstream, and better at hauling things from Home Depot (nothing gets wet when it rains).
When we had a landscape business the van worked great. Doing a home reno for the last 4 years, and towing the Airstream, wonderful.

Towing Airstream, taking loads to the dump, hauling drywall from HD, and a garden tractor...... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMG_5011.jpg
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Old 12-07-2014, 06:43 AM   #84
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If someone says this, don't common rules of civility require that it be follow up with a genuine offer to help? Surely during trips to the hardware with your long-bed Tacoma you're on the lookout for a Volvo in need of assistance?

A good'ol boy passing by noticed my irritation, stepped over and drawled, "A real man's just gotta own a pickup truck, y' know..."
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Old 12-07-2014, 07:36 AM   #85
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If someone says this, don't common rules of civility require that it be follow up with a genuine offer to help? Surely during trips to the hardware with your long-bed Tacoma you're on the lookout for a Volvo in need of assistance?

A good'ol boy passing by noticed my irritation, stepped over and drawled, "A real man's just gotta own a pickup truck, y' know..."
No, that comes under the heading of "kicking a man when he's down".
What has to be the stupidest thing I've ever seen at Home Depot was the guy in the smart car loading 2x4's into it.
But that's another story for another time on another thread...
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Old 12-07-2014, 07:40 AM   #86
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Originally Posted by timhortons View Post
>But I wonder why in BC, Montana, Idaho, and other parts West, we hardly ever see a >sedan towing a trailer.

Because Americans love trucks. Love em' Starting point for TV Selection is usually whats in the driveway.According to my television all Real Americans already own a truck. Trucks look GMC tough. Some trucks have huge engines which is important when you want to accelerate up the rocky mountians while doing 85MPH both ways. You can use engine breaking to stop in less than 300ft and blow smoke like a coal engine in you mess with the injectors in your RAM.

In a truck you sit higher on bigger tires and feel more important. Also you can drive further over rocky terrain and clear the rear differential until your tires explode. When you hit someone in a little Japanese compact your bumper sometimes ends up in their face.

Even the commercials are more manly. You can powerSTROKE, or duraMAX, haul a huge LOAD of weaponry for your hunting buddies in the CREW CAB, liftgate, COLD STAMPED FORD TOUGH STEEL and bring that elusive sofa that the damsel in distress needs moved in the ads. Or go to Walmart and load the bed with 50,000 twinkies before they're discontinued again. You can get them with a frame so the panels rattle and shake as you go down the road.

Trucks have tougher names too, F-You series, HD2500, RAM, Ridgeline, Tundra, GMC, Max, Sierra, Dodge, Ram, Shove

Granted they have a high center of gravity and some of them seem to have rear suspension taken from a model T, sometimes they don't stop and sometimes they rollover and don't get up. Hit or miss stability and the gas mileage is nothing to write to Grandma about.

But nobody lives forever right ?
Do the people that buy German TV's think they are one up or better than others?
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Old 12-07-2014, 08:12 AM   #87
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I've got a pickup truck so I must be a real man but when I want to haul something I use our utility trailer, often pulled by our Suzuki Samurai.
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Old 12-07-2014, 08:51 AM   #88
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Wife totally hates the look, handling, and style of minivans and SUVs in general. She likes the look of trucks. I don't know why she considers them 'cute', but I'm not going to argue with her, since she paid for the last one...

Some of this is probably because our Tacoma hauls stuff, rides nice, and has plenty of room. The fact that it also tows our particular AS nicely is just gravy.


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Old 12-07-2014, 10:01 AM   #89
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Wife totally hates the look, handling, and style of minivans and SUVs in general. She likes the look of trucks. I don't know why she considers them 'cute', but I'm not going to argue with her, since she paid for the last one...
For sure...personal preference is a biggy and what makes ma ma happy makes everyone happy.

I recall a few years back the little old lady down the street bought a big F150. She liked it because when she missed the driveway and drove over the curb it didn't drag on the bottom of the truck.
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Old 12-07-2014, 10:05 AM   #90
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Makes perfect sense to me!


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Old 12-07-2014, 10:27 AM   #91
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Is it possible to use a car to tow a 19' or 20' airstream?

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Not as vital as one thinks. We find mini vans much more versatile compared to a pick up. Better gas mileage, better ride, better at towing our Airstream, and better at hauling things from Home Depot (nothing gets wet when it rains).
When we had a landscape business the van worked great. Doing a home reno for the last 4 years, and towing the Airstream, wonderful.

Towing Airstream, taking loads to the dump, hauling drywall from HD, and a garden tractor...... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMG_5011.jpg

This is just wrong. Ram Eco-diesel has better mpg than any minivan (30+ in the highway), with air suspension ride as good or better than a minivan, with 420 ft-lb of torque tow much better than a minivan (specially in elevations where turbo makes a differences), is heavier and has a longer wheelbase than a minivan so has more stability, and with a cover on the bed nothing gets wet in rainy days. Looks better than a minivan too but this is personal preference. They make different tools for different jobs. Use the right tool, instead of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.


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Old 12-07-2014, 12:14 PM   #92
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Hey, like they say in the south, "run what ya brung."

Minivans are much better nowadays than they used to be, but if the boss don't like it, there won't be one in my driveway.

Besides, some day I may actually need the 4 wheel drive capability that came with this Tacoma. Was not my choice--we inherited it (sorta). Used 4 high fording a big puddle once. Kinda silly, but Toyota says to exercise it occasionally, so I do.


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Old 12-10-2014, 07:04 PM   #93
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I guess I could hook up my wife' Toyota venza to our 31' as, may be the mileage would be better than our ram's 6.7.....
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Old 12-10-2014, 07:33 PM   #94
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For sure...personal preference is a biggy and what makes ma ma happy makes everyone happy.

I recall a few years back the little old lady down the street bought a big F150. She liked it because when she missed the driveway and drove over the curb it didn't drag on the bottom of the truck.
That's why I've always loved driving a Jeep. Whenever I run up on a curb when parking, people just think I meant to do it and I'm showing off.
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Old 12-10-2014, 08:21 PM   #95
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This the same old VERY important topic.

There are just a few different concerns. I think safety and money might be the top two.

One of my thoughts is that this guy who doesn't even have a trailer yet, most likely has NO towing experience. I don't think a beginner is ready to tow with a lighter car, that a trailer could push around.

More experienced towers with a tricked out hitch might not have a problem.

It seems to me that the original poster was factoring just the dry weight of his trailer and not passengers and cargo in the car, or propane, water and cargo in the trailer. I wouldn't want one of these new guys to get hurt, or hurt someone
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Old 12-10-2014, 10:43 PM   #96
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My Mistake ... I suggested checking the 2014 Summer edition of Airstream magazine for a comparison between a lighter SUV and the Tahoe SUV for towing vehicles. It was actually the Fall 2014 edition. It was between a Chevrolet Cheyenne and a Chevrolet Tahoe. The Cheyenne is rated at 5,200 lbs. capacity, and "won" the competition. A very interesting article that helped us feel comfortable with our Toyota Highlander towing our 19-FC.
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Old 12-10-2014, 10:43 PM   #97
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Oh, well. If Wally could tow one with a bicycle....
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Old 12-13-2014, 05:24 PM   #98
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There are just a few different concerns. I think safety and money might be the top two.

One of my thoughts is that this guy who doesn't even have a trailer yet, most likely has NO towing experience. I don't think a beginner is ready to tow with a lighter car, that a trailer could push around.

More experienced towers with a tricked out hitch might not have a problem.

It seems to me that the original poster was factoring just the dry weight of his trailer and not passengers and cargo in the car, or propane, water and cargo in the trailer. I wouldn't want one of these new guys to get hurt, or hurt someone
Wouldn't it be cool if Airstream made a 60' 3 door trailer like the one in your avatar?
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Old 12-13-2014, 06:22 PM   #99
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Car has always been the better choice. A loss of control accident will be more serious with a pickup. Much depends on how much gear an owner will drag along as to whether a truck is a better choice. It's a trade off.
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Old 01-01-2015, 10:03 PM   #100
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A lot depends upon what type of camping and driving you do.

A sedan would truly limit our preferred type of camping. We like to go to semi-wild places, drop the trailer in the campsite, and then take off for a day's outing. Generally our destinations require some driving on rough dirt roads. We usually need a high-clearance vehicle, preferably 4WD. (For example, getting to Kintla and Bowman Lakes at Glacier NP, or exploring the San Rafael Swell in Utah.)

If people wouldn't normally go off the pavement, then a sedan should work just as well.

We normally drive in mountainous terrain, including over major mountain passes. If someone's sedan has enough power to tow a loaded trailer over a high pass without creeping along at 20 mph in the right-hand land behind the semis, and are happy doing it, they don't need a big truck. Ditto if they never leave the flat lands.

If folks are happy campers without bringing gear that wouldn't fit into the sedan trunk or trailer, then they probably don't need a truck. Probably they don't boondock so they're OK without a generator, gas can, extra jerry can of water, paddling gear, backpacks, &c.

But this conversation does make one wonder why auto manufacturers post towing limits and GVWRs to begin with if they are so pointless.

We just traded up from a V6 Tacoma to a V8 Tundra, and are really happy with the way it handles towing our newer, heavier trailer. We don't seem to be losing much gas mileage on the highway, maybe because the engine isn't working so hard.

Ah, well. To each their own.
Hi Len n Jeanne,

I'm catching up on this most interesting discussion.

I can certainly understand where you are coming from. Also, the incremental cost of driving your truck for all purposes is much less than buying a small car for local driving. We simply need to stay in more accessible places and drive a little further, I guess. We certainly have no trouble at Waterton Lakes NP.

I have towed over the Kootenay Pass, west to east. I was doing a bit more than 20 mph - 25 actually, up the 8% grade in first gear! (Our newer tow vehicle would do it at 40.) There is that old rule of going down in the same gear you went up in . . . I made the mistake of shifting to 2nd, and I needed to use the brakes a couple of times on the 7-8% grade on the east side - the two miles or so before the first right hand curve. However, a trucker passed me doing about 60; I think the aerodynamic drag of his trailer was enough to hold his speed constant without braking. The continental divide on I-90 is much easier.

I choose to tow with a car for reasons of overall economy, and probably 50% less fuel use from day to day. I have no qualms about handling, stability, and braking.

Yes, there are lots of trucks where you live. However, it seems to me that the biggest trucks and 5th wheels are owned by the Albertans who show up in the summer. (Our 27' Airstream looks rather small in our neighbourhood!)

I am not surprised that the Tundra doesn't use more fuel than the Tacoma while towing. If speed is equal, aerodynamic drag is the key factor for highway fuel economy, not weight or engine size.

It's great to see you are continuing to enjoy a very active retirement!
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