Seefo

iTrader: (5)

ok, I will look into an astrovan. But only because Mr.T had one for the A-Team.

Thanks for the help Steve, I will contact them soon

FatKao

Wait a minute, weren't you **** talking us towers at THSCC CMP?

Seefo

iTrader: (5)

lol what? I want to tow my car, I am jealous if anything. I may have jokingly said you suck for towing though.

Thanks for the advice though, I am hoping to work something out locally and borrow a trailer. One of my coworkers has one, but he doesn't use it frequently.

bbundy

I have looked at sprinters but they come with tiny diesel engines that have less towing capacity than my 95 S10 Blazer. They get really good fuel economy but after recently doing 2000 miles of towing with a Dodge Ram 3500 and the cost of diesel fuel running around 40 cents a gallon more than premium unleded I’m thinking V8 ford or Chevy Van is the answer. I simply hate dealing with access to stuff in the back of a pickup truck with a canopy on it pickup trucks suck.

Bob

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Why?

hustler

iTrader: (6)

I can tuck the 4Loko cooler behind the driver so I can drink, tow, and smoke cigars with "Wild Horses" screaming through the baller stereo from my highschool days. I can't wait to get a van.

bbundy

Yea an Astorvan might do. It has the same 4.3L V6 as my Blazer but the van body is hugely more useful than the the Stupid Useless Vehicle (SUV) body on my Blazer. It’s a really good engine from my experience but it works it pretty hard if you have a heavy trailer. I tow with my Blazer over a fairly good mountain pass around Mount Rainer several times a year on my way to Packwood. The braking capability loaded and towing is a bit sketchy. I have contemplated a motor swap in one to the turbo motor out of a Typhoon or Cyclone.

You will get a few MPG better than with a V8 and it will pull better than a Sprinter but I don’t know if it is worth it to not have the comfort of the V8 and a full size chassis with bigger brakes.

Bob

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Hmmm, I can get a locksmith Astro van on the cheap. Can you get Hawk DTC-70s for a van?

Seefo

iTrader: (5)

On average, what size trailer would I need for the miata? a 15' one?


Also, looking around, it seems like a 98-02 expedition would be a good choice. comes with the transmission cooler already, a v8 and they would be large enough to sleep in for sure. And it's not a creeper van either.


Currently reading about yukons/tahoes also.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

You get so much more space in a van. It's the way to go.

Seefo

iTrader: (5)

Yea, I haven't ruled out the van yet, but from reading on the astro forums they say trans cooler, electronic brake controller, and to be very wary of windy days especially going uphill lol. Very comforting, especially after Bob's experience with the blazer.

How hard would it be to install a trans cooler?

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

FTFY

FatKao

I have a 16' and it works fine, you want to make sure the D rings are as close to the front and back of the trailer as you can get them. I have to cross both my fronts and back because the baby teeth on the car are so far out.

15' shouldn't be an issue as long as the D rings are far apart enough. I could measure mine the next time I visit my trailer.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

I can do it in 15-20 minutes with standard hand tools. Go to the u-pull-it and get one for $20, mount it to something, hacksaw the hard line, install two hoses and four clamps, profit. You don't need a brake controller or trailer brakes unless you are hauling 5000+ lbs. The Astro pulls trailers just fine. You aren't pulling anything heavy and you aren't working at Rocky Mountain altitudes. You are overthinking this. An Expedition weighs 2000+lbs more and would be a 10mpg nightmare.

Get the white one I linked and put "Joe's Racing" on the side of it.

Seefo

iTrader: (5)

I will have to use my wheels/tow hook on the front, as I don't have baby teeth there.

Can you point out the d rings? is this an issue because your tie downs are really long?


We shall discuss this further on saturday sir. I are a tow newbie!

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

The Astro has a 6000LB towing capacity and you have a 2000lb car. You don't need to know much more about that. They don't sway much because they are sprung well and are truck-like. It is rated for 1600lbs of passengers and cargo. That's a lot of tools (or beer).

bbundy

I will have to admit my open trailer is really light which helps allot. It's single axle just long enough for the wheelbase of a Miata and with no brakes but it’s got big 20 ply rated tires. You can't even buy a single axle car trailer or car trailers without brakes anymore. I notice quite a difference in pulling power if I use a U-haul type trailer, those things weigh as much as my Miata does. I suspect an enclosed trailer would be heavy and not so aerodynamic.

The Vortech 4.3 V6 is acceptable as long as you keep the load down to not significantly more than just the car your towing. FWIW the equivalent Ford V6 from the Explorer of that vintage would struggle a lot more and U-haul wont even rent you a trailer if you were going to pull it with a V-6 Explorer.
Bob

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Astro van...hmmmm...you can get those really cheap. I wonder how an Astrovan compares to an E250 4.6 in terms of fuel economy and ease of pulling. I can find a cheap Astro conversion van too.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Astros have truck leaf springs in the back so you can always add a leaf from the u-pull-it if you want it even more robusto. They cost beans at the junkyard.

The EPA site says a 03 Astro gets 21mpg highway and the 03 E250 6 cyl gets 16. The 5.4 gets 15mpg hwy and 12mpg city. They're heavy.

Seefo

iTrader: (5)

Steve are you towing with an astro van?
http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3379

Anyways, so it looks like if I am getting a trailer it will have brakes anyway. so I am looking at:
Astro van/vehicle
Trans cooler
Tow hitch
electronic brake controller


Anything else I am missing? I am not counting the trailer yet, until I figure out if I am sharing one or not.