What do YOU use to tow your track car?
 

General "what do you tow with" thread.

I figured this might belong in here.

What do you guys use to tow? I know some guys here trust their car enough to drive it to and from the track (hustler?), but I've been looking at a 2nd car for DDing purposes and something that is able to tow my car at the same time.
Problem #1: I really really really don't want a truck, and I probably can't afford one anyway.
If nothing I like is capable of towing, I guess I'll be ballsy like hustler, and have a second beater to get to school/work with in case my car dies.

Friend thinks I can tow with a 4 cylinder Previa with 138 horsepower. lolno.
Pic related, sort of want.

I haven't towed my car yet, but if the need ever arises, I have a well-used 2000 F150 4.6 V8 that I picked up for $2300. 200K+ miles, but one owner, runs like a champ, A/C will freeze your ass, and it has just enough dents and scrapes on it to keep people from cutting me off in traffic...

I've been driving to-from races the last five years (25 weekends) with all my tings in the car (and four tires on the "roof")
http://www.spvm.se/uploads/images/Ga...070527-203.jpg
This include all I need for a 2-4 day weekend ...

This winter I invested in something a bit more practical
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1304181421
Long ramps, Airride and a winch.
Sure, it's not much to fill with junk, but I now can fill the driver seat on the Miata and the passanger seat on the Transporter :)

A tire rack and tarp (at least partial) will happen sometime. But trailing a small caravan behind it would solve a lot of issues (but it start to get a lot of things on wheels that needs attention).

I could have chosen something a bit larger, but we are cursed with a total weight of 3500kg (7700lbs) and the road tax is based on weight so it's smart if you can stay light.,

07 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins 5.9
18.5' Carson Racer trailer (enclosed)

12mpg @ 65mph
19mpg @ 65mph towing open trailer
24mpg @ 70 mph empty, no trailer
Will go up any hill at any speed I choose with the A/C on in 110° heat :)

07 silverado 2500hd turbo diesel

Never owned a truck before and didn't really want one. Test drove one and I was sold. Hauls ass for a stock truck. Good gas mileage. Good resale value. Makes towing ridiculously easy even for a truck/towing newb like me.

98 silverado z71 5.7
Open flat bed car hauler w/ winch and long ramps.

Gets about 15mpg @75
12mpg @65 while towing

You cats need to look at the new Ecoboost Ford's. Ford has typically had really good luck with boosted gassers.

I think I've got the cock contemplating using her girlfriends XJ to tow the Miata.

A friend wants to sell me his '91 Chevy truck for 3k. Im not sure what the name of it is, its not the S10, its a c1500 maybe? 90k miles on it.

Opinions?

Damn, do they come stock like this, or did you have to have it built? I've been looking for something like this.

02 5.3 Tahoe 19ft open trailer. tranny and 20 tires strapped on :)

The Tahoe does surprisingly well towing. I towed a pig (Z28) on a pig trailer (U-haul) with one and it did great.

Good thread, I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I have a friend that tows his Miata behind an early-90s Pathfinder. Sorry for the lack of towing terms here, but he bought one of those triangular bars that RV guys use to drag their cars along with, no trailer or anything. This is mostly for short tows, but it seems to work pretty well for him.

I bought it from one that had it built staring from a pickup. His better half had decided that the vacation cottage needed some investment so it was cheap. :)
Perfect for me, since I'm much better at analyzing and planning than actual wrenching...

18mpg loaded at 75 (it's the 2.5 petrol engine, the 2.5 TDI might be more efficient).

I knew someone who tried flat-towing a Miata with a small SUV like that -- I think he gave it up after spinning the whole tow rig 360 degrees on one of the bridges that crosses the track going to the paddock at Laguna Seca. I didn't see it, but supposedly he didn't hit anything. As I understand it, the comparatively long wheelbase of a Miata (compared to a normal trailer!) makes for evil handling with a tow vehicle that light.

I use an '02 Silverado 2500HD diesel, and a cheap 16' steel-and-wood open trailer.

--Ian

I've towed with an 97 4Runner (3.4L 6cyl) and now with a 4.7L V8 4Runner. What a difference! With an aluminum trailer and a miata, the 6cyl CAN tow, but boy, you struggle up hills and into headwinds... tranny cooler is a must! The V8 4Runner tows really well and if I'm careful, I can get 13-14mpg while towing.

I recently got a 2001 Yukon XL (the 2500 big boy). It tows like there's nothing behind it and with the seats down, it basically has the same storage as an enclosed trailer!

Be careful if you're going to decide to flat-tow. With wheels on the ground, the car being towed *may* have to be registered and insured. At least that is the case in Cali.

Cheers,

Dean

BMW 535d E61 (272bhp twin turbo diesel) stationcar and a trailer. With the trailer loaded it still outruns most every day cars :)

'91 1500 Chevy? That would certainly do the job just fine and parts are plentiful and dirt cheap. Probably not worth more than $2500, though. It is a sturdy truck and would tow a Miata just fine.

MY06 Subaru Forester XT with an 1800kg (~3950lb) rated hitch.

'06 GMC Sierra Crew Cab 5.3 - wish I got a HD turbo....

05 Chevy 2500HD Duramax. Bought it in May '09 with 103,000 miles on it - just ticked over 163k on the way back from the track today. I'll drive it into the ground, so I figure another 4-5 years or so. Then I'll get another one :)

In Reno over Christmas - 19*F, and I would have been hopelessly stuck in that neighborhood without 4wd.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3..._1324751_n.jpg

19mpg unloaded at 70, 16mpg towing a flatbed at 70, 11mpg towing our 9000lb 28" enclosed trailer at 68-70. I can't feel the flatbed behind me.

The new 3.5L Ecoboost F150 is the first gas truck that I'd legitimately cross-shop against the current 2500-series diesels.

2011 Ford F250 Crew Cab with 6.7L Powerstroke.
21mpg@70mph unloaded
16mpg@70mph with 2 cars on open trailer
12mpg@70mph with 10,000 lbs on open trailer

Hand-calculated numbers? I've heard the 6.7s get fantastic mileage.

Yeah I have noticed a remarkable improvement over the 6.4, but those are just some quick figures I could kind of come up with.

If I put it on cruise control at 65 to 70 on flat land I can get in the mid to high 20s. Honestly my numbers are probibly a little low. I will have to pay attention better on my next haul.

The problem is that I don't drive with the most fuel conservative mindset most of the time. My old 6.4 averaged about 14mpg with no trailer and combined highway/city driving 50/50.

He wants to put it on CL for 3.5k before he sells it to me for 3k. I'm going to be mad as fuck if he sells it.

Just so you know where it's at: 21mpg loaded (open trailer, one car)

That is so awesome :drool:

Probably the only one here that doesn't use a full size truck with a locomotive-dieselmotor in it. (and bitch about mileage :giggle:)

I'm using an 07 Tundra 5.7 with a 20' enclosed. Avg about 10 at 65-70 towing my spec miata.

On the ecoboost, from what I'm gathering they are great unloaded, but terrible mileage towing due to being in boost constantly.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/04...-6-part-1.html

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7...1105021613.jpg

1997 Ford F250 7.3L Powerstroke 4x4 - currently showing 376.2k miles (SUCK A DICK, LARS)

I tow whatever I want.

1999 Ford F-250 super duty - Bone stock
20 mpg @ 70mph
14 mpg @ 70-75 mph towing my race car on a steel flatbed

Currently living in the snow, this thing is 2x4 and will trek through 6 inches of fresh snow without any issues. This next winter a snowmobile will be living in the bed of the truck.

Most importantly, I haven't gotten a speeding ticket when driving the truck. Its tough to safely go fast so it makes it really easy to just turn up your tunes and enjoy the ride. Small cars get out of your way really REALLLLY fast too.

If it holds together for new daily/weekend duty... my new (to me) 97 Cherokee will be forced to tow my Miata. Probably dolly vs trailer.

One of the most funky cool car haulers I have seen show up at local track events.

Converted 1970’s Cadillac Eldorado. Guy bought it from Boeing surplus and grafted on a car trailer. What else would you do with a 500 cubic inch front wheel drive car.

Bob

^That is the fucking bizzness... but I'm definitely with PUSHA on this one... old'ish crew cab Ford Diesel. I know I'll have one some day.

I don't know I filled up the 98 Dodge in Willows California with $4.85 Diesel. Super unleaded was only $4.45. Got about 15 mpg staying under 65 mph. kind of has me re-thinking tow rigs.

Looks to me like A Sprinter Van would be cool and get good mileage but will have trouble towing much weight. Loading and unloading the back of a large 4WD truck with wheels, tires, tools, and stuff absolutely sucks. Scraping shins on the tailgate and crunching knees on the bed while crawling around positioning and accessing stuff really sucks. Id rather have a van where the sides open and you can walk in.

Bob

'99 tahoe w/80,000 miles cheap. good sound system, cold a/c and 14-15mpg @65mph towing a dolly. 18mpg drafting my friends diesel tow rigs that get 14mpg.

2000 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 I6 4x4 with a 2" lift towing on a tow dolly. Got around 14mpg with a pretty stiff headwind. Needs a little more spring rate in the rear it squats a little too much for my liking.

In my sig. Not sure what it gets towing yet. Will update.

Has the best stereo I've ever heard, satellite radio, a/c and cruise though. Can't complain.

Martinez... in all seriousness, I've got an 05 V6 4Runner and if it was just across town to the track, I wouldn't mind putting a Miata on a light single-axle trailer behind it... figure 3500lbs total, as long as it had some sort of assist brakes. But for any kind of long haul, a V8 in some form simply can't be beat for safety.

And have you looked at used 4Runners... a well-kept V6 2WD with under 100k miles is going to run you $15k+.

I've got some decent experience towing across a range of vehicles. A 250/2500 series diesel isn't going to notice there's anything back there until you get up into the 6k-8klb range... they just shrug that light shit off.

Towing a Miata on a flatbed behind a V6 SUV... well, it's gonna do it, but you'll be on your toes the whole time.

I pulled an MS6+Uhaul (6300lbs) behind my 5.9litre gas Dodge 1500QC cross country at 9mpg and the whole time I know I needed a weight distribution hitch. It did the job and the needles never moved out of the green, but it made me a firm believer that COMPLETE OVERKILL when towing is the way to go.

It may never have crossed your mind, but if you've gotta place to keep it when not in use, how about something like this:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/2355909596.html

I'm with Bob. A van would be a much easier arrangement and safer as you can lock up all your stuff. The sprinter vans only have a 5 cylinder diesel and they are pretty spendy. Personally I would get one of the Ford E350 superduty vans or a chevy/gmc van. Fords either v8 turbodiesel or the old ones had a V10, chevy duramax. Many of these vans had rated towing weights of 7-8K and the storage is better than a truck. Not a lot of fun to drive in a stiff crosswind but oh well. Just as plentiful as trucks and cheap as businesses are constantly turning them over.

...so stand up. I've never crawled around the bed of my truck.

TrackDayHookey tows his Miata with a diesel Sprinter. From what I can gather, he loves it.

If you're towing a Miata like 2-3 times a year there are a lot of vehicles that will do it just fine - pretty much every V6 SUV, all the V8s, etc. The question is whether you want to do it. A V6 SUV will get shit mileage, you will struggle up hills, and forget about passing anyone. Having a V8 makes the journey that much less stressful - you aren't worried about the next set of hills. When I've just spent 2 days at the track tending to two cars, I don't want to stress about the semi rig next to me, or who else is about to blow my doors off as I struggle up a 6-7% grade at 45mph - I want to set the cruise at 70, set the A/C, crank up the tunes, and relax. With a flatbed and a Miata in tow, pretty much every half-ton pickup/SUV made in the last 15 years will allow you to relax when you're towing.

The gap from V8 to Diesel is much smaller than the gap between V6 and V8. Diesel will get better mileage and give you the ability to tow BIG shit if you ever want to. If you're only talking about a 5000lb open trailer, though, a half-ton truck will do the job very well.

Having said all of that, if you buy an enclosed trailer and tow it with a gas truck, you're a fool. I get better mileage towing 9000lbs on an open trailer than I do towing our empty 28" enclosed, which weighs half that. If you're going to the track often enough to justify the cost of an enclosed trailer, sack up.

I had a 1997 5.2L Dodge Dakota, sold it in good+ condition for $3,500 with 121K miles. Sucks gas, but that's true of most anything that can tow. It had really comfortable seats which you'd want for long trips, plenty of power, handled well and it looked good. If I ever get another truck, it'll be a Dakota R/T, which had a bigger engine etc then the 'Sport' that I had
Here's a twin of mine:
http://www.usedcars.com/imageserver/...0B5DDCF751.jpg

Truck has a canopy on it, can't stand up and some of my stuff I just don’t want out in the weather without the canopy or not be able to close it up with the appearance of being secured from theft.

I currently have a single axle car trailer that is just big enough for the miata. no trailer brakes but big beefy commercial size mega ply tires on it. It is really light. I don’t think it weighs much more than 400 lbs for just the trailer. I can lift the tong up and walk it around the yard by hand even can lift and scoot the back of it sideways by hand while it is hooked up. It is very well made too. Can’t buy anything like this anymore.

My 95 S10 blazer has no problem pulling it up to speed with a Miata on it and I towed over Cyuse pass on the flank of Mt Rainer with it several times The braking ability of the Blazer is a bit lacking so you have to be careful about getting into a panic stop situation is the only issue. The V6 blazer gets about the same mileage towing this trailer setup as the Dodge but will go a bit faster without killing fuel economy 70 is no problem and right now regular unladed is way cheaper than diesel so it is significantly more economical. My issue with the blazer is it is a 95 with almost 300k miles on it and it has never had a major repair it is going to have a major failure some time and could use replacement soon. A heavy ass U-haul type car trailer over my light weight trailer makes a pretty big difference in the way it will tow a Miata as well. The 3500 diesel Sprinter looks like it has the about the same hp and torque as my S10 V6 Blazer and the things seem to get great milage especially unloaded.

I’m also considering a 20’ enclosed trailer though so I could put tools and tires all in the trailer and it would solve my packing the back of the truck issues. Maybe get a light weight camper for the truck and save on hotel bills too.

Bob

Exactly - but I cringe knowing how bad it'll be towing it with my 1500 too... all I have is a carport, so the track car gets covered up under it. An enclosed 20 or 22' hauler would be awesome for everything you mention plus a portable garage for me. I see basic new ones come and go for 4-5K.
Any of you try using a Bully Dog with your tow rigs?

I know this is probably taboo, but do you guys ever stop and think about why you modified your car so heavily that you need to buy a truck and trailer that gets bad gas millage to tow your unstreetable race car?

Honestly, any regrets?

No, I would have the same truck anywayz cuz I am a man.

if you gotta ask...............






.................you must have never driven on a track before.......................







............or your really old!!!!!!!


fyi, most can still drive to the track, i can but it feels alot better knowing if something happens you can still get home. that's the same wether it's modified or stock. next your gonna ask why we feel the need to go faster, make more money, or cheat on our girlfriends with our wives! :laugh:

For a few people the miata is purely a track car and is not street legal, so it has to be towed.

For the other I think a lot of it comes down to not having to worry about breaking something or crashing into a wall. I know when I start tracking in the fall I am planning on towing the car just because I don't want to have the worry about how I will be getting home.

I bought it a little over one year and 24k mi ago for $3,500. EVERYTHING works but the horn because I took the train horn off and haven't hooked the factory horns up yet (i r teh lazy).

Nope. I bought mine because I wanted to bring the Miata and my wife & kids with me, without having to drive two vehicles the whole way there and back.

As for the 2500 diesel, well, the first trip was San Jose to Grand Junction for the FM open house last year, and the middle of the San Rafael swell in Utah is not where I wanted to decide that I really should have bought more truck (actual freeway sign: "next services 120 miles").

--Ian

Nope. Driving a car to/from the track requires that you make concessions I was no longer willing to make (HVAC, side windows, headlights). I've also been stranded at the track before - having to get a ride home, then go back up the next day with a borrowed truck/trailer sucks a whole lot more than just towing it there in the first place.

Nope. Allows me to build a spartan race car that's truly track prepped (no creature comforts, no windows, big cage, etc) without need for annual emissions/insurance/registration, and without worry that I can't get home if something happens.

Another benefit is you can push the car off the trailer when you get to the track and you're done. Not having to work before and after the event to make your car track/race worthy = epic.

Cool thread! Here's my junk, if you haven't seen it yet.

This is the DIYAutoTune.com hauler (yes Jerry knows he needs a bigger truck).

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/3...rwrap01red.jpg

Yea the 20' covered trailer weighs about 3000 lbs by itself. The V6 S10 Blazer or even a mercedes diesl Sprinter is not going to like towing that. The Dodge Cummins however doesn’t seem to care much whether it is towing 3000 or 6000# total weight It still gets about the same fuel economy and goes up hills without issue. I also have a Banks exhaust brake on it it really saves using the brakes hard going down hills.

Bob

This. Not having to unpack in the mornings is nice, but not having to pack up in the evenings is even nicer. I pull the car onto the trailer, hook up the straps, throw a few things back in the truck, and I'm gone.

Seriously considering buying that Chevy truck for 3k now...
I can't get over how much I would hate driving that thing though.

samnavy, my friend has a 98-00 (somewhere around there) 4Runner that is well kept and I know he got it for way less than 15k (I honestly can't see him spending anything above 6k on any kind of car). After some google searches though I see that the 3.4 out of the earlier 4Runners is weak as fuck. :vash:
GOD DAMMIT DONT WANT BIG CAR WAT DO

Also +1 for not having to worry about your shit breaking, and unpacking/packing your shit at the track. I intend to keep my car legal enough to keep it registered so I can actually enjoy it a couple times a week.

I have swapped out broken transmissions twice at pretty remote locations and in parking lots hundreds of miles from home. after driving my car to a track.

Bob

I could do it in a parking lot as well if I had to, but I would much rather do that at home. Did you have a spare transmission with you or did you have to source it? How long did the whoel thing take? There is a lot of crap that I could get done to get my car home if I had to, but I would prefer to be able to work on it at home with all the right tools and parts on my own schedule. If I have the ability to trailer it, then I always do.

I broke a main bolt and split two caps in my motor at the track back in March. No way you're repairing that in a parking lot anywhere.

Man, after hanging around a friend's local company rig at the Mitty, I totally want a semi-truck setup. Of course that's assuming your hauling 2+ cars. It's quite nice to haul 3 race-cars, a Jeep to drive around the track, all the food, a big SS grill, tables, and chairs to feed 10-15 people for the weekend, a place to sleep 3, and then stuff another racecar in it to take back home. It was quite impressive to say the least.


I have a feeling I'll need to pony up and find a truck this time next year. Thankfully I live in the land of be-loved pick-ups and I can have a reliable tow truck for ~$3k

I definitely see the perks, I was just curious. If you already have a tow vehicle, then it seems like an obvious decision. I can just see how things can get out of hand quickly when modifying a car for track duty, and adding another vehicle on top of that is a pretty big commitment.