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I rent a 3/4 ton truck from Enterprise. Always the newest model year, though the trim level does vary. Always diesel. I've driven off a couple times and found only delivery miles on the meter. I pick it up Friday morning and drop it off Monday. Only ever put fuel in. Needless to say, it tows the Miata on an open U-Haul trailer like it's not even there.
I'll admit it's not cheap. However: I do zero maintenance, pay no extra insurance, and I don't have to park the thing for the time I'm not using it (I live in downtown San Jose). Plus it's over-kill for what I ask of it, which makes the drive home after a long weekend blissfully stress-free. I've thought about replacing my '72 GMC 3/4 ton beater with something that could be my tow rig, but around here any substantial truck that's not new or nearly-new is completely clapped out and anything nearly-new is expensive. If I were towing more than one weekend a month for the six or seven months I go out, I'd re-do the "math", but this just seems like the right solution for me.
For the time being, I use a Uhaul trailer even though its a giant pain to load my car onto with the barge board setup that the car has. I tow with my 2018 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L / 6spd. Not towing, I typically average between 18-21mpg in it at 70 depending on my city/hwy mix. Towing it's pretty much religiously 13-15mpg depending how much of a speed demon I'm feeling like.
One of the challenges with renting is ensuring that the equipment you need is actually available when you need it. U-haul doesn't keep a lot of those trailers around and if they don't get returned when they're supposed to you may show up at the U-haul center and be SOL when they don't have one for you. Friend of mine wound up buying his open trailer one Friday afternoon before a track weekend when this happened.
Also note that while Enterprise Commercial will rent you a 3/4 ton pickup and allow you to tow with it, they are the only rental company I know of who does that. Hertz, Avis, even Enterprise Consumer all have explicit "no towing" policies in their rental agreements.
Location: Detroit (the part with no rules or laws)
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United and Herc rentals. Sunbelt, depending on where you are.
Those are the national chains that i know of. There are a TON of commercial rental places that will give you a 3/4 ton truck around by me. Though, a lot of those companies only deal with other businesses.
One of the challenges with renting is ensuring that the equipment you need is actually available when you need it. U-haul doesn't keep a lot of those trailers around and if they don't get returned when they're supposed to you may show up at the U-haul center and be SOL when they don't have one for you. Friend of mine wound up buying his open trailer one Friday afternoon before a track weekend when this happened.
Also note that while Enterprise Commercial will rent you a 3/4 ton pickup and allow you to tow with it, they are the only rental company I know of who does that. Hertz, Avis, even Enterprise Consumer all have explicit "no towing" policies in their rental agreements.
--Ian
Enterprise has, knock on wood, never let me down with the rental being available. At this point the team there know me and will ask about how the events are going, etc. Last year, I parked the rig at T-hill and thought "damn, the truck seems unusually large this time around". It was only then that I noticed they'd put me in a 350 (I think that one was long bed + quad cab). I feel pretty confident they'll have something for me.
U-Haul will actually let you tow with their pickups, they've told me. If you want to rent both a trailer and a pickup, you have to do it on two separate agreements, that's the only gotcha. I've thankfully never had to do that.
What I didn't mention is that instead of buying a truck, this winter I went and bought a 20' enclosed trailer. I got sick of the U-Haul trailer crapshoot, plus the trailer quality crapshoot, plus scraping the hell out of my frame rails if I was even 1/2" off center when loading the car. Plus my dog can now join me for the track weekend; that's the real reason. Absolutely 100% for my dog...
The other thing I recently figured out is that a 12v QuickJack can very easily live in the trailer when I don't need it in my garage, and it'd be prefect for changing tires, checking things, etc in the paddock
For the time being, I use a Uhaul trailer even though its a giant pain to load my car onto with the barge board setup that the car has. I tow with my 2018 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L / 6spd. Not towing, I typically average between 18-21mpg in it at 70 depending on my city/hwy mix. Towing it's pretty much religiously 13-15mpg depending how much of a speed demon I'm feeling like.
so... this was an old photo...
does anyone also have issues with modifying their tow rigs? I swear a drug addition would be cheaper at this point...
I just added the camper mounts, and some other parts related to the load. And a bigger fuel tank. Otherwise, it does everything I need it to stone stock.
It's great in everything except power. It really could use another 100hp. Other than that the brakes are great, suspension automatically adjusts to the weight, seats are comfy and heated, it's quiet. I was towing today about 100 miles actually and really had no complaints just cruising in 4th gear on cruise control and was enjoying it. The wheel base is a little bit short so it does start to wander around if you aren't on top of it.
It's great in everything except power. It really could use another 100hp. Other than that the brakes are great, suspension automatically adjusts to the weight, seats are comfy and heated, it's quiet. I was towing today about 100 miles actually and really had no complaints just cruising in 4th gear on cruise control and was enjoying it. The wheel base is a little bit short so it does start to wander around if you aren't on top of it.
Good to know. These are definitely on my short list. Along with Tahoes and V8 4runners
Good to know. These are definitely on my short list. Along with Tahoes and V8 4runners
A Tahoe or similar would definitely tow better and do most SUV things better but the Toyotas are great for the off-roading aspect. If you take a Tahoe to Moab you're going to have a bad time. The V8 4runners are awesome same with GX470, but IMO at that point just get a Land Cruiser. Also wildcard option is 80 series Land Cruiser with aftermarket turbo kit, I've often thought I should have done that instead but only briefly.
I'm supposed to be in Moab right now except for this virus situation.
A Tahoe or similar would definitely tow better and do most SUV things better but the Toyotas are great for the off-roading aspect. If you take a Tahoe to Moab you're going to have a bad time. The V8 4runners are awesome same with GX470, but IMO at that point just get a Land Cruiser. Also wildcard option is 80 series Land Cruiser with aftermarket turbo kit, I've often thought I should have done that instead but only briefly.
The V8 4Runner seems to be less common, so I just started searching for GX470s exclusively (I wanted V8 and the 3rd row). I haven't towed with my '03 GX470 yet, but it is being updated for that purpose. I blame this thread for some of my reasoning for the purchase of the GX, but I'm really liking it. My '03 is down a little HP from the newer years, but I'm not too worried about that.
Yeah and especially around here 4runners demand a premium. The GXs are awesome, I was on the fence but went for LX for more space. The GX is about 800lbs lighter which helps too. I searched only for 06/07 models for the VVT V8, I knew it was going to be the biggest weakness so I just went for the most HP version they made. I also considered a 200 series or LX570, but they are too big IMO even my 100 is tight on a lot of 4x4 trails around here. And 200s are ugly. 200s tow awesome though.
I don't need the 3rd row and if I ended up with something that had one Id just take it ou . What i want most is longevity,towing capacity, and storage behind the rear seats....and for it not to be a truck
I have a vvti V8 4Runner, "power" isn't something it's lacking. Probably helped by how much lighter it is than the LX. Being a later Sport, it also has the bigass brakes that require 17" wheels.
Granted, due to the lighter weight, i don't think i'd want to max out its tow rating, but it doesn't give a single **** about pulling a Miata. There is something to be said for the extreme comfort of an LX470 though. Dad has one and it's downright incredible how calming and relaxing it is to drive.
What a 100/120 series 2uz/A750 combo gives up in pulling power and size, it makes up for in comfort, capability offroad, and absolutely absurd reliability.
I also have two 80 series (FZJ80 and HDJ81) and honestly power-wise, size-wise, weight-wise, they'll pull a Miata just fine. Brakes are not on the same level as the 100/120 series though, so that would be really be my only concern.
This weekend I traded in my Crosstrek for a heavily equipped 2011 Tahoe Ltz.
Plans for it include:
rear airbags
Larger trans cooler
I've never owned my own vehicle capable of towing, so I need to do research on how to use the brake controller and stuff like that. Im excited to save some money on getting the Miata to the track. ANy input would be great
03-26-2020, 09:49 PM
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There is something to be said for the extreme comfort of an LX470 though. Dad has one and it's downright incredible how calming and relaxing it is to drive.
