Ready to claw my own eyes out over finding a tow rig!!! (1 Viewer)

[TucsonAZ]

I'm having a really, really tough time finding something to fit my needs and I'm hoping for some help from you all. I was once upon a time a HUGE Cruiser nut and owned 11 of them ranging in age from the 60s to the 2000s with my favorites being my FZJs. Those days are long gone and now I drive an Accord and an old Ford pickup for the occasional hardware store run. I'm in need of a tow rig though for a DIY camper build (about 4,000 pounds) and I'm struggling to find something to fit my needs. Here are my current conclusions:

Toyota Sequoia (2wd fabric interior would be great) is ideal but few are for sale locally and most have been ahhhhhh, defaced with 22" rims and stupid modifications. The Sequoia however seems the exceptional value often overlooked (do you know why) in the Toyota family.

Tundra, Tacoma, Land Cruiser, 4Runner are all a poor value for my needs and hold their resale too well for me to see them as viable.

Surburban and Tahoe are fine but normally high miles, silly rims, beat up and have a host of issues. Basically finding a well maintained one is a struggle and it's a car people often "flip" locally so while I'm not ruling it out I'm just not seeing many.

Excursion doesn't seem to be a good value.

Expedition seems to be the number one target for DUBs, tint, and a system locally. I would go for one but haven't seen anything family owned well cared for ones for sale.

Explorer (and variants) seems fine, cheap, would do the job and I don't mind some of the Ford issues other than the tranny troubles. They all just seemed either beat to death or in the same price range as the Sequoia.

Trailblazer, Envoy, Ascender, Rainier, ect are near ideal, I love the 3rd row seating option, they're cheap, have an i6 which I love but they seem to have some dependability issues and trans troubles much in line with the Explorer.

Jeep, hahahaha

Mercedes M class is really nice and would fit the bill well but I'm scared of repair costs and lack of DIY for me.

BMW Pretty much the same concerns of the M class.

Trooper is great but getting old and tough to find in even running condition much less nice condition.

Dodge Durango is a cheap option but I have never heard good things about them.

Nissan Pathfinder and Armada would work but I'm not even a little touch of a Nissan fan.

Lexus RX would be high on the list but I'm getting close on the towing capacity.

Full sized van is for sure an option in any variation be it cargo or conversion I just haven't found a deal I liked on one.


Can any of you either offer insight into years to think about/shoot for, things to seriously avoid, vehicles I'm missing or not thinking off? I'm pretty much looking for dependable, able to tow my trailer and in the $5,000 range.

I highly trust this community so value your opinions a lot, thank you in advance for any thoughts or input.

 

[RAYJON]

my favorite is a 3/4 ton suburban, currently have a 2009 with a 6.0/6l90e. tows great even over the 10k factory rating(receiver hitch is the limiter/they make upgraded ones) gets 15 average mpg 17 hwy, and you can load the crap out of it for road trips. Your 5k price sticker makes it rough, look at socal cragislist they come up, if you get an older one with the 4l80e they aren't bad just don't get as good of mileage around town. 6.0 Ls motors are hard to kill and seem to run forever. the half tons get 1-2 mpg better but have issues with DOD and the drivetrain isn't as strong. Look they are out there, watch the gov liquidaton, and public surplus.com since these are auction sites beware alot of stuff is reposted for non payment. I go half of blue book wholesale figuring I will have to put a 1k into it once I get it. basicly you are doing what the used car dealers do buy cheep put as little as possible $$ wise. good luck, Ohh btw I only paid 7k for the 2009 last year, 6500 for the truck and 500 for a transfer case(it had a bad bearing they never changed the fluid. typical goverment employees...) . had 130k miles on it. good luck...

 

[Jeremy9A]

I was in the same situation a little while ago.

GM's are cheap, plentiful, predictable, and easy to work on/diagnose. But the resale value is non existent.

I looked for Tundras (1st and 2nd gen), Sequoias, LX470s

I finally found my Tundra online at the Toyota dealer right by my house (was searching a 300 mile radius). 09 Crewmax 4.7 4wd with 170K for 12K Couldn't be happier.

I wouldn't rule out a high mileage Toyota that has been taken care of

 

[fjdemon]

I have a 1989 quad cab long bed turbo charged F350. Single rear wheel axle, manual 5 speed, 7.3L Diesel.

Best all around vehicle I have ever owned. The long bed makes towing a breeze. It has a ton of power. With the quad cab it's like an SUV. It has cruise control, power windows in the front, cold a/c, and is a tank.

It may not be what you are looking for, but I would consider it.

The 7.3 IDI is a bullet proof engine and relatively easy to work on.

Best part is you can find these older trucks for a good price and then you can use them as needed without feeling bad about it.

I would bet you can find a cherry one for around $10k. I bought mine from a mud member and just for preventative maintenance rebuilt oil cooler, changed fuel injectors, injector pump, lift pump, etc. She's go 160k miles and should be good for a lifetime now.

 

[onemanarmy]

so 4wd is not needed or wanted? 2wd anything is cheap. How many seats do you need?

there is no reason you should not be able to find a 2001-2006 2wd tahoe/suburban/1500 truck with <150k miles to suit your needs.

Or a 2004-2008 2wd F150 5.4 work truck model (bare bones)

The 2002-2006? trailbalzer/envoy regularly do 200k miles, and the I6 is a good engine.

yes, for your budget you'll be looking at 'higher' miles, but that just means you need to find something with good service history.

for your price range, diesel is out of the question. Buy in is higher, and maintenance is quite a bit more, and not needed for 4k pounds.