Tow vehicle question, seeking advice

Thats very true!

 

which years should I avoid?

 

This is very true! I’ve hauled wood, mulch, and even dirt in the explorer. A nice truck would’ve made things much easier. I think this alone is justification enough lol.

 

yea wife and 3 kids actually.

 

I

Ive considered this option a lot, but I’d hate to leave the wife cramped in a hotel (or Air bnb) with the kids all day. Also the extra costs. Ill talk with her more about this though and see what she thinks.

 

Really traveling as a family... you should look into a motorhome. Why? First and foremost... private bathroom. Many wives have approved.
Private kitchen... and many passengers to bring you cold (or hot) drinks)
Easy to pack and park after a weekend.
Its a hotel on wheels. With 3 kids they can spread out and watch TV or play video games while Pops is driving.

 

Sounds like you dont need anything massive or a huge car payment. Go get a properly repaired salvage title pickup in whatever flavor floats your boat

Mine is a 2013 Ram 1500. Paid $12k for it with like 10-11k mi on it. Would have been around $28k if not for the salvage title. I've towed from Texas, to Wisconsin, to Illinois, down to New Orleans and back and much more. Never skipped a beat and only added some rear air bags (the manual version that sits inside the rear coils)

If resale value is important, then this isn't the route for you. If you want something to do the job at a great price, and you plan to drive it until it's ready for the scrap yard...then this is a great option.

 

Not that I have the perfect solution, but we've gone the route of an SUV and enclosed trailer. Honda pilot for the wife's daily driver, but can tow 4500 pounds (newer ones are 5000 I think). We tow a 6x12 and have a 10x10 canopy to keep out of the elements. Frankly, a couple tracks we go to have garages that we usually rent out. Then we stay at a hotel at night. Been doing this with myself, wife, and a kid under 2. Going to be bringing our second kid now who's only 6 months.

Works pretty well! That said, we are planning on doing the motor home or similar in the future to have more amenities at the track. Far cry from my early days of driving up my grandpa's old truck myself and sleeping in the front seat...

Also, wanted to add that I use the 6x12 for all those household projects mentioned above. Transporting a fridge, buying 4x8 sheets of plywood, lumber, etc. Works awesome and has more footprint than any truck bed will.

The downside to using the Pilot as the tow vehicle is I expect it will eventually wear out the transmission, and the mileage is pretty crummy with it (9-10mpg). That said, I have about 150k on mine with maybe 10k miles pulling the trailer.

 

2004-2013
2003 and older are a 2 valve design

 

This transition of moving up is familiar to most of us: cargo trailer vs TH vs RV. Usually, people go from open trailer to enclosed. Then the TH or RV enter as considerations. Looks like you're going all in. The reasons you give have merit. Perhaps you just didn't mention it but I'm not reading that your family spends a lot of time at the track or on the road with multiple overnights. That could make a big-ticket purchase a poor choice if it goes unused or under-utilized.

Someone else already touched on it: that maybe you should try the hotel stay option. Depending on how many TDs and race events you attend, the hotel may seem expensive in the short run but cheaper than an unused under-utilized TH.

Before committing to two large purchases, a more important factor to consider is how enthusiastically the family takes to life on the road, at the track, in basically the "same room", for 2-3 days. The "day trips" will seem easy and even fun, being a short visit and all; the routine for everyone doesn't really need to change.

I hear that THs and RVs involve more maintenance and travel prep. RV parking and higher toll fees come with the purchase too.

That being said, what @TurboBlew wrote does make a 'rolling home' all the more appealing (TH or motorhome) for being able to spend time with the family while you ride motorcycles.

 

If the Explorer is paid off, keep it. Use it for the family around towner.

For towing/track camping, get the F150. That way you have a two pronged approach to transportation. If one is in the shoppe....you're not screwed to go the grocery store.

The F150's towing will be better than anything else you listed as an option with the wind brick behind it. I can tow my 14 foot trailer, or my 35 foot toy hauler behind my F350
diesel dually....and I get the same fuel mileage regardless....so it's the wind that matters more than the weight based on my experience.

You can get your race bike and the kids bicycles, scooters, skateboards and other stuff in the toy hauler, and haul the gas cans, generator, stands and other stuff in the back of your truck that either will be better not creating fumes in your camper. The kids will enjoy the bicycles..because if the Southern tracks where you're racing are anything like the ones around me in the Mid Atlantic and Ohio areas, there's a herd of kids out and about having a blast terrorizing the paddock from dusk til dawn. The Popsicle Posse has a blast.

You'll appreciate the Air Conditioning between practices and races, too. Make sure you have a generator that has a 30amp connection for the camper and enough capacity to power that and a set of warmers, or get a smaller generator just for warmers if/when you start running warmers.

The hauler will also be a great family vacation platform, too. Tons of things to do in camp grounds....the kids love it. Water parks, activities galore.

And you mentioned you were in Law Enforcement....Thank you!

 

I say keep the explorer and wait until this used market cools off, this isnt the time to purchase a vehicle, especially financing one. Usually nov/dec prices begin to fall.

 

https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/rvs/d/jacksonville-1992-fleetwood-bounder-36/7390659901.html

I dont know your location but just picked this one out as an example. It doesnt have any slides and over all condition looks to be a 4-6 out of 10. Roof and tires look to be ok from the pics. Mileage & generator hours appropriate.
As for asking price... its about $5-6,000 from where Id want to be. These are the type of rigs that get overlooked by the actual buying market because they want "slides" and "jacks" and all kinds of expensive amenities.
Its basically a straight gas truck chassis when it comes to maintenance. Capable of towing 95% of trackday/racers needs. If you need more than a 5,000 lb trailer then a gas 1/4 ton truck is not going to work anyways.
Something like this you can gas up, load up, and get to your destination at a 60mph avg speed vs 75-80 in a truck/trailer. But you wont have to stop for restroom or to stretch your legs. Set the cruise and go. Bonus as it has a generator (which is a track necessity) and AC.
Take a peek at any of the trailer threads here... they always result in some fella taking a cargo trailer trying to turn it into a living area.

 

From the weight of your toyhauler, the Durango would do just fine, with its 7500lbs for the R/T or 6200lbs for the V6.

Very spacious and city friendly, since it's narrow in comparisson to the big pick-ups.
Traded my F250 for this parcticular reason.

 

I highly suggest you consider a Chevy Silverado over a F150, especially in the price range you are considering. Basically all versions of the 5.4 engine are crap. They have timing chain/cam phazer issues on the 04 and up engines and issues with spark plugs breaking off in the heads on the earlier engines.
The 5.3 in the Silverado is a way better engine over time and gets better MPG over the road, at least when not towing. Look for a 04-07 crew cab with the 5.3 engine.
Dodge Ram hemis are also a decent option. The 5.7 tows well and is pretty bullet proof. Not sure where you live, but rust will be an issue with any of these 15 year old trucks if you're not in the south or west.
If you are just a Ford guy and want a F150, if you can afford to bump up to a 5.0 Ford, it's a far better engine.

 

Wife and two kids? Get the truck, becuse the reality is after a few trips, if your wife is going to buy into it completely, you will be upgrading the toyhauler sooner than you expect.

 

I've been in tjnyzf's rig. It is super nice and he really did his homework when choosing his tow ring and hitch setup. Something to think about. You don't want to be white-knuckling the whole drive to the track because you have a marginal towing setup. Not a great way to start your race weekend.

Back in 2013 I bought a new F150 Supercrew thinking I would be buying a toyhauler, but my wife and I eventually went for a used 30' motorhome instead. I just towed a little trailer with the bikes on it. It's been very nice when we were at the track and we've done a bunch of camping trips besides that with it. We're fortunate that it only had 50,000 miles on it and the previous owners sold it with errythang we needed for it for $15,000. We really didn't need to buy anything but I did rip out the carpeting and put down laminate flooring because they had a dog and my wife has allergies. It's worked out fairly well for us. I'd say a drawback can be that we can't just jump in a car and go into town if we need to. I would occasionally put my wife's Harley on the trailer if she wanted, but that's weather dependent and definitely not a way to move the family around.

 

Do you know if the crew cab Chevy has the same size interior as the F150

 

It does. The Ram in those years is a 4 door extended cab and is slightly smaller than the other two.
I can't recommend the Chevy over the Ford in that era enough. Personally, I think the Chevy is a nicer truck to drive as well. My Dad was a lifelong Ford mechanic, so my opinion isn't biased but based on experience.

 

I was in the same dilemna. TH vs RV vs upgrade tow vehicle etc...My '02 Excursion is great, but to be pulling a TH all over the place with 235,000 miles just wouldn't give me the peace of mind i would want. So i considered TH + upgraded tow vehicle and it just didn't make sense. I've only put about 2000 miles on my Excursion since March, so i don't drive it much...pretty much my clean, good looking, grocery getter. I drive a 17 yr old Honda pilot for my beater/commuter of 80-100 miles a day.

The best purchase i ever made being in this hobby for 28 yrs, is the RV.

I pull a 16' enclosed. So convenient to pull over when you want.....take a break....make some coffee....make some food....etc.

I know the market is a bit crazy, but i found an '05 Winnebago Aspect 26 for $22k last Nov. 27k miles, 1 owner, etc.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2006-Winnebago-ASPECT-26A-5015649947