Smallest Tow Vehicle....

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Ahhhh.... so, we keep going back and forth.  Should we buy a pup and tow with our van (2007 Honda Odyssey), purchase a used class C...or purchase a used truck and TT (BOTH of which, we would only use for camping).  With the class C, I like the idea of having access to the camper when driving.  With the TT, I like the idea of having the tow vehicle to make runs to the market while camping.

 

So, my question is:  if we decided to buy an old/used truck to tow a TT, any recommendations?  We wouldn't need one with all the bells and whistles, just safe enough to tow and something that would fit two adults and two children (with car seats).

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

Oh... also, any opinions on if a truck with a lot of miles is okay or a really bad idea...?

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I like the idea of towing with a Yukon or Suburban. Gives you lots of room inside while traveling. They usually have the same engines and tranny as a pick up truck.

I went to the RV show a while back and they had some nice hybrids that are lighter and easier to tow then a bigger TT. Maybe your Honda could tow a small hybrid.

I know there are some on this board that have hybrids and can give more and better advice on them.

Old trucks are ok to buy just do some research on the truck your looking for. It seems like every truck has its quirks. Ex. We had a 2002 suburban and about 60,000-70,000 miles the fuel pump went out. The same thing happened to our 2004 Yukon XL, at about the same mileage. My mechanic told me that it was a common thing in these vehicles and years. Also our Yukons transmission started shifting funny and we had the the tranny rebuilt around 100,000. We didn't have to have it rebuilt but it was only going to cost about $200 more to rebuild it compared to fixing just the shifting problem. Again mechanic said not unusual and that he would rather buy one with over 100,000 because if it makes it to that mileage the transmission is probably solid.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Thanks Ray! :)

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

I will never again do a motorhome without a dinghy. We travel because we want to tour the destination, and touring small towns in a Moho is a pain, and so is breaking camp every time you want to go anywhere. I use my truck quite a bit, so choosing a TT was easy for us. Having any kind of motor vehicle that you only use a few times a year is not ideal: sitting idle for months and the being pressed into hard service is a recipe for problems. If the van is a daily driver I'd say go with the pup (or maybe consider a hi-lo type hard wall camper).

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

I will never again do a motorhome without a dinghy. We travel because we want to tour the destination, and touring small towns in a Moho is a pain, and so is breaking camp every time you want to go anywhere.  

 

That's our hiccup with a class C... but with two little ones, the pro for the class C, is access to the camper while driving so... this is why we keep going back and forth.  As of yet, when we camp, we don't leave the campsite and explore the area... but, then I keep thinking "what if want to?"...that WOULD BE a hassle with a class C.

 

See... lots of back and forth and our house 

[arthuruscg 34]

Class C with a Honda Fit

 

They will tightly fit a family of 4 and get great MPG for commuting.