Truck for 26' 2500lb sailboat?

[TBR]

yeah, but it still seems a bit high.  

[Laconian]

We drove 40 minutes to Duvall to check it out. One side of the metal that bolts on the floor and connects to the rails of the drivers' seat was completely broken, making the seat wobbly (and probably very unsafe!) A few scratches here and there, nothing really substantial though. We were impressed by the bed length. The engine didn't seem to have much grunt though, and it was a LOUD son of a gun, with hissing SFX coming in every so often when it was given some gas (apparently that's fuel being squirted directly into the intake.) I'm always wary of engines that have to resort to tricks like that in order to stay competitive -- it seems similar to keeping an obsolete powerplant on life support. The front wheel hubs needed to be locked by hand too, which my dad was pretty unimpressed with. According to him all the Silverados he tested didn't require that.

The search goes on... We're going to focus more on GM trucks, since he seems to like those more.

[TBR]

Manual locking hubs is considered a good thing by some people, my dad special ordered his truck just to get them. But, auto hubs were available on F-150s of that era IIRC.

[Laconian]

Manual locking hubs is considered a good thing by some people, my dad special ordered his truck just to get them. But, auto hubs were available on F-150s of that era IIRC.

What advantages do manual hubs have? This might be good to know.

[crv16]

Manual locking hubs is considered a good thing by some people, my dad special ordered his truck just to get them. But, auto hubs were available on F-150s of that era IIRC.

What advantages do manual hubs have? This might be good to know.

Automatic locking hubs have much more mechanical complexity, therefore more likely to break.  Manual locking hubs are generally dead nuts reliable.

[TBR]

Manual locking hubs is considered a good thing by some people, my dad special ordered his truck just to get them. But, auto hubs were available on F-150s of that era IIRC.

What advantages do manual hubs have? This might be good to know.

Automatic locking hubs have much more mechanical complexity, therefore more likely to break.  Manual locking hubs are generally dead nuts reliable.

Exactly, they are more reliable and cheaper to fix.  

[J86]

Haven't read all the replies, but as someone who owns and regularly tows boats (one a 27 footer, just your size), best bet would be a 6 cylinder F series or Chevy version.  Cheap to buy, cheap to own, the 6 mileage is much better than the 8s and you will not need the power.  MAKE SURE YOU GET 4WD.  That's the key right there.  You can get up absolutely anything like that.  Another route might be sell your tribute and get an SUV that can do it all?  That's the route we ended up taking.  Our tow vehicle is a '99 ML320.  6 cylinder, low range, never gotten stuck on anything and its pretty comfortable for the long highway tows to far off regattas.  And you can get them used pretty damn cheap.  But if you're going the pickup route, I suggest the F series or 1500 variants.

[TBR]

Haven't read all the replies, but as someone who owns and regularly tows boats (one a 27 footer, just your size), best bet would be a 6 cylinder F series or Chevy version.  Cheap to buy, cheap to own, the 6 mileage is much better than the 8s and you will not need the power.  MAKE SURE YOU GET 4WD.  That's the key right there.  You can get up absolutely anything like that.  Another route might be sell your tribute and get an SUV that can do it all?  That's the route we ended up taking.  Our tow vehicle is a '99 ML320.  6 cylinder, low range, never gotten stuck on anything and its pretty comfortable for the long highway tows to far off regattas.  And you can get them used pretty damn cheap.  But if you're going the pickup route, I suggest the F series or 1500 variants.

No it isn't, a I6 4wd Ford is rated 14/18 and a 302 V8 4wd model is rated 13/17, both with 4-spd automatics (a transmission that the V8 is more likely to have, the I6s will likely have either a 4-spd manual or 3-spd auto, both of which get worse gas mileage). That is hardly enough to matter, especially for an occassional use vehicle, and the much, much superior performance of the V8 would be helpful on the boat ramp.

[J86]

Haven't read all the replies, but as someone who owns and regularly tows boats (one a 27 footer, just your size), best bet would be a 6 cylinder F series or Chevy version.? Cheap to buy, cheap to own, the 6 mileage is much better than the 8s and you will not need the power.? MAKE SURE YOU GET 4WD.? That's the key right there.? You can get up absolutely anything like that.? Another route might be sell your tribute and get an SUV that can do it all?? That's the route we ended up taking.? Our tow vehicle is a '99 ML320.? 6 cylinder, low range, never gotten stuck on anything and its pretty comfortable for the long highway tows to far off regattas.? And you can get them used pretty damn cheap.? But if you're going the pickup route, I suggest the F series or 1500 variants.

No it isn't, a I6 4wd Ford is rated 14/18 and a 302 V8 4wd model is rated 13/17, both with 4-spd automatics (a transmission that the V8 is more likely to have, the I6s will likely have either a 4-spd manual or 3-spd auto, both of which get worse gas mileage). That is hardly enough to matter, especially for an occassional use vehicle, and the much, much superior performance of the V8 would be helpful on the boat ramp.

Never been underpowered on the boat ramp with the 6, and I tow alot.  

But hey if you want the 8, knock yourself out.  I just don't feel its necessary.  More fun though  

[Tom]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.  If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0, 5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).  The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.  I would recommend the straight 6.

[footoflead]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.  If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0,5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).  The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.  I would recommend the straight 6.

I do think you meant the 5.7 unless your talking ford( ) then i wouldnt know

[Raghavan]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.  If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0,5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).  The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.  I would recommend the straight 6.

I do think you meant the 5.7 unless your talking ford( ) then i wouldnt know

he is tgalking ford.  

[footoflead]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.? If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0,5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).? The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.? I would recommend the straight 6.

I do think you meant the 5.7 unless your talking ford( ) then i wouldnt know

he is tgalking ford.

Well we all know that ford stands for Drive Returns On Foot (backwards of course) :D  

[Raghavan]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.? If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0,5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).? The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.? I would recommend the straight 6.

I do think you meant the 5.7 unless your talking ford( ) then i wouldnt know

he is tgalking ford.

Well we all know that ford stands for Drive Returns On Foot (backwards of course) :D

   

[Tom]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.? If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0,5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).? The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.? I would recommend the straight 6.

I do think you meant the 5.7 unless your talking ford( ) then i wouldnt know

he is tgalking ford.

Well we all know that ford stands for Drive Returns On Foot (backwards of course) :D

Ford truck of this day were reliable, durable, and did not break down often.  I'm kind of sick of the Ford jokes.  They only apply to certain cars imo.

[footoflead]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.? If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0,5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).? The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.? I would recommend the straight 6.

I do think you meant the 5.7 unless your talking ford( ) then i wouldnt know

he is tgalking ford.

Well we all know that ford stands for Drive Returns On Foot (backwards of course) :D

Ford truck of this day were reliable, durable, and did not break down often.  I'm kind of sick of the Ford jokes.  They only apply to certain cars imo.

Our 92 wasnt bad, if you dont count the constant oil pressure problems that we had right after we bought it (and it wasnt cause of low oil)

[TBR]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.  If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0, 5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).  The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.  I would recommend the straight 6.

Louder and rougher? Have you heard either one?  And, the 5.0 has 40-60 more hp and 5-10 more lb ft. It is just as durable as the I6 (both are great in that aspect) and shouldn't be much more expensive. There is NO reason to get the I6.

[Tom]

Wait, the 300 I6 is a great tow vehicle due to its torque at low rpm and is one of the most reliable engines ever built.  If you go with an 8 cylinder (1996 or earlier), you get to choose from 5.0, 5.8, and the huge 460 (7.3L I think).  The most common by far is the 5.0, which is not only louder and rougher, but is only .1L bigger than the 4.9 I6 and makes just a little more HP.  I would recommend the straight 6.

Louder and rougher? Have you heard either one?  And, the 5.0 has 40-60 more hp and 5-10 more lb ft. It is just as durable as the I6 (both are great in that aspect) and shouldn't be much more expensive. There is NO reason to get the I6.

Yes there is, it will last longer.  It may have slightly more power, but consider the range it is available at.  Louder and rougher in my experience.  They like to run loud when warming up.

[TBR]

I will give you that, but it is a small price to pay for the extra power. And, upgradeability for that matter, not much of an aftermarket for the 300.

[J86]

I will give you that, but it is a small price to pay for the extra power. And, upgradeability for that matter, not much of an aftermarket for the 300.

If the initial cost is cheaper, the extra power really isnt needed, and the fuel economy, however marginal, is better, why get the 8?

[TBR]

Have you driven the I6? It has 140hp and is asked to haul almost 4500 lbs, the extra power is definitely needed.

[Tom]

I see you neglected to post the torque number, but posted the lower and less important hp number.  It tows well and confidently, just not fast.  Almost diesel-like.

[TBR]

I posted it earlier, the 5.0 has 5-10 more lb ft.  

[J86]

Wow my Honda has only ten less horsepower and its slow as shit!  I bet ive got alot less torque too though.  Hmm I guess an easy way to find out is test drive the truck, hitch it to the boat and drive downa  ramp.  Thats waht we did the salesman was shocked!!!  

[Laconian]

Thanks for the additional feedback, I'm passing all of it to my father to help him in his consideration.

We would like to avoid the purchase of an eight cylinder if possible. My dad does not drive for fun, so the extra two pots would be wasted if their sole benefit would be more go-fast-now. He's the type of guy that drives more conservatively than the EPA tests.

Honestly, I don't see the manual hubs as being such a drawback, but he seemed to think so. Maybe if he's aware of the maintenance issues of auto hubs he might not be so down on it.

[TBR]

1 mpg isn't going to make a difference for an occassional use vehicle. Plus, the person I know that has a 300 equipped truck gets much worse gas mileage than the EPA numbers suggest (8-10mpg), while my brothers 302 equipped truck gets 15 mpg.

[Tom]

1 mpg isn't going to make a difference for an occassional use vehicle. Plus, the person I know that has a 300 equipped truck gets much worse gas mileage than the EPA numbers suggest (8-10mpg), while my brothers 302 equipped truck gets 15 mpg.

C'mon, you're using 1 example.

[TBR]

yeah, the examples I have. Even the best mpg I have heard for the 300 (a 2wd regular cab 5-spd) isn't any better than the mileage my brother's truck gets.

[Tom]

yeah, the examples I have. Even the best mpg I have heard for the 300 (a 2wd regular cab 5-spd) isn't any better than the mileage my brother's truck gets.

You just said 2 posts ago that small differences in mpg are insignificant.

[TBR]

it is, I am just saying that it really isn't there anyway.