YAWCFMT: Yet Another "What Car For Me?" Thread

[El Chupacabra]

Since no one mentioned it, note that there is a 3/4-ton version of the Suburban / Yukon XL. Much stronger drivetrain vs. the 1/2-ton,but you'll spend more in gas.

But if you're really only towing 4000 pounds, any 1/2 ton truck or SUV will be fine.

[mcsquared]

For your once of twice a year solo car camping needs you probably need two cars one for winter and one for summer. And you should also keep your truck for the hauling of a single piece of lumber once every 6 months. Just saying.

A Sequoia will probably fit the bill. I have an 06 Tundra 4 door and it is basically the same thing but the Sequoia is shorter and more soccer mom capable.

[char]

Just buy your wife the awd minivan she really wants and buy an old crew cab F250 to tow your minihouse twice a year.

[adrenalated]

Just buy your wife the awd minivan she really wants and buy an old crew cab F250 to tow your minihouse twice a year.

This.

Or Sequoia.

[Danno]

The gross weight of a Jayco Jay Feather Sport is under 4k.

The Chevy Express AWD 1500 is rated to 6,400 and meets your requirements perfectly.

Yep, as noted, I am being conservative with my tow rating. Everything I have read says that pushing the tow rating is a bad idea, especially in the mountains. I want something that has a higher rating than the Fronty. The Express does look like a winner, but I don't think I could hack that as my daily driver. That makes sense to most people, but probably not to you.

My excursion fits into my garage at home and our garage at work (both 7'clearance). I can sleep in the back and still seat 5 people comfortably. It'll tow whatever. And best of all you can get a nice one with the coveted 7.3L diesel and leather, DVDs, heated seats, and all the other goodies for right in the 15K to 17K neighborhood. Maybe even less if you're willing to hunt for one for a while and travel to get it. I love the hell out of driving it. Yes, the diesel stinks. Is expensive to own and maintain. It isn't real enthusiastic about cold mornings. My wife refuses to drive it unless there really is no other alternative. And I've run into my garage while parking it 3 different times now. But all that crap is worth it. Do it Danno!

Don't you have a basketball team of rugrats? The Excursion is so overkill for me. And I am not playing the leapfrog game of get a bigger trailer so need a bigger tow vehicle so get a bigger tow vehicle and then get a bigger trailer.

How did you arrive at your 6500# number?

If you plan to actually tow 6500#, get something with a rated towing capacity significantly higher than that. Having done a shitload of towing in a lot of different rigs ranging from small and light tags to a 38' gooseneck behind an F350 dually diesel, towing at or near a vehicle's limits sucks especially since you'll be towing in the mountains.

Definitely skip the Tahoe, they were once decent trucks but have basically been glorified soccer mom station wagons since the early 2000s. I can't even tell you how many diffs we toasted back in the early 2000s on one towing a ~5000lb trailer. Maybe they fixed that, but given GM's record for quality in the mid 2000's, I doubt it.

I also am hesitant to recommend the Sequoia or 4-Runner or Landcruiser with the 4.7L V8. I have that engine in my first gen Tundra and it is an excellent drivetrain. Pretty much bulletproof. A Sequoia would certainly tick all your boxes on paper, but.... I wouldn't want to tow 6500# (or even 4000#) regularly with my Tundra. Will it do it? Sure, I borrowed a friend's Tundra and towed home my old Blazer once, that had to have been 4500# for the vehicle and trailer. But I'm glad I was only pulling it across Denver and not up in the hills. I regularly tow 1500-2000# in snowmobiles with mine, and honestly I wouldn't want to tow much heavier than that regularly in the mountains, it just doesn't have the power or braking capacity to do it efficiently. The Sequoia has the same drivetrain and rated towing capacity, but is 1000# heavier - not gonna help it's towing ability any.

I hate to say it, but if you're stuck on SUVs I think you're probably looking at Suburbans, Excursions, Expeditions, Yukons, etc. Honestly no idea which of those is the best. If you're willing to consider staying in a pickup truck, I'd say some patient hunting could net you a newer-gen Tundra 5.7L which should be a much more capable truck.
http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4660295049.html

I am not getting a truck; I'm looking for a new vehicle in large part because of towing, but I'm kinda over the big truck idea for now (I know the Fronty isn't a "big" truck, but fuck it's as long as many full size ones, and all these full size SUVs are actually way shorter). As for how I arrived at the 6500 number, it's a little arbitrary, but it's based on a bunch of research (both forum opinion posts and articles). As MTM noted, the new camper (Jeff and Dana's, if you've seen it before) isn't close to 6500, but I think that's the minimum I want for a comfortable cushion. You really think the 4.7 V8 wouldn't be good to tow it? Everything I've read seems to say otherwise, but I'm reading and you're driving it, so...

While the Tahoe, and assuming the Yukon, 2nd row rear seats do not fold flat they do fold up forward and there is a lot or room back there. That is assuming you don't have the 3rd row seats in, which we don't 99% of the time.

New Tahoe does have fold flat 3rdand 2nd row seats.

So you can sleep back there with the 2nd row folded up?

[Danno]

For your once of twice a year solo car camping needs you probably need two cars one for winter and one for summer. And you should also keep your truck for the hauling of a single piece of lumber once every 6 months. Just saying.

A Sequoia will probably fit the bill. I have an 06 Tundra 4 door and it is basically the same thing but the Sequoia is shorter and more soccer mom capable.

Yeah, the Sequoia is starting to sound like what I want. I am a little worried that its towing capacity won't give me the extra boost that I want, though.

Just buy your wife the awd minivan she really wants and buy an old crew cab F250 to tow your minihouse twice a year.

My wife would slit my throat if I tried to get her to drive a minivan. I think minivans are kinda cool and would be happy to drive one (obv doesn't work for the towing) but she HATES the idea.

[mcsquared]

Yeah, the Sequoia is starting to sound like what I want.

Not sure why I am putting in the effort since you are the poster boy for paralysis by analysis but here you go- http://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/4663185446.html
Could probably talk them down to 15ish and change. Finding low mileage ones is tough. Although, I am not sure if the seats fold flat (probably tumble forward), I know the 3rd row doesn't but you would probably just take those out and use them in your living room anyways.

[Danno]

Not sure why I am putting in the effort since you are the poster boy for paralysis by analysis but here you go- http://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/4663185446.html
Could probably talk them down to 15ish and change. Finding low mileage ones is tough. Although, I am not sure if the seats fold flat, I know the 3rd row doesn't but you would probably just take those out and use them in your living room anyways.

Yeah, that's probably fair. And thanks for the link. I am not 100% sure I'm looking today, as my wife's car blew up a month ago and she's still looking for a replacement (and driving my truck in the meantime). So I can't really look until she's settled (and I know what she's settled on, price and size-wise).

[Cruiser]

Yeah, I've got 4. So there's 6 of us in it most of the time. Fortunately we have 2 other vehicles so we don't put very many miles on it. You're right though, you'd need to get a bigger trailer cuz that little jayco would look kinda silly back behind the big diesel.

Further, I'm not even sure that you could be seen in Boulder in a giant diesel SUV. Would people run up and spray paint the sides in protest like they used to do to ladies who wore fur coats?

[adrenalated]

You really think the 4.7 V8 wouldn't be good to tow it? Everything I've read seems to say otherwise, but I'm reading and you're driving it, so...

It'll do it. It'll be a bit slow up I-70 (you're probably going to be doing 55-60 up the steeper hills) and assuming it has the same brakes as my Tundra (I think they do) plan on throwing some money on upgrades. My truck got noticeably better when I threw down for drilled and slotted front rotors, and I would have gone to a big brake kit if I could have swung the cost. A quick google search shows they upgraded the brakes on both the Tundra and Sequoia for 2006 trucks.

[MontuckyFried]

If going Toyota, the Sequoia can be a great option, as the last time I went SUV shopping, it was the ONLY used Toyota that I could find for a reasonable price. People wanted way too much dang money for used 4Runners and Landcruisers. Not sure why they devalue so much quicker than its siblings, but they seemed pretty nice, albeit vanilla as most Toyotas are anyway.

Have you checked out the Lexus LX470? They're basically a Landcruiser with a different badge, and for whatever reason seemed to devalue far more quickly than its LC counterpart. I found some pretty good prices on them when shopping a few years back.

For what you're looking for, though, I'd probably check out used Suburbans, Tahoes, and Expeditions. GM's 5.3L V8 is an excellent motor that actually gets pretty decent mpg given the vehicle's size, the towing capacity will definitely be good enough for what you want, and you can get them worked on in just about any podunk town with cheap parts if need be.

[Danno]

Yeah, I've got 4. So there's 6 of us in it most of the time. Fortunately we have 2 other vehicles so we don't put very many miles on it. You're right though, you'd need to get a bigger trailer cuz that little jayco would look kinda silly back behind the big diesel.

Further, I'm not even sure that you could be seen in Boulder in a giant diesel SUV. Would people run up and spray paint the sides in protest like they used to do to ladies who wore fur coats?

NO BIGGER CAMPER!!!

And yeah, no Subaru AND a big diesel SUV? Next thing you'll be telling me to stop wearing patagucci clothing.

It'll do it. It'll be a bit slow up I-70 (you're probably going to be doing 55-60 up the steeper hills) and assuming it has the same brakes as my Tundra (I think they do) plan on throwing some money on upgrades. My truck got noticeably better when I threw down for drilled and slotted front rotors, and I would have gone to a big brake kit if I could have swung the cost. A quick google search shows they upgraded the brakes on both the Tundra and Sequoia for 2006 trucks.

I'm ok with 55 up the steep hills, heck I try not to go faster than 65 when towing anyhow. And the camper does have trailer brakes so that helps a lot. Already did a few short stops in the Fronty and felt pretty good about it.

[grskier]

Yeah, that's probably fair. And thanks for the link. I am not 100% sure I'm looking today, as my wife's car blew up a month ago and she's still looking for a replacement (and driving my truck in the meantime). So I can't really look until she's settled (and I know what she's settled on, price and size-wise).

buy that sequoia now.. gives more time for the missus to decide on ride.

[HD333]

So you can sleep back there with the 2nd row folded up?

We fit a queen size blowup mattress in there for watching a movie at the drive in. Sleeping may be tight for a 6 footer, but if you are solo diagonal may work.

[Danno]

buy that sequoia now.. gives more time for the missus to decide on ride.

I don't even have wheels to drive anywhere to look at cars until she buys one.

[LightRanger]

Dunno, FYI, the Toyota:Lexus equivalent:
GX460 = 4R
GX470 = Sequoia
LX = Landcruiser

If you go with the Sequoia idea, look at the Lexus version too. Sometimes (eg with 10-20 year-old Landcruisers) they will be similarly-priced and the Lexus version is obviously way more pimped out.

[El Chupacabra]

Dunno, FYI, the Toyota:Lexus equivalent:
GX460 = 4R
GX470 = Sequoia
LX = Landcruiser

If you go with the Sequoia idea, look at the Lexus version too. Sometimes (eg with 10-20 year-old Landcruisers) they will be similarly-priced and the Lexus version is obviously way more pimped out.

There is no Lexus version of the Sequoia.

The GX is the 4Runner (Prado). The LX is the Land Cruiser.

The GX460 is the current body style; the GX470 was the last body style. Both are V8s; no V6 option in the GX.

[Danno]

In all cases, though, it's the same (V8) engine, right? Whether you have the 4R, the Sequoia, the GX or LC/LX, it's that same 4.7 V8?

[El Chupacabra]

In all cases, though, it's the same (V8) engine, right? Whether you have the 4R, the Sequoia, the GX or LC/LX, it's that same 4.7 V8?

Not necessarily. There were differences in the 4.7 over the years (VVTI changes), and there were different V8s between the Land Cruiser/LX and the others. Depends on what model year you're looking at. Generally, the newer the better in terms of power.

The 5.7 V8 in newer Sequoias, Tundras, and LC/LX are much more powerful than the 4.7, but thirsty.

[Danno]

what I meant was that for a particular model year, the engine was the same across the different vehicles, ie the 2005 4r (with v8), Sequoia, LC/X, and GX all have the same 4.7 V8, right? I realize that the 2007 or whatever may have a slightly different engine, I'm just talking about all of the cars of a particular year.

[DasBlunt]

fuck that airride system in the gx models. looking for $ punishment.

any v8 4 runner will be tits. Sequoia looks unbalanced. Seems most people keep stock tires and makes it look like a boat.

[El Chupacabra]

what I meant was that for a particular model year, the engine was the same across the different vehicles, ie the 2005 4r (with v8), Sequoia, LC/X, and GX all have the same 4.7 V8, right? I realize that the 2007 or whatever may have a slightly different engine, I'm just talking about all of the cars of a particular year.

Not sure. Toyota/Lexus may have made changes incrementally across the line, even with the nominally same 4.7L engine.

[Art Shirk]

Tahoe looks the coolest

Hyundai Sante Fe

[Bobby Stainless]

It's the same 2UZ-FE V8 across all the models Toyota and Lexus. 07+ get the iForce 4.7l.

[LightRanger]

There is no Lexus version of the Sequoia.

The GX is the 4Runner (Prado). The LX is the Land Cruiser.

The GX460 is the current body style; the GX470 was the last body style. Both are V8s; no V6 option in the GX.

Doh. Thanks. Always thought the 470 looked bigger than the 460, so assumed it was the Sequoia.