Tow vehicle

[ikeslayer]

i am wondering if you guys have any idea what a great tow vehicle would be. I am a youth pastor at a church and usually take a gaggle of kids fishing at a time. only problem is that it is a tight fit in my f150. i have a mini van and you can pack kids and stuff in there like no other and still get 20 mpg. So what i am wondering is, is there a minivan out there that has a souped up tranny that can pull my crestliner and a full load of people? My wife isn't much for conversion vans or we would proably own one of those. I don't know what it is like to pull a boat out of a landing with one of these either.

Any help or ideas would be welcomed and appreciated

thanks

ike

[fishing tech]

F150 supercrew or how about a Ford Freestyle. The freestyle can seat up to 7 passengers. Just a thought.

[theoilman]

How big (heavy) is your boat & trailer?

Be cautious, most front wheel drive mini-vans (and cars) have a limited towing capacity. Check the owner's manual - and read the fine print: almost all will decrease the van capacity when you tow the maximum trailer.

Your combination of wanting 20 mpg, plus carry 6 to 8 people plus tow your boat is something that is going to be hard to meet.

The only combination I know of to do all this is a Dodge or Freightliner Sprinter van, 2500, with a price tag of over $30,000 new.

Good luck in your ministry.

[bhs91]

I have a Alumcraft Nav 175 with a 70 2 stroke that I would load up with my 4 kids, 2 dogs and gear to pull with our dodge minivan, 3.8 liter V6, and most of the time, it did great. However if there was a lot of incline to the landing, I struggled to get it out. Now there are many great tips on this site that helped me, but the best suggestion I would give you is to get a mini-van that has all-wheel drive. But as a guy that is cheap as can be, i can understand not wanting all-wheel drive from an MPG standpoint. Now I have a 4-wheel drive vehicle so I don't have to worry.

Best wishes; Happy Easter!

BHS

[Valv]

You will not find any vehicle that will give you that mileage and be able of towing a 17ft/18ft boat. Sprinter is the only choice.

You can get a Suburban, or a Van but being gas V8s they will not have good mileage. I would seriously discourage using a minivan for towing such a boat and a load of people.

[SkolVikingsGuy]

I have a 2000 Crestliner Sportfish 1750 with a 135 optimax. I haul it with a 2000 Chevy Venture without the towing package, and typically have my wife and three young kids on board as well as tackle and cooler.

It pulls it just fine. I just make sure to take it easy so as not to work it too hard. Once last year on a hot day I had to take it very slow as the temp was climbing upward.

I put it in "3rd" gear which turns off overdrive. I plan on getting a tranny cooler installed.

Good luck.

[catchin'whopper]

I have a nissan titan crew cab and by far it has the most room of any 1/2 ton crew truck out there that i have tried. I've compared fords, chevy silverado and avalanche, and the dodge prior to that purchase and havent seen any changes with the new models of domestics... With that space, it's easy enough to haul a group of people around with plenty of space. I too would worry about the front wheel drive of a minivan if any considerable time towing goes on...

my two cents

-catchin'

[Doonbuggy]

You might want to give the Honda Pilot a look. For a car-based SUV it's a pretty big vehicle and seats eight. I'd guess the mpg would be somewhere between a minivan and a traditional SUV. It has a good reliability record and good resale value, too.

It has a nice V6 engine, can tow 4,500 lbs and comes in AWD.

Since you may be fully loaded and trailering, a certified Pilot may be a good idea. It covers the powertrain for 7yrs/100,000 miles.

DB

[ikeslayer]

first off let me say thanks to all the responses. I sure do appreciate the input. Secondly i think to me the most important things are how many people you can sit comfortably and reliability with practicality. I have a f150 now and it can sit 5 really tite and it stinks to be in teh back seat if we are five tite. also one other thing is practicality. i was wondering if there was just a minivan type vehicle out there because we love our and i am pretty sure however we would lunch the tranny soon and i have seen some front w.d. vehicles really stuggle out of some landings. with those things any mind any more advice would be appreciated. ike

[DinkADunk]

Then buy a Suburban

[BobT]

Have you checked the owner's manual of your vehicle. It should have details about towing capacity and load carrying capacity (they are not the same and they affect each other).

You may find that your vehicle already is already rated to handle it.

Bob