# Racecar/TrackCar Tow Vehicle



## PunchIt (Dec 24, 2002)

I'm trying to decide what to get as a tow vehicle. My gut says diesel and manual tranny. More power, better fuel mileage and don't have to worry about overheating the tranny or frying the brakes with a manual.

Ford F-250? Anyone have any thoughts?


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## SergioK (Aug 14, 2002)

PunchIt said:


> I'm trying to decide what to get as a tow vehicle. My gut says diesel and manual tranny. More power, better fuel mileage and don't have to worry about overheating the tranny or frying the brakes with a manual.
> 
> Ford F-250? Anyone have any thoughts?


I know a local club racer out here on the west coast uses a Toyota Tundra to tow his enclosed trailer w/ his e30 M3 racecar in it.


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## elbert (Mar 28, 2002)

I like Chevy HD dualies myself, but I would get a diesel with an auto, which tend to have a higher towing rating than a manual. With the diesel, I think you can add an exhaust brake. You can also get a tranny cooler so you won't have to worry about burning out your transmission.


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

I lust after a Cummins High Output Turbo Diesel. 

At this time only the new Ford and the Dodge Rams have fully boxed frames. This reduces twist and windup on the chassis.

But if I were seriously looking for a dedicated tow vehicle, I would look at a Trotter home. Sort of a min motor home, based on a commerical truck. Great towing capacity, some space to get out of the sun and into the cool, change into/out of a driving suit, have a frig, etc.

BTW the big 250/2500 diesel trucks are up in the 15,000 pound towing capacity, hom many cars are you towing.


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## racerdave (Sep 15, 2003)

I know a guy (2003 SCCA EP champion) who uses a Ford F-350 (non-dually) to tow his 40-foot trailer.

Uses a PowerStroke diesel with an auto, and it works great.

Go for the Ford, the PowerStroke and auto... it'll be solid.


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## DannO (Apr 25, 2002)

Need more information...

What are you looking to tow? Open trailer or enclosed? How long? Aluminum or steel contruction (weight)? Bumper pull or 5th wheel / gooseneck? How often? How far?

I use a firetruck red 2001 F-350 Dually Crew Cab with the 7.3L Diesel and automatic transmission to pull a 28' enclosed Exiss (all aluminum - great trailer, btw) bumper-pull. It's a rock solid combination. I've seen as high as 21mpg on the highway (no trailer), but it's typically more in the 14 (around town) to 18 (highway) range. Not bad for a 7800 lb vehicle.

Pay attention to weights. Many, if not most, people towing are overloaded. Read and understand this:
http://www.thedieselstop.com/faq/1999faq/FAQ-Hauling.htm

I'll error to the conservative side on this, thanks. I'm guessing that if you are at fault in an accident and found to be overloaded you could be in very deep doo-doo financially, legally, etc.

Besides, driving an overloaded rig is absolutely no fun at all.

As a side benefit, the truck has become the family favorite travel vehicle, esp. for long trips. The cab is roomier than anything I've ever been in, including (by far) the Yukon XL (same as a Suburban) I owned before it, and it drives and rides great. We've put > 16k trouble-free miles on it since October of last year. It was purchased with 24k on the clock, 12k left on the main warranty. Engine and powertrain are good for 100k or (I think) 5 years. There are guys out there that have put 300k+ miles on this combination.


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## DannO (Apr 25, 2002)

*One more thing...*

Go here for all things powerstroke!
http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/

Note - there is a group for towing discussions with tons of good info.


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## DannO (Apr 25, 2002)

Pinecone said:


> But if I were seriously looking for a dedicated tow vehicle, I would look at a *Trotter* home. Sort of a min motor home, based on a commerical truck. Great towing capacity, some space to get out of the sun and into the cool, change into/out of a driving suit, have a frig, etc.


Hehehe. I believe you mean a TOTER home, no? Oh yeah, baby - that's the good life! :thumbup:


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## ayn (Dec 19, 2001)

DannO said:


> Hehehe. I believe you mean a TOTER home, no? Oh yeah, baby - that's the good life! :thumbup:


YUP! Those are sweet! There was one at the track this weekend:


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## PunchIt (Dec 24, 2002)

Well to start out with, I'm only towing my track car (E30, 325i) maybe a spare set of tires and tools. Fluids and maybe an ez-up. I'll be renting a trailer from U-haul. I'm guessin the trailer is equal or less than 1000lbs. But should my racing become more serious, and a larger trailer is needed, I would like not to have to purchase a new truck at the same time.

The truck will also be used as a daily driver, so I am trying to avoid the bench seat arangement, as I have heard they are not so comfortable.

I understand the remarks made regarding the auto tranny, however, I just feel more in control with a manual transmission.


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## ayn (Dec 19, 2001)

I saw how a guy put his RX7 onto his one-man trailor, he really did all that my himself, very cool! I wouldn't mind one of those if I had a track car.

--Andrew


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## elbert (Mar 28, 2002)

PunchIt said:


> Well to start out with, I'm only towing my track car (E30, 325i) maybe a spare set of tires and tools. Fluids and maybe an ez-up. I'll be renting a trailer from U-haul. I'm guessin the trailer is equal or less than 1000lbs. But should my racing become more serious, and a larger trailer is needed, I would like not to have to purchase a new truck at the same time.


Well, enclosed single car aluminum trailers can easily weigh 3000#. Keep in mind the weight of the car (another 3000#) plus tires and wheels and tools and air compressors and... it goes on because if you have space, you'll probably put something there.

As posted earlier by DannO, you want plenty of reserve to spare.


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## DannO (Apr 25, 2002)

For a uhaul flatbed and minimal junk you could go with just about anything. I probably wouldn't recommend anything less than an expedition class suv or f150. If you want to "plan ahead" the f250 is a good choice. It's load rating isn't quite as high as the single rear wheel f350, but it's close. I don't see the point of srw f350s. The cost differential to a dually is so small...

If I bought my truck again, it would have:
- 4 wheel drive - it seems counter-intuative, but the dually has very little traction in slippery conditions - loose sand, mud, and ice are bad news. Nothing sucks worse than getting your trailer rig stuck, or (god forbid) worse. I drove it to a mountain cabin in NC this past winter - good tires, 1000# of sand over the rear axle and dually tire chains did the trick, so it's not a total loss.

- Manual transmission. Big savings on these trucks (automatic is a big money upgrade) and the manual has less problems than the auto. Don't know about the auto in the new PSD. Last year they switched the 7.3l 8 cyl for a 6l 6 cyl that makes more power.

It would NOT have bucket seats. After sitting in the bench and the buckets, the bench wins by a long shot. More comfortable and gives you an extra seat when you need it instead of the crappy hunk of plastic storage compartment that's there on the bucket seats. Oh, and it costs less too. I advised my partner about it (tows horses) but he went with the buckets and regrets it.

If it doesn't show, I love my truck.


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## LilEccentricJ (Dec 19, 2001)

PunchIt said:


> I'm trying to decide what to get as a tow vehicle. My gut says diesel and manual tranny. More power, better fuel mileage and don't have to worry about overheating the tranny or frying the brakes with a manual.
> 
> Ford F-250? Anyone have any thoughts?


Diesel Def... I get 20 mph w/ my Duramax 6.6 turbo

And the Auto tranny will run cooler (mine is around 150 op temp on the Allison 5sp) and give u better breaking (in Allison grade brake mode with no load, I need to use the gas to decend a 6% grade) since u wont run out a clutch and the autos have coolers...manuals dont. You can also look at Banks for a "Jake" brake if u need more.

http://forum.thedieselpage.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

DannO said:


> Hehehe. I believe you mean a TOTER home, no? Oh yeah, baby - that's the good life! :thumbup:


I was close. 

They do look neat. I have seen some ads pointing out that a particular one is registered adn titled as an RV, so no special license required.


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

PunchIt said:


> Well to start out with, I'm only towing my track car (E30, 325i) maybe a spare set of tires and tools. Fluids and maybe an ez-up. I'll be renting a trailer from U-haul. I'm guessin the trailer is equal or less than 1000lbs. But should my racing become more serious, and a larger trailer is needed, I would like not to have to purchase a new truck at the same time.
> 
> The truck will also be used as a daily driver, so I am trying to avoid the bench seat arangement, as I have heard they are not so comfortable.
> 
> I understand the remarks made regarding the auto tranny, however, I just feel more in control with a manual transmission.


Are you sure about renting from U-Haul? A friend at work did that, and they would rent either for a single day or one way. No multiple day return where you picked it up. And for local one day use, no out of state.

He ended up buying one made by Leonard. He paid about $1500 for a flat wooden bed type. The steel track car hauler was a bit more.

I found this place:

http://www.indianvalleytrailers.com/pages/600059/index.htm

For an inexpensive open car hauler.

For open trailers everybody I have talked to says Trailex is the way to go, but they are pretty expensive.

But a little time with Google and eBay will find you lots of choices.

BTW Grassroots Motorsports magazine recently had an article on tow vehicles. They prefer a motorhome as a place to hang out, and possible sleep if you are on a tighter budget. But lots of good info anyway.


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## DannO (Apr 25, 2002)

Pinecone said:


> I was close.
> 
> They do look neat. I have seen some ads pointing out that a particular one is registered adn titled as an RV, so no special license required.


The other advantage of that approach is that you can finance it as a second home. Then again, I imagine it's pretty easy to get really badly upside down on a 30 year mortgage on a motorhome that depreciates 30% the day you drive it off the lot. :yikes:

Must be nice!


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

DannO said:


> The other advantage of that approach is that you can finance it as a second home. Then again, I imagine it's pretty easy to get really badly upside down on a 30 year mortgage on a motorhome that depreciates 30% the day you drive it off the lot. :yikes:
> 
> Must be nice!


Buy used only.


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## PunchIt (Dec 24, 2002)

*Maybe one of these will work?*

http://www.rocks-hideout.com/dl/f350run.wmv


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